Cassie Jackson reluctantly sells her Boston business and follows her husband Alan Harrington to his backwoods Virginia hometown of Andrews Meadows. His plan to abandon corporate law to start an alpaca farm with his brothers seems strange, but is of little interest to her in the big scheme of things. She just wants the chance to rekindle their marriage. After a series of miscarriages their relationship could use time away from the pressures of the city to heal, to become as it had been when they first met in college.

The behavior of her hellish mother-in-law during Alan's welcome home meal is the first inkling that the move may have been a mistake, the inability of her husband to see his mother's cruelty is another. It is as if the man she married has become a stranger, or as if the man he was in Boston was a lie.

Andrews Meadows has nothing suitable available to rent as their new home, but the little town of Silver Grove just across the river is a gem. It's friendly townspeople and picturesque main street is a world away from the grubby and disturbing Andrews Meadows. Cassie finds the perfect home next door to the owner, the warm and welcoming Morgaine Gold who decides on the spot that Cassie should have the cottage. Her grandnephew occupies the third house on the lot. David Argon is one of Silver Grove's finest, his job as a cop making Cassie feel safe even as her attraction to his good looks and kind demeanor make her feel a bit guilty.

Rosemary Laurey's interesting take on paranormal romance elevates DARK IN THE WOODS a bit above the rest. The bucolic setting she creates is shattered by brutal murders and Laurey doesn't hesitate to entice readers to care for characters whom are later killed off. There is not much slow building of tension in the beginning, more of a series of shocks interspersed with the growing relationship between Cassie and David. Later in the story the tension is skillfully ratcheted up to make this one of the better suspense novels I've read. Overall I found it an enjoyable read, if a tiny bit too far on the horror side of the line for comfort. If you like romantic suspense, though, you will very likely enjoy this paranormal take on the genre.

Book Summary

When the wild things are stirring, taking sides could get you killed.

Uprooted to a remote Virginia mountain town by her husband in a failed attempt to start afresh, Cassie Jackson gets the cold shoulder from his reclusive, dark-haired family of “hunters”. And only cool friendship from the tall, fair neighbors across the river. When her husband is murdered, and she is shut out of the burial plans, she sneaks into the funeral home to at least say goodbye and discovers what it is her mother-in-law from Hell didn’t want her to see. Something oddly…furry.

Silver Grove used to be a quiet town—until Cassie arrived. She has dared to cross the river, and from their first glance, Deputy David Argon found himself drawn to his newly widowed neighbor. Now, in the midst of the biggest crime investigation in years, he feels compelled to shield her from the rising tension among the citizens and the hunters.

Except protecting her means his hands-off policy is doomed to failure. And when another murder hits too close to home, staying out of her arms is mission impossible.

Warning: If you go out in the woods tonight, you’re sure of a big surprise—and we’re not talking bears of the teddy variety!