Love Her Darkly

by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain

It starts with a dead body outside her motel window. It ends in a fight for her life.

College student Ellie Levine just wanted a normal spring break. She lied to her strict parents, snuck away to the Sea Spray Motel, and expected nothing worse than a bad sunburn.

Then the police swarm the beach.

A murdered man has been dumped in the ravine next door, and a pair of notorious outlaws are supposedly on the loose.

Ellie tries to keep her head down and wait it out. But the violence doesn't stay on the other side of the police tape.

Abducted in the dead of night. The cold muzzle of a gun pressed to the side of her neck. Ellie is dragged into the crossfire.

Stripped of everything and trapped in the dark with ruthless killers, she realizes the police are always one step behind. If she wants to make it out of Florida alive, the sheltered, rule-following girl has to die.

And a survivor has to take her place.

Love Her Darkly is a gritty, high-octane thriller packed with relentless suspense. Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Taylor Adams, and Noelle Ihli.

Praise for Love Her

"Halfway through the book there is a jaw dropping moment I never saw coming and it was something I've never experienced in a book before." --Aaron L.

"You know a book is intense when you realize you’ve been clenching your jaw for the last three chapters and you’re gripping your device like it’s a life raft." --BJ Hyman, author of Sleep Tight

"So full of twists and turns and blood curdling scenes, you begin to think you'll never be able to sleep with the lights off again." --Scherrie Kaye

"It moves so quickly and hooks you in, the pages fly by as fast as the cars in some of the chase scenes. I was reading this morning and was at page 297, told myself I'd read 10 more pages so I would half way. Next thing I know I was on page 454!" --Stacy K.

"The quirky characters and fast pace plot kept me reading long into the night. (Lights on; doors locked.)" --Stellarondo

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

568 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2025

About the author

Lex Vargus is the co-author of over 20 thriller and horror novels.

FIND LEX ON:
Amazon - Twitter - LTVargus.com

BOOKS BY LT VARGUS

The Violet Darger series



The Victor Loshak series


The Charlotte Winters series

Reviews

[Carla Black]

This Suspense Romance was really good. edge of your seat action through it. At one point the book could have ended but no, the authors kept on going for an even longer thrill ride. I really love them for that.

Spring break, a long line of armed robberies all the way down the east coast. A murder next to the spring break motel where Co-eds Ellie and Courtney are staying for spring break. John and Wes are staying there too. A simple party night ends up being trouble for Ellie when she's kidnapped by one of the armed robbers. That becomes a wild ride for days for Ellie. Wes stopping at nothing to find Ellie ends up being kidnapped himself by the psychopath killer stalking the armed robbers. Wes ends up for a wild ride himself. There is a lot more to this story than meets the eye, nothing is as it seems. The action and thrills keep coming up and it's a real page turner. A must read!!!

[Monique G]

This book was really disappointing. There’s way too much unnecessary dialogue and filler scenes that add nothing to the storyline and just make the book longer than it needs to be. For example, the entire beach scene could have been left out—it didn’t contribute anything and cutting it wouldn’t change the story at all. The same goes for the “mystery house” part, it made no sense, added no context, and felt like it was thrown in for no reason.
On top of that, a lot of the situations were completely unbelievable. If I heard my friend getting shot in the next room, I’d immediately be rushing over or calling 911, not standing around or taking my time. The way the characters reacted just didn’t feel realistic.
Overall, this book was a waste of time. It dragged, it was filled with fluff, and the story itself wasn’t compelling. I wouldn’t recommend it.

[Becky Wells]

Best of Vargus and McBain

I've been a fan of writers L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain for years. This new series starts of great with the thriller, Love Her Darkly. It's a twisted tale of murder and mayhem told from several different perspectives. It's got so much: runaway lovers on a crime spree, college students on spring break getting into trouble, police detective partners trying to solve mysteries. The story is long and detailed and doesn't miss a thing. Lots of great characters. Plenty of action. Plot twists and shocks to keep it exciting. I'm eager to read the next book in the series.

[Karla]

3.5 rounded up to 4

[Barb]

This was good and full of action but I got a little frustrated with the dumb moves by some of the characters. It was like the old horror movie cliches where people hear a strange sound and obviously that means they should split up and investigate!

[Brooke Keinath]

This book was definitely longer than it needed to be, which made parts of it feel a bit drawn out. However, it had about three different storylines happening at the same time, and they all eventually connected. I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed that aspect. Even though the book felt long, the multiple storylines kept me interested enough to keep reading and see how everything would come together. Overall, I’d give it a 3.5.

[Gene]

A decent mystery, but filled with the dumbest people I’ve ever read in a cast of characters. Every single one of them makes mistake after mistake, some deadly, some just inane.

Examples (and there are many, many more): You have a dangerous cop killer in your jail, you’re the only one on duty, something seems to be happening in the cell and you DO NOT CALL anyone, you just wander back there and die?

You’re a very good detective, wake in the middle of the night thinking about a vital clue and you just drive out into farmland to look without telling anyone, including your partner, that you’re doing so - and then die out there? That is the theme of this book on repeat. Every character, every time. Do not recommend. I know there’s a book two and that’s all I’ll ever know about that.

[buzy_reading]

In the grass lays a body. Two guys and two girls staying in the hotel become entangled in the investigation during spring break.
…
Jimmy and Scarlett move through muggy Florida like fugitives stealing cars and robbing banks.
…
Ellie went to Florida with a friend sneaking out in the middle of the night. Now Ellie is concerned that the place she’s staying at isn’t safe after a dead body was found in the ravine.
…
Three stories unfold at the same time. The detectives searching for bank robbers, burglars on the run, and teenagers trying to continue with their spring break escapades. While each should be entertaining I find myself bored. I had high expectations for this book. Unfortunately, it fell flat.
…
L.T. Vargas is a new to me author that attracted my attention with this psychological thriller. Vargas brought the graphic descriptions of death illustrating a clear and concise image in my mind. While this stood out and appealed to me I was not impressed with the execution of this thriller. I wasn’t compelled to read. Vargas’s storytelling was incredible except there was too much content and not enough context. It’s way too long, it’s never ending drivel droning on and on about inconsequential things. I thought it would never end.
…
The story focuses on Ellie a college student who’s lived a simple and plain life following rules until her friend convinced her to sneak away for spring break where they met two guys who introduced them to danger and fear. The real danger comes from detectives chasing a serial killer and bank robbers.

[Rosemary]

Love Her Darkly - a review by Rosemary Kenny.

A heart-pounding, intense series opener, Love Her Darkly by L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain, sets a vivid scene of violent intrusion into a previously quiet location by a Bonnie and Clyde-like duo of young armed robbers...with a twist.
Their storyline cleverly intersects with that of naive, timid Ellie, 'led astray' by well-meaning friends, in what becomes a vastly different vacation than they intended.
Brilliantly entertaining, with intensely fascinating characters you'll identify with and emotionally invest in, Love Her Darkly is guaranteed to grip you firmly by the imagination from the start and throughout this rollercoaster ride to satisfaction.
Grab your copy right now, for full reading enjoyment!

[Teresa]

I've read all the Violet Darger and Victor Loshak books by these authors and have loved them. I thought this would be a new series to enjoy. Wrong! This book should have been 250 pages shorter. It didn't jive and mesh together. There were too many characters and storylines trying to be juggled at once, so no story really got complete in a satisfying fashion. There were too many explanations and descriptions of some events and places and then not nearly enough of others. I think I'll move on from these authors.

[Gena Webb]

Waaay too long!

Basically, three different storylines in one novel. I’m a huge fan of the authors, but this is not one of their better ones. If you cut out all the extraneous descriptive wording, it would be a better novel and about a third shorter. But it was a good plot and kept my attention, even if I skipped multiple lengthy descriptions. Worth a read.

[Karen J. Rosselli]

Not Violet, but an enjoyable read

A lot of twists. Some surprising, some not so much. I did enjoy reading this book. It's been awhile since I've read any Vargas/McBain works and I'd forgotten how much i enjoy them. Really good, well developed characters. I know I'm going to enjoy a book when i immediately dislike love of the characters. Thanks for another good read.

[Vicki Gilbertson]

Enjoyed this, mixture of characters all connected in a strange way. Everyone had their own agenda, mixture of stalking and getting away family, and standing up for yourself. Getting justice for in innocent that ended up paying the price.
Can't wait for the next book.

[Mona Wing]

Crazy good!

Don't let the length of this book deter you. It's a fast paced, crazy good read. If you've read books from these authors you know it's gonna be good. Don't plan on sleep or completing any involved task as you're not gonna want to tear away from this. It's that good!

[Mary Kay Brooks]

This book was average. It was unnecessarily long at over six hundred pages. This kept the pace slow and uninteresting at times. Some of the character arcs weren’t completed either. I did not rate this book a 2 because I did read the entire book. I doubt I will continue on with this series.

[Dee Cash]

Half as Much

I liked the theme of Love Her Darkly. Sometimes it was a little difficult go guess who is still alive and who is really dead. This is just an observation not necessarily a criticism. Why stretch a novel to 614 pages when it could all be said in 307 pages.

[Jm Goodland]

Amazing

This was so good, a real page turner and I loved the characters. You could totally invest in them and they became real, jumped out of the page. Fantastic writing as always from these two. Buy it, you won’t regret it.

[Scherrie Manes]

Excellent read

This was a thrilling, heart-pounding book. Keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next sledgehammer to drop. So full of twists and turns and blood curdling scenes, you begin to think you'll never be able to sleep with the lights off again.

[William (Mr. Bill) Turner]

Love Her Darkly - an unusual love story

An interesting dynamic as a victim becomes an accomplice. Is it Stockholm syndrome or something else? This book will keep you guessing. - Mr.Bill

[Heather]

This is a thriller you don't want to miss! I loved the tension and twists in this one, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Very well done.

[Katie]

Wow. That's all I can say. Wow. What a story!

[Leslie]

So intense!

Vargus and McBain have done it again! The first book of their new series was full of suspense and intrigue. I'm excited for the next one!

[Sharon Shults]

too many plot lines

Jumping around too much. Slow reading. Hard to follow all the characters. Very suspenseful but confusing to keep up with

[Shirley]

Good read. Lots of background info to get into and know the characters.

[Cheryl]

Very good

I enjoyed this story and I know you will too. It had lots of surprises and twists. Made me think.

[Becky Holler]

I did not like this book and I did not finish it. I wanted to like it I just couldn’t stay with it sorry.

[Karen Price]

brilliantly written, kept me on the edge of my seat. Fabulous book.

[Katie]

I thought this was okay. i do like thrillers but this one was not for me.

[Reader]

This just wasn’t it for me honestly

[Jorge Calderon]

over 100 chapters but really good I cried when I thought we'd died and I was cheering for the criminals in the end