In the Darkness: Zoe Bentley Mystery, Book 2

I think this is one of my favorite series and need to get to the next……please please write more about Zoe and Tatum…..I’m getting no work done because can’t stop reading this riveting book. Gave me butterflies in my stomach. Great job and please write more!

Few modern authors can pull off a book with two strong, concurrent plot lines and Omer does so brilliantly. The backstory of Glover juxtaposed with the Texas case made for breathtaking reading. Tatum and Zoe grow on you.

Hard to put it down for dinner or to go to sleep. Great characters that hold your attention. Believe it or not it helped me get through endless hours sitting in the hospital by my wife's bedside while she slept recovering from a heart attack.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes police procedurals. It held my attention. I read it in 3days.

Mike Omer does an excellent job showing you the mind of the killer. If you are interested in serial killers or just murderers or mystery, read these books!!!His character development is great and there's no extra fluff. When the mystery is resolved and most loose ends are tied up, the book ends.However, he leaves enough loose ends and possible character development to keep you wanting more.Stop reading this, to read about Zoe Bentley!

Book One of the Zoey Bentley series grabbed me by the short hairs. Mike Omer was new to me but boy was I glad that I picked up "A Killer's Mind". His writing was taut, his characters well described for a first outing (in the case of Zoey I wanted to know more about her), and his images were stark and often frightening. While "In the Darkness" can be read as a stand-alone, you will benefit from reading "A Killer's Mind" first.Classic hunting techniques (for all types of prey) revolve around two approaches. One often chosen involves constantly moving and stalking your prey, actively discovering it and then moving along with it until the time is right. The other involves patience , often a lot of patience, and requires the hunter to scope out an area where the prey has been seen previously, then digging in and waiting for it to appear once again. That allows the hunter to control the environment and minimizes his/her chances of drastically changing conditions. Both, if done well, can be productive.This novel actively follows two serial killers known for their tactics and patience. The first one was introduced in Book One of this series and plays a somewhat reduced role in this chapter. Staying ahead of the law involves minimizing mistakes and following a successful pattern over and over again. The monster introduced in this book preys on a fear that has haunted people since they were placed in coffins and buried underground. In the old days a cord was often placed in the hand of the deceased and was attached to a bell above the earth, the protection being that if the decedent wasn't actually dead (many were prematurely buried prior to modern medicine) that they could pull the cord and signal that they were still alive. That however ignores the lack of oxygen in the coffin.Each of these two killers is very good at what he does, each moves through polite society almost as if invisible, and the author gives these hunters the opportunity to "eat what they kill", to reap the benefits of why they have gone through their particular exercises. This novel starts with a frightening premise which immediately gets your attention and the tension builds from there. If you suffer from claustrophobia, as I do, it will be a tough read.

What a freaky story In the Darkness was! I can’t even imagine the idea of having to watch someone who was buried alive slowly die! Not only once but several times with different victims. Very disturbing, but that is part of the job of FBI forensic psychologist consultant Zoe Bentley. She was responsible for building a profile that would ultimately lead to the capture of a killer. Only this time she was going to have to up her game because her personal life was interfering with her focus.Zoe and Special Agent Tatum Gray had both been assigned to the case of the buried girls and not just because they worked well together, although that was true. They were sent to tackle the case because they both needed to be otherwise occupied and focused on something other than what was taking place in their current lives. Never did they guess in a million years how personal this case was going to become for them both.There was plenty of misdirection in this story and it had me considering multiple suspects as the villain. Following the clues was intriguing and I almost didn’t figure out the culprit before the reveal that had all the clues coming together. In addition, there were events taking place with Zoe’s sister that kept me in a heightened state of suspense. There was much to enjoy in this story and it was an absolute page turner for me.The partnership between Zoe and Tatum is developing and I like where it is heading. They are both rough around the edges but together are smoothing each other out which is making them both more likable to me. Speaking of likable, I enjoyed Marvin, Tatum’s grandfather, in A Killer’s Mind but I adored him in this book!! He was both hilarious and quite the hero. I love him to pieces! Overall, In the Darkness was a nice police procedural that was also a fascinating psychological thriller and I would highly recommend it!

book was in good shape

OK, I read Zoe Bentley 1 and liked it enough to follow the author, so when book 2 was flashed up as being available, I got it. My kindle will tell you I have read 31%. My Kindle will also tell you that I am 74% of the way through Jane Eyre...the storyline in this book has failed to grab me, it seems foolish, almost comic whereas the nonsensical tensions between Zoe and Tatum are definitely comic, you long to bang their heads together. Another problem is food. I've noticed lately authors have to describe in excruciating detail every meal the hero/heroine has, especially if it's from overseas. For those of us who eat to live and who have a rigid basic diet/income, this is something to skip every time someone sets food in a restaurant, which means much page turning on the kindle. That 31% takes into account the endless meals they both consume...I love crime novels. I am reading whole series of crime novels. I wanted to enjoy this, I didn't. I can't bring myself to read any more of the squabbles, the efforts to keep Dr Bentley in the picture all the time, and the meals she has. Can we get back to the basics of crime writing, a body, a killer, a detective and countless clues to be solved. It would be SO nice.

This is the second book in the Zoe Bentley series and actually one of the best books I have ever read. Right from the start we are given a very scary hint of what is to come. Zoe Bentley is an FBI behavioural analyst and is extremely good at what she does. She and Agent Tatum Grey work together to catch psychotic criminals and in this book they are chasing one of the most terrifying killers of all, one who is driven by his own desires to bury women alive. In a time critical hunt to catch this man, who calls himself the Schrödinger Killer, before more women die, we are catapulted into a world of horror and fear.At the same time we are also back on the hunt for Glover, the man who nearly killed Zoe and who is now after her sister Andrea. Zoe is torn between working in St Angelo on the Schrödinger Killer case, and returning to Boston to try and save Andrea from the man she has vowed to dedicate her life to catching. The decision is a tough one and nearly costs her dearly. As we approach the end of the chase the action becomes fast and frantic, culminating in an enormously unexpected twist which I certainly never saw coming. Happily, the ending nicely ties up the lose ends, at the same time leaving us with the promise of greater things to come.In my opinion, this novel was even better than the first of the Zoe Bentley series and, needless to say I am most definitely looking forward to the next one.

This book is genius, it is full of misdirection the whole way through leaving an outstanding twist to the very end while keeping the whole book thrilling and enthralling. When you add to that the amazing character’s Zoe smart, blunt, with great idea creativity, the way she looks at things and builds past events and what she feels is to come, as well as nailing someone’s deepest secrets and desires is amazing, but then she has a naivety that is so endearing, Tatum who has a no nonsense attitude, always moving the investigation forward, he is charming, caring and has an amazing way of reading people. Then there is the characters that add even more to the story and build the world around them. I love that the whole story bounce’s from the killer to FBI agent to profiler to reporter’s POV this gives you the whole story and how each part of that story is feeling and what is going on in their head’s.To add to all that, In the Darkness has some of the funniest one liners that I have ever read, I mean I feel a little guilty about how much I laughed through this book, how many times I found myself smiling without being able to help it. Marvin will always be one of my favourite character EVER he is Amazing, the whole book is AMAZING and Mike Omer is one of the most talented thriller writers I have ever read, this series really is pushing thrillers into a whole new domain and I can’t wait for the next one.

Second book in the Zoe Bentley series and another read that had me missing out on things cause “I need to finish reading my book” 😂😂😂🔅The second book brings Zoe Bentley back into contact in investigating a serial killer with FBI Agent Tatum Grey.🔅This time a serial killer is burying women alive and recording their struggle to survive underground. It’s tense, dark and does not shy away from the fact that these women are on film, live for people to see.🔅Again for me there are parts that are brutal and all the time Zoe is battling her worry over her sister who is known to the serial killer she identified in her childhood but no-one has taken this seriously.🔅A good second book but for me it didn’t live up to book 1. I still have book 3 to go so hoping the series will be go all out for the next book.

Have to agree with other reviewers- this was good. It makes a change to read a book that stands up to it’s 5 stars. I’ve been so disappointed lately, reading utter dross described as excellent etc.The main character, Zoe Bentley, is quirky, clever, deep thinking and has an analytical brain. She’s a civilian, working with the FBI at Quantico. Tatum Gray is an FBI agent and in this book he’s partnering Zoe. Another character, worthy of mention is Marvin, Tatum’s grandfather, who is hilarious.Zoe and Tatum (hate that name) are seconded to St Angelo in Texas to assist police locate an offender. His ‘calling card’ is to bury young women alive and stream live their attempts to escape. The race to capture the protagonist gathers a pace.Back in Virginia another storyline progresses involving Zoe’s sister Andrea and a rapist/murderer, Roy Glover. Andrea is in danger.I certainly got the identity of the protagonist wrong and had no idea who it may be until the reveal. The ending was a little bit of a let down (drawn out) but all in all, a good read.