Hmmm...So That's Why It's Called "Into the Black Nowhere"

TITLE: Into the Black Nowhere (UNSUB#2)
AUTHOR: Meg Gardiner
PUBLISHER: Dutton
PUBLISHING DATE: January 30, 2018

FROM GOODREADS: Inspired by real-life serial killer Ted Bundy, an exhilarating thriller in which FBI profiler Caitlin Hendrix faces off against a charming, merciless serial killer

In southern Texas, on Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin.

Caitlin and the FBI's serial crime unit discover the first victim's body in the woods. She's laid out in a bloodstained, white baby-doll nightgown. A second victim in a white nightie lies deeper in the forest's darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a woman in a white negligee, wrists slashed, suicide-style--posed like Snow White awaiting her prince's kiss. 

To track the UNSUB, Caitlin must get inside his mind. How is he selecting these women? Working with a legendary FBI profiler, Caitlin searches for a homology--that elusive point where character and action come together. She profiles a confident, meticulous killer who convinces his victims to lower their guard until he can overpower and take them in plain sight. He then reduces them to objects in a twisted fantasy--dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin's profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people's trust. But with only circumstantial evidence linking him to the murders, the police allow him to escape. As Saturday night approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims.

MY THOUGHTS: I remember reading "UNSUB" last year and it giving me nightmares. I read tons of horror and that never happens so I was a tad disturbed by the fact. Fast forward a year and now the second one has come out. I was a little leery to pick it up even though I was dying to see if this one could hold up to the first. I'm glad to say it did.

Caitlin Hendrix has moved on from being a local California Detective to now working as a profiler for the FBI. Several women from Texas, all similar in description, have gone missing and Caitlin and her team head there to assist the local authorities in finding the culprit before more women are lost.

This book has so many great elements. Gardiner does a wonderful job at not only getting into Caitlin's mind as she is trying to find out who is behind the abductions, but she also allows us into the mind of this serial predator as well. And it's a terrifying place to be. In order for someone to pull off these abductions, they must also be charming and charismatic which makes the perp that much more scarier. And as I've said before, human beings are some of the scariest "monsters" out there. Also, even though we learn who the culprit is about mid-book, there is still a lot of story to be told and I was just as excited to see what happens next. I had actually thought one the guy was revealed the book might start to slow down a tad - not true!

Cailin is not a perfect MC. She's had some trauma in her life and carries some baggage, which in my opinion makes her that much more likable. She crosses some lines during this case and it was interesting to see if she'd be able to pull herself back. Caitlin's boyfriend remains halfway across the United States and works for a bomb squad so if romantic elements aren't necessarily your thing, don't worry because there's not much here.

I will say this book does end on a bit of a cliffhanger and I am in serious need of the next book NOW! If you like mysteries and procedural books (although I wouldn't say it was heavy on the procedural side) then I definitely recommend the UNSUB series. Also, a lot of this book happens in the middle of a snowstorm which is an element I love in thriller/horror novels.

I received this book from the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review. 

RATING: 5 PAWS