Review: Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak

Title: Her Darkest Nightmare
Author: Brenda Novak
Pages: 432
Genre: Suspense, Mystery
Source: Free ARC from St. Martin’s Press

Rating: B

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you’ll get).

Review: Her Darkest Nightmare is the first in a new series by Brenda Novak. The main character, Evelyn Talbot, was kidnapped, tortured and raped as a teenager by her then boyfriend Jasper, who turned out to be a serial killer. Years later, she is a psychiatrist studying psychopaths in a specialized prison in Alaska. A few months after settling into a new routine in her new surroundings, a serial killer seems to be in their midst, killing people who work at the prison. Is it someone who works there? Could Jasper – who was never caught – be back to get her? Will she figure out who it is in time and be able to stop them?

The storyline was well laid out, and I enjoyed getting to know Eveyln and Amarok and watching their relationship develop. Despite the fact that I strongly suspected who the killer was right from the start, it was suspenseful. And I really appreciated the in depth look into Evelyn’s psyche, and being able to watch her cope with her own trauma, all these years later.

My two minor complaints are a) the sex scenes felt stunted to me, like the writer is uncomfortable writing them (which I understand) and b) while the book overall was properly suspenseful, the final climax fell short for me.

This is a book I really enjoyed, and I’ll definitely read the next in series.

P.S. This seems to be listed as romance, and I would never put it in that category. The romantic relationship seems like a secondary plot, and as such, I would label it a mystery or suspense.

One Reply to “Review: Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak”

  1. Pingback: Review: Hello Again by Brenda Novak | Mad Book Love

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