Iris in the Dark: when it's time to stop running

Iris in the Dark by Elissa Grossell Dickey is a suspenseful story of one woman’s life in the shadows. Iris Jenkins is a single mother who spends most of her day looking over her shoulder. She knows bad things happen. She has seen bad things happen. For eight years, she has shut the door on her past and made a new life for herself and her son, Finn. But she can’t help but fear that the past isn’t truly done with her yet. When her close friend and boss entrusts her to house sit at a lodge on the South Dakota prairie, she’s ready for anything. Little does Iris know but she’s in for a few surprises. First, Sawyer Jones, the lodge’s neighbor and caretaker. He is a caring and reassuring person who helps her feel safe and even truly alive once again. Late one night, Iris hears a chilling cry for help coming from an old walkie-talkie buried in a box of toys. She tries to dismiss it as her overactive imagination but soon the voice becomes more desperate, personal and menacing. Has her past truly found her? Will she find the strength to fight back or will she run again? 

Iris in the Dark is a suspenseful and gripping story. It takes the idea of those strange night noises that would cause any of us to imagine the worst and asks what if? It is a story of domestic violence and the fight to end the cycle and survive. It is a story of finding one’s worth when the world tells you that you are worthless. I enjoyed Iris’s character and understood her need to be overprotective and overly anxious. She has spent her life afraid of her own shadow, hiding out of the spotlight, hoping not to draw attention to herself. There is a little bit of romance between Iris and Sawyer but not enough to take away from the main story. It was nice to see Iris in a safe place with a safe relationship. Once I started, I could not put it down. It was a slow build, adding elements until the final dam breaks and the action takes off. This story has all the elements of a good suspense with red herrings and misdirections. It was a surprise when the tormentor was revealed. I wasn’t expecting that! I thoroughly enjoyed Iris in the Dark and I highly recommend it! 

Iris in the Dark is available June 7, 2022 in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.