Darkness Peering

Award-winning short-story writer Blanchard makes an impressive mystery debut with Darkness Peering, a dark, atmospheric tale of a small town haunted by past crimes. In 1980, the police chief of Flowering Dogwood, Maine, commits suicide while investigating the brutal murder of a 14-year-old girl. Eighteen years later, detective Rachel Storrow reopens her father's unfinished case, and is close to learning the disturbing truth behind both deaths when a young teacher at a local school for the blind disappears. The old and new mysteries are entwined, of course, and Rachel picks her way through a series of grisly surprises and dead-end suspects until she reaches the knockout finale. B+