WHEN THE STARS GO DARK
by Paula McLain
If you’re a faithful reader of the L&L Review, then you know that crime novels and mysteries are not my go-to types of book. When the Stars Go Dark is both – and it is gripping. McLain’s novel reminded me of Northern Spy by Flynn Berry (reviewed June 17, 2021), perhaps because both books’ main characters work brilliantly to resolve the mystery of crimes, while dealing with the all-too-familiar, but very real, stresses of motherhood and family.
As When the Stars Go Dark begins, Anna Hart, a missing persons detective in San Francisco, is on her way to northern California to recharge and heal from an unnamed personal tragedy. She is immediately drawn into a gruesome kidnapping case in Mendocino, where it turns out she lived as a child. Throwing herself into the current case while recalling her own childhood replete with unfit parents and foster care, Hart doesn’t spend too much time recharging. What she does do, while working to locate the missing teenage girl, is come to terms with her childhood and the tragedy from which she is running.
McLain is a gifted writer and the book reflects the vast amount of research she did into actual missing persons cases. Many of the details of When The Stars Go Dark are gruesome, but the story is gripping and McLain’s pacing is just right. I was unable to predict the ending right up to her reveal. This is a book that you won’t want to put down once you’ve started it. I recommend it highly.(Liz)
