Linda's Reviews > When the Stars Go Dark

Paula McLain's debut thriller focuses on a search for missing girls who have suffered from trauma or abuse. McLain, who experienced childhood trauma and grew up in foster homes, says in the book's afterword that she created detective hero Ana Hart with a similar backstory. In addition to Ana's early trauma, her high school friend Jenny was abducted and killed at 18. At the book's start, Ana has returned to her hometown of Mendocino, where a 15-year old has been reported missing.

Like other fictional detectives who have been victims of childhood trauma, Ana Hart is obsessed with her work. She is a woman on a mission. McLain has done her homework and equipped Anna with in-depth knowledge on trauma's impact on its victims' subsequent behavior, which she uses with great skill throughout the investigation.

While I liked the book overall, I had a problem with the ending. I have read and viewed many mysteries. I guessed the end early on because I have read and seen similar stories where the relationship between the victim and perpetrator was identical to the one in this book. The writers similarly hid the perpetrator's identity as well. I am also tired of the climactic battle between the hero and the perpetrator that inevitably comes near the end.

However, in a sense, I feel that I am unfair to Paula McLain. When the Sky Grows Dark is a finely written and well-developed first mystery. The problem lies with me and my overfamiliarity with the genre.