I was so excited for this next book in series and let me tell you it did not disappoint. I won’t write to much as I don’t want ruin anything but.... I have a feeling there is a third book in the making. This book is page, thrilling, and simply brilliant. Hats off To Charlie Donlea for another job well done!!! Please don’t make us wait to long for the next one.

When I find out Some Choose Darkness’ sequel finally arrived and I will have another chance to read about the coolest and smartest forensics reconstructionist (let’s say: she is the expert of heating cold cases) Rory Moore and his psychologist partner Lane Philips, I screamed “Hurray” as soon as I saw the book at my virtual NG bookshelf!

And the plot was really intriguing. I always love to read about claustrophobic whodunit prep school stories about secret societies, looking in the mirror throughout their ritual, instead of calling Bloody Mary’s name, they expect to see “man in the mirror”. So spooky and dazzling, right?

Westmont Preparatory High School’s great reputation tainted with two brutal murders occurred and scandalized the entire place. After two students’ murders, a teacher is prime suspect, commits suicide but he cannot achieve to kill himself and is hospitalized, in vegetative state.

A famous crime blogger Ryder Hillier starts writing about conspiracy theories and a popular podcast host Mark Carter already stole her story and hits ratings hit the roof. And one of the students who was at the crime scene of his other viciously victimized friends decides to end his silence and he wants to confess something important to Mark, sending him coded meeting place. Of course Ryder solves the coded meeting place message faster than him. Both of them arrive at the place and find the boy committed suicide at the train tracks just like the other students and his teacher did.

When you read the long plot above, you ask the question yourself: Okay, when is going to our duo get involved with the case? This is the main problem with the book. Because in my opinion, there are too many POVS and too many characters instead of Rory and Lane in this book.
We’re going back and forth between timelines and learning more about Westmont’s six students who were together at the eerie murder night. And slowly we find out more about Gwen and Gavin, two students left behind and still alive. Both of them look suspicious and act like they got involved something shady including their friends’ deaths because they’re keeping something secret and they know their teacher wasn’t the killer.
We also read Marc McEvoy’s story who was former student of Westmont and he never recovered from getting rejected by the secret society and he knows the ritual times ( shortest and longest days of the year and June 21th is coming up!) He is obsessed to find out the secrets about Man in the mirror, at the cost of lying to his wife, acting like going to business trip and now he is missing.

And we’re also reintroduced and welcomed Gus Morelli’s cameo from “Don’t Believe It” novel’s hotshot detective ( now he’s retired, enduring the humid of Florida)
And of course we have some flashbacks about Rory’s childhood and the importance of porcelain dolls help her function more normally and adapt in normal life.
I felt like I read three different books at the same time. Maybe if it would be a book about the campus murders and podcast host’s killing case solved by crime blogger Ryder Hillier, it would be easier for me to concentrate.
But there is also Gus’s cold case story connects with the murders and another missing person’s case. There are so many questions to answer, so many POVS to read and too many characters to connect! Rory Moore hasn’t been involved in the case till the second half of the book. So many times I missed her and Lane because the other characters’ POVS and stories made me question if this was sequel of my favorite characters or if they turned into supportive characters of the story, make cameos like Gus.

I think the author’s intention was preparing us to the next books and introducing the new characters. And she wants to connect her main characters from the other books to bring out new cases and new stories.

Overall: At the end we got all the answers. There is no plot hole and even though murderer’s identity was predictable, it was great to read his background story and connections between the cases Gus and our favorite duo investigates. But I wish to read easier story with less characters. I still enjoyed and I’m charmed by my favorite duo’s returning back and I’d like to read their upcoming stories as well. But I’m cutting some points and giving 3.5 stars as always rounded up 4! (If it wasn’t for Rory and Lane, it could be three stars because this was exhausting reading!)

But I’m so hopeful about conclusion and excited about those sealed boxes!
Special thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.