SHADOWS AMONG US

A mother hunts for her daughter’s killer in Kane’s latest psychological thriller in a series.

Dr. Mollie Roar was once a successful psychologist working at Napa State Hospital in California. However, the kidnapping and murder of her 15-year-old daughter, Dakota, two years ago led to the dissolution of Mollie’s marriage to Dakota’s father, Cole, and now Mollie spends much of her time drinking or going to a support group for grieving parents. There, she finds solace in her friend and occasional lover, Grant Sawyer. Dakota’s murder is still unsolved, but rumor has it that the perpetrator is the Shadow Man, a prolific serial killer who’s local to Napa. When terminally ill Vietnam veteran Wendall Grady begins seeing Mollie as a therapy client to confess his past sins, he reveals information that fuels her desire to further investigate her daughter’s murder. A parallel plotline set before the teen’s death shows Dakota’s increasing interest in serial killers—the Shadow Man, in particular—and her involvement in an online sleuthing forum. Mollie, in the present, learns more about her child and tries to piece the truth together while coming to terms with her own guilt about her flawed parenting. Kane’s stellar fourth book in her Doctors of Darkness series stays true to the conventions of the thriller genre, building anticipation and exploring untrustworthy characters, without ever feeling formulaic. Mollie’s chapters, in particular, are filled with anguish: “The drawer stays shut, but I know the past is alive inside it. It’s unburied now. And it may as well be a hand clawing up from its shallow grave to seize me by the throat.” The juxtaposition of Dakota’s investigations into the Shadow Man works very well and effectively develops a sense of intrigue. The teenager isn’t merely a murder victim, but a well-developed character; she reluctantly learns that her parents are imperfect, deals with boys who want too much too soon, and has disagreements with her best friend. Mollie is also a fully realized figure who’s both unlikable and sympathetic, by turns.

An absorbing tale and an adept examination of grief.