The Darkness Inside

Alex Rourke #3

by John Rickards

You make an assumption - you make a mistake - and it costs a young girl seven years of her life.

How far would you go to put that right?

Cody Williams was never charged with a string of child abductions and murders across New England, but everyone knows he was the man behind them. While the remains of some of his victims have been found down the years, several are still out there, buried in the Massachusetts wilds. Now Cody's dying and the families want their children's bodies recovered. And he'll talk, but only to the man who put him away, former FBI agent Alex Rourke.

It's an unpleasant task for Rourke, but it gets far worse when he finds out that one of the victims might not have been killed at all, as he and everyone else had assumed. That she might still be alive, seven years later, still held captive. That Williams might not have acted alone. That by bringing down Cody, Alex gave the true villain free rein.

Alex gambled his soul on Cody's guilt when he was in the Bureau, and it looks like he bet wrong. Now he could buy the lost girl's freedom with his own, but will he? And if not, can he find her true captor and make up in some small way for the mistakes he made seven years ago, or will he - and she - die in the attempt?

The Darkness Inside: Writer's Cut is the second book in the reworked and updated series of Alex Rourke novels. The original was published by Penguin in 2007, but this version from 2012 has been heavily re-edited and (hopefully) improved.

Genres: Crime, Thriller

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2007

Reviews

[Frederick Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alex a former FBI agent got a call from another FBI agent concerning a case from his past. Cody Williams is dying cancer in prison where he serve his life sentence for killing a serial rapist. Alex was the agent in charge of a series of girls disappearance seven years ago. Cody was suspected to be behind the disappearance but never charged in court for lack of evidence. Now, on his death bed Cody want to see Alex to reveal his confession and to find their bodies. The families of the missing children are pressuring the Feds to call Alex to help find their love ones in order for closure. Alex is loath to see the scum but has reluctantly agreed to do so out of his sense of duty to the families.
As the story unravels there are dark secret from Alex's past coming to the surface of which he must once again come to face. In the course of his encounter with Cody the shocking truth that not all the missing girls are dead. One might actually survive and is held captive somewhere. As the search for the missing girl intensified Alex is framed by some sinister plot for a murder. He has to evade the police while having to trace the missing girl on his own. Will he find her or will the darkness within overcome him as his life is spinning out of control. The author really paints a bleak picture of the darkness inside man's depravity and how low they will go to satisfy their deprivation.

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another series I’ve wished I read from the start. It was well written but hard to really feel the characters as it was assumed you knew them. The topic is a bit too dark for me. Not something I would reread but would probably recommend to others.

[Narmadha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first Alex Rourke/John Rickards book and I did like it & found it engaging.I would have liked to read a little more about what happened to Kris after he escaped from Mr.Anderson and why Mr.Anderson became who he was. But they were killed too soon and the questions went unanswered which I felt was a bit of a let down.I still like the book enough to pick up another John Rickards novel if I come across one in the future.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again the unpredictable nature of Alex Rourke leads to a novel where you throw the rule book out of the window. His unravelling mental state adds to the confusion but this compelling novel will grip you and you will not be able to put it down