What's Done in Darkness

A Novel

By: Laura McHugh

Narrated by: Jennifer Sun Bell

Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Abducted as a teenager, a woman must now confront her past and untangle the truth of what really happened to her in this dark thriller from the author of The Wolf Wants In.

One of the Best Books of the Year: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Self

“Compulsively, propulsively readable.” (Laura Lippman, best-selling author of Lady in the Lake)

Seventeen-year-old Sarabeth has become increasingly rebellious since her parents found God and moved their family to a remote Arkansas farmstead where she’s forced to wear long dresses, follow strict rules, and grow her hair down to her waist. She’s all but given up on escaping the farm when a masked man appears one stifling summer morning and snatches her out of the cornfield.

A week after her abduction, she’s found alongside a highway in a bloodstained dress - alive - but her family treats her like she’s tainted, and there’s little hope of finding her captor, who kept Sarabeth blindfolded in the dark the entire time, never uttering a word. One good thing arises from the horrific ordeal: a chance to leave the Ozarks and start a new life.

Five years later, Sarabeth is struggling to keep her past buried when Investigator Nick Farrow calls. Convinced that her case is connected to the strikingly similar disappearance of another young girl, Farrow wants Sarabeth’s help, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it, even if that means dragging her back to the last place she wants to go - the hills and hollers of home, to face her estranged family and all her deepest fears.

In this riveting novel from Laura McHugh, blood ties and buried secrets draw a young woman back into the nightmare of her past to save a missing girl, unaware of what awaits her in the darkness.

©2021 Laura McHugh (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“What really sets McHugh apart, though, is that her social novels are seasoned with gothic horror. Each of them has kept me reading late into the night and left me chilled by their revelations. The mountains and hollows of Arkansas are gorgeous, but there be monsters in those hills.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Laura McHugh’s psychological thrillers are characterized by their deeply wrought characters, objectively harrowing situations, and their shared setting in the Midwest and Ozarks. In What’s Done in Darkness, a woman revisits her abduction as a teenager when more information comes to light.” (Oprah Daily)

“[McHugh is] a sharp observer of the nuanced dynamics that make the Heartland tick, particularly in its shadier corners, and her female characters are rich and full of life - even when they’re the victims of horrific evils.” (Elle)

Perfect narrator for a harrowing ride!

I chose the book after seeing it featured in our alumni magazine, and what a treat it was! The story was a terrifying slow burn, the twist was perfectly delivered, and the characters rang true. But it was the narrator that sealed the deal: either she's from the very area where the story is set, or she did a fantastic job recreating that very particular "bootheel" dialect. (Oh, and Landry's? Name changed slightly, but those throwed rolls are the real deal.)

Bought on a whim.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought this title from the winter sale. (2022) I was pleasantly surprised and found myself drawn in. This is an easy read that I think is good for a weekend cuddled under a warm blanket with a mug of hot cocoa!

Fantastic!

This book was absolutely fantastic! I did not want it to end. The narrator was also great!

Enjoyable Listen

Liked the readers voice and the story was interesting enough to hold my attention. I would recommend this book but you will figure out the antagonist long before it’s revealed.

Secrets and sunshine

Great story, easy to follow and couldn’t stop listening once I started it. Well done

Good Story, Wished For a Better Reading

This story was interesting, but I struggled to keep listening because of the narrator's performance. She would have been fine with different material, but the accent she attempted for the many characters from the Arkansas Ozarks (my home) was painfully bad and wrong. Not only was it a poorly-executed, stereotypical, Hollywood version of a Southern accent, but it was also (sort of) a coastal/deep South accent, which is completely wrong for the mountain South. There are Ozarkers doing a great job of narrating books, and I've heard non-Ozarkers do a good job with the accent. I really wish this book would have had the benefit of one of those.

Beautifully Told

The narration of this perfect thriller was worth every penny! I recommend this to anyone who wants an escape.

You’re welcome!

10/10 book quick good read

Books starts off slow but when it gets going it’s so good you won’t want to stop the ending is so surprising I couldn’t have guessed who the kidnapper was but it made so much sense.

Great story and listen

Narrator was perfect for this story, She did a fantastic job. I loved the story and will be looking at more from this author

Meh

I had high hopes for this book, but it was very mediocre. Not terrible, but not good either. And the narration was grating, trying way to hard to be sweet soft southern.