While I loved Thin Ice, the first book in Paige Shelton’s Alaska Wild series, I wasn’t as fond of the second one, Cold Wind. Beth Rivers, the protagonist, was one of those “Had I But Known” characters in the second book, and I hate characters who don’t consider their own safety. Beth still has a few of those moments in Dark Night, but she also has a logical reason to act that way. Her mother shows up in Benedict, Alaska, and if there’s anyone who will make a logical woman lose perspective, it’s Mill Rivers.

For those who haven’t read the series, Beth Rivers is a bestselling suspense author who lived in St. Louis, Missouri. She was kidnapped by a man named Travis Walker, and held captive in his van for three days where she was hurt and tortured before she escaped by throwing herself from the van. She fled to the small town of Benedict where she’s been hiding for about six months. She’s made a few friends, although Gril Samuels, the police chief, is the only one who knows who she really is. And, then Gril says her mother, Mill, has been spotted in Juneau. If Mill can find her, who else can track her down to Alaska?

Beth has mixed feelings about Mill. She loves her mother, but when Beth’s father disappeared when Beth was seven, her mother went on a lifelong search to find him. She’s obsessed, and, since Beth’s kidnapping, her mother went so far as to find Travis Walker and try to shoot him. She’s a fugitive from the law who uses all of her computer skills to advance her own purpose. And, Beth suspects her mother might be in Alaska looking for more than her daughter.

Mill does turn up in town, but her arrival coincides with the stabbing death of Ned, an abusive husband. Gril and other community members had been trying to protect his wife, Claudia, while Gril hoped to arrest Ned’s sister, Lucy, who is a thief. The whole situation is a bloody mess in a small, secretive community that is suspicious of newcomers such as a census man who shows up. Mill is accepted only because she’s Beth’s mother, but everyone should be suspicious of her.

It’s winter in Benedict, Alaska, a time when people go stir crazy. It makes for dark nights, such as the night Ned was killed, and the time when the census man disappears, and so does Mill.

Dark Night might be those long, dark nights of Alaska’s winter. It could also refer to “the dark night of the soul”, as Beth tries to cope with the aftereffects of her kidnapping, and, even the effects of her mother’s visit. She has emotional issues to deal with, and Mill’s arrival and ongoing search for Beth’s father only stirs up more confusing feelings. Mill may stir up trouble, but she does love her daughter, and she recognizes that Beth needs the support of the eccentric residents of Benedict.

For those who have followed the series, Dark Night marks a turning point in Beth’s life. As I said before about the books in this series, it’s a thriller for those of us who are not fans of thrillers. While we wait with baited breath for the next tragedy, we know that Beth has an entire community of quirky individuals to support her.

Paige Shelton’s website is http://PaigeShelton.com

Dark Night by Paige Shelton. Minotaur Books, 2021. ISBN 9781250796271 (hardcover), 288p.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent an ARC, hoping I would review it.