When a young mother is murdered and her baby disappears, Freeport, Michigan, medical examiner Dr. Emily Hartford fears the worst. But the vicious killer isn’t finished yet. Leaving a trail of bodies in his wake, Colton Chauncey races to sell the stolen child and vanish before the law or Emily catches up to him. WHAT DARKNESS DOES by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush is a chilling race against time when every minute counts and no one is safe. Dr. Emily Hartford’s week goes from demanding to deadly when a young woman’s body is pulled from a Michigan lake. As she determines the cause of death, Emily must also deal with the return of her missing boyfriend, FBI agent Nick Larsen, who has been placed in a psychiatric ward after a botched FBI assignment in China. Working alongside Detective Isode Aditson, Emily learns the young woman, Savannah Browdey, was set to testify in her rape case against a local man named Colton Chauncey. While Nick battles an infection in the hospital, he becomes increasingly agitated and insistent on joining the hunt for Chauncey, but Emily fears for his mental and physical health. As she works to find the baby girl, more bodies pile up, and a ruthless killer destroys everyone in his path, even those closest to him. Can Emily find the missing baby girl before the darkness claims another innocent life? WHAT DARKNESS DOES is a masterfully crafted thriller that grabs readers from the first page and never lets go. Jennifer Graeser Dornbush delivers a pulse-pounding blend of forensic detail, emotional depth, and relentless suspense. The villain is truly monstrous, the crimes chillingly realistic, and the stakes unbearably high. Dornbush skillfully balances Emily’s professional pressures with her personal turmoil, creating a complex heroine readers can root for. With its crisp writing, taut pacing, and multiple perspectives, WHAT DARKNESS DOES is a riveting descent into the darkest corners of human nature, made all the more haunting by its basis in the true story of Rachel Timmerman and Marvin Gabrion.
Dr. Emily Hartford finds herself dredging the depths of Lake Isabella—and her own past relationship—in What Darkness Does, the next thrilling mystery from Jennifer Graeser Dornbush.
Called in to investigate the body of a young mother found floating in a small Michigan lake, Freeport coroner Dr. Emily Hartford quickly determines that Samantha Browdey was murdered. Among the many questions circling this horrifying event is one that yanks hard on Emily's heartstrings: Where is Samantha's infant daughter? Working alongside police detective Isode Aditson, Emily becomes ferociously determined to find the missing baby, Brooklyn.
At the same time, Emily's longtime boyfriend Nick Larsen has reappeared—after being missing, presumed dead, for over a year. But Nick has changed. Badly injured and severely traumatized, the ex-cop turned FBI agent is a different man, one who has endured unimaginable brutality and then buried his secrets deep. Nick has a long road ahead ... but he's not a patient man, and catching a sadistic killer seems like good enough therapy to him.
Emily has her doubts, but what's clear is that a cruel killer's reign of terror must be stopped, one way or another. Their foe is formidable, increasingly bold, and brutally reckless. To catch this monster, Nick must battle his own demons, while Emily puzzles together the mystery of Brooklyn's whereabouts, in hopes of giving a grieving family a happy ending.
© 2003-2026