Thank you to @thrillerbookloverpromotions for the #gifted copy of the book.

This is the second book in the Jess Lambert series. I was immediately drawn into the story of Alice and her family who went missing one night after a crash. Alice was the only one who lived. A year last after so many unanswered questions, she and her friend Maya find her sister, Ella’s book bag. What does this mean? It forces Alice to deal with the past. She has to remember the things that she has fought so hard to forget.

I loved this book. It was creepy, atmospheric and kept me on the edge of my seat as I devoured every page. Don’t miss this book!

4.5 stars

After a car accident 16-year-old Alice Harper was found on the side of the road, but where were the rest of her family? It was as if they just vanished into thin air. One year later, Detective Jess Lambert takes over the case when new evidence surfaces. Jess will do everything she can to find out what happened to the Harper’s.

What Lies In Darkness is the second book in the Jess Lambert series, and there is also a novella between books one and two. Although this one can be read as a standalone, it is recommended to read These Still Black Waters first.

This book had everything I look for in a thriller - short chapters, multiple perspectives, and twists I didn’t see coming. The setting of Black Lake was atmospheric, eerie, and perfect for this story. I loved that McDonald throws in some horror elements as well, and she definitely painted a creepy picture at times.

Jess Lambert is a detective whose story I look forward to continuing to read. She’s tough yet emotional, and it was nice to see a detective use those emotions to solve a case no one else had been able to. Grief was a main theme in this book, and we see it in both Jess and Alice. McDonald did an amazing job showing how overwhelming loss of a loved one can be while intertwining those emotions with solving this mystery.

The ending of this book totally blew me away! I didn’t see so many of the twists coming, and that makes this a must read thriller in my opinion.

Thank you to the author, Thomas and Mercer, and Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for a DRC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! It's not often that I give a sequel a higher rating than the 1st novel, but it is well deserved in this case. This story was mind blowing! I'm still in awe on how the author wove this plot together so seamlessly. How she tied it into Jess Lambert's history was very clever. This was a non-stop, thrill ride with many twists and turns that I never saw coming. I cannot wait to read more from this series! I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

This was definitely a page turner out of the other books for me. I was so curious the whole time what exactly was going on. Enjoyed that’s Jess Lambert was a part of this as well. My favorite parts of the book were when she was a part of it.

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by Thriller Book Lovers Promotions, Thomas & Mercer and Christina McDonald. The opinions are my own and freely given.

This is book #2 in the Jess Lambert series, and it is my FAVORITE book by Christina McDonald so far.

On Christmas Eve, 3 members of the Harper family disappear after a car crash, leaving Alice, the only surviving member. Although there is a search for her mom, dad and little sister, no one seems to find them. Fast forward 1 year later and as much as Alice is trying to move forward, she is still looking for answers. Enter Jess Lambert, who starts investigating after a bloodstained backpack is found.

So, Jess doesn't make an appearance really until several chapters in, but once she is in, she is in to stay. She investigates the Harper's disappearance, feels a connection with Alice and is still coming to terms with the death of her daughter. This book had me turning the pages, not wanting to put it down.

I loved how Jess has grown since the first book. Realizing that she has a drinking problem and still trying to rectify her life with Mac. Mac makes in appearance in the book and that leads to hope that they might one day reconnect, that things can be forgiven, although not forgotten.

I would recommend this book definitely. I don't feel that you have to read #1 Jess Lambert to read this (although I really like to read books in order, and I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading the first book.

This review is currently on goodreads, the librarything and storygraph
This will be posted on Instagram @kuhlreads on 2/16/24

I've said before that I'm not a massive lover of stories that involve ghosts, etc, but I've made an exception for this series because it is done in such a brilliant way. I absolutely adore Jess, even with all her faults and her issues. I am loving her storyline, but I hope there is a happy future for her and Mac.
The second book in this series, third if you count the prequel, and this was the best one by far. I loved it from page one and I'm hoping with everything in me that this series continues. Highly recommend.

I was on the fence about reading another Jess Lambert book as it was so different from what Christina usually writes. In this book, a family is in a car accident on Christmas Eve and all but one person disappears. A body is found in a basement, along with a backpack. Jess' daughter's spirit comes back to reveal herself and help her solve the case. The ending has some twists. The book was good; I just don't know that I need to read another cop series.

A year ago, on Christmas Eve, Alice Harper and her family were involved in a car crash that resulted in the disappearance (and likely deaths) of three family members. Alice’s memory of the crash is very vague and incomplete. She just remembers being found on the side of the road. Her family have never been found and Alice has struggled to cope while living with her aunt and uncle. Now Alice accepts an invitation from her friend Maya to dig through old items in the basement of an abandoned house which Maya’s mother is contracted to clean with her cleaning service business. In the house they are shocked to find a child’s backpack, which looks suspiciously like the one belonging to Alice’s missing little sister, and horrifyingly, a man’s body stuffed into a large suitcase. Is it Alice’s missing father? And if so where are the rest of the family? Detective Jess Lambert is on the case, still struggling to cope with her own grief after the death of her young daughter.

I think I was holding my breath through the last quarter of this book! Such a tense and gripping read. Jess Lambert is back, investigating the discovery of a body in an abandoned house and its possible connection to the mystery of the missing, and presumed dead, Harper family. The year-old mystery pulls the reader in immediately; it’s a snowy night in Killer’s Grove when the Harper family drive home and have a terrifying crash on the route. The car flips and lands on the roof, and teenaged Alice is found wandering on the road, injured and confused. Although the scene is covered in blood and broken glass, the remainder of the family has disappeared. The novel unfolds in a mix of flashbacks and present day, with multiple POV. The drama and dynamics between the family members is very realistic and I had a clear mental image of Mel and Laura in particular. It is a compelling and engrossing read, with lots of twists, including two unexpected jolts in the last quarter of the book. But it isn’t all thrills and spills – there is a great deal of heart and emotion in this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would say it is even better than the first one.

Many thanks to Christina McDonald and Thomas & Mercer for providing an e-copy to read.

Second in the series, What Lies in Darkness is a twisty thriller that will leave you tearing through the pages and longing for more. If you loved These Still Black Waters, as I did, this book is next and will not disappoint. Even though we continue to follow Detective Jess Lambert, you can read this as a standalone. Jess has many demons in her past, and now she might be connected to the missing family case she is investigating.
Sixteen-year-old Alice Harper finds herself alone, full of blood, and injured in a car accident. Her family is nowhere to be found. Fast forward one year, when Alice and her friends find her sister, Ella's, backpack in an abandoned house, the investigation begins. Emotions run deep, and the character's parallels are fascinating.
I devoured this book in a few days. It is unpredictable and unputdownable!

Read this if you love:
Dual timelines
Multiple POV's
Complex plot
Ghosts from the past

Thank you to Netgalley, and Christina McDonald for the early review copy.

4.5 stars

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 is a captivating read that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Despite not being a fan of ghost stories, I was pleasantly surprised by how seamlessly the author wove supernatural elements into the plot. The fast-paced narrative is filled with unexpected twists and turns that had me hooked, and the ending was unexpected . I eagerly anticipate the next installment in the series, hoping that Jess finds some happiness

A really great and quick mystery read. I really enjoy the world that this author is setting up for this series.

I liked this one but felt the first part was too slow. Toward the end the plot sped up and got better and overall was a good read

Just as good as the first book. Jess Lambert is back, investigating when a body has turned up in an abandoned house. She’s still battling with her own demons and seeing ghosts, but she’s determined to keep fighting for the ones that have no voice. As we read, we get multiple pov’s & every one of them is interesting. This story had me riveted. There was so much going on, but it weaved together so well. The last few chapters had my jaw dropping. Excellent sequel.

Picture this. A long dark deserted road and a sixteen year old found stumbling along bloody and all alone. Alice cannot recall the details of the night her family disappeared along that stretch of road after being in the car accident. Poor Alice can’t come to grips with why she’s was left and what happened to her entire family. Rumors swirl, nightmares continue and it seems like they are more questions than answers. Detective Jess Lambert is on the case and things get heated after Alice finds her sister’s bloody backpack 🎒 in an abandoned house. 😱 Alice sees ghosts and they are trying to lead her to find the answers to what happened that fateful night!

This was such a fun and thrilling read! I found myself whizzing through the pages to read “just one more page!” This is my second by this author and I am quickly learning Christina can tell an eerie ghost story that will have you peeking underneath your bed before you get in! Love it! This one kept me guessing until the end and just when you thought it was over there was one more twist and then another! This book is a sure fire way to make your heart pound and maybe sweat a little! 😅 This one comes out this summer and you won’t want to miss it!

This is a thriller you’re definitely going to want to get your hands on this summer! As an avid thriller reader, I love finding one that throws me for a loop and gets my blood pumping and this one did that for me! Mixed with equal parts procedural, family drama, trauma, and paranormal - it kept me on my toes and I had that “just one more chapter” feeling the entire time!

Told in multiple points of view, you get an idea of what’s going on but you never truly know until you KNOW. There are so many twists at the end and the story comes together perfectly! This is book 2 of the Jess Lambert series and I haven’t yet read book 1. Although I’m definitely going to because I’m now invested in Jess as a character, this one can definitely be read as a standalone!

Swipe for the official synopsis and run to goodreads to add this one to your shelf!

I have not read the first book in this series, but this one can be read as a stand-alone. I love a good police procedural and this one had such a unique premise-a deadly car crash where the victims’ bodies have disappeared. I really enjoyed Jess Lambert’s character and her backstory. In fact, I was not prepared at all for how emotional I would get while reading this! The story was so well told that I found myself more invested than I normally would be with a thriller. I highly recommend this to readers who like female detectives and well-developed characters!

This book was so intense. I was drawn in immediately and could not stop!

Jess is a police detective who suffered a leg injury in an auto accident that killed her daughter and all but ended her marriage. Her job is what she is clinging to and it keeps her going.

An entire family goes missing after a minor car accident. All except the teenage daughter, who is found near the accident site. But she doesn't really remember what happened.

Jess gets assigned the case, but isn't the lead. She is working under a younger, less experienced detective, and she does go rouge occasionally.

As tends to be her usual, Jess gets emotionally invested in the case and feels a bond with Alice, the surviving teen. They have mutual grief and survivor's guilt. Oh, and they see dead people!

There were so many twists and turns. The truth was peeled back layer by layer, keeping you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Thriller Book Lovers Promotions and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What Lies in Darkness again confirms that Christina McDonald can write twisty, interesting, gripping thrillers. It is so good!

The second in the Detective Jess Lambert series, but which can be read as a stand-alone, it is an emotional, taut, captivating read with a fast-paced plot filled with secrets, lies, betrayal, and a clever, surprising twist near the end.

I love the easy to read but descriptive writing that makes you feel that you are part of the scenes unfolding on the page. Jess is a great complicated character and to see her deal with her own losses and demons is just as interesting as the missing family case she is assigned to investigate in What Lies in Darkness. The author does a great job intertwining Jess’ past with the case so that the reader gets both a carefully plotted mystery and an emotional connection to Jess. I’ve read all the books in this series to date and am loving it!!

Can’t wait for the next story with Jess!

Thanks to Thriller Book Lovers Promotion, Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

This book was so GOOD!! I stayed up way too late last night so I could finish because I could not put it down. I HAD to know what happened. I was SHOCKED by the ending. Such a good book! Can't wait to read more by this author.

What Lies in Darkness is the second of the Jess Lambert series and after reading and loving These Still Black Waters last year, I was very excited for the next installment.

Jess Lambert is stellar protagonist - disabled after an accident the year prior that killed her daughter, her marriage is in shambles and she's clinging on for dear life trying to keep her career and life from spiraling out of control. What Lies in Darkness features a Jess on the mend. She's cleaning up her act and is a month sober, but still needing to prove to herself and to her job that she can handle it. Because of her grief and mistakes and recklessness, Lambert is sidelined as lead detective for Black Waters' latest case - one in which an entire family except one daughter has gone missing.

Working under a much more junior detective, Lambert has to re-learn what it means to be part of a team and not the lead dog.

Like her last case, Jess immediately gets overinvested and over emotional with the current case in hand. I loved the parallels between Jess and the survivor, Alice. Both grief stricken, both sensitive and able to see the dead.

If you're a lover of thrillers with a touch of horror, McDonald absolutely delivers with the Jess Lambert series. There were a few parts in this latest installment where I worried McDonald's images would haunt my dreams! She takes the creepiness to the next level and I was totally here for it.

This novel had other elements I love in a good thriller too - multiple narrators, dual timelines, and a complex plot. The ending gave me whiplash and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I learned, what was truth for the series, and where Lambert may go from here! It's safe to say McDonald has me totally hooked!

What Lies in Darkness can absolutely be read as a standalone. One thing I really loved about this second book in the series is that McDonald didn't bore us with a recap of These Still Black Waters. Details from the first book were inserted when and where as needed, but the reader was inundated or rereading the first book.

A huge thanks to Thriller Book Lovers Promotions for putting this series on my radar and to Thomas & Mercer for the copy.