Claire Morgan and Nicholas Black have been through a lot to get to where they are now. Finally, everything is going well for them, both personally and professionally. Black has waited a long time for Claire to agree to marry him and then to set a date for the wedding in her beloved Lake of the Ozarks home. He found the perfect spot for their honeymoon -- a stunning, secluded Italian villa. However, as he leaves the villa to make his way home, the cruel and evil Marcel Soquet, who blames Black for his wife's death, takes him captive.

Reports that Black's private plane exploded with him on board reach Claire and her wedding guests just as she is wondering why the groom is late. Believing him dead, Claire is shocked to receive a call from his cell phone. His sadistic captors torment Claire with horrible threats against Black, but their only demand is that she come to rescue him. Black's life and sanity depend on Claire and the assistance of Rico, a small boy also being held captive by the demented Soquet family. Claire relies on Black's best friends, Holliday and Booker, as well as her business partner, Novak, to come to their rescue. These three are well-trained commandos and skilled at hostage extraction, but the Soquets are psycho-assassins and masters at diversion and trickery. Is this the end for them all? Or will they find an ingenious way to survive?

GONE BLACK, the ninth installment in Linda Ladd's stunning Claire Morgan Investigations, is an excellent addition to this highly suspenseful series. The terror level is over the top with spine-chilling plot twists and some very nasty antagonists. To save Black, Claire has to prove not only her physical prowess, but also her astute intelligence dealing with some of the vilest villains she has ever encountered. And she has certainly dealt with her share of disreputable criminals over the course of this series. I am glad that Ms. Ladd gives readers more insight into Claire's new PI partner, Novak. He proves to be an impressive operative, so I am hoping he will be featured more in future installments. Having reviewed (and enjoyed!) all the books in this thrilling series, I can say that GONE BLACK is one of the best.