Her Darkest Nightmare by Brenda Novak ★★★1/2 (The Evelyn Talbot Chronicles)

The story resumes about six months after the prequel with Hanover House up and running. Dr. Evelyn Talbot has a team of psychiatrists in place who are analyzing some of the most twisted minds in the country, all serial killers. When a woman’s mutilated body is found in the middle of a developing snowstorm, Evelyn finds herself embroiled in the case and questions whether Jasper Murphy has found her in this Alaskan frontier.

What I liked about the story was the underlying suspense of whether Jasper was behind the murder. Drawing Evelyn’s past history into the forefront provided a good level of tension. I also liked Amorak’s role in the story, as well as his developing relationship with Evelyn.

Where things bogged down for me was with Evelyn’s constant ruminations about her past and reasoning for this specialized prison. It just became tedious and slowed the pace. There were some moments, too, where I had to do some serious belief suspensions regarding Evelyn’s behavior.

This is a unique series that continues to intrigue me, even though the full immersion into these sick minds got to be a bit much at times and I guessed the villain early on. Be sure to have a palate cleansing book waiting for you after you read this one!

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(I received an advance copy via NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review)