Katia Lief writing as Karen Ellis
““The start of a riveting series. Tight plotting will keep readers turning the pages.” —Publishers Weekly”
““Compelling...a solid choice for readers who enjoy Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series.” —Booklist”
““Ellis writes with a lyrical economy, alternating between glimpses into Elsa’s fraught childhood and the case at hand. Readers will savor getting to know this singular heroine, a cop who feels the call of a lost child.” —Kirkus Reviews”
Elsa Myers was damaged long before she started working for the FBI. She lives alone in Brooklyn and is devoted to her work, above all else. But with each new child that goes missing, memories twitch awake with things she’d rather forget about her own childhood.
Now, as she watches her father dying in the hospital, she’s forced to come to terms with grief and subverted rage associated with her past. At the same time, she’s called into the case of a missing teenage girl, Ruby, and discovers the possibility that Ruby’s disappearance may not be an isolated event. Newly partnered with NYPD Detective Lex Cole, Elsa throws herself into the investigation while unwelcome memories flood in. But what feel like personal distractions ultimately inform the hunt for a criminal who won’t stop until he’s caught. With Lex Cole’s help and the support of their growing friendship, Elsa navigates her inner minefield and perseveres as clues merge with instinct and together the investigators draw closer to their target.
As pressure mounts—the calls from the hospital, a media storm around Ruby’s abduction, and then a crisis involving Elsa’s beloved niece—self-destructive forces emanating from a dark secret from Elsa’s own past threaten to undermine her with potentially devastating consequences.
““Tight prose, strong characters, and deft storytelling… a riveting tale that begs to be read in one sitting. Readers who enjoy police procedurals and Karin Slaughter’s thrillers will delight in discovering a new voice.” – Library Journal”
““Vivid, compelling and emotionally engaging, as the best crime novels are. Elsa is an unforgettable central character, damaged but determined. You know you are in good hands as the plot skillfully brings her past and her family into the investigation…A perfect, deeply satisfying thriller that grips right to the end.”
—Jane Casey, bestselling author of LET THE DEAD SPEAK
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““Deftly plotted and packed with blind curves, A Map of the Dark careens into dangerous territory, where Karen Ellis entwines complex storylines with breakneck precision. A must-read for fans of taut, unpredictable psychological suspense.”
–New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub”
““A riveting, breathless novel, equal parts police procedural and emotional personal journey. Karen Ellis’s twisty plot, dark storytelling, and nail-biting action kept me reading far too late into the night. A triumph!”
—Karen Dionne, author of THE MARSH KING’S DAUGHTER”
““A Map of the Dark is a terrific novel, wonderfully written, richly populated, and utterly gripping from start to finish”
—Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author of THE TRAVELER”
““A beautifully rendered portrait of familial grief, loss, and decades-old demons wrapped inside a terrific race-against-time thriller starring a believably flawed heroine. I hope we haven’t seen the last of FBI agent Elsa Myers, whose choices, past and present, will haunt me for a very long time.”
—Sarah Weinman, editor of WOMEN CRIME WRITERS: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s and TROUBLED DAUGHTERS, TWISTED WIVES”