The Darkness In The Light is a solid thriller from Daniel Kalla, another in of a string of fourteen bestsellers. The medical theme throughout this mystery is apt, as Kalla is also an emergency medicine doctor in Vancouver, Canada.
The unusual locale for this mystery is the real star - Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost town in North America. Psychiatrist David Spears treats patients at the Anchorage Regional Hospital, and remotely for the outlying areas, with a no-nonsense approach.
One of several suicidal patients is Brianna, concerned with the side effects of new drug Ketopram, which stops her crying but leaves her fuzzy. David can relate as he is also on Ketopram, after losing his father. It has been praised as a new solution by his coworker Javier, perhaps because he has invested heavily in the company. However, several patients have complained of nightmares while taking it, and some have committed suicide.
David travels to Utqiagvik after Brianna is found dead, and her friend Amka, also on Ketopram, has gone missing. His contact is the local social worker Taylor Holmes, who knows the whole community, and soon David is learning the ways of the town. Amka's boyfriend is the head of the drug scene, and may have stiffed another drug dealer - perhaps they are hiding out somewhere? Many people in the area work for the oil company and with the bonus checks arriving, the bootlegging and drug sales rise. David begins looking into the release procedure for Ketopram, and finds out patients he has taken off the drug have been put back on. The arrival of Javier to convince him all is fine does not help.
When someone warns David to stop disrupting, and lands him in hospital - the whole novel changes in a shocking way that you will not forget. The second half of the mystery is told from Taylor's perspective, as we hear her true feelings about living in the town - while investigating her neighbours.
Alaska has double the incidence of suicide than the national average, which makes a great setting for this story. Combined with remote population problems of alcoholism and drug abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse, there is a dangerous combination for people with not a lot happening. It was refreshing to visit this real town, with its Inupiat police chief and Pacific Islander detective, and mixed into the story is some local tribe mythology.
And then there is the twist at the halfway mark - something I did not see coming and don't think I've seen before - yet, Kalla pulls it off admirably.
I wouldn't hesitate to read another thriller from Daniel Kalla, the writing was solid and balanced, the mystery believable, and the characters memorable.
For those who appreciate layers rather than action or violence.
2022 / Tradeback / 320 pages
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