In the Dark [Hardcover]

Brian Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2009

Two young lovers. A sultry summer night. One brutal, cold-blooded murder.  In this stunning, atmospheric thriller, Brian Freeman takes you deep into Detective Jonathan Stride’s complicated past.

It’s the case that has haunted Stride for thirty years.  During the summer after his junior year of high school, he fell in love with beautiful Cindy Starr, the girl who would become his wife.  But on the Fourth of July, the same night that Jonny and Cindy cemented their love, Cindy’s older sister Laura was savagely murdered.  The police suspected a vagrant of committing the crime, but no one was ever arrested, and the case was closed.

Now, Laura’s best friend Tish Verdure has returned to Duluth to write a book about Laura’s death.  Tish knows secrets that a lot of people would like to keep hidden, including information about Cindy that leave Stride questioning his entire past.  When a young girl is found drowned in the St. Louis River and a witness to the original murder attempts suicide, Stride realizes that the violence of the past is spilling over into the present.

As he unearths the explosive events that led to Laura’s murder, Stride discovers that the ripples of her death changed everyone’s lives, including his own.  Can Stride put to rest the ghosts of his past, or will they devour him whole?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Edgar-finalist Freeman's fourth thriller to feature Duluth, Minn., police lieutenant Jonathan Stride (after Stalked) may be his most ambitious—and accomplished—work to date. As the title suggests, even those involved in the closest relationships can be kept in the dark about a loved one's past. When a woman shows up in town and informs Stride that she's writing a book about the 30-year-old mystery surrounding the murder of the older sister of the girl who grew up to become Stride's spouse, he's forced to re-examine the validity of his bond with not only his late wife, Cindy, who died of cancer five years earlier, but also that involving his current love interest, a former Vegas cop turned PI, Serena Dial. Powered by darkly poetic atmospherics and deep character development (especially Stride, whose understated intensity, dignity and resilience are emblematic of the Twin Ports area itself), this harrowing and heartrending novel will leave readers guessing until the very last pages. Author tour. (Apr.)
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From School Library Journal

Eighteen-year-old Laura Starr was beaten to death the night of July 4, 1977. Her killer was believed to be a transient who got away. Thirty years later, Jonathan Stride (Immoral; Stripped; Stalked), the head of the Major Crimes department in Duluth, MN, finds that everything he thinks he knows about the case is not quite true when a friend of his late wife comes home to write a book about the murder. As alternating chapters excerpt the proposed book and follow the current-day story, Freeman builds a suspenseful tale of terror and secrets kept too long. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 12/08.]
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (March 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031236329X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363291
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #791,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Brian Freeman is an international bestselling author of psychological suspense novels featuring detectives Jonathan Stride and Serena Dial. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 19 languages and have appeared as Main Selections in the Literary Guild and the Book of the Month Club. His settings in the bleak, frozen landscape of Duluth, Minnesota, and his deeply complex characters, have drawn comparisons to Swedish noir.

Freeman's fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE was a finalist for Best Novel of 2010 in the International Thriller Writer Awards. He was recognized along with fellow nominees Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Mo Hayder, and John Sandford. His debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was a nominee for the Edgar, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry Awards. It was named International Book of the Month by book clubs around the world, a distinction shared with authors such as Harlan Coben and Karin Slaughter. His novel STRIPPED was named one of the top 10 mysteries of 2006 by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

His third novel STALKED was released in February 2008. "Freeman just keeps outdoing himself with each book," said the starred review in Library Journal. Publishers Weekly similarly gave a starred review to Freeman's fourth novel, IN THE DARK (2009), calling it his best book yet, "harrowing and heartrending."

His fifth novel THE BURYING PLACE arrived in bookstores in 2010. Upon its release in the UK, London's Daily Mail called Freeman the discovery of the year in crime fiction and said of the book: "Fleshed-out characters, high tension and terrifying twists put Freeman up there with Harlan Coben in the psychological crime stratosphere."

His newest novel and first stand-alone is THE BONE HOUSE, released in 2011.

In addition to his suspense series, Freeman is also the co-author of THE AGENCY (2009) under the pen name "Ally O'Brien." THE AGENCY is Janet Evanovich meets The Devil Wears Prada, a light and sexy satire of the publishing industry that received favorable reviews in People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly, among others.

Freeman was born in Chicago and grew up in San Mateo, California, before moving to Minnesota. You can write to him at [e-mail] and find him on Facebook by clicking the link at his web site (www.bfreemanbooks.com).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His Best Work Yet!!, April 1, 2009

By 

Desiree (Media, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In the Dark (Hardcover)

I recently discovered Brian Freeman and have eagerly read everything he's written! I was looking forward to reading IN THE DARK for quite some time and Brian certainly did not disappoint! This is his best work yet. I found it VERY hard to put down. IN THE DARK was full of twists and turns and kept me reading long into the night! I recommend this book to anyone looking for a great page turner from a wonderful new author.

Also look for "The Agency" by Aly O'Brien, Brian Freeman co-authors this book!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner from Brian Freeman, February 22, 2010

By 

Matthew Schiariti (new jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Dark (Hardcover)

Brian Freeman's Jonothan Stride novels are quickly becoming my favorite on going series. His deftness at writing engaging characters, broaching adult subjects without going overboard, and mixing wonderfully interesting plots with great twists and turns is really hard to beat.

Stride loved his late wife Cindy fiercely. Thirty years ago events happened in their lives that would change them both forever, especially Stride. As it happens, on the first night Stride and Cindy decide to take their relationship to the next level, something dreadful happens; the brutal murder of Cindy's older sister Laura. These are not only events that would decide Stride's career path, but would also come back to haunt him in his present life.

Turn the page to today and someone from Cindy and Laura's past comes back to town in the form of Laura's best high school friend, Tish. Tish is writing a book. 'Who really killed Laura Starr'. Tish's arrival in town after nearly three decades will make Stride question everything he thought about that fateful night when his would-be sister in law was murdered out in the cold woods as well as how well he thought he knew his late wife.

As if that weren't enough, a series of peeping tom incidents have occurred in their jurisdiction and none other than Maggie Bei lands the case.

This is a fantastic look into some of Strides earlier years and some of the events that shaped him into the character that he's become over these four novels. As with any Stride novel, just when you think you have the mystery solved and the culprit picked out, Freeman pulls the rug out from under you. The thing that makes it so satisfying though is that Freeman never makes it cheap or out of the blue. It always makes sense and is completely plausible.

I can't recommend In the Dark or Brian Freeman's body of work as a whole enough. Just Grade A fantastic writing. With another novel right around the corner, color me excited!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Quality Page Turner...., April 7, 2009

By 

M. ONEILL "Mike ONeill" (Yorkville, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Dark (Hardcover)

Brian Freeman has been climbing the ranks as one of my favorite authors over the past few years. His first three books really impressed me so I was eagerly anticipating IN THE DARK and had heard it was going to be the most emotional book of the Stride/Dial series. Often I find myself a bit disappointed after reading a long-awaited book because it just doesn't live up to the hype.

IN THE DARK was NOT one of these books.

Every Brian Freeman book has a "killer" prologue and this one screams chapter one as soon as you finish it. The book effectively builds multiple sub-plots at a good pace and mixes in razor-sharp psychological suspense, mystery, action, and twists. IN THE DARK challenged me to solve the multi-layered mystery then engaged an appreciation of how well all the pieces came together by the end of the book. It usually takes me about two weeks to read a novel but this gem was virtually pageless at 5.5 days.

Brian Freeman has developed an endearing base of characters through vivid, descriptive scenes of first rate quality. If I had to choose a single new release to read from any author right now...it would be one from Brian Freeman. His collective series of IMMORAL, STRIPPED, STALKED, and now IN THE DARK elevates him to my #1 favorite author to read...hands down.

I can't wait for the next one.....