Review: Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita

 

Village in the Dark (Cara Kennedy #2)  by Iris Yamashita

Publication Date: February 13th 2024 by Berkley

Pages: 288

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

In the last book Detective Cara Kennedy found a picture of her dead son and husband on a drug dealer’s phone suggesting that a hiking accident wasn’t the cause of their death. She teams up with Ellie, one of the residents in Point Mettier, and Joe Barkowski “JB”, the officer Cara worked with in the first book, to track down answers. Also factoring in this story is Mia, a young woman from a village apart and hidden from society.

There are three POVs: Cara, Ellie, and Mia, which are connected to the case, but as a reader you’re not sure how. I enjoyed each of the women’s perspectives, all very different in age and situation.

Cara’s was one I was familiar with as she was one of the main characters in the last book and this is a continuation of the mystery behind the death of her husband and son. I was enraged for her as things were revealed!

Ellie was kind of a crochety old woman the last book, the owner of the “Inn” in Point Mettier, a busy body with hints of a shady past. Through her POV we get her history, and I admired her for it! Ellie was a tough woman with courage and determination, and I liked her spunk!

I was eager to find out Mia’s connection, as she was obviously trying to stay under the radar.

I loved getting back to Point Mettier, Alaska and getting to know the characters more in this installment! It’s an interesting, unique setting, living so isolated in their condo-tower city, only accessible through a tunnel or by sea.  It’s sort of self-governed being so out there. There’s a little romance, too, even though it’s not the focus of the story.

This is the second book in the Cara Kennedy series. It’s best read in order. I really enjoyed Village in the Dark! It was exciting and suspenseful with twists I didn’t see coming! I hope there are more Cara Kennedy mysteries to come!

4 Stars

Book Description:

Detective Cara Kennedy thought she’d lost her husband and son in an accident, but harrowing evidence has emerged that points to murder--and she will stop at nothing to find the truth in this riveting mystery from the author of City Under One Roof.

On a frigid February day, Anchorage Detective Cara Kennedy stands by the graves of her husband and son, watching as their caskets are raised from the earth. It feels sacrilegious, but she has no choice. Aaron and Dylan disappeared on a hike a year ago, their bones eventually found and buried. But shocking clues have emerged that foul play was involved, potentially connecting them to a string of other deaths and disappearances. 
 
Somehow tied to the mystery is Mia Upash, who grew up in an isolated village called Unity, a community of women and children in hiding from abusive men. Mia never imagined the trouble she would find herself in when she left home to live in Man’s World. Although she remains haunted by the tragedy of what happened to the man and the boy in the woods, she has her own reasons for keeping quiet.
 
Aided by police officer Joe Barkowski and other residents of Point Mettier, Cara’s investigation will lead them on a dangerous path that puts their lives and the lives of everyone around them in mortal jeopardy.

About the author

Iris Yamashita is an Academy Award–nominated screenwriter for the movie Letters from Iwo Jima. She has been working in Hollywood for fifteen years developing material for both film and streaming, has taught screenwriting at UCLA, and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California.

Visit her online at www.irisyamashita.com, Facebook.com/iris.yamashita, Twitter @IrisYamashita, and Instagram @irisyamashita.