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Alexandra Mallory #7
The Woman in the Dark
Desire and death await in the dark.
The murder next door is unsolved.
But Alex knows she’s covered her tracks.
Now, her life is complicated by the discovery of a woman’s body closer to home.
As detectives seek the identity of the dead woman and the cause of her death, suspicion falls on Sean and the others.
When Alex takes a huge risk with the fledgling company’s social media site, and the detectives begin probing deeper, tension reaches its breaking point.
With detectives still trying to solve the murder next door and a new team focused on this case, the threat to Alex pushes her to go further than she should.
The intriguing characters in Alexandra's latest page-turning story have secrets of their own. If you liked The Woman In the Bedroom, you'll love The Woman In the Dark.
Book Seven: The Alexandra Mallory psychological suspense series
The murder next door is unsolved.
But Alex knows she’s covered her tracks.
Now, her life is complicated by the discovery of a woman’s body closer to home.
As detectives seek the identity of the dead woman and the cause of her death, suspicion falls on Sean and the others.
When Alex takes a huge risk with the fledgling company’s social media site, and the detectives begin probing deeper, tension reaches its breaking point.
With detectives still trying to solve the murder next door and a new team focused on this case, the threat to Alex pushes her to go further than she should.
The intriguing characters in Alexandra's latest page-turning story have secrets of their own. If you liked The Woman In the Bedroom, you'll love The Woman In the Dark.
Book Seven: The Alexandra Mallory psychological suspense series
- GenresMystery
414 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2017
209 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Cathryn Grant
81 books404 followersCathryn is the author of over forty novels. She writes psychological thrillers, psychological suspense, and the ALEXANDRA MALLORY series which features a sociopath you can’t help but love. Readers say they're “absolutely addicted” to the series.
The things that cause torment in real life—obsession and revenge, guilt and envy and longing—are endlessly fascinating in fiction and she never grows tired of writing stories about characters struggling to overcome the worst.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories because who knows what lies beyond our senses—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, walking on the beach, or playing golf, going way out of her way to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
You can get in touch with her by email, find her social media links, or sign up for her monthly newsletter at cathryngrant.com/contact. As a thank you for signing up, you’ll receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory.
The things that cause torment in real life—obsession and revenge, guilt and envy and longing—are endlessly fascinating in fiction and she never grows tired of writing stories about characters struggling to overcome the worst.
Cathryn also writes ghost stories because who knows what lies beyond our senses—The Haunted Ship Trilogy and the Madison Keith series of novellas.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, walking on the beach, or playing golf, going way out of her way to avoid hitting her ball in the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California Coast with her husband and her cat, Cleopatra.
You can get in touch with her by email, find her social media links, or sign up for her monthly newsletter at cathryngrant.com/contact. As a thank you for signing up, you’ll receive a free short story about Alexandra Mallory.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 28, 2019
Disappointing. It could have been more interesting, but just fell flat. There were a number of stories within the story that didn't make any sense. I'm not one of those who dislikes backstory. In fact, I usually appreciate it. This tale of a serial killer just felt off. A female serial killer could be interesting, and perhaps the other books about Alexandra Mallory might be more in keeping with that twist on a serial killer genre.
Here's a list of things that neither added or propelled the story forward:
1. The boy Alexandra knew in high school.
2. Tess' obsession about investigating her former boyfriend's apparent suicide.
3. The nosy neighbor Elizabeth.
4. Or the death of Karen, which was central to the story.
5. The sleazy cop story line.
6. Alexandra's decision to kill again, and to kill Tess' former boyfriend. (no spoiler here)
7. That sex is important to keep the body trim.
I'll address each one individually:
1. This story-line was weird and made no sense other giving the book a couple of sentences at the end to justify Alexandra's thinking.
2. Tess broke-up with her boyfriend because she thought him disgusting, then obsesses over his death. Made no sense.
3. The nosy neighbor Elizabeth added nothing other than a means to help Alexandra in another murder ( no spoiler here ).
4. The death of Karen was interesting, but made no sense once you find out why she died.
5. I've lived well over sixty years and have never met, or even heard of from my friends, a narrative about some guy who thinks every pretty girl wants him. I'm sick of the narrative. I've always found most men to be decent people. Now, I can't say that about men outside the US. As much as the feminists try to put forward the idea that many men are as sleazy as the copy portrayed in the book, it's simply not true.
6. The writer goes to great pains to explain how careful, how scrupulous Alexandra is in her choices to kill particular people. But she keeps things that could incriminate her, kills too close to home, like Tess' boyfriend or the guy next door. Of course it may have been written this way to show how Alexandra truly is not that careful and how much she likes to taunt the police without a direct confrontation, but it would have been more chilling for her to truly be scrupulous.
7. You know, there may be people out there who actually believe that tripe, but no one I know actually believes that.
I enjoyed the style of writing and had to give Grant at least 3 stars, but the overweening flaws in the plot just made it unpalatable to offer the kindness for a fourth star. I'd already made my mind up a few chapters into the story that I wouldn't be buying anymore books in the Alexandra Mallory series, primarily because I absolutely hate the premise. Patricia Highsmith wrote in the third person for the Ripley character, which made it more chilling because you can't always know every little thing going on inside a killer's head, although she does a spectacular job. Keeping that little distance drives people crazy about what Ripley might do.
Grant's other books might be more worth it, and I'd be willing to read one of those. But, I'm done with Alexandra.
Here's a list of things that neither added or propelled the story forward:
1. The boy Alexandra knew in high school.
2. Tess' obsession about investigating her former boyfriend's apparent suicide.
3. The nosy neighbor Elizabeth.
4. Or the death of Karen, which was central to the story.
5. The sleazy cop story line.
6. Alexandra's decision to kill again, and to kill Tess' former boyfriend. (no spoiler here)
7. That sex is important to keep the body trim.
I'll address each one individually:
1. This story-line was weird and made no sense other giving the book a couple of sentences at the end to justify Alexandra's thinking.
2. Tess broke-up with her boyfriend because she thought him disgusting, then obsesses over his death. Made no sense.
3. The nosy neighbor Elizabeth added nothing other than a means to help Alexandra in another murder ( no spoiler here ).
4. The death of Karen was interesting, but made no sense once you find out why she died.
5. I've lived well over sixty years and have never met, or even heard of from my friends, a narrative about some guy who thinks every pretty girl wants him. I'm sick of the narrative. I've always found most men to be decent people. Now, I can't say that about men outside the US. As much as the feminists try to put forward the idea that many men are as sleazy as the copy portrayed in the book, it's simply not true.
6. The writer goes to great pains to explain how careful, how scrupulous Alexandra is in her choices to kill particular people. But she keeps things that could incriminate her, kills too close to home, like Tess' boyfriend or the guy next door. Of course it may have been written this way to show how Alexandra truly is not that careful and how much she likes to taunt the police without a direct confrontation, but it would have been more chilling for her to truly be scrupulous.
7. You know, there may be people out there who actually believe that tripe, but no one I know actually believes that.
I enjoyed the style of writing and had to give Grant at least 3 stars, but the overweening flaws in the plot just made it unpalatable to offer the kindness for a fourth star. I'd already made my mind up a few chapters into the story that I wouldn't be buying anymore books in the Alexandra Mallory series, primarily because I absolutely hate the premise. Patricia Highsmith wrote in the third person for the Ripley character, which made it more chilling because you can't always know every little thing going on inside a killer's head, although she does a spectacular job. Keeping that little distance drives people crazy about what Ripley might do.
Grant's other books might be more worth it, and I'd be willing to read one of those. But, I'm done with Alexandra.
September 10, 2021
I really enjoyed this installment in the Alexandra Mallory series. It wasn't as predictable as some of the other books and was just a fun and fast-paced read in general! I also liked that this book left you with some questions unanswered to gear up for the next book in the series - that made me excited to jump into the next one.
August 7, 2020
Wow! Another good one!
The kill count mounts. Alex seems unfazed. Even with the cops getting nosy and knocking on the door.
We learn a bit more about Sean who is an interesting character.
The kill count mounts. Alex seems unfazed. Even with the cops getting nosy and knocking on the door.
We learn a bit more about Sean who is an interesting character.
July 15, 2021
Talented author
The characters are well-developed and interesting in their own right. The language is intelligent but realistic and never stilted. Interesting but with no real focused problem, no climax, and especially frustrating, no ending. It just stops.
The characters are well-developed and interesting in their own right. The language is intelligent but realistic and never stilted. Interesting but with no real focused problem, no climax, and especially frustrating, no ending. It just stops.
December 11, 2018
Love Alexandra Mallory’s twisted mind
Cathryn Grant writes her characters so convincingly, I feel like I’ve met them. I am hooked on this series, and can’t wait for the next book
Cathryn Grant writes her characters so convincingly, I feel like I’ve met them. I am hooked on this series, and can’t wait for the next book
July 14, 2019
A hint of Australia
Still gripping, but a bit self indulgent = the heroine is a chatty one ! And she is repeating herself too often.
Still gripping, but a bit self indulgent = the heroine is a chatty one ! And she is repeating herself too often.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews