Eden Wallace is a widow that is suffering not only with grief, but suffers from a phobia of the dark. She is a shell of her former self—she doesn't work, has given up on photography, and experiences night terrors so severe that she cannot sleep unless all of the light are on.
In her late husband's effects, Eden finds paperwork for a reservation at a dark sky park. She decides to face her fear of the dark and go on the anniversary trip he had planned for them. But when she arrives at the cabin, instead of a private retreat, she finds herself among a group of friends that have gathered for a reunion. Eden can't believe her bad luck and decides she will leave first thing the next morning. In the middle of the night, a scream wakes the group, one of their friends has been murdered, and everyone is a suspect.
Eden must unpack her fears to learn who is lying, who is telling the truth, and to find out who is the killer.
I enjoyed The Day I Died and was thrilled to be among the first to read Under a Dark Sky. Rader-Day pens some interesting characters in an Agatha Christie type story. Eden is a flawed character dealing with a traumatic event that has left her damaged and fragile. Her complexity and fear, coupled with grief and vulnerability make her the perfect unreliable narrator.
The story unfolds and exposes secrets and lies about all of the characters—none of them are who they appear to be. The narrative plays out with the blame and focus shifting from one person to the next. Beyond the thriller/mystery aspects of the story, Rader-Day explores relationships, grief, loss, and how dangerous perception is.
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