A mystery thriller in an unusual setting with unique characters. Cara Kennedy has been medically retired from the police force due t0 her mental health issues after the death of her husband and son, who went out for a walk and didn't come back. But she doesn't think they are dead and, as it turns out, the bones she buried are not theirs. So whose are they? Cara joins forces with Ellie, a reformed criminal, whose son Timmy has been found dead to get answers about the photographs she finds on the camera of a bad guy. It won't be clear how Mia, who is working and living under an alias, hooks into the story initially. Her back story is most interesting. While this is occasionally awkward, it's also got a great setting in Point Mettier and the characters are interesting. I missed the first novel but this was fine as a standalone (there's more than enough back story). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

All this book made me want to do is pick up the first book in the series. I have never read this author, but I'm so glad I have. She is definitely going in on my must read author's list.

It's been over a year since Cara's husband and son were killed and she's still looking for answers. The answers take her back to a small, isolated village in Alaska. The story is told from multiple points of view alternate between Cara, Mia, and Ellie which all play pivotal roles in the story that makes this book a thought-provoking, and emotional action-packed, suspenseful tale.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

Cara Kennedy is an Anchorage detective and she still mourns the deaths of her husband and young son. However, she has recently learned that their deaths may not have been accidental and is determined to discover the truth. Having previously solved a difficult murder case, Cara soon finds herself torn between her need for answers as well as a new case involving a victim named Mia Upash.

However, Cara is on disability, as she has not coped well the loss of her family. Yet she remains strongly determined to investigate matters as much as she can. For starters, she has the bodies of her husband and son exhumed and is shocked at what she discovers.

Meanwhile, there is more than one narration in this second book in the Cara Kennedy series by Iris Yamashita. The first book in this engaging series was City Under One Roof. Both books are quite good, and in this case Cara finds herself pitted against Ellie the woman who manages a unique building in Port Mettier, someone she has never quite got along with. Meanwhile, Mia, the newest victim, also has a point of view as the story develops.

Cara finds herself investigating in the small village of Unity, which is a safe haven for women needing protection from their abusers. What Cara soon finds provides a sharp twist in this story. Meanwhile, Cara had entered into a relationship with a cop she met in Port Mettier and it was interesting in this second book in the series the direction their relationship has taken, especially with more on the investigation regarding her family.

This second book in the series was an excellent read and kept my attention from beginning to end. The relationships between the characters as well as the mix of old and new cases kept me riveted to the story. As this story is strongly connected to the first book, City Under One Roof, these books should be read in order. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Village in the Dark is an enthralling murder mystery that will send shivers down your spine. This captivating tale is filled with unforgettable characters and culminates in a breathtaking conclusion.

This is the second book in a series about Anchorage Police Detective Cara Kennedy. The first book, which I just finished, was City Under One Roof.

Cara's husband and son disappeared over a year ago while hiking. Human remains were found and identified as them but Cara questions whether it really was her family.

While she is looking into whether her husband and son are really dead, two other women are involved in their own investigations that criss cross with Cara's.

The story is told from multiple points-of-view, which I appreciated, but the storyline was rather convoluted and hard to believe at times (maybe a bit more sci fi than mystery). But, even so, I still enjoyed it and still rated it four stars.

I received this Digital Review Copy from Berkley Publishing through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review. This is that review.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my e-arc of Village in the Dark! I so wanted to enjoy this one but it was unfortunately a miss for me and I DNFed.

I really enjoyed this sequel to Iris Yamashita’s City Under One Roof. It really kept the pages turning and I was interested from the start to the finish.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. I was thrilled to be able to advance read this thriller starring Cara Kennedy. I loved the first one in this series and this one did not disappoint. I especially enjoy how Yamashita ties the two story lines together. 4 solid stars

Alaska, by itself, is an intriguing mystery setting, but remote, secret villages and of course the city under one roof readers learned about in the previous book combine to make a perfect example of setting as a character. This one had some heart pounding reveals and characters that made good additions to the cast from the previous book. This is one to read in order as it builds on storylines from the previous book.

Detective Cara Kennedy is still grieving the tragic loss of her husband and child and has been deemed unfit to return to duty. When she finds that the death of her family may not have been an accident, she has their bodies exhumed and autopsied. What she finds shakes her world and sends her on a search for the truth. Pictures found on a phone recovered from a dead body lead Cara on a wild search to solve the mystery of who the people in the pictures might be and how they’re connected to her late husband and son. She receives help in the most unlikely places.

Twists, turns, secrets, surprises, danger, and more.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book will introduce you to the vast wilderness that is Alaska. The author takes you from the miles long tunnel under a mountain, to the snow machines (vernacular for snowmobiles), to the aerial view from the small planes that might be the only way to get in and out of a remote location. From the city of Anchorage, to "Point Mettier, Alaska (inspired but not wholly based on the real-life Whittier, Alaska), where all 205 residents live in the same high-rise building".

I was also touched by the author's knowledge of indigenous people and language, and the mythology that informed so much of the traditions in the small villages. It's a place where the Aurora Borealis holds mystical power. And even though this book is fiction, it is appalling to know that so many people, especially women, choose to live off the grid because of a fear of their past.

And finally, this is a great thriller based on missing persons, a pharmaceutical company, some bad actors, and the people that will go to great lengths to stop them.

This book is part of a series, although I did see it listed as such. The first book was City Under One Roof. It's not necessary to read the first book, though it would have helped me with some slight confusion I had at the beginning of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an advance reader's copy and for allowing me to take part in the blog tour for Village in the Dark.

First, thank you to Netgalley & Berkley Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for a review – all thoughts are my own.

I read City Under One Roof last year and was intrigued enough to want to continue with the same set of characters, mainly Cara Kennedy for the sequel. Going back to that review, I gave it a 3.5/5 star and that is my exact star rating for this one as well, but for different reasons. I actually did like this one better for the majority of the book, because I had noted that City Under One Roof felt very open-ended and I wasn’t sure if there would be more closure in a second book but there were enough threads that it could continue. And here we are.

Village in the Dark picked up pretty soon after the events of City Under One Roof ended and I’m thankful for the slight recap in the beginning of this book to help piece it all back together. Here we start with Detective Cara, obsessed with finding out what happened to her missing husband and son who had been declared dead when bones were found in the Alaskan wilderness. At the end of City, she found their picture on a gang member’s phone, evoking suspicion that foul play was absolutely the cause of their deaths instead of the accident it was originally ruled. This is a strong plotline that we get to follow throughout the book, so I liked that main thread propelling the characters forward. This book seemed more grounded because of that.

I enjoyed keeping Cara’s perspective but adding two different ones in Ellie & Mia as opposed to Lonnie & Amy. The shift made sense and I loved the three strong female leads. Short chapters and different POVs with a little bit of flashback/alternating timelines thrown in kept me turning the pages. I didn’t want to put it down.

My main complaint would be that this book breezed through the ending. For as violent as the action was and the quick pace making it an easy-to-binge book, the conclusion was a little lackluster. I have some spoilery thoughts (below), but there was so much set up and backstory for Cara, Ellie, and especially Mia in this book that by the time we got to the climax, it jumped ahead. Like oh, okay, I didn’t read all 250+ pages of build up and backstory to fade to black in the last 10 pages. However, the loose ends felt a lot more wrapped up in this one but I could easily see picking up another Cara Kennedy mystery in the future if the author wanted to continue.

Overall thoughts: still a very creative setting with clear research into the Alaskan wilderness and natives. These are quick reads, both under 300 pages in a wintery setting to binge and pick up again when a new one comes out. Recommended for those who want mystery but not necessarily “scary” – there were some intense parts in this book, but nothing too eerie that would keep you up at night.
**spoiler starts here

Let’s start with what I referenced above about the conclusion being lackluster. Cara’s whole motivation in life is to find out what happened to Aaron and Dylan and when it’s revealed that they are alive and they reunite, she spends virtually no time with Aaron. They keep getting interrupted while she is questioning him and her reaction is very mellow. Then he’s immediately killed and she’s like well, at least I’m in love with JB. It felt like such an odd way to react.

In City, I described Cara as smart and easy to root for. She made some rookie mistakes in this book that felt like a backslide. For one, she starts by recruiting Ellie and trying to walk into the gang’s house that she just killed and maimed. How was this going to accomplish anything? Then she believes her car is being tracked as opposed to her phone?! Girl. It is 2024. Phone data is everywhere and easily accessible and you don’t even hesitate to say it’s the car being tracked and quite literally nothing else could’ve led them to us. Okay.

JB… my dude. He bothered me by the end of this book so much. Cara learns her husband and son are ALIVE and his first question is whining asking if she’ll still be his girlfriend. Be better. Their chemistry never really made sense in City and it never really flourished in this one either, so that added layer of drama felt really forced. I’m okay that they ended up together because he seems like a better person overall than Aaron (if my husband faked his own dead and took my child and didn’t bother to try to make contact for years, I would probably shoot him on the spot upon reunion haha). But the “woe is me” attitude to get there kind of made me not root for him for a few pages.

I think I liked Ellie’s perspective the most. Mia’s was interesting because she was so removed from most of the characters the whole time but Ellie stayed the most true to character. She’s an elderly hardass who set out on a mission and accomplished it without a lot of outside help. I liked that she was able to get a bit of a redemption arc when she found Dylan and he stayed with her while Cara was in the hospital.

The Village in the Dark is the second book in the Cara Kennedy series set in Alaska. Detective Cara Kennedy lost her husband and son after they went missing on a hike in remote Alaska. But now, it seems that their deaths may be tied to other deaths and disappearances so their bodies have been exhumed. As the story unfolds, we learn about things that her husband never made Cara aware of which leave more questions about what really happened to her family. With the help of Joe Barkowski and the people of Point Mettier, Cara digs deep to unravel the truth. This story is full of atmosphere, action, and twists. The author's style of writing brings the characters and events to life. This one was a real page turner for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishers for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

I received a gifted galley of VILLAGE IN THE DARK by Iris Yamashita for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Rating: 3.5 / 5
Publication Date: 2/13/2024

VILLAGE IN THE DARK is the second book in the author's Cara Kennedy mystery series set in Alaska. Cara has uncovered new information leading her to more questions about the death of her husband and son, leading her to exhume the bodies for answers. Mia is a young woman who grew up entirely off the grid in a community called Unity, a place where women and children can hide from abusive men. Mia has ties to the mystery in play, though the exact connection is not known.

I enjoyed CITY UNDER ONE ROOF when I read it last year, so was looking forward to having the opportunity to read the follow up. The first book had a well wrapped up mystery, but it also started to ask questions about Cara's lost loved ones which led naturally into this second book. While the book does catch the reader up on where things were left off in the first book, I do think you get more out of this book if you go back to the previous installment.

I had a good time with this mystery and guessing how the different POV characters would wind up all merging together in one book. I did wind up enjoying Cara's POV the most. Mia's story took me a bit to get invested in, but I really wound up enjoying learning more about the village where she grew up and how she tied into the mystery of Cara's family. The third POV is a return character from the first book and that one didn't draw me in quite as well as the other two, but overall I enjoyed the story arc.

I was glad to revisit this unique setting in Alaska and would definitely pick up more from this author in the future!

I read the first one in this series and was familiar with the characters. I suppose you could read it as a stand alone because it does give you details from the first book, but it would be easier to read in order.

True to form, the first half is the mystery unraveling and the second half is intense. Murder. Conspiracy. Drugs. Gangs. People on the run. Foul play. Cover ups. Relationships. Death of family members. Mystery. Found family. Web of lies and intrigue. Remote village in Alaska. Female detective AKA badass.

Village in the Dark by Cara Kennedy is an enthralling mystery that takes readers on a journey deep into the heart of a dark and twisted plot. As Detective Cara Kennedy delves into the case, secrets start to unravel and nothing is as it seems.

Pros:
✅ The author's descriptive writing style vividly brings the eerie setting to life, left me on the edge of my seat, most of the time.
✅ The plot is complex and multi-layered, with unexpected twists and turns.
✅ The character development is good, with each character having a unique and important role to play in the story.

Cons:
❌ While the plot is engaging, there are certain parts that feel dragged out and could have been condensed to keep the pacing steady.
❌ The dialogue comes across as stiff and unnatural at times, making it harder to fully immerse oneself in the story.

Note that this is the second book in a series and I had not read the first book, which may have impacted my experience reading the book.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Books and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy. This book will be coming out on 13 Feb 2024.

Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita is the second book in the Cara Kennedy series that started with City Under One Roof. This mystery series is set in Alaska and features a detective on forced leave. It acts as a continuation of Book 1, and I devoured it quickly as it solved a case I eagerly wanted to know more about from City Under One Roof. You definitely want to read these books in order.

First, I absolutely loved all the twists and turns, many of which I didn’t see coming, and the fast pace. I sped through it quickly in one day, as I couldn’t put it down until it resolved into something that could very possibly lead to more books in the series. I loved that the mystery of what happened to Cara’s husband and son is no longer a mystery. After reading the first book, I wanted to know more but was afraid it would never be known. I am satisfied with having that mystery solved once and for all.

The only thing that could have been different for my reading taste is that all the backstories could have been condensed. The drama of the last 25% could have been drawn out more from a development perspective. Obviously, I can’t say too much. Still, I would have liked Cara to have a chance to get everything out more fully (in a way that the reader could experience it) that’s been haunting her for the last year.

Ultimately, this is a fantastic new thriller series with a unique setting and a cast that brings on all of the feels.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for a copy of this book.

3.5⭐️
An atmosphere police/detective murder mystery set in a small village in Alaska.
This is the second in the series and I feel it would have been even better if I read that first. Which is my fault! I definitely recommend reading that first.
This book has three POVs, Cara, Ellie and Mia. Cara, a police officer, just lost her husband and son in a terrible accident. Ellie learns of her son’s death, which is deemed an overdose. We learn of Mia’s story which involves working at a big pharmaceutical company leads us to where she is today which links to the other two ladies. After twists and turns we find out that the deaths and disappearances are related to one another. And they set on a dangerous path to learn the truth.
This is a fast paced thriller that will have you hooked. Be sure to read the first book and preorder the sequel today!

**Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the eARC of this title.**

I do think I would have enjoyed this one a bit more if I had read the first book in the series (oops, that one's on me.) However, I found the dialogue and characters to be a bit too ridiculous to really connect with. Just the way the main character spoke and behaved was extremely erratic, and I couldn't make myself connect to her or any of the major supporting characters.

I thought the plot was interesting enough to get this one to 3 stars for me, and the author did an amazing job of setting the scene and making this one chilly and atmospheric. I think it helped a bit that I went to Alaska for the first time last September, and even went through a creepy long tunnel similar to the one in this book!

Check this one out if you like detective novels, boisterous characters, and chilly settings. I recommend reading the first book to get a bit more background before diving into this one, but worth a read either way!

Village in the Dark has something for everyone. Corporate greed, lots of shoot-outs, some romance, fast pace, and more. There are a number of inconsistencies and at least one unbelievable moment when Aaron confides in Mia, whom he barely knows. Anyone who likes a fast-paced read and doesn’t mind a lot of blood and a touch of cruelty, will devour the book.