Her Darkest Nightmare - Brenda Novak

Her Darkest Nightmare

By Brenda Novak

  • Release Date: 2016-08-30
  • Genre: Women Sleuths
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 218 Ratings

Description

Her Darkest Nightmare, first in an electrifying series from New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak

THE HUNT FOR A SERIAL KILLER

Evelyn Talbot knows that a psychopath can look perfectly normal. She was only sixteen when her own boyfriend Jasper imprisoned and tortured her—and left her for dead. Now an eminent psychiatrist who specializes in the criminal mind, Evelyn is the force behind Hanover House, a maximum-security facility located in a small Alaskan town. Her job puts her at odds with Sergeant Amarok, who is convinced that Hanover is a threat to his community…even as his attraction to beautiful Evelyn threatens to tear his world apart.

BEGINS WITH AN ESCAPE FROM HER PAST

Then, just as the bitter Alaskan winter cuts both town and prison off from the outside world, the mutilated body of a local woman turns up. For Amarok, this is the final proof he needs: Hanover has to go. Evelyn, though, has reason to fear that the crime is a personal message to her—the first sign that the killer who haunts her dreams has found her again. . .and that the life she has so carefully rebuilt will never be the same…

“Brenda Novak's seamless plotting, emotional intensity, and true-to-life characters…make her books completely satisfying.”—New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

Reviews

  • Under delivered

    3
    By Blissfully1
    Was super excited to read. Started off good, but declined pretty quickly. Dialogue was choppy and awkward. You will get tired of Evelyn’s constant inability to move forward, constant references to Amarok’s age and “Jasper, Jasper, Jasper”. Going to get off the Series train now.
  • Excellent book!

    5
    By brilliant brain games
    I love this author and this was a new genre for her but equally written as excellent book. I recommend it highly . It keeps your interest from first chapter.
  • Her Darkest Nightmare

    2
    By dennisan
    I felt that the real story wasn’t told. So much repetition in explaining the story of her work and feelings for her love interest. She left out the story of what really happened and alluded to it vaguely. I wanted to know the way she met this perpetrator as high school sweethearts, how she was with her friends. What led to his actions and what exactly did he do to them in details. How did she get away. She made her character a harlequin romance heroine. Beautiful and stupid boring.
  • Half Decent

    3
    By Discerning Reader
    Really just two and a half stars, half decent, writing pretty juvenile. Good premise, but the Perils of Pauline.
  • I need more. Now.

    5
    By Caroline_AA
    Word to the wise: Don't read two thrillers concurrently in which a teenage girl is the sole survivor of a massacre. This was a book I won through Goodreads. (Yay!) I don't read a lot of straight up romance, but this is a romantic thriller. And though from the very beginning I was hesitant, I wound up absolutely loving this book. I need to get my hands on the prequel and the next one in the series! Evelyn Talbot is an interesting character. Having survived being tortured and left for dead by her psychotic high school boyfriend—after he killed all her best friends—she's spent her life dedicated to unraveling the minds of psychopaths as a psychiatrist. Now running Hanover House, a prison in the wilderness of Alaska meant to house the most dangerous psychopaths in America, Evelyn must face her past. In this book, one of Evelyn's dearest friends at Hanover House is murdered, her dismembered head the only thing found. Evelyn is sure it's Jasper, her psychotic ex-boyfriend, toying with her before finishing what he failed to do when she was sixteen. From there, the clues keep piling up. This was a very fun, dark, and twisty ride. There were so many red herrings it was hard to know who the killer really was. And just when you think it's going to end — BAM!! Another twist!! The romance was really good too. Evelyn is emotionally scarred because of Jasper and has never been with a man since. The sexy and fierce state trooper, Amarok (a nickname, which means wolf), is determined to break through her shields though. She doesn't think she's worth the hassle, but he begs to differ. The chemistry between them is awesome. I can't wait to see what happens next for them. I also really loved all the quotes from real psychopaths which preceded each chapter. Those plus the story itself had me looking at every person I know with a "could they be a psychopath?" filter on. I absolutely recommend this to readers who enjoy mysteries and thrillers. This was a real treat and won't be my last Brenda Novak novel.
  • Loved it!

    5
    By KathyDubois
    I am such a big fan of Brenda Novak now!!! Loved this book. Evelyn is such a complex character. I feared for her life more than once in this story! Just a warning about reading it at night alone, I had to stop three nights in a row! LOL I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who adores suspense/thrillers!
  • Brenda Novak does it again

    5
    By Bookworming it
    God, this book kept me at the edge of my seat. I find myself telling all of my friends about it. I definitely cannot wait until the next one!
  • Her darkest nightmare

    5
    By Tbone642
    I could not put this book down! Now when does the next one come out?!!
  • Brenda Novak's Her Darkest Nightmare

    5
    By Carol M Smith
    Her Darkest Nightmare is a fresh and uniquely different. The story takes place in the isolated town of Hilltop, Alaska. The Hanover House is a high security penitentiary where the worst serial killer are housed. They are here for Dr Evelyn Talbot to study the psychopathology of their behavior patterns. Out of the blue two Hanover House employees are grossly murdered. What is happening? Who could be responsible? Riveting, high octane, power packed with emotion, this story gets off to a fast starts and never slows down until the last page. It is quite a tangled web of clues, deception, lies and many secrets. Great read!!! Thank you to the author for this eBook. My opinion is my own. This book was so good that I bought it!!
  • It’s not just her nightmare

    5
    By KPMe1
    I don't even know where to begin. This book was beyond fantastic. It has intrigue, mystery, psychological terror, a splash of romance and one of the best story lines I've read in ages! Evelyn Talbot doesn't seem like a character that would invoke compassion on the surface but there are so many layers to her. Delving into her psyche is like cutting an onion, there is layer after layer, each revealing with some pleasing and some not so pleasing. We had a previous introduction to her but her character truly develops in this book, giving us more understanding of what makes her tick. Her fascination with serial killers comes off at first as something creepy but as we learn more about her and her past we get a better understanding of what she's really trying to do. Amarok, well what can you say, he's just the perfect flawed hero! The setting in Alaska is thrilling, just in it's closeness to nature and the wilds lends so much to the story, I don't think the story would have had the same effect if it were written in another location. Overall this is just a fantastic read with deep, evolving characters that has a story line that is boundless!