Review: Darkness Follows by JL Drake

Emily McPhee is in the clutches of a monster… 

Despite the protection of her boyfriend Seth Connors and his colleagues with the Orange Police Department, Emily is imprisoned in a basement by her psychopathic stalker Jimmy Lasko. His bizarre behavior adds to her terror, and a video link forces Seth to witness her captivity, leaving him feeling helpless as he, the OPD, and the FBI search for her. 

Freedom isn’t free, and safety is just an illusion… 

Though Emily escapes the basement, the threat is far from eliminated. In fact, things she learned while being held by Lasko lead her to believe he isn’t working alone. Lasko is still out there, determined to get her back, and crazier than ever. If he does have a partner, Emily has no idea where the threat might lie or who she can trust. 

It’s impossible to live a normal life when family ties become tangled. 

Emily is deeply hurt when Seth is reminded that their relationship might endanger her further and he pulls away again. She’s even more frustrated when her globe-trotting mother returns and is charming to everybody…except her own daughter. 

When Emily meets Seth’s family, she loves his mom and little sister, isn’t sure what to make of his flirtatious brother—who is also a cop—and finds herself very uneasy around his father, who is a powerful attorney. 

Sometimes things seem very clear…until you look more closely.

3.5 Stars

Review by Jen Hagen 

In this second installment of the Darkness series, Emily is being held captive by Lasko.  A few more details of Lasko become available to us helping us discover why he is such a psychopath.  He is a sick, sick person and I still cringe speaking of him.  As smart as Lasko thinks he is, Emily is planning her escape for when Lasko makes a mistake, and eventually that will happen. Emily is able to be back in the arms of Seth, hoping for a second chance to tell him that she loves him. 

Our dear Seth is broken over Emily’s disappearance.  We see Seth grapple with his feelings for Emily.  On the one hand he loves her dearly, but on the other he sees how that love hampers his ability to keep her safe and protected.  His mind is clouded with his desire for Emily and this will place her in danger once again.  He rejoices that she is back in his life, but yet pulls away hurting Emily.

“Emily, you know how much I care for you.”

“Then why do you push me away?”  I felt the tears threaten.

“After the cabin, when I thought I lost you…”  He swallowed.  “Something inside of me changed.  I just need to work it out.  I need some time.”

Oh the ever-hated give me some space speech.  Seth…Seth…Seth.  When are you going to learn?  You can’t give love space.  It didn’t work in the first book and it’s not going to work here.  You are going to end up losing Emily if you keep pushing her away!  

“You want me to leave?”  I had to admit, it stung, but I did deserve it.  I told her I wanted space.  I kept her at arm’s length as she was going through one of the worst times of her life.

Of course it will sting!  How do you think Emily felt??  You abandoned her when she needed you and the strength of your arms to make her feel protected when the nightmares came.  You deserve to feel a little bit of hurt that she was feeling which was ten times worse.  (okay my rant about Seth is over) Finally Seth finds the ability to speak and tell her how much he really loves her.

“I love you so much that when you’re not around, I physically hurt.  I need you to be mine, I need you to forgive me.  I need you to see I’m lost without you.”

I forgive you Seth.  But now that we have taken care of that little matter there is something else we need to focus on…How is it that Lasko seems to always be one step ahead of the police?   Remember we cannot trust anybody and the last point of view in this installment gives us a big piece of the puzzle.

I like the author’s style of writing, but I just couldn’t feel my way into the plot of this installment. I felt Emily’s time with Lasko was rushed.  I don’t quite understand the mother’s appearance in the book – her cougar prowess made me uncomfortable, but maybe there’s a reason why she was included.  There has to be – I have never known Ms. Drake to throw a character into a story without good reason.  I will just have to bide my time and see how it plays out.