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Cynthia Eden is a unique
suspense romance writer. All the books in the Killer Instinct
trilogy, including the second installment, Before The
Dawn, have very creative titles that alert to the heroine;
After the Dark is named after Samantha Dark and Before
The Dawn is named after Dawn Alexander. There is also
the premise that explores how someone in law enforcement through
their special relationship, are able to see the killer in
a way others cannot, allowing readers to be drawn into the
dark minds of the psychopathic characters.
Her
next book, the conclusion to the Killer Instinct series, "will
feature Macey Night and Bowen Murphy. As FBI Agents they will
be working on a case together and then form a relationship.
All of the characters will be back because this is the tie
up book for the trilogy. She noted, "In the future, I
would like to do a series that focuses on one character, the
lead in every book of the series, where we can see how they
would handle different cases presented and grow."
Eden
does a great job of getting someone up to speed that has not
read the first in the series. Early on Samantha Dark, the
main character of After The Dark, returns, explaining her
job is now the supervisor of an experimental unit of FBI Agents
that have a personal connection to the serial killer through
family, friendship, lovers, as well as their tormentors. This
team moves throughout the US when murders start piling up
with the suspect attributed to a serial killer.
The author noted, “Samantha is smart; yet, has trust
issues and because of that keeps secrets. She is a conflicted
heroine because justice matters most to her and she does not
always see the world as black and white. I explored with her
how it is truly hard to know someone, especially those who
do not fully open up. We only know what people show us, basically
what is on the surface.”
In this novel, the killer known as the Iceman, with his diabolical
ways, possibly slipped under the radar, having committed his
crimes before the unit was established. Seven years ago, Jason
Frost, the Iceman, sliced Dawn Alexander up with a knife and
calmly explained how he planned to freeze her to death. This
was personal to the killer, because he used his father's meme,
"blood always comes first and binds." hoping his
brother Tucker would join in the "fun," since Dawn
was his lover. At that moment his brother Tucker, also Dawn's
lover, recognized he had missed all the signs that Jason was
a monster, and knew that in order to save Dawn he must shoot
him.
Fast-forward
to the present day where a serial killer with Jason's hallmarks
starts operating in New Orleans, also the place where Dawn
currently resides and is now being terrorized. Although the
sole survivor of the Iceman's attacks, she still has scars,
both emotional and physical where he maimed her. Samantha's
team, including Tucker Frost, hunts the predator, unsure if
they have a copycat or Jason has returned.
Tucker
must realize that if he is to have the relationship re-emerge
with Dawn he must also let the past go. He needs to compartmentalize
between Jason the brother and Jason the serial killer. His
brother was his support system, teaching him to ride a bike,
holding his hand as they buried their mother, and his best
friend, while the killer was evil, sadistic, and depraved.
Although Dawn starts out as the victim she had developed an
inner strength, making sure her life got back on track. Part
of the reason she became a PI is to be seen as the protector,
not a weak and scared person, but someone who uncovers secrets
and lies to find the truth about people. Now having a sense
of normalcy she is determined not to let this antagonist take
it away from her. A quote from the book hammers the point
when she told Tucker, “He didn’t break me... I
am stronger than he was. I’m stronger than you give
me credit for being… I’ve changed and could let
the fear go. That the past wasn’t going to control my
life.”
In her books, readers also get hints on how to protect themselves.
Eden noted, "I took some self-defense classes. They always
spend an hour on how to be more vigilant in your life. I try
to slip in what I learned into my books. I want to educate
the readers, but hopefully not hit them over the head. In
this book, I told of knowing your surroundings and changing
up your patterns."
A
warning: keep a light on while reading this “Dark”
series. Before The Dawn gets readers hooked from
page one. Eden does a wonderful job with the character development
as she allows readers to get into the minds of the antagonists
and protagonists. The tense atmosphere created with the brutality
of the murders makes the plot very suspenseful.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
After
The Dark
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