Dark Sky

Cold Ridge/U.S. Marshals #4

by Carla Neggers

Revisit another heart-pounding romantic thriller by New York Times bestselling author Carla Neggers.

Deputy US Marshal Juliet Longstreet has made her share of enemies, and now one of them is out of prison and threatening to kill her. Her mission: find him first.

Hot on her suspect’s trail is Special Forces officer Ethan Brooker, who has a way of dropping into Juliet’s life without warning. Ethan is a man Juliet knows she should avoid, but she needs answers—and his help. They agree to team up, and as they fight their growing attraction to each other, their race to stop a ruthless killer takes them north to Juliet’s family in Vermont…and into the heart of a dangerous web of lies, greed, deceit—and murder.

Originally published in 2005.

Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Suspense, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller

378 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 26, 2005

About the author

Carla Neggers is the New York Times bestselling author of the Sharpe & Donovan series featuring Boston-based FBI agents Emma Sharpe and Colin Donovan, and the popular Swift River Valley series set in the small, fictional New England town of Knights Bridge. With many bestsellers to her credit, Carla loves to write now as much as she did when she climbed a tree at age eleven with a pad and pen and spun stories perched on her favorite branch.

A native New Englander, Carla and her husband divide their time between their hilltop home in Vermont, a sofa bed at their kids' places in Boston and various inns, hotels and hideaways on their travels, frequently to Ireland.

Find out more and sign up for Carla's newsletter at CarlaNeggers.com.

Reviews

[Cheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I looked forward to reading about Ethan and Juliett but the story was just so so for me. I liked the H&h both very much. I don't think I'm going any farther with this series. The best was #1. After that it seems to go downhill. I give this 3 stars for the characters.

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you had nothing else to do and there were no other books around except say self-help books, well then it makes sense to read this book. It isn't bad, but there was nothing here to make me say, I'm glad that I read this book.
I did like Ethan; the reader is meant to.
Ethan is special ops but he is kind of a loner. Juliet is a Federal Marshal, much of her family is law enforcement. A neighbor of Ethan gets kidnapped while in Columbia and Ethan has to go get him out. Juliet has been threatened by a criminal she had put in jail and who has just been released. And then there is Juliet's vegan 17 year old niece who has a knack for wrong decisions. I thought she and Ham, the genius eccentric young man who was kidnapped in Columbia that Ethan had to rescue, belonged together. There are some conspiracy theories and some high level government stuff, I didn't follow it all that closely.
I was more interested in Ethan.
Juliet and Ethan become a couple and their cases become a couple, and everything ties together. Juliet's brother and a government executive are becoming a couple. I already mentioned that I thought Wendy the niece and Ham the genius should be a couple. The government and conspiracy stuff had me yawning.
I just wanted to know what was going to happen with Ethan.
Maybe the problem for me is that genre was mixed. It was a light romance with light conspiracy thriller as the vehicle for the story. So it comes out weak in both genres.

[La Bruja Lectora (Tata) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Desde que comencé a leerlo no lo solte, solo para trabajar, interesante trama, es fluido, el mejor momento de la trama fue cuando todos los personajes se encontraron en la Granja Longstreet, me encanto

[Shera Melton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished this book, and I wasn't impressed. I'm not sure if it was in a series or not, but if it wasn't it should have been. There was just so much backstory I felt like I had missed out on, so I had a really hard time getting into it and keeping things straight. This book is labeled as romantic suspense, right on the spine of the book, but I was two thirds of the way through the book before anything remotely romatic happened, and all of the romance was very watered down and felt more off-screen. The book was also suspense-light. The end of the book was the only time I actually felt the suspense, and even then it wasn't all that great. My last, and probably biggest, flaw with this book is that the characters acted very dumb for a bunch of cops, FBI agents, and state troopers. The niece, Wendy, was supposed to be a 17 year old intelligent girl, and she repeatedly acted like a six year old and trusted people who were obviously the bad guys. None of them acted like they should be in any position of power. In fact, they acted more like the landscapers they were (the Longstreet family ran a landscaping business) than any type of cop. I've never read any other books by this author, but I love MIRA and usually like all of their authors, especially the ones who write romantic suspense. Maybe this book was just a fluke, but as of right now I'm not tempted to read any of her others. The back of the book was more romantic and suspenseful than anything you'll find between the covers. I say skip it.

[Siiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oon lukenu tän kirjan nyt 2 kertaa ja nautin molemmilla kerroilla paljon🫶🏻

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like this author but this book just didn't click for me. I liked the characters but the ending was just ok for me.

[Kelly Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

romantic suspense. Very good. This was a follow-up on secondary characters from a previous book. Fast paced, great characters, not over gushy.

[LaRita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by this author. It's book 4 in a series and it was easy to follow and enjoyable without knowing the backstory--to me, that's a commendable accomplishment.

This is a romantic mystery, with the mystery taking the lead. There are some steamy love scenes, but the story is full of strong characters and good plot development.

I look for a good story that keeps my interest. I want the characters to seem real so that when the book ends they are still vivid in my mind. I like the ending to have a sense of closure even if I never read any sequels. This book met all of those needs and I will look for other books by Carla Neggers.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deputy U.S. Marshall Juliet Longstreet knows Bobby Tatro will be gunning for her now that he is out of prison. But she doesn't realize that what he's linked up with will involve her family and her colleagues. A very convoluted plot dealing with revenge, betrayal and vigilantes brings in Ethan Brooker, a Special Forces man from earlier volumes, who does side work for the President. There was action but a few too many elements and hidden agendas. A bit of time needed to be spent also relaying relationships from earlier volumes. Not the best in the series.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deputy US Marshal Juliet Longstreet is confronted with a number of problems in this book. She has to find a new apartment as the owner of the sublet is coming back to town, a very bad criminal who she caught and was in prison is now out and is looking to get even, 17 year old her niece shows up unannounced and finds herself in a life and death situation and She has to confront her friend Ethan Brooker who always seems to attract trouble when ever he is around. As you can see there is lots going on and the pace is quick and keeps you reading.

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro bastante entretenido.
Me gusta las novelas policíacas, está en particular no es la que más me ha gustado pero no quiere decir no sea buena.
Me gusta la relación del agente Brokeer con la Marshall super dinámica y aunque hay romance no es lo principal del libro es de esas relaciones lindas pero de fondo.
Cada que sientes que un misterio se acaba uno nuevo empieza.
Lazos familiares, trauma, relaciones, pérdida, amor y secretos.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed this book, it felt that I dropped into the middle of a story. This was the fourth book in a series and I had not read the first three. There were many references to things that happened earlier in the series.

[Neva Womack · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the first book I read that was written by Carla Neggers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It kept me so enthralled that I couldn't put it down. I had to finish the last two chapters this morning.

[patricia cleary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revenge and Redemption

Federal marshalls, politics, and family converging to make a skillful hodgepodge of drama with global terrorists added for your best reading pleasure. This book was hard to put down and left me with a desire to read the next adventure.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. Action packed, romance and mystery what's not to love!!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good!

[Kathy Huffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook for my walks , kept my interest up, just found out this is #4 in a series. Maybe should have started with the first one.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. It was nice to have regular people as main characters in the plot. Normal swearing and sex.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the stories of US Marshalls and how they work together with other services to protect our country.

[William Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much anticipation and not enough action.

Too much romance for my taste.

A bit of a mystery as to who is really helping the obvious bad guy.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of people to keep up with. A few not-so-realistic twists here and there. Suspense-filled.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride. There were so many twists and turns in this storyline. I really enjoyed reading it. Will have to look for others in this series to read.

[Amber Laha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark Sky is a skimmable read. You won't miss out on much by doing so. Dark Sky could have been great if I hadn't guessed in 50 pages at what the whole mystery was.

Not only that, I found it annoying how Juliet made excuses and made it out like the mentality of the men in her life about her being a US Marshal was okay. That maybe, because she was a female and therefore she worried her parents more than their sons, that she should just quit and go back to landscaping. The author, I feel, is making it out like this mentality is made into a bigger deal than it should be and that is something I greatly disagree with.

Also, the relationship between Juliet and Ethan was so off for me. Who, in their right mind, would want to be in a relationship with a guy who kept stringing her along with information. I get part of it was his job, but he knew that information was vital to her and yet he refused. That is the kind of guy he is and although there were parts of him I liked, I can't imagine being okay with a relationship with him in that fashion. But just looking at how she wrote the romance, there wasn't as much heat as I thought there would be.

Another issue, was Wendy. She is suppose to be a smart 17 year old, yet she acts much younger than she is. Also, I just can't understand how you could rationalize someone knowing your name from the hotel and following you to a diner.

Either way, I couldn't get past the whole issue with the mentality of men, the overly predictable mystery that I feel she thought wouldn't be so easy to guess at, and the relationship. Therefore, I could only give it two stars.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Sky is the fourth book in Carla Neggers’ U.S. Marshalls series. Someone U.S. Marshall Juliet Longstreet once arrested threatens her shortly before Special Forces Officer Ethan Brooker receives an assignment to go to South America to retrieve an American held hostage. Ethan hears that someone with a vendetta against Longstreet holds the American, and connects that information to Longstreet. After snatching the American from South America, Ethan wants some answers and ends up looking for Longstreet. Things are beginning to pop when Longstreet’s niece comes to visit her in New York. She stumbles into the deception, but Longstreet saves her only to have it follow them home.

Neggers takes a giant leap forward in this series with this book. It shows more skill, with a deeper story line and more twists and turns. This book is exciting, diverting, and totally enjoyable.

I purchased this book at Roma's PreRead Books in Rockwall, TX.

[Pattianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark Sky - Cold Ridge/U.S. Marshall Series #4 - (Ethan and Juliet) - under cover mystery, dark and deep cave, they save each other.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Juliet Longstreet has made her share of enemies, and now one of them is out of prison and threatening to kill her. Her mission: find him first. But hot on her suspect's trail is Special Forces officer Ethan Brooker, who has a way of dropping into Juliet's life without warning. Haunted by his wife's death, Ethan is a man Juliet knows she should avoid. And now he's focused on a related mission of his own and can't -- or won't -- give Juliet any details.

When she finds her doorman dead and her New York apartment ransacked, Juliet tracks down Ethan -- this time "she" wants answers.

They agree to team up, and as they fight their growing attraction to each other, their race to stop a ruthless killer takes them north to Juliet's family in Vermont... and into the heart of a dangerous web of lies, greed, deceit -- and murder.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was hard to put the book down, I really enjoyed reading it and I thought I would take it on vacation this week end to Algoma but I had to finish the book. It is about Deputy U.S. Marshal Juliet Longstreet and how she has her share of enemies, and now one of them is out of prison and threatening to kill her. Her mission: find him first. But hot on her suspect's trail is Special Forces officer Ethan Brooker, who has a way of dropping into Juliet's life without warning. When she finds her doorman dead and her New York apartment ransacked, Juliet tracks down Ethan-this time she wants answers. They agree to team up, and as they fight their growing attraction to each other, their races stop a ruthless killer takes them north to Juliet's family in Vermont...and into the heart of a dangerous web of lies, greed, deceit-and murder.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook version
Ethan Brooker is like a man lost. In book 3 he spent his time trying to avenge his wife's death. I think we learned a lot about his relationship with his wife without getting too much detail. He has a lot of guilt stemming from the circumstances in his marriage and then with his wife’s death.
Juliet Longstreet seemed to handle herself in book 3 and I liked her character. I was happy that their book was next.
I liked Wendy's character and what she lent to the story.
The ending was a bit confusing. Sometimes that happens with audiobooks with me, and it is hard to go back and recap certain scenes or info because it is on audio. So I was glad they ran through an explanation for me.
I did like how all the characters wrapped up in the end. It was all pretty fitting.
I am enjoying this series.

[Leslie Mesmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure why this one didn't make my top reads because I like Carla Neggers books.
My main complaint on this, I guess, is because it's a continuation of another story. Nothing on the cover or back cover told me it was a series.
For the first 23 or so pages it kept refering back to people from the previous book(s) and wasn't really helpful to understanding the story. Also through-out the entire book they kept refering back. I found that annoying.
Also, the book didn't really end with a nice clean ending. Means having to follow on at the next book to see if it gets resolved.
The characters were ok but I just couldn't get into them. This will not keep me from reading another book by Carla Neggers but I'll make sure it isn't book 2 or so before starting.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

BEWARE OF SPOILERS. I DON"T HIDE OR PROMOTE MY REVIEWS.

I have NO IDEA why this book has this title. It seems irrelevant, vacuous.

The book itself was interesting enough that I read it through. Some of the characters had depth, including protagonista deputy U.S. Marshal Juliet Longstreet, who has rural New England roots but operates professionally in dense urban locales.

But the plot was too tidy for me.

In the end, after all the sweat and gore and near misses, I found it unlikely that two romantic couples would form -- not only Juliet and her guy, but one of her bros and a relatively minor female character.

[Cgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super excited to read 'Dark Sky' because we finally got to explore Juliette and Ethan's story from the previous books in the U.S Marshall's series. Sadly I was disappointed because Carla Neggers seemed to run out of steam with Juliette & Ethan's story. Even though they had what felt like a deep connection from their action filled meetings in the earlier books 'Dark Sky' failed on romance for me. It's like once they got together the spark was gone and the action part wasn't the great either. So my favorite book in Neggers' U.S. Marshall's series remains 'Nights Landing' because that is absolutely outstanding romantic suspense.