Loreth Anne White | The Dark Side of Fiction

The dark side of fiction has long held me in its grip. As a child it was the grim, horror-ish fairy tales of huntsmen and princesses and terrifying chases through spooky, sentient forests that spoke to me. And now, even when reading a romance, I’m drawn to those books that examine evil, and show a heroine’s journey deep into her own psyche, where she must first conquer something within herself before she earns the power to stare into the eyes of the Beast at the end, and take him down.

A DARK LURE, at the core, is such a tale.

Twelve years ago my heroine escaped a brutal killer and helped put him behind bars where he died. The ordeal cost her marriage and child, and life as she knew it. Now, struggling with PTSD and horrific scars, she's living under a new name and believes she's finally found sanctuary as a fishing guide on Broken Bar Ranch.

But as the twelve year anniversary of her abduction nears, and winter begins to close an icy fist around the remote Broken Bar wilderness, a dying cop's pledge for justice lures a killer out the woods. And when a fresh victim is found gutted and hanging from a tree, bearing startling similarities to the old Watt Lake slaughters, Olivia must face the impossible—could the Watt Lake Killer be back? Or is it a copycat determined to finish the butcher's job?

A DARK LURE is also a romance, because love is an essential ingredient that is required before my Olivia will be able to find the strength to face down her villain. She will need Cole McDonough, a notorious adventurer and writer, heir to Broken Bar Ranch, a man as untamed and rugged as the mountains around them—a man with his own broken past—to show her how to let go of her shame, and accept herself again, and to open herself to others. It’s also as story about the roots of place, home, and the disparate ways in which we can become family.

Early readers have likened this story in tone to works by author Chevy Stevens. My personal favorite of Chevy’s books is STILL MISSING—also set in rugged British Columbia, which is my home. For more books, authors, movies, or television shows that are in the same general dark, atmospheric category, I can recommend THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY, by Simon Woods; DESCENT by Tim Johnston; CHURCH OF DEAD GIRLS, by Chrisopher Dobyns. For movies with a deeply-dark tone, it would be Prisoners, and for heroines who suffer terribly, and are vulnerable in various ways, yet who find the courage to dig deep and fight back both physically and mentally, while using their particular skill sets—Kiss The Girls, The River Wild, Broadchurch, The Killing, The Fall, and Happy Valley are some of my faves!

About Loreth Anne White

Loreth Anne White is an award-winning author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries. She has won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Romantic Suspense, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall. In addition, she has been a two-time RITA finalist, a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner. A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the Pacific Northwest with her family.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

About DARK LURE

Twelve years ago, Sarah Baker was abducted by the Watt Lake Killer and assaulted for months before managing to escape. The killer was caught, but Sarah lost everything: her marriage, her child, and the life she loved.

Struggling with PTSD, Sarah changes her name to Olivia West and finds sanctuary working on Broken Bar Ranch. But as her scars finally begin to heal, a cop involved with her horrific case remains convinced the Watt Lake Killer is still out there. He sets a lure for the murderer, and a fresh body is discovered. Now Olivia must face the impossible—could the butcher be back, this time to finish his job?

As a frigid winter isolates the ranch, only one person can help Olivia: Cole McDonough, a ranch heir, writer, and adventurer who stirs long-dormant feelings in her. But this time, Olivia’s determination to shut out her past may destroy more than her chance at love. It could cost her her life.