A Map of the Dark by Karen Ellis, Book Review

They say people often study psychology or become therapists because they want to solve their own psychological issues and neuroses. If that’s true, then you might not be surprised that the protagonist of this book, FBI Agent Elsa Myers, chose a career looking for missing people. Lost girl looking for lost girl, that could be another title for this delicious thriller. 

The author skilfully weaves a pattern between the demons that plague our heroine and the demon who steals girls. A Map of the Dark, set on the East coast of the US, has all the necessary elements to keep you hooked from the start: A damaged and engaging protagonist, an interesting male cop side-kick, fraught family history and challenging relationships (those who hurt us most are often those nearest to us), a frantic rollercoaster of a search for missing teenagers and a tingling twist at the end.

Maybe I like reading crime because it helps me to deal with my own demons? Way more fun and a lot cheaper than therapy, that’s for sure. Or is it because good authors like Karen Ellis take you out of yourself and into the minds of her characters? Like a skillful pathologist studying the lastest murder victim, she slices through the layers of her characters' psychological complexities, allowing light to shine into some dark corners indeed. I might not want to be besties with Elsa Myers, but I certainly look forward to reading more about her confrontations with the forces of darkness, both externally, as an FBI agent and internally, with her own personal challenges.

Karen Ellis is the pen name of the American author Katia Lief, who wrote the acclaimed thriller series featuring Karin Schaeffer. 

Released today, January 11^th, by Mulholland Books / Hodder.