Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 4 reviews on
A week after her abduction, she's found alongside a highway in a bloodstained dress--alive--but her family treats her like she's tainted, and there's little hope of finding her captor, who kept Sarabeth blindfolded in the dark the entire time, never uttering a word. One good thing arises from the horrific ordeal: a chance to leave the Ozarks and start a new life.
Five years later, Sarabeth is struggling to keep her past buried when investigator Nick Farrow calls. Convinced that her case is connected to the strikingly similar disappearance of another young girl, Farrow wants Sarabeth's help, and he'll do whatever it takes to get it, even if that means dragging her back to the last place she wants to go--the hills and hollers of home, to face her estranged family and all her deepest fears.
In this riveting novel from Laura McHugh, blood ties and buried secrets draw a young woman back into the nightmare of her past to save a missing girl, unaware of what awaits her in the darkness.
Julia Dahl is an author.
Today is the day you can walk into your local bookstore and buy WHAT'S DONE IN DARKNESS, the chilling, beautiful new novel about (among other things) the trauma of religious misogyny by @LauraSMcHugh. And join us tonight online to talk about the book with @LeftBankBooks! https://t.co/6km2snT21e
A glimpse behind the books at the Random House Group.
"Compulsively, propulsively readable, it never loses sight of what’s really at stake for its characters—or its readers.”— @LauraMLippman, bestselling author of LADY IN THE LAKE @LauraSMcHugh's WHAT’S DONE IN DARKNESS is out now in paperback! https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/549350/whats-done-in-darkness-by-laura-mchugh/ https://t.co/WcNLNXnyhF
Writer. Editor. Amateur photographer. Rep'd by @SamBFarkas @JillGrinbergLit. Finalist, 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award for best thriller. Rock chalk!
Oooh! My copy of WHAT’S DONE IN DARKNESS by @LauraSMcHugh is in at @ravenbookstore. Happy publication day, Laura! Happy weekend reading ahead for me! https://t.co/crPjkbF2Ah
"What really sets McHugh apart, though, is that her social novels are seasoned with gothic horror. Each of them has kept me reading late into the night and left me chilled by their revelations. The mountains and hollows of Arkansas are gorgeous, but there be monsters in those hills."--Los Angeles Times
"[McHugh is] a sharp observer of the nuanced dynamics that make the Heartland tick, particularly in its shadier corners, and her female characters are rich and full of life--even when they're the victims of horrific evils."--Elle
"Laura McHugh has been reinventing the rural noir to tell women's stories, and her latest is a harrowing venture into a deeply religious community hidden in the Ozarks."--CrimeReads
"Laura McHugh is already on everyone's short list of crime writers to watch for, someone who just goes from strength to strength. Compulsively, propulsively readable, it never loses sight of what's really at stake for its characters--or its readers."--Laura Lippman, bestselling author of Lady in the Lake
"What's Done in Darkness is a beautifully paced story of a young woman's courage to confront, both psychologically and by novel's end literally, an evil that might again entrap her."--Ron Rash, bestselling author of Serena
"It's hard to find a truly original thriller these days, one that's populated with unique characters and a plot that feels fresh. But with What's Done in Darkness, Laura McHugh has managed a new spin on the genre. A riveting, poignant, and propulsive read."--Amy Engel, bestselling author of The Familiar Dark
"In her latest spine-chilling thriller, McHugh weaves a dark and delicious spell. Seamless, expressive writing, a voice like a crystal clear lake, an intimate sense of place, and storytelling that keeps the pages spinning make this a thriller that should be at the top of everyone's summer reading list."--Julia Heaberlin, internationally bestselling author of We Are All the Same in the Dark
"Thoughtful, compelling, and steeped in the secrets of its backwoods setting, What's Done in Darkness is a cry for justice for the girls and women lost on the shadowy, ultrareligious fringes of the homeschooling movement."--Amy Gentry, bestselling author of Good as Gone and Bad Habits
"This is one heck of a spine-tingler . . . If this one isn't on your Thriller Reads Radar, it should be!"--Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of Sister Dear and You Will Remember Me