A Deeper Darkness
As a medical examiner, Samantha Owens knows her job is to make a certain sense of death with crisp methodology and precision instruments. But the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, the light vanished from Sam’s life.She has been pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrate—until she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C. On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend’s mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam’s sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car. Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan’s old notes. It leads her to the untouchable Xander, a soldier off-grid since his return from Afghanistan, and then to a series of brutal crimes stretching from that harsh mountainous war zone to this nation’s capital. The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody’s hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.
Читать A Deeper Darkness онлайн беплатно
Praise for J.T. Ellisonâs
TAYLOR JACKSON NOVELS
âScintillating ⦠Suspenseful ⦠Startling â¦â
Publishers Weekly
âMystery fiction has a new name to watch.â
John Connolly, New York Times bestselling author
âTennessee has a new dark poet.â
âJulia Spencer-Fleming
âJ.T. Ellisonâs debut novel rocks.â
Allison Brennann, New York Times bestselling author of Fear No Evil
âCreepy thrills from start to finishâ
James O. Born, author of Burn Zone
âFast-paced and creepily believable ⦠gritty, grisly and a great readâ
M.J. Rose, internationally bestselling author of The Reincarnationist
âA turbo-charged thrill ride of a debutâ
Julia Spencer-Fleming, Edgar Award finalist and author of All Mortal Flesh
âFans of Sandford, Cornwell and Reichs will relish every page.â
J.A. Konrath, author of Dirty Martini
âShocking suspense, compelling characters and fascinating forensic detailsâ
âLisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Catch Me
âA Deeper Darkness has everything I love in a thriller: stunning twists and shocks, fascinating forensics and heroines I deeply cared about. J.T. Ellison is one of the best writers in the game.â
âTess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Girl
About the Author
J.T. ELLISON is a bestselling author based in Nashville, Tennessee. She writes the Taylor Jackson and Samantha Owens series, which have been published in more than twenty countries. Visit her website, www.JTEllison.com, for more information or follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick.
Also by J.T. Ellison
ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS
14
JUDAS KISS
THE COLD ROOM
THE IMMORTALS
SO CLOSE THE HAND OF DEATH
WHERE ALL THE DEAD LIE
For Scott Miller,
who encouraged me to believe in this story,
and, as always, for Randy
In loving memory of
David H. Sharrett II
âBeanâ
June 29, 1980âJanuary 16, 2008
Private First ClassâUS Army
101st Airborne Division
Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Victim of Friendly Fire
Acknowledgments
My village. I couldnât do this without them. Thanks to:
My dear agent, Scott Miller, who really believed in this project from the get-go, and helped me believe in it, as well.
Alex Slater, who handles me.
My editor, Adam Wilson, who helped this story along so much.
The MIRA/Harlequin team, who do an amazing job top to bottom with my books, and everyone who has spent time making A Deeper Darkness a reality, especially Margaret Marbury, Valerie Gray, Miranda Indrigo and my awesome publicist, Tiffany Shiu.
The fine folks at Brilliance Audio, especially Sheryl Zajechowsk, Natalie Fedewa and the amazing Joyce Bean.
My tribe: Laura Benedict, Jeff Abbott, Erica Spindler, Allison Brennan, Toni McGee Causey, Alex Kava, Jeanne Veillette Bowerman, Jill Thompson, Del Tinsley, Paige Crutcher, Cecelia Tichi, Alethea Kontis, Jason Pinter and Andy Levy.
Joan Huston found all my mistakes, as always.
Special thanks to my research brethren who spot-read this one: Sherrie Saint, Dr. Sandra Thomas, David Achord and Andy Levy. Kelly Kennedyâs They Died for Each Other: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Hardest Hit Unit in Iraq gave me insights into the war-time soldierâs mind, and Craig Mullaneyâs The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldierâs Education taught me what being a Ranger is all about.
The underlying story in this novel, the friendly-fire killing of Perry Fisher, was inspired by a real-life incident. My favorite teacher in high school, Dave Sharrett, who is, oddly enough, also a third cousin, sent his wonderful son, David H. Sharrett II, a boy we all knew as Bean, off to war in Iraq. He was killed by friendly fire, and the Army initially covered up the details. With the help of one of my former classmates, James Meek, Dave and Vicki Sharrett exposed the whole story, and found justice for Bean.
The grief we all feel cannot compare to their loss, but I hope that in some small way this book might help. God bless all of our soldiers. Their bravery and selflessness overwhelms me.
Finally, I must say thank you to my wonderful family. My long-suffering and lovely parents talked me through this one, and my divine husband, Randy, put up with so, so much. Without you, I would be lost.
PART ONE
âThe most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent; but if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of deathâhowever mutable man may be able to make themâour existence as a species can have genuine meaning and fulfillment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.â
âSTANLEY KUBRICK
CHAPTER ONE
Washington, D.C. Edward Donovan
Eddie Donovan didnât like crowds. Crowds were unpredictable, dangerous. Crowds held a multitude of malcontents, any one of which could be the death of him, in the most literal way. He was surrounded by people, and sweating. Despite the aviator-style Ray-Bans perched on his nose, the sun shone brightly in his eyes, making it harder to see. Even in his car he felt unsafe.
