Dark of Night by Colleen Coble

Dark of Night by Colleen Coble
Series: Annie Pederson Book Two
Publisher: Thomas Nelson; January 10, 2023

REVIEW BY JOAN HALL

Dark of Night is the second book in the Annie Pederson series. The story takes place where book one leaves off with the revelation a minor character, Taylor, might be Annie’s long-lost sister.

The book opens with a woman being kidnapped in the forest of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. While trying to help another woman who had escaped. Who is holding these women, and why? Law Enforcement Ranger Annie Pedersen is called to investigate.

While Annie is beginning to work things out with her first love, Jon, she’s having to deal with other issues. The person claiming to be her sister sets out to get revenge. Jon learns a partner in his former practice has been arrested and accused of assisting with the death of a terminally ill patient.

When Annie’s daughter Kylie, who still hasn’t warmed to Jon, is kidnapped, it’s a race against time to find her.

“Women were hard to understand. They got all bound up in emotions.”

Colleen Coble, Dark of Night

Annie is pegged as a strong character, but I find her a bit wishy-washy. Taylor is a character I wanted to despise, so the author did a good job of writing her. There are a few things in the story that are a bit over-the-top unbelievable, but to avoid spoilers I won’t post those there.

Dark of Night has action, but the underlying romance between Annie and Jon is more prevalent. Like the first of the series, this story wraps up with a partial solution, but one mystery is yet to be solved. For this reason, I recommend reading the books in order – they do not function well as stand-alone novels. Since I’m invested in learning the mystery, I’m interested in reading the third book.

I rate this one three and a half fish.

I purchased the Kindle version of Dark of Night through Amazon.