Dark of Night by Colleen Coble Review

 Good Evening Everyone :)

I'm posting this a little later than normal, but that's because I actually just got back from a quick getaway with my hubby.

We had a wonderful night away celebrating his birthday a little early, and getting some Christmas shopping done. I'm thankful we were able to have this time together, and I'm also thankful I get to share another book review with you all to round out the evening.

I've been a longtime fan of Colleen Coble, but I have to be honest that I wasn't too fond of the first book in her new series. I was still invested enough to want to continue on with the rest of the series however, so if you'd like to read my review of the first book, you can do so using the link below.

Edge of Dusk

Otherwise, keep on reading for my review of the second title in her new series.

Dark of Night by Colleen Coble:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: January 10th, 2023

Genre: Christian Fiction/Suspense

Series: Annie Pederson

Synopsis:

The law is about justice—not grace. But perhaps ranger Annie Pederson can find a way to have both.

As if the last few months haven’t been hard enough—complete with threats on her life and the return of her first love, Jon—Annie has to figure out whether or not to believe a woman who claims to be her sister, Sarah, who was abducted twenty-four years ago at age five. Annie’s eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, has plenty of questions about what’s going on in her mother’s life—but there are some stories Annie doesn’t want uncovered.

As Annie grapples with how to heal the gulf between her and her would-be sister and make room in her daughter’s life for Jon, she’s professionally distracted by the case of yet another missing hiker in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A woman named Michelle Fraser has now been abducted, and though the woman’s estranged husband is at the top of their suspect list, Annie and her colleagues will need to dig deeper to determine whether these recent mysteries are truly as unrelated as they seem.

In this second novel of bestselling author Colleen Coble’s latest romantic-suspense series, Annie and Jon must fight for the future—and the family—that could once more be theirs.

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Colleen Coble has long been one of my favorite authors, but I have to say that I was personally not the biggest fan of Edge of Dusk, the first installment in the Annie Pederson series. I will say that this one was definitely a step up from that one, but it's still not this author at her best, and I ended up feeling a little disappointed when I finished it. 

I continue to appreciate that Colleen weaves several separate mysteries into her stories at once, and I enjoyed getting to try and piece together everything along with the characters. Part of the mystery is continued from book one, so I don't recommend reading this one without having read that one first, but there were also a couple of new mysteries thrown in for good measure. I thought the resolution of part of it was done well, but part of it was a bit of a letdown, and I wanted a bit more from the conclusion.

The inclusion of the search and rescue team, and their wonderful, talented dogs added an extra layer to this story, and it was interesting to learn about the many ways these animals can be used to help in these dangerous situations. One of the rescue dog's pups played an integral part in the story; and I loved how interesting that entire segment was to read about.

I want to go ahead and say that I appreciated that this one was much less creepy and dark than the first title, and that the faith element played a bigger part, but it still didn't end up being the follow up I was hoping for. The dialogue was chunky and a bit awkward, and didn't seem to flow the way it should have. Annie and Jon were not likeable as main characters, and I was getting to the point of wanting to yell at both of them just to resolve their issues and stop making the reader listen to it over and over again. I actually ended up enjoying the side characters much more than I did the mains, and that saddens me cause I usually love the protagonists in this author's stories. Just like in the first book, I felt the mystery resolution happened too quickly, and I wanted a bit more information to given in the reveal. 

At this point I do still plan on reading book three when it releases, as I'd like to see how everything wraps up, but I do hope I end up feeling more positive about it than I did the first two.

Final Rating: 3/5.

I'd recommend this one to anyone who enjoys Christian suspense and/or has enjoyed Colleen Coble's other books.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Enjoy the rest of your evening :)