One Dark, Two Light (Sarah Kellerman #2) by Ruth Mancini
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 14th June 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 5th March 2020)
★★★ 3 stars
While this is my first time reading Ruth Mancini, ONE DARK, TWO LIGHT is the second book to feature solicitor Sarah Kellerman. I wasn't aware this was a series but having read this book I will be interested to check out the first one "In the Blood".
It's New Year's Eve and a man walks drunkenly home from the Hope and Glory pub. But just a couple of minutes after midnight he becomes the victim of a vicious attack then brutally run over and left for dead. Barely alive, he is taken to the hospital but no one knows who he is as he has no ID. He is a mystery.
But one morning three months later solicitor Sarah Kellerman walks into the hospital to visit her boyfriend Nick, a barrister, and passes the mystery man's room. A flicker of a memory and she recognises him instantly. Mark Felding was a custody sergeant based at one of the police stations in London that she frequented for clients. But he suddenly disappeared and no one really knew what happened to him. So what happened to him? Why did no one know who he was? And why wasn't he reported missing?
Sarah begins to dig into the mystery behind Mark's disappearance in an effort to learn what truly happened to him and in the process one of her clients, a young Jamaican 15 year old boy Jerome, is brought in for questioning over the theft of a 4x4 not far from the estate on which he lives. Although Jerome's form is for stealing cars, Sarah believes him when he says he didn't steal this one. In his eyes, a black 4x4 with blacked out windows on an estate like his belongs to drug dealers and he steers clear of those. But the police who question him are adamant - a black teen wearing a hoodie was seen in the vicinity.
Then Sarah is approached by DCI John Sinclair at court one day who informs her that Mark has been working undercover for the past two years infiltrating a drug gang. But Mark had turned rogue and started dealing himself, his life thus spiraling. But none of this struck Sarah as being true. She believes she was being warned off. But she continues to look into Mark's attack. But when Jerome is picked up once again - this time for the attempted murder of a police officer - Sarah knows something deeper is going on.
Meanwhile, Sarah's personal life is somewhat in disarray. Her partner, Will, is in hospital with a life threatening condition that could result in the amputation of his leg. Will is somewhat cagey about what happened and is reluctant to discuss it that when Sarah pushes him she doesn't believe his explanation. And now her ex husband Andy, who walked out on her and her autistic son Ben two years before, has returned wanting to start again. Sarah doesn't have time to deal with Andy but he proves to be an eager babysitter as he learns to bond with his non-verbal son. Despite walking out on them two years ago because he couldn't deal with his son's disability, Andy steps up and proves to be an eager and competent carer for Ben in Sarah's absence.
A slow burn thriller, ONE DARK, TWO LIGHT is a cleverly written, complex and twist-filled read. As secret after secret is exposed, Sarah is determined to get to the truth about what happened to Mark. She lets nothing stand in her way, not even when the risk becomes greater and her client's life is at stake.
I'm not sure what I think about Sarah, although if I was ever in trouble I'd certainly want her in my corner. And I found it hard connecting with the story around her son. I know he is autistic and non-verbal but I didn't find him real because he didn't connect with anyone...though for someone like him I know that is completely normal. He just seemed like something on the edge of dream...it's hard to explain. But in Sarah's place, I don't know how she managed to hold down a full time legal career and be a full time carer to Ben. Andy's re-entrance couldn't have come at a better time, as he could start to share some of the responsibility with caring for him when Sarah is called away.
ONE DARK, TWO LIGHT is a solid and compelling read. Its story content is not normally something I am enamoured with - council estates, drug dealing - but this one was different. And with so many secrets to uncover, I was still able to figure out who was responsible...one on count...while still being surprised at the end.
An explosive read, ONE DARK, TWO LIGHT is thrilling and compelling with an incredibly complex plot. Recommended for thriller fans.
I would like to thank #RuthMancini, #NetGalley and #HeadOfZeus for an ARC of #OneDarkTwoLight in exchange for an honest review.
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