Title: Into The Dark Forest
Author: Jeanine Fricke
Publisher: Universe
ISBN: 978-1532001581
Pages: 250
Genre: Fiction / Cozy Mystery
Reviewed by: Jake Bishop
Pacific Book Review
Mysteries come in all shapes and sizes. Occasionally, one comes along that sets its sights on how real people might actually react to hardship and adversity when they have no idea what’s going on around them. This is the road taken by Into The Dark Forest, a novel that engagingly employs mystery to tell a story of loss, revival, and the healing power of enduring friendship.
Set in the picturesque landscape in and around Missoula, Montana, two women who have already suffered major tragedies in their lives, are plunged into another. Walking home after celebrating a birthday, a massive vehicle runs them down. Olivia escapes with only minor scratches. Alyssa is crushed and broken—perhaps beyond repair. Barely alive and in a coma, doctors believe she has only days to live. But Olivia fiercely believes otherwise. She knows too well the fighting spirit of her lifelong friend. So she begins a vigil at Alyssa’s bedside to do everything humanly possible and more, to have her friend awake. While this life and death struggle is taking place, we learn that the hit and run was actually premeditated. Someone wanted Alyssa out of the way or dead. When subsequent attempts on her life are made within the hospital itself—attempts that are foiled by Olivia’s intervention—she too becomes a target—first for intimidation, then for elimination.
In addition to the aforementioned story being told, author Fricke melds in a budding romance between Olivia and the detective assigned to Alyssa’s case. Such inclusions can sometimes feel tacked on, but this one is honestly portrayed and integral to the narrative. It adds emotional impact not only to plot resolution, but also to the human interaction being conveyed. Interaction that is both credible and endearing.
The writer has constructed her tale to swing back and forth between the two friends’ present as well as their past, while simultaneously rotating between the good guys and the bad guys interpretations of particular events. This adds interesting insight, but also leads to repetition that can sometimes hinder pace. That being said, Fricke’s ability to vividly depict the longtime friendship of Olivia and Alyssa, as well as the developing relationship between the detective and Olivia, more than compensates for the occasional literary speed bump.
Instances of dread, suspense, and violence are dramatically presented but never sensationalized. Profanity does not make an appearance even though anger and revenge do. This book is a rare style of mystery that engrosses without grossing one out. If you like a good story well told, with characters that personify the best in us, even in the worst of times, you will want to venture Into The Dark Forest.
