An engaging thriller that left me guessing - I loved the detailed characters & their backgrounds, how different storylines came together, and how the characters learned and healed throughout the novel. Intriguing, quick read with enough "bad guys" to make you mad and redemption to make you hopeful!

Iris is a dedicated mother to her sweet son, Finn, who deals with life-threatening food allergies. Iris struggles to make friends, presents as being very stand off-ish to other parents in the community, and has the local police station on speed dial to report her noisy neighbors.

As we unpack her past, we begin to understand why Iris is the way she is and we also learn about the power of relationships and second chances.

What is love:
✨Sympathetic main character - it’s hard not to love Iris! I wanted to know why she’s a protective mother who borders on “crying wolf” too frequently. The past POV chapters fully developed Iris.
✨ Genre mash-up: romance, suspense - in fact, the suspense elements were my favorite parts. Hopefully, Grossell Dickey continues with this formula.
✨ Binge-able, easy reading - the first chapter grabbed my attention, and the short chapters made me want to find out “what happens next.”

What didn’t work for me:
✨Insta-love - if you love that romance trope, this will only be a big plus for you.
✨Lots of plot lines - some of which could be triggering, so please review them before reading.

Iris In The Dark is another book to through in your beach bag! At the heart of this binge-able read is a story of survival. You’ll be rooting for Iris throughout this book!

This was a pageturner !
It was such a fast read for me, it pulled me in and I kept reading wanting to know what was going on. The main character, Iris, is trying to make a life for herself and her child, following a difficult past. The author explores the ways in which abuse can affect and dictate elements of our personality through several of the characters. As suggested by the title, darkness is a recurring theme. But there was sweet romance as well - hope and a movement forward. I felt the balance between romance and suspense was well done it was compelling enough and sweet enough!

Iris is a single mom who has worked hard to escape her troubled past. When her close friend and employer Lowell asks her to consider managing his lodge, she takes her son Finn to the South Dakota prairie. While adjusting to her new surroundings, she meets the handsome neighbor Sawyer and his daughter. For the first time in a long while, she feels safe. That is, until she hears voices on an old walkie talkie at night. The voice gets more and more desperate, terrifying Iris as she is forced to confront her past to protect herself and her son.

What a story!! It was so complex and beautifully written. Iris is a strong female lead character - she was bullied from a young age and her boyfriend was abusive, but she escaped. She literally left with nothing except the baby in her belly, and it was Lowell and his partner who gave her a safe space. Their friendship was so beautiful - practically fathers and daughter. As Iris’ past catches up to her, I was surprised to see how the story unfolded and how her past and future fit together.

Thank you to Netgalley, Amazon Publishing and Elissa Grossell Dickey for the ARC!

This review will be posted to my Instagram
blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly 😊

Iris in the Dark is a thriller and a romance story. The story is about Iris, a survivor of domestic abuse, and her son. The book shows how long lasting the impacts of abuse are and how generational trauma can be passed on. It has a slow start but picks up about halfway through and becomes hard to put down. I would recommend this to anyone that likes thrillers or the instant love trope.

Iris in the Dark by Elissa Grossell Dickey is a book I was looking forward to reading. The description sounded enticing. The opening chapters were well-written, setting up the story and I was pleased to be digging into this thriller. This is the tale of Iris and her young son Finn, who live in South Dakota and the gist is that she moved to the country to evade a brutal past. When she learns that her job at the local paper may not last, Iris moves to a lodge to find out if managing it will be a good fit. There will be the usual caretaker who quickly becomes the love interest in a most unrealistic fashion. There are indications that her past may be following her. I gave up on Iris in the Dark with forty pages left to read and I could not have cared less about the ending. Many of the characters were bland and whiny. The plot was completely without realistic scenarios. I understand this is a work of fiction but it should be at least somewhat believable. This is only my own opinion and I am sure that many will enjoy this novel. Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A solid read from Elissa Grossell Dickey. I'm excited to recommend this book to library patrons or maybe use it in a book club as there are lots of good talking points.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Iris is a single mom, and her son Finn is her world. They live a cozy, quiet and most importantly, safe life. When they go house-sit at a lodge for a friend, Iris works to overcome her fears and have a fun, carefree week at a beautiful place with her son. The caretaker, Sawyer, turns out to be a surprise blessing not only because he is very handsome *winky face* but is extremely helpful and helps Iris relax and feel safe. But when a disturbing scream wakes Iris in the middle of the night from a walkie talkie in the house and the strange voice begins to make personal accusations at Iris, her fear returns full force. Someone knows about her past and real danger may be coming back to find her.

If you’re looking for a good suspenseful read, I recommend Iris In The Dark.

Iris is a single mother with a difficult past, but she knows there is light after the dark. She takes on a job house sitting at a lodge in South Dakota when she feels some comfort. Until, she hears a voice on a walkie talkie coming from a toy box screaming help. How creepy is that?
.
I don’t want to give to much away but this one obviously had thriller qualities but at its heart there is a lot of romance, which I didn’t expect!
.
Thank you #lakeunion and @letsgetreadpr for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thankfully this is a fairly short book, because it took me over half-way to become invested. I guess from the synopsis that I thought it was going to be more spooky and thrilling, but it's definite slowburn.

At first I was annoyed by Iris's characterization, which seemed to be all over the place. She's shown as this paranoid, overprotective mother, but then she just leaves her son alone with this man she's only known a couple of days. Another thing that always makes me cringe in books is when characters fall in love after only a few days, and this book is definitely guilty of that.

This book did pick up for me though, and there was a solid twist. I also enjoyed learning more about Iris's past and why she was so paranoid about everything. Be warned though that the book deals with some dark themes, including human trafficking.

Tough, achingly real, and filled with suspense.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me an ARC of Iris in the Dark, all my opinions are my own.
I found this book emotional and suspenseful. It takes a lot for me to truly feel engrossed in a thriller and this story did that (along with a dash of a fast-paced romance). I was pulled in by the psychological drama and how as we come to learn of Iris's past, it threads into other parts of the story and mystery. The story was a bit predictable, but I still enjoyed it. Will definitely add Elissa Grossell Dickey to my list of authors to pick more books from.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with this book for review. A dark unsettling read, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Iris in the Dark I'd a moving and suspenseful story with some romance. Iris is an interesting character she's finally found some light and now a past she isn't proud of is coming back to haunt her. She's strong and that's one of the reasons I enjoyed her character. I also enjoyed the creepy factor that the book gives off. There were a few slower moments but over all the pace was pretty steady. There were a few twists some were predictableandsome weren't. Overall I enjoyed the story its a character driven story so I was pretty invested in seeing how everything turned out for her!

From the moment I started Iris in the Dark by Elissa Grossell Dickey I knew I was going to like it, and I thought it was so good that I didn't want to put it down! This is a really quick read, and you could easily read it in one sitting. I loved that it was fairly suspenseful as well as being an emotional story that was at times a sucker punch to the heart. There are some tough things Dickey touches on like abuse, and I was surprised by how many moments actually brought tears to my eyes. Emotions of the characters also run high, and even though I knew Iris had done things she wasn't proud of, she was a super sympathetic character and I not only felt for her but loved her as well. It made me so happy that she knew her worth and was able to get out of a bad situation, even if the past does try to catch up with her in a scary and uncomfortable way.

There is also a little bit of a romance aspect to Iris in the Dark, even though this is in no way the point of the book. I loved having it though as it was a heartwarming piece and brought some happiness to the book along with the sadness and toughness of the story itself. Iris's son was completely adorable as well, and there were a few times I laughed out loud, so don't think this is a doom and gloom story because there really is a lot of light to it too. That being said, I did want to punch one of the cops in the mouth, so there are frustrating characters to be had here and parts that will definitely make you mad. Iris in the Dark is also on Kindle Unlimited for those of you that have it and are interested in checking it out. I got the audiobook off of there and the narrator Christine Williams was a pleasure to listen to, so I highly recommend it. I will be going back to read Dickey's debut for sure, and I will read whatever she writes next!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Chilling and Suspenseful!
Iris and her son Finn has been on the run for a reason that isn’t revealed to the readers until the second half of this book. She is taking over a B&B of her friends cabin and she tells herself she will be safe here.
The police, think she is a crazy person, wasting their time with constant calls panicking someone is attempting to break in her place. What is her story and is she even believable?

I loved how the author slowly built this story up, shielding the reader, from the past to make it a whirlwind fast paced twisted ending. Page-turner!

This was the first I’ve read from this author but I will definitely be reading more.

Thank you for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Iris works at the Prairie Daily News in small-town South Dakota. She and her young son live in a small house and keep mostly to themselves. When Iris’s boss Gordon asks her to fill in at his lodge while he’s out of town, Iris agrees to try it out for a weekend. During Iris and Finn’s stay, a threatening voice on an old walkie-talkie seems to know too much about the dark past Iris has tried to put behind her. Can Iris keep her secrets and protect her new life and budding romance?

Iris’s past is slowly revealed through flashbacks as chapters alternate with the present situation. The stress of hiding her traumatic previous life comes to a head as she begins to open up to new people and attempt to have relationships she’s avoided for the last eight years to protect her and Finn’s safety. There is tension and drama to keep the pages turning with the hidden past storyline. Romance enters the picture as Iris lets herself become vulnerable for a chance at a healthy and loving relationship.

While I enjoyed the story and became engrossed in Iris’s past, I did find a few too many coincidences to make the story come together in the end. I also figured out the mysterious voice early on in the book but found it wasn’t that big of a spoiler in light of the potential for Iris’s past to come back and haunt her. That’s the real meat of the story in my opinion.

Read this one if you’re looking for a fast-paced romantic suspense story with a good balance of psychological drama and a promising new relationship. Iris’s hidden previous life keeps you on the edge of your seat as she attempts to rise above her past and learn to value herself and open up to others.

She won't be consumed by darkness again...

For nearly a decade, Iris has worked hard to change her life around. She and her son are delighted to temporarily move into a lodge to help care for it while the owner is out of town. With everything she has been through, Iris feels prepared to handle any possible threat, but she couldn't be more wrong. When a disturbing voice calls out for help through a walkie talkie in a toy box, Iris can't help but feel that her past is catching up with her. With support from her neighbour, Sawyer, who is also the caretaker for the lodge, can Iris face her past? Or will she be swept into the dark again?
I was pleasantly surprised by this book, as it far exceeded my expectations. This novel kept me guessing until almost the very end, and I couldn't wait to find out who was on the other end of the walkie talkie. This story alternates between present and past, and learning more about the life Iris led helped me understand her better. I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys suspense novels!

The cover is one of the most beautiful I've seen in a long time!

The book was enjoyable enough, though I think it fits more in the women's fiction genre than mystery at the end of the day. It started off with a bang, but eventually came very close to something I'd expect to watch in a Lifetime movie.

I think the main problem is that Dickey wanted to add a little bit of everything in there, so it felt a little cluttered. One minute there is this mysterious and creepy walkie talkie and the next minute it's all about romance. If it wasn't such an instant, cheesy romance, I think it would have worked out.

Sadly, Iris in the Dark tried to be a lot of things and the main premise of the book was forgotten in the midst of it all.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I want to start by saying I absolutely love this cover! It is so pretty and peaceful looking.
Iris In The Dark is a great romantic suspense book. Beautifully written, it kept me interested the entire time. I was so intrigued to learn about Iris and her past. I wouldn’t consider it a thriller, but it does lean towards darker topics.
Trigger warnings include domestic abuse, drugs, human trafficking, violence.