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In The Dark
When the FBI is faced with its toughest riddles, it turns to Agent Elle Keen, a genius at cracking codes and using her skill to catch the most cunning serial killers.
When a new serial killer leaves behind a haunting music box after claiming each victim, FBI Agent Elle Keen must rely on her sharp instincts and sharper mind to decipher the cryptic melodies—before the next life is taken.
When a new serial killer leaves behind a haunting music box after claiming each victim, FBI Agent Elle Keen must rely on her sharp instincts and sharper mind to decipher the cryptic melodies—before the next life is taken.
154 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2024
532 people are currently reading
630 people want to read
About the author
Ava Strong
149 books223 followersAva Strong is author of the REMI LAURENT mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the ILSE BECK mystery series, comprising seven books (and counting); of the STELLA FALL psychological suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the DAKOTA STEELE FBI suspense thriller series, comprising six books (and counting); of the LILY DAWN suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); and of the MEGAN YORK suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting).
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Ava loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit her website.
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Ava loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit her website.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
June 8, 2024
Almost a DNF. Towards the end I was skimming - a lot. The book was poorly edited. The author is way too enamored with similes to the point it became one big cheese fest. Then there was her fondness in repeating certain stock phrases. I really don’t care to hear how the main character’s white streak shines in the light. Then there is the main character. Apparently she is a gifted cryptographer or good with patterns or something. It became so Mary Sue that I began skimming just to get to the end. I don’t recommend this book.
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September 12, 2025DNF 20% due to extreme boredom.
June 1, 2024
The very first page was good and then just no…
May 19, 2024
Tried too hard.
I found I had to skip over paragraphs, so m times even pages. It's understandable that an author wants to give vivid descriptions. However, it become annoying when sentence after sentence is nothing but a string of descriptive words with no let up. How many times and how many ways was it necessary to say she had a white streak in her dark brown hair. That is just one of many descriptions that were overboard and overkill.
I found I had to skip over paragraphs, so m times even pages. It's understandable that an author wants to give vivid descriptions. However, it become annoying when sentence after sentence is nothing but a string of descriptive words with no let up. How many times and how many ways was it necessary to say she had a white streak in her dark brown hair. That is just one of many descriptions that were overboard and overkill.
May 22, 2025
Very good book. I liked the lead characters and it was a good mystery
June 26, 2025
Almost DNF this book and I never do that. I gave it a generous 2 as the story could’ve been interesting. Unfortunately it was really poorly written. So many sentences were repeated. Far too many adjectives thrown it. I have number 2 in the series, suffice to say I won’t be reading it!
March 18, 2024
In the Dark has an engaging plot and strong characters, however, the writing style suits more a romance series than a mystery/thriller one being this the reason for only 3 stars. I thank Ms. Strong for this ARC.
June 16, 2024
In The Dark by Ava Strong was a disappointing, irritating and somewhat poorly written book. Not at all what I've found with previous books by Ms. Strong I've read.
Elle Keen is a codebreaker with the FBI. Her partner, Tom, is pretty much nothing more than an expensive chauffeur for Elle. Elle & Tom get assigned a serial murder case wherein music boxes are left at the scene of the murders.
I've read many other FBI Suspense books by Ava Strong and many other FBI writers and in all of them, the main character solves the case ALONG with help from their partner. In this book, Ms. Strong's main character is the partner putting all the work in on the music box murder cases, including one instance where Elle completely talks over Tom.
Also, in this book there is at least one scene where Ms. Strong apparently lost her way and forgot what she wrote in the same paragraph. (Was this Ms. String's first book, perhaps?) Tom and Elle drove up, then were walking, then again driving and once again walking, all within a few sentences in the same paragraph and with no indication of having gotten in or out of the car even once.
Ms. Strong had a ... serious fascination with the word "codebreaker". Either that, or she was afraid the reader would forget Elle was a codebreaker. She mentioned the word codebreaker way too many times throughout this book! Sometimes multiple times on the same page. Her use of the word was beyond excessive.
I have quite enjoyed the previous books I've read by Ava Strong. On the streets of those book, I'll read at least one more of her books and hope that it's back to her better written style
Elle Keen is a codebreaker with the FBI. Her partner, Tom, is pretty much nothing more than an expensive chauffeur for Elle. Elle & Tom get assigned a serial murder case wherein music boxes are left at the scene of the murders.
I've read many other FBI Suspense books by Ava Strong and many other FBI writers and in all of them, the main character solves the case ALONG with help from their partner. In this book, Ms. Strong's main character is the partner putting all the work in on the music box murder cases, including one instance where Elle completely talks over Tom.
Also, in this book there is at least one scene where Ms. Strong apparently lost her way and forgot what she wrote in the same paragraph. (Was this Ms. String's first book, perhaps?) Tom and Elle drove up, then were walking, then again driving and once again walking, all within a few sentences in the same paragraph and with no indication of having gotten in or out of the car even once.
Ms. Strong had a ... serious fascination with the word "codebreaker". Either that, or she was afraid the reader would forget Elle was a codebreaker. She mentioned the word codebreaker way too many times throughout this book! Sometimes multiple times on the same page. Her use of the word was beyond excessive.
I have quite enjoyed the previous books I've read by Ava Strong. On the streets of those book, I'll read at least one more of her books and hope that it's back to her better written style
July 15, 2024
This was difficult to review and give a star rating. The first 2/3 of the book, I wanted to quit reading. I had several internal battles to simply complete the book for a fair assessment. In this portion, I was bored, annoyed, and felt a 1/3 of what was written was redundant or useless. It was slow, focused too much on the incredible, talented, super intellectually gifted woman assigned to the serial murder case. Of course, as most books portray, she doesn't want help, she doesn't need help, she can do this. She also doesn't need sleep. There's a killer out there. Yada, yada, yada... Following this is the typical male chauvinistic needing to make fun of her and knock her down.
One other area present throughout the book that grated on my nerves was the vocabulary choice. At the start, it was fine. Then, the same words were used over and over continuously. It felt like a child was given a spelling list and told to incorporate the words into a story. They did it but never went beyond. Imagine reading a story where the only word used in a dialogue between characters was 'said'. Nothing else. No whispered, shouted, yelled, replied, bellowed, asked, spoke, growled, hissed, grunted, yelped, whined, panted, smiled, frowned, grinned,... etc. That is what the story read like. A high school English paper.
The very last part of the book at least was interesting. This was its saving grace. Until this point, I would never have recommended the book. However, if you aren't bothered by repetitive word usage, have no other books lined up, and find yourself with a task needing to get done and want a book to help you kill time... this may work. 👍
📚📚
One other area present throughout the book that grated on my nerves was the vocabulary choice. At the start, it was fine. Then, the same words were used over and over continuously. It felt like a child was given a spelling list and told to incorporate the words into a story. They did it but never went beyond. Imagine reading a story where the only word used in a dialogue between characters was 'said'. Nothing else. No whispered, shouted, yelled, replied, bellowed, asked, spoke, growled, hissed, grunted, yelped, whined, panted, smiled, frowned, grinned,... etc. That is what the story read like. A high school English paper.
The very last part of the book at least was interesting. This was its saving grace. Until this point, I would never have recommended the book. However, if you aren't bothered by repetitive word usage, have no other books lined up, and find yourself with a task needing to get done and want a book to help you kill time... this may work. 👍
📚📚
November 18, 2025
The plot line had potential but what little dialogue there was was stilted, the characters were flat and stereotyped, and Elle did more talking to herself than to her alleged partner or anyone else. Partnership is a loose word considering he did nothing and just watched while she worked. Instead of going in together and having each other’s backs in any threatening situation, she always went off heroically on her own with the same reuniting quote from her partner, Tom, “you good, Elle?”
As a reader, it’s hard to get emotionally involved with characters that are so… Insubstantial? Instead of using dialogue and action to tell the story, this author chooses to just stay in the lead characters head as she thinks or talks herself through everything. No cooperation with her partner or any other FBI agent. She has people she goes to for “Help” but always figures it out by herself. And the authors description of Elle makes her super human. Just totally unbelievable. I gave it to stars rather than one just for the potential of the plot. I do not intend to read this author again.
As a reader, it’s hard to get emotionally involved with characters that are so… Insubstantial? Instead of using dialogue and action to tell the story, this author chooses to just stay in the lead characters head as she thinks or talks herself through everything. No cooperation with her partner or any other FBI agent. She has people she goes to for “Help” but always figures it out by herself. And the authors description of Elle makes her super human. Just totally unbelievable. I gave it to stars rather than one just for the potential of the plot. I do not intend to read this author again.
June 7, 2024
This author hasn't met a simile that she doesn't like.
In her attempts to employ flowery prose, all she does is bog down the reader in endless piles of manure.
The killer's signature at every scene is a music box left behind with the corpse of his victim, so the author feels compelled to inundate every page with as many forced, music-related quips and similes as possible. If you'd like a fun drinking game with your friends, take a shot every time she writes "symphony" or "crescendo" (warning: you'll be dead by paragraph seven).
If you can forgive all of that, there are typos and plot inconsistencies to keep you busy.
Also, the protagonist, Agent Elle Keen has a white streak in her hair. If you forget this important plot detail, you will be reminded three times per page.
Needless to say, this excruciating, adagio opus's crescendo fell on deaf ears, and the audience will not be imploring an encore.
In her attempts to employ flowery prose, all she does is bog down the reader in endless piles of manure.
The killer's signature at every scene is a music box left behind with the corpse of his victim, so the author feels compelled to inundate every page with as many forced, music-related quips and similes as possible. If you'd like a fun drinking game with your friends, take a shot every time she writes "symphony" or "crescendo" (warning: you'll be dead by paragraph seven).
If you can forgive all of that, there are typos and plot inconsistencies to keep you busy.
Also, the protagonist, Agent Elle Keen has a white streak in her hair. If you forget this important plot detail, you will be reminded three times per page.
Needless to say, this excruciating, adagio opus's crescendo fell on deaf ears, and the audience will not be imploring an encore.
May 4, 2024
Very poorly written and even more poorly edited. The musical metaphor and simile usage was overdone. It seems the author was uncomfortable with dialog, so wrote little, using long, boring phrases and descriptors instead. The editing was clearly lacking, as in one case the victim, Belinda, became Bilinga. In another instance, the main character was looking for information on music boxes in a clock shop. That was understandable until there was suddenly there was appearance of a jewelry box in the shop, but later the jewelry box returned to being a clock. And twice in the same chapter different characters were described as having "scarred visage." The book did not hold my interest. Very disappointing.
October 23, 2024
Elle Keen is a brilliant agent, and a tragic figure at the same time. Logic and patterns mean everything to her, and with these, she solves cases. This one, the first in the series, brings her to her limits, but her partner Tom has her back.
Elle is a contradiction for me: brilliant with logic and patterns, close to anti-social and showing autistic behaviourisms, but ok with those who accept her as she is, and rely on her puzzle-solving skills. She is difficult to like, unlike her partner Tom, but she is definitely interesting.
The narration style was sometimes flowing, sometimes dragging.
On the whole, I quite liked this first book in the series, and will definitely get the 2nd one.
Elle is a contradiction for me: brilliant with logic and patterns, close to anti-social and showing autistic behaviourisms, but ok with those who accept her as she is, and rely on her puzzle-solving skills. She is difficult to like, unlike her partner Tom, but she is definitely interesting.
The narration style was sometimes flowing, sometimes dragging.
On the whole, I quite liked this first book in the series, and will definitely get the 2nd one.
May 31, 2024
I rarely ever give a book one star. But this one absolutely deserves it. The first two-thirds are mostly just the author telling you over and over and over that 1. the main character's parents passed away, 2. she has a white streak in her hair and 3. she sees everything as a code. While the action picks up in towards the end of the book, the constant breaks of continuity and horrible basic detective work by a character who is supposed to be a genius prevented me from actually enjoying the story. The general ideas around the plot aren't bad, but this book is in dire need of an editor.
June 6, 2024
The concept was alright - but desperately needs an editor. The metaphors were beyond overdone to the point they became music puns, character names were swapped back and forth in error, objects transformed from clocks to jewelry boxes and back to clocks again, and formatting was sloppy. Picking the victims' names as literally A, B, and C, in alphabetical order... like 3 music notes...? I was waiting for D-G, or some other relevance to that, but neither came. Also, not entirely sure the author knows how either form of braille works...
September 23, 2024
Melodramatically Verbose
Aside from being poorly edited, this book is melodramatically written and irritatingly verbose. Her action descriptions were inconsistent and difficult to follow, and her knowledge of the way law enforcement works is sub par. I read the to the end, hoping Ava Strong would at least reward readers with a clear denouement, but even that was too much of an expectation. I will definitely steer clear of her books. I apologize for the brutal review, but stand by it.
Aside from being poorly edited, this book is melodramatically written and irritatingly verbose. Her action descriptions were inconsistent and difficult to follow, and her knowledge of the way law enforcement works is sub par. I read the to the end, hoping Ava Strong would at least reward readers with a clear denouement, but even that was too much of an expectation. I will definitely steer clear of her books. I apologize for the brutal review, but stand by it.
November 24, 2025
Not worth the read. The main character has a personality of a dead leaf, the man who is doing the killing didn’t even have a musical background. The writing was all music based so only those that know musical terms really understood. That out all the unnecessary scenes and scene settings and the book would be about 100 pages if that.
I think this happens when writers churn out multiple books in the same time span. Spend more time developing the characters, and less time seeing how many books can be put out in a year.
Ugh
I think this happens when writers churn out multiple books in the same time span. Spend more time developing the characters, and less time seeing how many books can be put out in a year.
Ugh
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2024
You can't give up
FBI agent Elle Keen is different to other agents. Her mind works differently & that gives her an edge over the others. She knows that they all talk about her but she has a job to do. Her & her partner Tom Wright have just been given a new case. Young musicians have been killed in their homes but the more they try the further than get from the killer. Will Elle be able to use her skills to cat h him before he strikes again? A good read
FBI agent Elle Keen is different to other agents. Her mind works differently & that gives her an edge over the others. She knows that they all talk about her but she has a job to do. Her & her partner Tom Wright have just been given a new case. Young musicians have been killed in their homes but the more they try the further than get from the killer. Will Elle be able to use her skills to cat h him before he strikes again? A good read
June 28, 2024
I wanted to like this book, but it was painful to read. It would have benefitted from any editing, as there were numerous inconsistencies throughout the book. I also found it to be overly verbose, describing the main character as being a "code breaker" in the self-talk after each clue or piece of the puzzle. I'm glad it was a book I received free as it let me know these issues were not unique to this book but occurred in the author's other works as well.
July 20, 2024
Hard to Finish
I plodded through to the finish just to find some redeeming quality to it. Elle is an FBI agent skilled in decoding all types of puzzles. She has a partner, Tom, who is more of a “go-for” than an agent.
As far as editing goes it needs another go round. Spelling, grammar, wording, etc all need another look.
This narrative could play out in 200 pages much better than the more than 300 that it is.
I’m sorry to be so harsh but it was not worth the read.
I plodded through to the finish just to find some redeeming quality to it. Elle is an FBI agent skilled in decoding all types of puzzles. She has a partner, Tom, who is more of a “go-for” than an agent.
As far as editing goes it needs another go round. Spelling, grammar, wording, etc all need another look.
This narrative could play out in 200 pages much better than the more than 300 that it is.
I’m sorry to be so harsh but it was not worth the read.
May 9, 2025
Full of suspense
Ava Stong is an amazing writer. She captures the tenacity of Elle Keen so much that I feel like I know her. Her intensity is conveyed in the writing so well. The clues and the level of detain in explaining them was great. Definitely was well worth the time to read and enjoy. If you like suspense thrillers you may have found your next new series. Happy reading.
Ava Stong is an amazing writer. She captures the tenacity of Elle Keen so much that I feel like I know her. Her intensity is conveyed in the writing so well. The clues and the level of detain in explaining them was great. Definitely was well worth the time to read and enjoy. If you like suspense thrillers you may have found your next new series. Happy reading.
June 12, 2024
Elle Keen is an FBI agent with a gift for solving puzzles. Of course she has trauma in her background that will need to be resolved in one of the stories.
This book was about a serial killer targeting female musicians.
I was perplexed at the repetitive writing. Sometimes I would have to go back and ask myself, didn't I just read these exact words? Could have better editing.
This book was about a serial killer targeting female musicians.
I was perplexed at the repetitive writing. Sometimes I would have to go back and ask myself, didn't I just read these exact words? Could have better editing.
August 14, 2024
Rough. The reveal of the killer is only a twist because they were mentioned one (1) time ~85 pages earlier. The rest of it is just very amateur.
It’s the book equivalent of the show you put on in the background just to have some noise playing. I only finished because it was so short and an easy finish for my reading challenge.
But just no.
It’s the book equivalent of the show you put on in the background just to have some noise playing. I only finished because it was so short and an easy finish for my reading challenge.
But just no.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2025
Lots of skimming
The storyline is interesting and the characters are dynamic, but the descriptions of EVERYTHING were excessively verbose. I wound up skimming over most of the words just to get the gist of the story. I won't be reading anymore books by Ava Strong. It's definitely not my preferred writing style.
The storyline is interesting and the characters are dynamic, but the descriptions of EVERYTHING were excessively verbose. I wound up skimming over most of the words just to get the gist of the story. I won't be reading anymore books by Ava Strong. It's definitely not my preferred writing style.
May 13, 2024
Great Read
This was a bit slow, but Agent Keen seems to be a character that could grow on me. Well done Ava, you wrote a story that was good, with its winding themes really a joy to read.
This was a bit slow, but Agent Keen seems to be a character that could grow on me. Well done Ava, you wrote a story that was good, with its winding themes really a joy to read.
May 15, 2024
Too many music references that didn't pertain to story. Also Elle Keen puzzle musings were boring. The gist of the story was interesting, but I found myself skipping parts because it was redundant. I will not pursue a second book in this series.
May 15, 2024
This book needs some serious editing. Names are mixed up. Plot details are somehow forgotten within a chapter. Plus, the music metaphors are overdone. I love the use of figurative language but in a suspense thriller it is too much.
May 16, 2024
Justifying Evil
Who was killing these women that were musicians? It was up to the genius FBI agent and her partner to figure it out. There was a lot of filler detail that I skipped through.
Who was killing these women that were musicians? It was up to the genius FBI agent and her partner to figure it out. There was a lot of filler detail that I skipped through.
June 1, 2024
Poor editing and repetitive wording
The book itself would be much better without repetitive wording in the same sentence/ paragraph. I don't know if she had a minimum amount of words needed to fill the book or what.
The book itself would be much better without repetitive wording in the same sentence/ paragraph. I don't know if she had a minimum amount of words needed to fill the book or what.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews