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Crusaders of the Lost #1
Lost in the Darkness
Curt had a life he loved and shared with his wife and their son Josh. The day Josh was abducted from a baseball field in a public park, Curt’s life was forever changed. If your child went missing, would you stop looking? Detective Curtis Walker left everything behind to continue the search for his only son, facing a darkness like no other.During his quest, he was recruited by Alexis Vanderhill to join a secret team—a vigilante group of Crusaders—that finds and rescues missing children. Using unofficial methods, the team operates behind a veil of anonymity, tight roping the lines of the legal system to bring back the lost. While searching for the missing, the team crosses paths with dangerous human traffickers. The encounter turns deadly, leaving the group exposed and attracting the attention of police and a journalist with a vendetta. With chaos ensuing, a lead comes in on Josh’s disappearance. Curtis will stop at nothing to find his son and the reason he was targeted. Completely lost in the darkness, he must unravel a conspiracy that runs deep and hits too close to home.
360 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 2015
2 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
About the author
William Mark
4 books19 followersBorn and raised in Tallahassee and the main locale I choose to write about. I love to travel and hope to see as much of the world as I can. I enjoy a good beer, a good book and a good movie. I'm a cop, SWAT guy, former homicide dick, softball teammate, brother, son, husband to very beautiful and patient woman, but the hat I enjoy wearing the most, is father. Savannah (10), Connor (7) and Clayton (5) are my pride and joy.
I've seen the ugliest side of human nature and have struggled to crawl out of the abyss, but surrounding myself with good people has helped me see that good exists in this world. This realization is the fuel for my books.
I've seen the ugliest side of human nature and have struggled to crawl out of the abyss, but surrounding myself with good people has helped me see that good exists in this world. This realization is the fuel for my books.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 31, 2015
A parent's worst nightmare .... a child is abducted, never to be seen again. This is what Curtis Walker faces. His young son was kidnapped 3 years ago .... he's still searching for his son.
A former detective, he has dropped off the grid. He's now traveling with a very select, very anonymous group of people ... subsidized by a very rich woman. They find missing children and return them to the parents. Very few people know they exist ... and because of all the laws they break, they have to stay behind the clouds.
And somehow, someway, he gets a lead to his own son. But this is only the beginning of this story.
What would YOU do if you found the person/persons who took your child and destroyed your life?
This is the second book I've read by this author and he is now on my favorites list. The pacing is brilliant ... never slowing for a minute. It's the kind of book the reader will have a hard time putting it down. All the characters do what they do because of something they've survived in the past. One was abducted with her sister when they were kids ... she escaped, her sister was never seen again. Learning all their background stories just added to the whole experience.
I highly recommend this for anyone who likes crime stories. This is one of the best!
Many thanks to NetGalley / Southern Yellow Pine Publishing for allowing me to read and review. I'm so glad I didn't miss this one!
A former detective, he has dropped off the grid. He's now traveling with a very select, very anonymous group of people ... subsidized by a very rich woman. They find missing children and return them to the parents. Very few people know they exist ... and because of all the laws they break, they have to stay behind the clouds.
And somehow, someway, he gets a lead to his own son. But this is only the beginning of this story.
What would YOU do if you found the person/persons who took your child and destroyed your life?
This is the second book I've read by this author and he is now on my favorites list. The pacing is brilliant ... never slowing for a minute. It's the kind of book the reader will have a hard time putting it down. All the characters do what they do because of something they've survived in the past. One was abducted with her sister when they were kids ... she escaped, her sister was never seen again. Learning all their background stories just added to the whole experience.
I highly recommend this for anyone who likes crime stories. This is one of the best!
Many thanks to NetGalley / Southern Yellow Pine Publishing for allowing me to read and review. I'm so glad I didn't miss this one!
December 28, 2015
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
This is the first in a series and I hope the next books are as good as the first one was. I can't even imagine the thought of having my child abducted but when this happens to Curt, he quickly joins a group of vigilante Crusaders who search for missing children and return them to their parents. The premise of this story is very fascinating to me as I think it could almost be possible, even in today's times. The thought of a team behind the scenes searching for and finding these missing children really fascinates me.
I am extremely interested in the rest of the series to see if it breaks down each character as much as it did Curt in this book. While he had his flaws, I think they were within reason of his circumstances and I am very curious to how the rest of the team's stories will change the dynamic of the group.
This is the 2nd book I've read by this author and I really enjoy his writing style. I was hooked from page 1 of this book and had a hard time putting it down when I needed to!
This is the first in a series and I hope the next books are as good as the first one was. I can't even imagine the thought of having my child abducted but when this happens to Curt, he quickly joins a group of vigilante Crusaders who search for missing children and return them to their parents. The premise of this story is very fascinating to me as I think it could almost be possible, even in today's times. The thought of a team behind the scenes searching for and finding these missing children really fascinates me.
I am extremely interested in the rest of the series to see if it breaks down each character as much as it did Curt in this book. While he had his flaws, I think they were within reason of his circumstances and I am very curious to how the rest of the team's stories will change the dynamic of the group.
This is the 2nd book I've read by this author and I really enjoy his writing style. I was hooked from page 1 of this book and had a hard time putting it down when I needed to!
June 28, 2015
Great Read!
ABSOLUTELY enthralling. I couldn't put the book down. I was kept guessing although I had a suspicion early in the story, but that just made it better. I've come to know and enjoy the characters and would read anything by this author. Truly entertaining while staying g rated. So much more impressive that way when we are led to let our imaginations fill in the situations. Great job. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!:)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!:)
ABSOLUTELY enthralling. I couldn't put the book down. I was kept guessing although I had a suspicion early in the story, but that just made it better. I've come to know and enjoy the characters and would read anything by this author. Truly entertaining while staying g rated. So much more impressive that way when we are led to let our imaginations fill in the situations. Great job. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!:)
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!:)
April 17, 2015
William Mark's novel is a complex, sometimes convoluted, mix of abductions (both child and adult), sexual perversions, and rogue crusading that makes for a Mulligan stew of equal parts truth and lies, good and evil, and right and justice.
See my full review at www.newsoutherngentleman.wordpress.com - link at my Goodreads page - thanks for stopping by!
See my full review at www.newsoutherngentleman.wordpress.com - link at my Goodreads page - thanks for stopping by!
March 13, 2017
I read this book while at work. I should have taken leave from work to finish it as I kept thinking about the characters until I went home. This novel will make you cry, get angry, and sigh with relief, not necessarily in that order. Fantastic debut novel. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
October 30, 2015
Lost In The Darkness – William Mark 3 Stars
You’d want this team helping if your child was abducted!
Alexis Vanderhill, daughter of a multimillionaire media mogul and an award-winning journalist in her own right, is the founder and money behind a covert team whose goal it is to rescue abducted children.
Each member of the team has been hand-picked by Alexis not only for their talents and expertise, but also because of their own personal stories. Curtis deliberately joined the team to use their expertise, and especially the huge computer base, to track down his son and his abductor. Rachel, a new member of the team, was kidnapped along with her younger sister. She managed to escape, but not a day goes by without wondering about her sister’s fate.
I’d love to believe and sincerely hope that a team like this does exist and is constantly on the lookout for abducted children. William Mark has put a lot of research into this book. All the characters are well defined and very easy to empathise with. The story line too was well thought out and kept me wondering if Curtis would ever see his son again. There were some very clever twists and a brilliant ending.
So why the three stars? I’m afraid there’s nothing more irritating when reading what should be a five-star book and finding that the editing is sloppy. Hopefully, someone has taken another look through this book and corrected these errors, because it really does deserve five stars.
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review
You’d want this team helping if your child was abducted!
Alexis Vanderhill, daughter of a multimillionaire media mogul and an award-winning journalist in her own right, is the founder and money behind a covert team whose goal it is to rescue abducted children.
Each member of the team has been hand-picked by Alexis not only for their talents and expertise, but also because of their own personal stories. Curtis deliberately joined the team to use their expertise, and especially the huge computer base, to track down his son and his abductor. Rachel, a new member of the team, was kidnapped along with her younger sister. She managed to escape, but not a day goes by without wondering about her sister’s fate.
I’d love to believe and sincerely hope that a team like this does exist and is constantly on the lookout for abducted children. William Mark has put a lot of research into this book. All the characters are well defined and very easy to empathise with. The story line too was well thought out and kept me wondering if Curtis would ever see his son again. There were some very clever twists and a brilliant ending.
So why the three stars? I’m afraid there’s nothing more irritating when reading what should be a five-star book and finding that the editing is sloppy. Hopefully, someone has taken another look through this book and corrected these errors, because it really does deserve five stars.
Treebeard
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review
September 10, 2018
The helpless feeling never left. The thought of never seeing his son again was heavy on Curt’s soul and every day that went by it was heavier. Curtis/Curt pushed the rage and sorrow back to concentrate on the job at hand. He had surveillance of a brownstone home . Setting on a park bench at the other end of the block was Melinda pretending to read from her Ipad as her cover. Louis popped up his computer console which was his work station while rubbing his arms trying to warm up in the van. Louis could explore any database or search for any information that would help the team on this mission. Three women climbed into the back of the van Louis knew two of them but the third was a stranger to him- Rachel. Then Alexis said to get Rachel up to speed. Rachel was given a folder with a picture of a beautiful little girl on it named Charlotte written above the picture. The next pages were a police report on the missing girl . The picture was recent even if the kidnaping happened four years ago. Alexis said they found missing kids and now Rachel would be. Rachel asked how they had found Charlotte especially since the last update was two years ago. Louis just said they were good at what they do and they had a high success rate. Then he added it was Curtis that is gifted when it came to finding missing children. Louis added they moved from city to city at random and searched for missing kids. They aren’t affiliated with any law enforcement agency although Cur and Melinda had been cops and sometimes used their sources to facilitate the rescue. Rachel was skeptical at first but longed for a more worthy cause then her stressful and systematically flawed position with The Department Of Children and Family services. She had been a caseworker for eight years and had seen more kids failed then helped because of the red tape of bureaucracy. Rachel had come across Alexi at a Missing Children's conference four months ago that Rachel attended regularly in honor of her sister who was missing, Rachel and her younger sister had been kidnapped at kids Rachel managed to get away but not her sister. The memory of her sister still haunts Rachel and Rachel wonders every day what happened to her sister. A little girl walks by Curtis in his car, the little girl looked at Curt and her heart cried out to him through her stare. She was one of the lost Curt could feel it. There was darkness hidden behind her eyes. It was easy to recognize something in others that was hidden inside oneself. The feeling in his gut , Curt learned to listen to. Francine was not motherly toward the child. Louis checked Francine ‘s tax returns and she had only claimed the child for the last four years. Alexis further explained to Rachel that they basically kidnapped the children back and returned them to their parents. Alexis said since she had joined five years ago when they returned Charlotte it will be ninety nine children. Alexis was the founder and money person behind the team. Each member had been hand picked by Alexis not only for their talents and expertise but because of their own personal stories. Curt joined to track down his son nd his abductor. Curtis then got a lead on his son.
I loved this book but it was hard to read because of the subject matter. Very few books make me actually cry but this one did. I was happy and cried when Charlotte’s mother when she saw her daughter after four years of horrible pain nut always a bit of hope. I loved what the team did and wish there was a team as this in reality. I loved the plot and pace. I didn’t want to put this book down This gets you right from the beginning and keeps you until the end. The author did a great job writing on this subject of child abduction. MY heart went out to Curtis for his loss and pain but not given up. This book also made me angry how evil people can just take other people’s children for their evil various reasons. This was absolutely a great novel. I loved the characters and the twists and turns in this book and I highly recommend it.
I loved this book but it was hard to read because of the subject matter. Very few books make me actually cry but this one did. I was happy and cried when Charlotte’s mother when she saw her daughter after four years of horrible pain nut always a bit of hope. I loved what the team did and wish there was a team as this in reality. I loved the plot and pace. I didn’t want to put this book down This gets you right from the beginning and keeps you until the end. The author did a great job writing on this subject of child abduction. MY heart went out to Curtis for his loss and pain but not given up. This book also made me angry how evil people can just take other people’s children for their evil various reasons. This was absolutely a great novel. I loved the characters and the twists and turns in this book and I highly recommend it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews