“Dark of Night” by Colleen Coble is the second book in her Annie Pederson thriller series.

I hadn’t read the first book but understood that Annie’s husband and parents had passed away suddenly in an accident two years prior and she had gotten in touch with her childhood sweetheart, Jon, when he visits their small town. Her daughter, Kylie, is not prepared to accept the presence of this new man in her life and it does not help that Annie had recently discovered that the woman she knows of as Taylor is actually her sister Sarah, who was abducted at age 5.

Amidst all this personal turmoil, Annie is called in to investigate the disappearance of Michelle Fraser. It takes her and the sheriff, Mason, to strange places.

Annie and her relationship with Jon was very sweet. The way Jon handles his own personal struggles and the strife with Kaylie have been described beautifully. Annie, Jon and Taylor/Sarah’s characters have been written clearly and with no ambiguity. Their actions, motives and their responses to situations are very true to who they are and how they have been characterized.

I also liked the various other characters and their dynamics; I loved the way they form the framework for the town’s personality. But I can’t say I very much enjoyed the mystery. It was fine, but not very engaging nor intriguing. The suspense element just didn’t have that depth to keep me hooked. The language was excellent, the narrative was good and the pacing of the story was brisk; the book would have been excellent if only the mystery could have been more interesting.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the book to some extent and would like to know where the people we have meet in it go next. I would recommend this book to those who like romantic suspense stories that leans heavily on its characters’ relationships.

This book gets 4 out of 5 stars.