I was really excited when I read the blurb on this book and thought it would be a nice change with some suspense and action. well the intrigue was ok but that wasn't what was really expounded on in this story. i mean yeah the search but. . . Anyway it ends up being about this dysfunctional agent and the issues she had going on in her personal life along with the unhealthy habits. So overall it's a decent story just not what I was expecting. I had a hard time connecting with the characters or even feeling any of the suspense or excitement that should have occurred. It's the first time I have read this author and while it wasn't a bad read it's just not my cup of tea.

Elsa an FBI agent with the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Unit and her sister visits their father who is dying in the hospital. She gets a call to investigate a missing teenager. Elsa gets involved in the case as it progresses, being an abused child by her mother with many personal problems herself, She teams up with Detective Alipei Cole and ends up looking for three abducted teenagers, This is a very intense and exciting read that ends with an unexpected twist!

The first in a series, A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis, introduces us to FBI Agent Elsa Myers. Elsa is a complex character with a dark past and a lot of secrets.

Right now her father is dying and she is by his side when she receives a call for help from New York City. She has been asked for personally because of her track record finding missing people.

Ruby, a teenager, has gone missing. With a lot of misdirection from friends hiding their own secrets, the case is becoming more difficult and putting her own family in danger as well.

Working with Detective Lex Cole is proving difficult. Elsa is a very private person and Lex is trying to find a crack inside that hard shell she has put in place to protect herself. But for this case, she is going to have to face the darkness of the past and find these girls before it’s too late.

A new police procedural thriller series is always a welcome gift. While we didn’t get a lot of Elsa’s past and how she became an agent, it’s a series and since I’m now reading the second one, I can tell you it just gets better!

Well Done!

Netgalley/ January 2nd 2018 by Mulholland Books

With a uniquely-gifted heroine and whiplash pacing, A MAP OF THE DARK delivers a wickedly twisty, dark, and yet thoughtful thriller read. Highly recommended.

I'll be honest and state that I was finding the book, a tad bit hard to get into. I thought about DNF, but I decided to give the book another go (yeah, I was almost halfway done). Let me say, I'm glad I did!

The book centers around an FBI agent, named Elsa. She is complicated (to say the least) but she's highly skilled in her field of child abductions. She been hoodwinked by her boss to work on this case regarding a missing girl, named Ruby. As she dives deep & deeper into the case, she not only learns more about the abductor but herself. With quotes like this "the fear of it is still inside you. You are not to be trusted, because she made you in the likeness of her rage." You just become more & more intrigued by the story, right?!?

I know, I know...it's a "slow burn" of a read. However, I think the "anticipation" of what's to come, had me invested in the outcome of the book! I reached the end of the book, I understood why the author had to go into so much detail about Elsa (flashbacks, daydreams, etc); they were neccessary for the story. I understand it now but the book is a slow burn and if you want action/drama right away...sorry...but you are going to have to wait until you get halfway through the book (Be Warned)!

Even with the slow burn in the beginning, I still gave the book 4.25/5 stars. When the action picked up it really picked up. I liked the fact that she could get inside the mind of the criminal and I look forward to reading the next book, Last Night!

FBI Agent Elsa Myers leaves her dying father's bedside when a teenager goes missing. As the investigation deepens, it is discovered that this man may have been abducting and murdering girls for the better part of a decade.

This was a good read. It brings together the current case and Elsa's incredibly complex back story. It's a promising start to the series and I look forward to the next book.

This is the first book in a series about Elsa, an FBI agent working on child abductions. Elsa has a past that she is still dealing with that helps her connect with her victims. When a teenager is reported missing, Les, a New York police detective requests Elsa's help.
Two stories run throughout this book: the kidnappings and Elsa's abusive childhood. Elsa is a very intuitive agent but her personal life is a mess. Slowly the reader will learn the secrets of her childhood. Looking forward to the next book. Recommended.

As the story developed, I was afraid of what I might encounter once it is revealed that the main character is an FBI agent who finds missing children. Thankfully, the reader is not subjected to the horrific details of such pursuits, although the frightening and menacing emotional traumas of child kidnappings are clearly conveyed. Karen Ellis does an excellent job of making us feel the terror of the situation without graphics that overwhelm the other important components of the story.

A special request is made by Lex Cole of the NYPD to work with Elsa Myers, a special agent whose reputation for success is renowned. Ruby Haverstock is a seventeen-year old girl who has disappeared after work on Friday afternoon. The footwork, technology, forensics, and intercollegial networking of law enforcement used to solve the crime are realistic, logical, informative. We become involved, a compliment to the author.

Elsa has two personal stories that both propel and conflict her work: her father is dying; her childhood is a restless, unsolved conundrum pressing in from several directions. We are kept in the loop, anticipating the answers, given just enough to keep us.listening without anything being handed to us.

It would be unkind to unravel such a wonderful story in the review, but here is a hint that will intrigue but give nothing away: the perpetrator has three sisters. A statement that is relevant but does not reveal.

This multi-level story piques interest in the very beginning and sustains that interest throughout the entire book. It is a great read, highly recommended. My sincere thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher.

A Map of the Dark is an excellent police procedural/FBI mystery thriller, peopled with agents and cops that have the right stuff and a cast of victims and parents who do, as well. I felt so bad for the girls and their folks, though thoroughly enjoyed serene Ruby, feisty Hope and smart Melissa, and was brought to a better understanding of self-harm through the thoughts and reactions of the FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team member Elsa Myers. This was a fast, compelling read and Karen Ellis is an author I will watch for under both of her names. I am please to recommend her to friends and family.

I received a free electronic copy of this mystery novel on February 12, 2019 from Netgalley, Karen Ellis (Katia Lief) and Mulholland Books - Little Brown in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

A map of the dark told the intense story of an FBI agent working on the case of a missing teenage girl. It was intriguing all the way through. I don’t want to give anything away, but there are many facets to the investigation.
I would recommend this book

Interesting story of an FBI agent specializing in missing child cases, not that she wants to willingly, just that she's good at finding them. Her day off is to spend with her dying father, and gets pulled into a case by a NY detective who requested her assistance. This book has three stories going, her father dying and the family involved there, the ongoing missing child case and her own personal background. She should take personal leave but it's realized too late, so she muddles through trying to work the case with her own ghosts screaming for her attention. There are no shocking moments, but how all is interspersed with each story line is interesting enough to keep me reading, and I'm looking forward to the next book. The ending was a bit of a surprise, I liked the detective and they worked well together, there's hope at the end.

I galloped through this book in a day, enjoying all the twists and turns as the story alternated between the suspense of tracking down a serial killer and the back story of the FBI agent with demons of her own. My major criticism lies with the storyline describing the family relations of the highly skilled but emotionally stunted agent. A major plot point was left conveniently undeveloped until the very end which then neatly tied up all the loose ends. If you were at all alert, you would find this discrepancy nagging at you through the story. In fact, it may nag at you so much that the solution presents itself to you before the actual ending. Even so I think you will find yourself caught up in the drama of this story.

As with every parents nightmare, Ruby a teenage girl goes missing and the clues to why keep getting stranger. Elsa an FBI agent along with Lex, an NYPD detective are on the hunt to find her. Elsa is constantly distracted by the fact that her father is dying and their old family home has been sold but still calls to her. Secrets from Elsa's past are dark, leading to her keen understanding for solving this crime. This was a fast read, sometimes the images were hard to imagine but the suspense was good and kept the pages turning to the twisty ending.

I knew from the first I wasn't going to like this book. I knew this as I read it with rarely a break. I was so very wrong. This is a surprising book.

Warning -- this book involves self-harm/cutting -- it is a minor part of the book in terms of overall content, but it is a major aspect of the main character, Elsa Myers.

This was a good FBI procedural/mystery/missing girls novel. FBI Special Agent Elsa Myers has a hard edge to her and is a cutter, and that combination made me uncertain if this was a character I really wanted to make an investment in, as I knew this was the first book in a series. However, interwoven through the search for a missing teenage girl (and later two more missing girls) are flashbacks to Elsa's childhood with an abusive mother and a loving but inept father. Those flashbacks help develop and explain Elsa Myers, including why she cuts and why she has such success tracking down missing children and the creeps who abduct them.

Elsa has been specifically requested by NYC detective, Alexei Cole (Lex), who is handling the search for the missing girl, Ruby. There is an interesting dynamic between the two of them, especially as Lex involves himself in the personal drama encapsulating Elsa, whose father is dying of cancer, whose family home has been sold and is being remodeled, and whose teenage niece, who is staying with her, is testing her boundaries and worrying her mother (Elsa's sister).

There is a well developed plot with lots of twists, turns, and surprises. There is a good supporting cast. The kidnapper in this story is particularly twisted and creepy. There is a good mix of use of technology and old-fashioned police work; the answers do not come too easily to the police and FBI agents. Well worth reading. Looking forward to the second book in the series.

I read a review copy via NetGalley.

A Amp of the Dark is a superb thriller by Karen Ellis. Will keep you turning the pages until the final one.

FBI Agent Elsa Myers has a lot on her plate at the moment. Her dad is dying and she really should take a leave of absence to be with him but her mind is too full of the past and she isn't sure she can handle just sitting by his bedside. She has been requested by a young detective anyway, to assist him with an active missing teenager case so she throws herself into that investigation while dropping at the hospital as much as she can.

Elsa's dad has just sold her childhood house and that house is full of dark secrets. Elsa's mother beat her regularly and as much as her dad loves her and she loves him, he never did anything to stop the beatings. Elsa needs to discuss this with her dad before he dies. Elsa was a cutter, still on the edge of cutting again at any time and her body is covered with the scars of her cutting. There is no hope of intimacy with anyone when she knows the scars of her cutting will chase them off.

With all of Elsa's baggage, she actually may be able to understand the mind of the person who took the young girl...a case that grows more horrible and dire as the story goes on. Getting to see the action from Elsa's mind set was fascinating and shows how she gained the good reputation that she has as an FBI agent. I really enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading more about Elsa in the next book of the series but as I have started on the next book already, I'm not sure that Elsa is in the book. Instead it focuses on the young detective that she worked with and he's an interesting character also.

Thank you to Mulholland Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

A Map of the Dark is the first book in The Searchers series. The main character is FBI agent Elsa Myers, who has an instinct for finding missing people. The author of this series is Karen Ellis (pseudonym for Katia Lief). Ms Ellis does an excellent job of keeping the reader engrossed in both the case and her personal life. Looking forward to reading Last Night, the next book of this series. I was given a copy to review.

Loved this book! So emotional and dark, yet the main character, an FBI agent, who is troubled and stumbling through the nightmare of locating a serial killer, at the same time trying to accept and deal with her own personal issues and tragedies, makes this an addicting read. Don’t miss this one!

I LOVE a new series, new characters and the FBI storylines so this was right up my alley!

I really liked Elsa as a character.

So far, so good, Elsa is an interesting character with an interesting back story.

The case had a plot point that was predictable and cliche. It was a mixed read, but an intriguing enough of a character that I will read book 2!