Laura McHugh wrote a troubling book in What's Done in Darkness. Sarabeth's parents are extremely strict religious fundamentalists. Their adoption of fundamentalist principles was believable. McHugh introduces the readers to fundamentalist communities and separateness. This is a good mystery with just enough tension to keep a person reading to the end.

Laura is such an amazing storyteller. What’s Done In Darkness attested to that! It was a beautiful and emotional thriller that kept me guessing while on the edge of my seat the entire time. 

Sarabeth found herself in a whole new world when her parents decided to get rid of almost all of their possessions and be one with God. She soon started to rebel, wanting nothing more than to run away. When her chance came, it was not in the way anyone should experience. 

After being kidnapped, held hostage, and left for dead on the side of the road, she thought the worst was behind her. Little did she know, after being shunned, it was far from over.

As the years went by, she continued to struggle with everyday life. When Nick, an investigator, convinced her he needed her help, would she be able to finally put the past behind her or would her world be turned upside down again?

I have loved all of Laura’s books but there was something about this one that put it over the top. It was so raw, I felt like I was there with Sarabeth experiencing first hand the nightmare she had been through. It also had so many surprises that I did not see coming!! What a masterpiece!

Laura McHugh has a way with words that makes me absolutely devour her novels. What's Done in Darkness takes place in the Missouri/Arkansas Ozarks. Sarabeth Shepard was found half dressed on the side of the highway when she was seventeen. She had been missing for a week, but no one had reported her missing because her family thought she had left on her own free will. Her story is covered by all the new stations and the local sheriff does not believe her and makes her out to be a liar in the news. Sarabeth changes her name to Sarah and moves away to the city to gain some anonymity and move on from the week of horror and the aftermath that she experienced. The past s behind her -- until she receives a call from a state trooper asking for her help in similar disappearances. They are all girls who have a similar background of being homeschooled and from uber-religious families, Sarah must face her family and her past to help.

What's Done in Darkness was a page turner to the very end.  Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A slow burn of a mystery with convincing characters including Sarah, who is recovering from trauma but still has agency and smarts, a well-developed sense of place (Ozarks/Midwest), credible twists and turns, ratcheting tension, and a satisfying conclusion. McHugh's writing is top notch and I was never put off by any "false notes." This is my first time reading this author but now I'll turn back to her first and catch up! 5 star review, Goodreads.

Thrilling rural noir ride back and forth from past to present. Laura McHugh's best book since The Weight of Blood in my opinion. The book transitions well from past Sarabeth to present Sarabeth to ultimately lead to the revelation of who lays behind a sickening scheme in the Ozarks. Laura McHugh vividly describes this area of Missouri with stunning accuracy. I gobbled this book up like my life depended on it.

Posted on Goodreads 2/25/21

Wow, Laura McHugh has done it again! Her latest character-driven, dual narrative thriller, What's Done in Darkness, kept me turning the pages even more compulsively than I had when reading The Weight of Blood, the first of her books that reeled me in immediately and kept me awake way too late at night. That first impression of her work compelled me to read every word McHugh had written to that point and all the rest that she will ever write, and you better believe I haven't been disappointed in the least. You'll see plenty of reviews with the typical recap of the story prior to the reviewer's personal response, so I'll skip that part and just say that I give What's Done in Darkness, and Laura McHugh herself, the highest praise and admiration. I'm an author myself, which has at times ruined the reading experience because I'm now also perpetually in editor mode as I read, but once again I was happy to lose that critical eye while I was immersed in the tense and complex story web McHugh has woven for us. We find ourselves entangled, squirming at times but unable to wriggle free until the final page, and then wishing only that the book would go on longer, though we also know it had been the exact right length. I'm so thoroughly impressed by Laura McHugh's deftness with language and plot and her devotion to character above all else. This is not only a great thriller, it's a damn good novel. Five big stars.

Gripping thriller that takes place in a remote community centered around a very strict religion. While some young people like the environment, Sarabeth wants to escape back to the 'real world' where she has the freedom to make her own decisions and set the course for her own life. Being kidnapped wasn't part of her plan, but she is eventually released and starts building a new life--until another girl in a similar situation disappears and Sarabeth is called on to help find her. I liked the suspense of the current situation and the gradual revealing of Sarah's backstory. I also like the characters (well, not the creepy ones!) In addition, McHugh does a really good job establishing a sense of place.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me a free e-ARC of this book.

The audience fir suspense-thriller novels is predominantly female, but Laura McHugh's standout latest, WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS, is a case study in why all men should read them. More than most, WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS shows how young women are forced to see all males in their orbit through a sexualized lens. Sometimes it's because the girls are interested in exploring their developing feelings, but more often it's because the boys and men around them insist on defining the young women in sexual terms: "I worry about you." "Why do you dress like that?" "Damn, you're growing up fast." "You should smile more — you'd be prettier." "You don't know what it's like out there, and you need me to look after you." 

Sarah Shepherd knows all of these and more, as a woman who used to be a teen girl whose parents and wider fundamentalist religious community in small-town Arkansas were determined to equally shape and protect her virtue through seemingly nonstop shaming designed to strip her of all her self-esteem and personal agency. When that suppression culminates in her weeklong abduction and subsequent release, she tries to reinvent herself in the real world as an adult, only to find that she's afraid to face the world because she's never closed the book on what happened to her. And when a cop exploring similar disappearances kicks in the door of her psychological shelter ....

WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS is a huge leap forward fort Laura McHugh, sho's done no wrong so far in her career. In the solidity of its parallel structure, its page-turning glide, and its pitch-perfect characterizations of religious fervor and the small-town culture of fear, the story has strong resonant echoes of what's happening in the world today. ("I wasn't the only survivor in recent years to be accused of pulling a real0life Gone Girl, to fail the purity test for girls who come back alive.")

And the novel's central challenge is to  all of us — especially us men — demanding that we more deeply examine how we look upon young women and how we behave around them, and develop our empathy muscles so we can see how we look in their eyes. And if we get a little closer to getting there because of Laura McHugh's brilliant new novel, we may someday emerge from a greater darkness.

What a satisfying mystery, and had an ending I never even thought of.
Sarabeth was kidnapped....and then returned.  Five years later, more mysterious things have happened in her hometown.  Sara left her ultra religious family after the kidnapping- nobody believed her anyway.  But now here sister is getting married, and she is ready to go home, and maybe solve her own mystery.

4.5 stars
I always know I'm in for a treat with a Laura McHugh novel. This one was no exception. It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole book just wanting to read enough to see if I was right. I have no love for people who twist the Bible (or any holy book) to further their own agenda or control people. Pastor Rick and his church were just a vehicle to oppression of women. That makes my heart sad because there are flesh and blood people who still buy into women as second citizens. I encourage anyone who likes well put together suspense to read this one

I was so excited that one of my most favorite authors, Laura McHugh, and her publisher, Penguin Random House, gave me the opportunity to read an early copy of her latest amazing novel that will be coming out in June! If you aren’t familiar with Laura’s work, this is her fourth book, and all her previous books are wonderful.  I made my living as a high school English teacher once upon a time, so I can tell you with authority that she is truly something special. So if you haven’t read ALL her books, you are missing a treat. They are all stand-alone books, and the titles are The Weight of Blood, Arrowood, The Wolf Wants In, and this new one will be What’s Done in Darkness.

The book has a main character who thinks she has escaped the worst of her past, but through (never confusing) flashbacks the reader follows her on her harrowing journey into a dangerous religious cult, relives with her a terrifying kidnapping, and then agonizes with her as she has to try to gather the courage to face her past to reach someone she loves who is still trapped in the clutches of the cult.  Along the way, McHugh is a master of characterization and setting; I always find myself completely immersed in her stories and very invested in her characters. Laura McHugh can really tell a story! Do yourself a favor and preorder it today (along with her other books while you are at it). Oh, and you might want to read this one with the lights on.

Another excellent offering from Laura McHugh. Atmospheric and fast paced, this is a recommended purchase for all collections where thrillers are popular.

Nobody does atmosphere like Laura McHugh! I've read every one of her books and part of me is a little sad at how hard this was to put down - because it meant that it was over so quickly! As with her bother books, "What's Done in Darkness" has such great character development. You're quickly invested in both the characters and the setting/story. Through the entire book, you feel as if you're there. I cannot recommend this (and McHugh's other books) enough! You won't regret it.

Laura McHugh's novels never disappoint, and this one is fabulous! This novel looks at a young woman who was kidnapped as a teen while working at a food stand in a rural area of the Ozarks. Years, later, when other young women go missing under similar circumstances, she is contacted by authorities. She returns to her family home for her sister's wedding and the hopes of finding out who kidnapped her and who might be doing this to the other missing girls. 
The setting of this book is expertly done--so visual and colorful. McHugh is very thoughtful of her characters and they have been crafted so well. 
I'm already looking forward to the next book by McHugh!

Disclaimer: As a lifelong resident of the Midwest, my background may influence my opinion.

Alright, so when you drive down roads in the Midwest and see specs of little farmhouses, scattered and widely dispersed in the distance, do you also think about how easy it would be to murder someone there? ...or make drugs? Basically envision a Walter White-Ted Bundy mash-up of possibilities? 

No? Well, sue me. I do. 

And apparently, McHugh does too (praise gawd!) and writes about it. Enter 'What's Done in Darkness,' her newest novel which is set to release in June from Random House publishers. 

Sarabeth is only seventeen when she is taken. Working a fruit stand selling produce from her family's farm, she's snatched up, kept in darkness for a week, then left at a rest stop slightly bloodied but otherwise unharmed. 

Her religiously strict parents did not even report her missing, which she writes off as their thinking she ran away. She'd planned to run away, but that's not really the point; they're her parents. Her family is a vice around her worldly desire to get out and do wild things -- use the internet, drink soda, date, go to college, etc. Her parents plan, for instance, to arrange a marriage for her so she can become a housewife, tend to her husband, and make babies. But no one asked her. So, as a teen, *of course she wanted to run away.

Flash forward five years and more girls are missing. Seeing similarities between the girls' home lives and Sarabeth's during her abduction, Det. Farrow gets in touch with Sarah (who changed her name after being taken) to see if she can help the case. 

Thus begins the story of Sarah going home. The search for the newly missing girls continues, but perhaps Sarah's search for her own answers bears more weight on her mind as she works through her trauma while also searching for the girls. 

A good mystery, a solid plot, and with multiple options for closure McHugh keeps readers guessing until the end. I recommend you check it out! 

**This advanced reader copy was granted to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Some family secrets are cloaked in shadow, others in darkness, and some descend into a pitch black abyss. No one is better at exploring these back alleys than Laura McHugh, whose exceptional debut novel The Weight Of Blood won the ITW Thriller Award for Best First Novel. What’s Done In Darkness follows a similar theme as we dig into the life story of Sarabeth from her strictly religious upbringing, through her terrifying abduction at age seventeen, to her young adult mission to save her younger sister from an abusive family and an arranged marriage. A mission that requires she return home, a place she had left far behind, and confront her own painful past. A visit complicated by her alliance with investigator Nick Farrow, who believes the disappearance of another young girl is connected to Sarabeth’s own teenage abduction. The story moves seamlessly back and forth in time and the plot twists are many and clever. Sarabeth is a wonderfully drawn character as are the others that populate this story. The setting is vivid, the plot tight, and the dialog spot on. Laura McHugh is one of my favorite storytellers and this book is the perfect example of why. Grab a copy now. You’ll love it. Then reward yourself by reading her other works.

DP Lyle, award-winning author of the Jake Longly and Cain/Harper thriller series

This kind of plotline is right up my alley-- past and present back-and-forth, religious trauma, mystery-- and I plowed through this slim little book in approximately one afternoon. Ultimately, it lacked a fair amount of depth (in part due to its length) and never really felt particularly mysterious. A solid 3.

WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS, by Laura McHugh, follows Sarabeth, abducted at seventeen by an unknown party, who five years later is asked for help by Nick, an investigator who is looking into similar abductions.  Nick sees the current abductions as having connections to Sarabeth's.  As Sarabeth returns to the life she left five years ago and as she reconnects with her past, assumptions around her abduction start shifting and the truths become lies and secrets start to bubble to the surface.  Sarabeth has to determine what is truth, what is a lie, and what is a secret buried so deep it might be better to never reveal it.
   As the story begins, Sarabeth has created a life that is completely separate from who she was pre-abduction.  When she returns to her family and community to help Nick with his investigation, she immediately throws up emotional walls and is guarded about everything she says and does.  McHugh does a good job of depicting the ever-present feeling of Sarabeth teetering on the edge of control and the reader is constantly in doubt whether she will keep it together as she delves deeper and deeper into her past.  At a certain point in the book, once Sarabeth's return is established, the pace slows down almost to the point of boredom, but eventually as the reader heads towards the finale, the pace picks up and the revelations start jumping out faster and faster.  The end of the book is exciting and rewarding as the whole truth is revealed.
   The middle of the book slows down a little to much for my liking, but I still enjoyed WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS a lot.  McHugh has a real knack for writing uncomfortableness, in a way that readers appreciate and can relate to in their own lives.  A pulse-racing, emotional rollercoaster of a tale.

What’s Done in Darkness by Laura McHugh
Rating: 5stars

Summary: A teenage girl living under strict religious family beliefs after her fathers indiscretion, and moved them to a rural farm is abducted at the family’s food stand. She is freed and set free from her family and as she begins her new life she is asked by a state police officer for help looking for similarities is two missing girls. This helps her unravel her own abduction and begin a life.

Comments: McHugh writes a taught rural noir with great efficiency.  The story moves a clipped pace and she does a nice job avoiding getting bogged down anywhere in the novel. I was very excited to be able to receive and early copy and review it. Highly recommended.

Years ago, I purchased a previous Laura McHugh novel, The Weight of Blood. It sat in my TBR pile for years before it ended up in a box that went to the resale shop. What an IDIOT I was!  After reading this stellar 5 star story I have since gone and repurchased not only that one but anything else I can find from this author!  This is an absolutely GRIPPING, atmospheric and emotional page-turner. Sarabeth is kidnapped and held for a week at age 17. No one believes her, as her family are members of an extremely strict, weird church. What follows is a story that flips back and forth between Sarabeth then and Sara (she has dropped the Beth) 5 years later. Another girl is missing and Sara is asked to revisit what happened to her. The author paints a very vivid mental picture of the desperation of a young girl who just wants a normal life and is stuck living in a fanatical household. This story also brings up the question that sometimes blood family is not always the healthiest option. I loved this and am eagerly starting my other Laura McHugh books now!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Laura McHugh and Random House for granting this much appreciated ARC wish for me!