Title: Dark Memento by Katie Reus
Series:Â Verona Bay, Book 1
Narrated By: Heather Costa, Jeffrey Kafter
Release Date: October 15, 2019
Format: Audiobook (7 hrs and 3 mins)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Romantic Suspense
Blurb: Welcome to Verona Bay, a small coastal town where the secrets just wonât stay buriedâand people arenât always who they seem.
She was the one that got awayâŚ
Eight years ago Serenity Washington watched as her twin sister was murdered. She was lucky to escape the same grisly fate. With her sisterâs killer in jail, she relocated and tried to move on with her life. She married a man in the Air Force and started a family, but when her husband dies unexpectedly she moves back to the last place she remembers being happyâVerona Bay, FL.
Now that sheâs come home, itâs all starting againâŚ
Within months of Serenityâs homecoming, she receives a âgiftââa bracelet from her sister that was never recovered after her deathâand a taunting note. Terrified for herself and her young daughter, she turns to the local sheriff for help. But thereâs only so much they can do without proof that the gifts arenât more than sick pranks. Thereâs been no DNA, no fingerprints left behindânothing to indicate whoâs leaving them. As the horrifying gifts arrive with increasing frequency, Serenity has no doubt that sheâs the ultimate target. But with her sisterâs murdererâa confessed serial killerâstill behind bars, she has no idea whoâs stalking her.
She turns to the one man sheâs been trying to keep her distance fromâŚ
Former Marine Lucas Jordan has been hung up on single mom Serenity since she moved back to Verona Bay, but sheâs made it clear sheâs not looking for a relationship. When sheâs targeted, however, all bets are off. He wonât sit by while sheâs terrorized, and with her and her daughterâs lives in danger heâs prepared to stand his ground and protect them both. Together they face the impossible task of trying to figure out who to trust before they all wind up six feet under.
This book started immediately with a traumatic incident. Serenity and her twin sister Savannah Washington were kidnapped and tortured by the serial killer Michael Black. It was suspenseful and angst-filled in the first few chapters. Serenity escapes but her twin sister didn’t survive the ordeal but the killer was captured.
Serenity tries to build her life despite the PTSD, she got married and had a daughter. When her husband dies, Serenity moves back to her hometown of Verona Bay. She opens a business and begins to establish her life but Serenity begins to receive mementos taken from her during her imprisonment. It appears that she is being stalked again. She’s afraid and her high school friend Lucas Jordan wants to help her. But Serenity is afraid to let him into her life because people close to her are being hunted and murdered. Its not safe to be around her and she isn’t sure the FBI can protect her and her daughter. Lucas is determined to protect Serenity and young daughter Harper, but as more than just a friend. This one was a nail bitter!
It was really well written, suspenseful and I couldn’t stop listening. There was some darkness, but Serenity was a fighter. Her will to survive was undeniable. She wouldn’t allow the serial killer to break her and she was determined to win for herself and her twin who didn’t make it. This is a really good beginning to a new series.
*I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest opinion.
The story was writing so well and this narrative was so authentic as it drew on current issues/events pertaining lands considered sacred to Native Americans. My only issue was that there wasn’t enough romance in this first book to balance the heaviness of the controversial themes.
