Iris Yamashita’s City Under One Roof was a Best Mystery of the Year for Library Journal last year. The debut mystery introduced an Alaskan city, Point Mettier, that houses 205 residents all in one building. Two of the women featured in that book return in leading roles in Village in the Dark.

Cara Kennedy was a detective with the Anchorage Police Department until the disappearance of her husband, Aaron and son, Dylan. After searching for them, and burying the bodies, she failed her psych evaluation, and was placed on disability. New evidence indicates those bodies might not have been her son and husband. She has the bodies exhumed, only to learn the DNA is not theirs. Where are Aaron and Dylan?

Ellie Wright is the owner of Cozy Condo Inn in Point Mettier. She chose to live in Point Mettier to protect herself from her husband, who was in prison. But, when Ellie’s son, Timothy, is found dead in his apartment, she handles the funeral. She’s shocked when her husband shows up.

Mia Upash is a waitress working in a diner in Willow, Alaska. But, the half-Japanese, half-white young woman has changed her name several times, and moved around. She’s uneasy enough to feel it’s time to return to her home village, Unity. The isolated villaged is a refuge for women who suffered from sexual assault and oppression. Mia’s Japanese mother brought her there when she was young, but she wanted to experience life in the outside world.

All three women are brought together by search for answers, violent answers that are driven by greed and outside entities. They’ll need the help of other strong people who sought shelter in Alaska.

Village in the Dark is another compelling story set in an isolated region. The isolation, and the people who survive in it, are fascinating. In this book, Yamashita adds stories of women who suffered from abuse in the worst state for violent crime against women. In this case, the women fight back.

Iris Yamashita’s website is https://www.irisyamashita.com/

Village in the Dark by Iris Yamashita. Berkley, 2024. ISBN 9780593336700 (hardcover), 288p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley from NetGalley in order to review this for a journal.