The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Dangers of an Ordinary Night

by Lynne Reeves

Published by Crooked Lane Books on November 9, 2021
Genres: Psychological Thrillers
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
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Perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and Megan Abbott, Lynne Reeves'

The Dangers of an Ordinary Night

is an exploration of the explosive family secrets that are often hidden in plain sight.

On a chilly fall evening at the prestigious Performing Arts High School of Boston, best friends Tali Carrington and June Danforth go missing after auditioning for a play. They're last seen in grainy, out-of-focus surveillance footage that shows them walking side-by-side. Two days later in a town south of Boston, Tali is found disoriented and traumatized by the ocean's edge, while June is pronounced dead at the scene.

Tali's mother, Nell, is so bent on protecting her daughter from further emotional harm that she enlists the help of Cynthia Rawlins, a renowned therapist for families. Meanwhile, Detective Fitz Jameson is assigned to the investigation and dives into the lives of high-performing students who may be harboring dark secrets.

As Nell, Cynthia, and Fitz confront their own contributions to the tragedies and scandals that beleaguer them, their lives turn out to be more deeply intertwined than they'd ever imagined. And they must decide what lengths they're willing to go to protect the people they love while also saving themselves.

The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves is a thrilling psychological adventure that will keep you guessing.

What happened to June? Why did Tali survive?

Nell Carrington

Nell is Tali’s mother. She is sick with worry and blames herself for not being home and leaving her gambling husband in charge of their teenage daughter. She hasn’t had an easy life, but Nell works hard and truly loves her daughter. You could say that Tali is the best part of Nell’s life. I immediately was rooting for Nell. She has a good head on her shoulders, has a good job, and tries to help her husband with his gambling problem. However, Nell has some issues that she needs to face, and standing up for herself is one of them.

Once Tali is found alive, but June isn’t. Nell feels lucky that she has the daughter that wasn’t hurt. The events put their lives under a spotlight. Tali is handling it all quite well. She has landed the lead in the next play at school, and she seems to be bouncing back just fine.

Detective Fitz Jameson

Fitz is a police detective assigned to the kidnapping case. We get to know Fitz and his family somewhat. Fitz and his sister Kiera are twins. He has a younger brother too that isn’t around. Fitz never wants to see his brother again. Fitz lost a friend in high school, and everything in his life changed. He gave up his dream of becoming a concert pianist and now only plays at a local bar one night a week.

I like Fitz. Although, he seriously needs to let go of the guilt. He sees things that other cops don’t, and he is respectful to the people he is questioning. I would be a friend to him and his sister if I met them.

Cynthia “Cyn” Rawlins, Therapist

Cyn’s life just exploded. Her therapist boyfriend was just caught sleeping with a patient. They lost their practice and apartment. He lost his license, and Cyn. So, you could say that Cyn is dealing with a lot in her life. Yet, Cyn takes Tali’s case and agrees to meet her when she is found. The Carringtons are Cyn’s last client before handing her off and starting her new job as a teacher at the local college. However, Cyn gets sucked into Tali, Nell, and Zeke’s life, and she decides to stay on as their family counselor.

I like Cyn. She is intelligent, pretty, and has a hard time forgiving herself for not seeing what her ex was doing before. Cyn is also resilient. She needs to give herself time and jump back into the living.

The Mystery

Who kidnapped June and Tali, and why did they kill June and not Tali? Who is the mysterious stranger that took the girls, and how is Zeke involved? These are the things that kept running through my mind as I was engrossed in the story. Some plot twists keep us guessing. It is amazing how kids change as they grow up. My heart goes out to Peter as now he is entirely alone.

Five Stars

I immensely enjoyed this book. The author hooked me from the first page. I felt so sorry for June. My rating for The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves is five stars. I highly recommend it to all your psychological thriller readers out there,

Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Dangers of an Ordinary Night by Lynne Reeves.

Until the next time,

 

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