Another great addition to the Brown/de Luca series.

The Good: Once again poor newly sighted Rachel is the target for a serial killer. Although this could have come across as repetitive as we just went through a fairly similar plot in the first book, Shayne did a good job of making this story feel different and fresh. The romance between Mason and Rachel progressed nicely and at the end of the story I was happy with their thoughts on themselves as a couple. Now I'm anxious to see what happens next with all the characters not only just Rachel and Mason but with Jeremy and Joshua too. Oh and how much do I adore Myrtle? By the way, for those not familiar with Maggie Shayne's Amazon Bio, her picture is Myrt. Sure that pup's name might be different in real life and she may not be blind like Myrtle but the pic is adorable all the same. Here's the link in case your wanting to check it out Myrt.

In addition to the character development the plot was interesting and full of suspense. I never realized I liked the whole "stranded with a serial killer during a storm of epic proportions" thing because I didn't care for it in other books but I did enjoy it here. It added an additional layer of suspense that the first book didn't have. Just another way Shayne made this book feel fresh and separate from the first book in the series.

The Bad: OK Rachel, WTH? How'd you go from a smart, give it to you straight, no nonsense, intelligent woman to one TSTL (too stupid to live)? She not only exhibited this once but twice! Two times she took Myrtle out for a potty break and two times she ended up near or in the dark woods surrounding the cabin with no "oops I ran into the killer" contingency plan. This was after she received an obvious threat that she was next on the killer's list. Rachel, you're killing me! Thank goodness Mason had her back and she didn't run into the killer during her obvious lapse in good judgment. If she had I totally would have lowered my rating because I cannot abide my heroines to be TSTL. True story. Oh and Amy was missing from this book. She was given a couple weeks off it seems and after her terrifying encounter in Dream of Danger (a kindle freebie only to be read after Sleep With the Lights On). I would have liked to see her and how she was fairing a month after her ordeal.

In a Nutshell: Overall, I totally enjoyed this book even more than the first. Despite Rachel's stupid moments, despite the lack of Amy, and despite a potentially similar plot issue this was a really good book. I'm very much looking forward to book 3 in this series! ( )

4 ½ Stars - Review to come. ( )

Rachel de Luca’s vision was restored by transplants from a cadaver after she had been blind for twenty years. That story was wonderfully told in SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON. WAKE TO DARKNESS is a worthy sequel. It is not necessary to read the first book to understand the full story of this one but if you haven’t read it, you will get so much information that the first one won’t be as much a thriller as it should be. In other words, read SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON first.
WAKE TO DARKNESS begins with the murder of one of the beneficiaries from SLEEP WITH THE LIGHTS ON. She becomes the first, but not the last. Rachel starts having dreams which show the victims’ murders. Working with Police Detective Mason Brown, who played a major role in her receiving the transplants, they try to find out who is doing the latest round of killings while protecting her and other beneficiaries. When the situation hits too close to home, Rachel, Mason, and their families escape to an isolated ski resort but things don’t improve.
Rachel and Mason’s personal relationship develops as they try to determine how it should be going. He realizes that Rachel, who has become famous and wealthy through her popular self-help books, doesn’t think she believes the platitudes she writes and speaks about but raises questions as to how honest she is with herself.
I figured out the murderer partway through the book, then quickly decided I was wrong. Combined with the previous book, it does make sense.
WAKE TO DARKNESS is a well-written page turner with well-developed, realistic characters who adjust to changing situations. I enjoy her little asides to the reader and the occasional changes between perspectives from Rachel to Mason. I don’t understand the title, though. My main complaint is Rachel uses too much profanity (not on every page or even every chapter) but I don’t understand why, especially when she uses it in front of her niece or Mason’s nephews and realizes she shouldn’t ( )

Detective Mason Brown and self-help author Rachel de Luca thought the killing had stopped when Mason’s serial-killer brother, Eric, committed suicide. When the murders continued, they stopped the two men who had received some of Eric’s organs that continued his killing spree. It was definitely over. Or was it? Now someone is killing the rest of Eric’s organ recipients, and they have to figure out who the murderer is before it’s too late. You see, Rachel, who had been blind since age 12, was the recipient of Eric’s corneas, which restored her sight after 20 years of blindness. She’s next on the hit list if they don’t stop the killer first. After failed attacks on Rachel and Marie, Eric’s widow, Mason and Rachel take the entire family to a remote ski resort. However, the killer has also decided to hit the slopes. Will they stop the killing before it’s too late for Rachel?

I didn’t read the first book, so I was a little lost in some areas. However, I think Shayne did a good job of providing enough explanation. I wasn’t sold on the part of the story line where Rachel has dreams about the killings. Honestly, I didn’t really like Rachel as a character, although she grew on me by the end. (Myrtle, Rachel’s blind dog, was definitely my favorite character!) I had figured out who the killer was pretty early on, and I couldn’t believe it took Mason and Rachel so long to figure it out. The clues are definitely there! ( )

Rachel and Mason thought the issues with organ/tissue transplants from his brother Eric, were over with a couple of months ago. But now someone is killing the organ recipients and cutting the donated parts out of the people while they are paralyzed and aware but unable to move. When the organ thief goes after Rachel, and his sister-in-law, Marie, Mason figures it’s time for Rachel, her niece and his entire family to go into hiding at a resort in the middle of nowhere for Christmas. Joining them is Mason’s partner, Rosie, and his wife to help watch over everyone. Only the trouble follows them there.

This story is more than just a mystery. We’d met a lot of the characters in the first book and this one is heavy on the different relationships and problems they’ve been experiencing since Eric’s death. The situations are both realistic and some great insight is given.

But there is plenty of tension involving the threats as well as Rachel’s growing relationship with Mason. I found the “who and why” aspect of the mystery to be surprising. This story sucked me in as well as the first book did.

I’d suggest reading Sleeping With the Lights On before reading this book just to have a better appreciation for what everyone is going through. There is a novella (Dream of Danger) available for free as of this writing that comes between these two books, but you won’t be missing much if you don’t catch it before this one. ( )