Steven Richards is driving home late from work only to be struck and killed by a drunk teenage driver. His widow Meg Richards can't understand why God would take her husband from her at a time she needs him most. She had suspected that she might be pregnant and it is confirmed just hours after Steven's death. To add to her grief, the drunk driver might slip through the justice system because of his influential family and his age. Angry and bitter towards God and a faulty justice system, Meg spirals out of control as she seeks retribution for Steven's death. Can her lost faith in God be found before Meg destroys herself?

DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN by Ace Collins is a story about the nature of grief and anger, and the danger of losing yourself to these overwhelming emotions. This Inspirational Fiction novel explores the darkness of feeling betrayed by God and how turning from faith is a self-destructive path.

Each character expresses a different level of grief. Some are easier to connect with while some are not. I didn't connect with Meg at the beginning, and that's largely due to her and Steven's 'perfect' life. She's the perfect nurse. He's the perfect husband, man, and Christian. Any time anyone is described as perfect I automatically start looking for flaws. Perfect people are not real. Meg's grief is real and her reaction is real, but because she was so perfect before the accident, I found it hard to believe her complete reversal.

The connection with Meg strengthened though as she struggled with deciding what to do about the baby. Ace Collins did a wonderful job of handling the explosive topic of abortion. The fact that Meg even thinks about having an abortion is good characterization. There's no judgmental tone, but stark emotion as Meg's world collapses. This particular decision made Meg seem real for me.

DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN is slow to start but the pace increases towards the end. This is mostly because I didn't connect with Meg until midway through. I also feel that the writing toward the end was reflecting a deeper level of internalization than that of the beginning. The start of the story means lots of introduction of both characters and setting. Ace Collins often steps out of deep internalization to describe a character's physical appearance. This isn't my favorite way to get description because I really like being inside the protagonist's mind throughout the story.

DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN by Ace Collins is an inspirational story about hope, forgiveness, and God's love even in times of tragedy.