Books & Spoons Review for NO DARKER PLACE by Debra Webb

They want revenge. They need each other.

Detective Bobbie Gentry has one objective: to stop the serial killer who robbed her of her husband, her child and her life. Nick Shade understands Bobbie's pain and her desire for vengeance. He's on a mission of his own, and the murderer known as the Storyteller is next on his list.
Nick knows that the best way to find his target is to stick close to Bobbie. But as she becomes more and more reckless in her attempts to lure the Storyteller out of hiding, he has to make a choice. Will he protect her from herself even if it means passing up the chance to take out one more monster?
As for Bobbie, she's forced to decide just how much she can trust this stranger who knows so much about her.
And both of them are about to learn whether or not two broken people can save each other.

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A spine-chilling thriller that had me mesmerized, completely under the spell with the masterfully crafted twists in the plot, in the hunt for the serial killer who has returned to finish what he failed to do before. 
I wasn't aware that there was a prequel to this series, The Blackest Crimson, and even though the story can be easily read as a standalone, I think I would have enjoyed the beginning of No Darker Place more if I had read the prequel first. But this story on its own pulled me in and held my interest, there's no doubt about it. 
The culprit in the story, the serial killer, known as the Storyteller, has couple chances to give his point of view into the events unfolding. The ways he tortures his victims with are callous, horrifying, brutal, and unthinkable (reader be aware of rape scene). The only one who has survived him is Detective Bobbie Gentry.
​Bobbie was still alive, but her soul had died in the hands of the monster, as he took away everything she held precious in her life, her husband and her son. Now with determination, she is after him like never before. She has nothing to lose, this is the moment that kept her going through the rehab, to eliminate the Storyteller so he will never hurt anyone else again. She was ready to die for the task, just come and get her, she was waiting. 
I admire Bobbie, I am not going to say she was easy to relate to since I can't imagine what she had to go through in the hands of that beast in the prequel. But I could understand the need she had to seek revenge, to eliminate him. She is a complex character, and the healing process she goes through on the pages of the tale is a miracle in itself, that miracle being the only hope and light in the utter darkness of the sick minded serial killer's world. 
Nick Shade fascinated me. His personal past has driven him to live in the shadows of the world, hunting the cruelest criminals there is, the serial killers. He lives on the edge of the law, he has his own rules and ways to get the information he needs to accomplish what he seeks - elimination of the threat. His secrets hold the keys to understand him, as well as to his success with his crusade.
The connection between Bobbie and Nick might have been fragile but it was obvious. The bond is unique, even physical in nature, yet there's no romantic texture to their relationship at any time during the story. What they share wakes the feelings alive again inside Bobbie, helping her to embrace life and living again, leaving a tiny possibility of maybe something developing between them down the road, if they survive the mission they are on.
The story is told from several different points of view and even thought Bobbie and Nick do get the majority of the screen time, the other detectives in the team are also introduced. As often is the case, when many characters have their time to share, the intensity of the main plot development lessen. There were some scenes that were building up the series and had nothing to do with the plot twist of this story, and I found them distracting. 
No Darker Place is a  riveting story that took a fast hold of my mind, an intriguing plot with twists that left me gasping with horror and fear. There were times that I realized I was covering my eyes to stop myself reading the vile acts of the horrid man. Yet the capable and bright detectives with their ability to find clues allured me into the tale convinced me there was justice and gave a prospect of the righteousness to win. A compelling and engrossing start to the new enthralling series. 
~ Four Spoons
 

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