Cassie Jackson reluctantly sells her Boston business and follows her husband Alan Harrington to his backwoods Virginia hometown of Andrews Meadows. His plan to abandon corporate law to start an alpaca farm with his brothers seems strange, but is of little interest to her in the big scheme of things. She just wants the chance to rekindle their marriage. After a series of miscarriages their relationship could use time away from the pressures of the city to heal, to become as it had been when they first met in college.

The behavior of her hellish mother-in-law during Alan's welcome home meal is the first inkling that the move may have been a mistake, the inability of her husband to see his mother's cruelty is another. It is as if the man she married has become a stranger, or as if the man he was in Boston was a lie.

Andrews Meadows has nothing suitable available to rent as their new home, but the little town of Silver Grove just across the river is a gem. It's friendly townspeople and picturesque main street is a world away from the grubby and disturbing Andrews Meadows. Cassie finds the perfect home next door to the owner, the warm and welcoming Morgaine Gold who decides on the spot that Cassie should have the cottage. Her grandnephew occupies the third house on the lot. David Argon is one of Silver Grove's finest, his job as a cop making Cassie feel safe even as her attraction to his good looks and kind demeanor make her feel a bit guilty.

Rosemary Laurey's interesting take on paranormal romance elevates DARK IN THE WOODS a bit above the rest. The bucolic setting she creates is shattered by brutal murders and Laurey doesn't hesitate to entice readers to care for characters whom are later killed off. There is not much slow building of tension in the beginning, more of a series of shocks interspersed with the growing relationship between Cassie and David. Later in the story the tension is skillfully ratcheted up to make this one of the better suspense novels I've read. Overall I found it an enjoyable read, if a tiny bit too far on the horror side of the line for comfort. If you like romantic suspense, though, you will very likely enjoy this paranormal take on the genre.