Don’t ‘Wait for Dark’ to Read Kay Hooper’s Latest Thriller [REVIEW]

The body count is steadily rising in a small North Carolina town in Kay Hooper’s Wait for Dark. (Photo by Kendra, Flickr)

Much like the Baudelaire in Lemony Snicket’s popular children’s series, the residents of a small town have fallen victim to a series of unfortunate events. But are these deadly events as random as they appear? Who is behind them? And what is the meaning behind the cryptic notes that appear shortly before disaster strikes? Don’t fret! Kay Hooper explains it all in her latest thriller, Wait for Dark. 

Berkley

Before starting this review, I must admit, I’m a Kay Hooper groupie. That’s why I took my time savoring this book, just like always, because I knew in a few short hours I would turn the last page and have to await Kay’s next book in the series. And, as always, Kay did not disappoint!

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting my old acquaintances at her Special Crimes Unit. After years of reading this series, Bishop and the gang have become like old friends, and in each volume I am introduced to new characters I come to love just as much as the ones that came before.

This time the story takes place in the small town of Clarity, North Carolina. Nothing much ever happens here. In fact, the last accidental death happened 15 years ago. That is, until recently. Now, in just a matter of weeks, four people have turned up dead and neither Deputy Emma Fletcher or Sheriff Malachi Gordon have found any answers as to how or why these killings are happening.

The “accidents” themselves seem to be unrelated. In one, a car careens past parked cars and hits an iron post. In another, a seasoned harvester gets thrown out of the cab and into the very teeth of the machine. Local law enforcement can’t figure out how a car’s brake system could have been turned into an accelerator or how a farmer winds up in the harvester’s blades when the door to the cab is still closed. The only connection these deaths have is that both victims had been texted the phrase, “Wait for dark” at 3 p.m. the day they died. That’s when Sheriff Gordon calls in reinforcements from the FBI’s Special Crimes Unit out of Quantico.

Now, if you want to know more, you’re going to have to pick up a copy of the book! Not wanting to spoil any of the mind-bending plot twists for you, all I’ll say is that Hooper doesn’t hold back here. Instead, she ratchets up the intensity like a gleeful fiend, right until the very end of the story, which culminates in an electrifying, nail-biting showdown that only Kay could write. So don’t just walk to your local bookseller, RUN! You don’t want to miss reading Wait for Dark!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kay Hooper
(Photo by Claudio Marinesco)

Kay Hooper is the New York Times bestselling author of the Bishop/Special Crimes Unit series, including Fear the Dark, Haunted, Hostage, Haven, Blood Ties, Blood Dreams, and Blood Sins, and the Bishop Files series, including A Deadly Web and The First Prophet. Since her first novel, Lady Thief, was published in 1980, she has published more than 60 novels and four novellas.

She is the recipient of numerous awards for her work, including Reviewer’s International Organization Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence; Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, Love and Laughter Award, Career Achievement Award, and Lifetime Achievement Award; as well as many others.

Born in California, Kay was raised in North Carolina where she currently resides with a menagerie of pets. She is a dedicated advocate for animal welfare and regularly fosters cats and kittens for the Community Pet Center in Rutherford County, N.C. Visit her home on the Web and like her on Facebook.

WAIT FOR DARK
By Kay Hooper
336 pgs. Berkley. $27.