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When the Stars Go Dark

Paula McLain (Goodreads Author)

4.09 · Rating details · 410 ratings · 293 reviews

A detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into her past. Can solving them help her heal?

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When overwhelming tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village ...more

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Hardcover, 384 pages

Expected publication: April 13th 2021 by Ballantine Books

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When the Stars Go Dark

Paula McLain (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Apr 13, 2021

Enter for a chance to win an early finished copy of WHEN THE STARS GO DARK — the propulsive new novel from bestselling author Paula McLain.

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Giveaway dates: Mar 01 - Mar 31, 2021

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· 410 ratings · 293 reviews

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Nov 08, 2020 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it really liked it

I haven’t read so lyrical words written in full of intensity in such a powerful, moving, thought provoking tone! I literally find myself trapped inside the mind of heroine and I didn’t want to leave there even it hurt me a lot!

Inner poet of Ms. McLane created a tormented but a decent fighter, remarkable heroine: Anna Hart who is specialized to find missing people, dedicated San Francisco detective. After tragedy hit harder, for gathering the shattering life pieces,she decides to go to back to s I haven’t read so lyrical words written in full of intensity in such a powerful, moving, thought provoking tone! I literally find myself trapped inside the mind of heroine and I didn’t want to leave there even it hurt me a lot!

Inner poet of Ms. McLane created a tormented but a decent fighter, remarkable heroine: Anna Hart who is specialized to find missing people, dedicated San Francisco detective. After tragedy hit harder, for gathering the shattering life pieces,she decides to go to back to small hometown Mendocino where she grew with her foster parents who help her become the person she is today!

But as like her unfinished business about a missing girl who traumatized her for years, another 15 years old Polly Klaas : missing girl case occurs at the very same place, showing quite resemblances with the past missing girl case that haunted her.

Anna is so exhausted, broken, hurt and she knows deep in heart this case will be more overwhelming that she can get through but she cannot disappoint the broken hearted mother who is looking for her lost girl.

She eventually teams up with town’s sheriff Will who is also close childhood friend of hers, to conduct their investigation. With the help intuition and experienced instincts of Anna, they are few steps ahead of FBI to solve the crime. With the growing interest of media attention to the case, both childhood friends dig out more gruesome facts, getting closer to the final revelation.

After reading the disturbing statistical facts the author shared about sexual assaults of young women, the story disturbs you more and you start to look from the different angle to those brutal realities of life!

I honestly have a little hard time at the beginning of the book even though I enjoyed the unique writing style of the author. Especially getting lost in heroine’s struggling emotional thoughts filled with pain and grief was a little slow burn and compelling start to a dark, heart wrenching crime story. I liked those parts but they also depressed me a lot. I wanted to feel the excitement of starting a new action packed mystery which is dragging you to the different streets of criminal worlds but as soon as the investigation process starts and Anna suited up to work with Will, the rhythm of the story increased higher, hooking me up, I didn’t want to put it down!

Overall: the author is brilliant and she proved us she can choose to write different genres and she can nail all of them! This book is more meaningful project because there are so many parallel things from her real life with the character she created and she is a quite great researcher. So I’m proudly giving my four dark, gruesome, intense, well- crafted four stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. ...more

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Jan 08, 2021 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller-crime, family-relationships, netgalley

No Spoilers!!!

Paula McLain fans will recognize her luscious writing ...it’s gorgeous.
Her descriptions are irresistible, and photogenically tantalizing.

Unlike Paula’s past work:
—Historical Fiction—
She brings us a heartfelt mysterious crime novel...mixed with fiction stories of missing girls - placing the time period alongside the true crime story of Polly Hannah Klass.

Anna Hart, protagonist, had my heart. We don’t understand her full story right away — other than we know her husband asked he ...more

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Feb 09, 2021 Linda rated it really liked it

Shelves: police-procedural, mystery-thrillers, nature-themes, net-galley

Paula McLain draws the spotlight upon her main character, Detective Anna Hart. Wife, mother, and friend.

But when those stars do go dark for her, Anna realizes that she has truly lost her way. With no other recourse, she leaves San Francisco unwillingly to seek solace in the one place that reflects tiny roots from her past.

Anna has driven hours to arrive in Mendocino in Northern California. Her eyes shift from the new to the old familiar. She rents a cabin in the woods that boasts little in the Paula McLain draws the spotlight upon her main character, Detective Anna Hart. Wife, mother, and friend.

But when those stars do go dark for her, Anna realizes that she has truly lost her way. With no other recourse, she leaves San Francisco unwillingly to seek solace in the one place that reflects tiny roots from her past.

Anna has driven hours to arrive in Mendocino in Northern California. Her eyes shift from the new to the old familiar. She rents a cabin in the woods that boasts little in the way of amenities. Anna has no idea just how long her stay will be and how long it will take for her to rise to the surface. Her heart exists only in the darkness. And in that darkness is where she will cocoon.

But the woods begin to call out to her. Anna starts hiking to the point of exhaution. And each day her mind takes in the familiarity of the trails. She takes a trip into town to restock supplies and comes upon an old friend. Will Flood has become the sheriff after his father's retirement. She and Will knew each other as children.

Will shares with Anna his latest case of an abducted teenage girl. It brings back memories of a friend of their's who went missing years ago. Anna weighs the cost of involvement here, but recovering lost/abducted children is her line of work in Project Searchlight. Without hesitation, Anna wishes to remain anonymous, but she offers to assist Will who gladly accepts.

When the Stars Go Dark will spread out in a panorama of snapshots involving the families, friends, and the teams of police and FBI that it takes to work the case of an abducted individual. And in doing so, it will awaken suppressed memories that belong to Anna herself. McLain will slowly draw back the curtain revealing more and more about Anna and her past. Her dedication to her work will force her to set aside her own trauma. At least for a while......

When the Stars Go Dark is a fine depiction of the stamina and perserverance embedded in the human heart. Through the character of Anna, we'll come to find that the rawness of tragedy forms as a beacon of relatability seen in the eyes of those who share its aftermath. I would hope that Paula McLain may consider bringing back Anna in a future offering. Multi-faceted individuals are the keepers.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Random House (Ballantine Books) and to Paula McLain for the opportunity. ...more

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Dec 08, 2020 Teresa rated it really liked it

Shelves: dark, detective, angsty, drama, netgalley, crime, mystery

This is a story that clutches at your heart and won’t let go. I knew from the start this one was going to be painful, and it was. So painful to watch Anna Hart, a San Francisco missing persons detective, try to come to grip with the recent tragedy in her life while reconciling the traumas of her early life. She has fled to Mendocino, the only place she ever felt safe and at home to lick her wounds. Once there, she is thrown into the case of another missing local teen. She is compelled to help he ...more

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Feb 27, 2021 Ceecee rated it really liked it

Review to come nearer to publication

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Feb 02, 2021 Rene Denfeld rated it it was amazing

This isn't just a brilliant, well-plotted book, it is a very brave one too. McLain unflinchingly examines some tough issues, and treats victims with tenderness and decency. It's a novel that feels intensely personal as well as universal. Highly recommend. ...more

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Feb 01, 2021 Judy rated it really liked it

Having read and enjoyed Paula McLain's Circling the sun, I was glad to get a chance to read this new work. This one is a heartbreaker though. Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San Francisco. She had a horrible tragedy in her life which has caused issues between Anna and her husband Brendan. Anna flees to her adoptive parents hometown of Mendocino to try to get her life together. But once there she gets drawn into a case of a missing 15 year old girl with an old friend from childhood, W ...more

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Nov 04, 2020 Karen rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-net-galley

WHEN THE STARS GO DARK
BY PAULA MCLAIN

This is a challenging review for me to write because I loved Paula McLean's first two historical novels. The first one called, "The Paris Wife," which honors Ernest Hemingway's first wife and perhaps his greatest love. The two even though they eventually divorced because he was incredibly unfaithful too while married, evidently they always kept in touch throughout his life. The second one that I read because I loved the first one so much and served as an intr WHEN THE STARS GO DARK
BY PAULA MCLAIN

This is a challenging review for me to write because I loved Paula McLean's first two historical novels. The first one called, "The Paris Wife," which honors Ernest Hemingway's first wife and perhaps his greatest love. The two even though they eventually divorced because he was incredibly unfaithful too while married, evidently they always kept in touch throughout his life. The second one that I read because I loved the first one so much and served as an introduction to her writing was one that I also loved called, "Circling the Sun," The second one was based on Beryll Markham's tumultuous life which also was very well written. Both of these were intriguing and hard to put down for me and someday I will read them again. Her latest novel called, "When the Stars Go Dark," piqued my curiosity but I found it to be a great departure from her previous work. I think that it is a positive attribute when an author breaks the proverbial mold and ventures into something vastly different. But in this case the subject matter was both dark and deeply disturbing to me. So much so, that at one point I remember while I was reading her latest work my stomach felt queasy and I felt like I might not be able to finish this one. I probably wouldn't have had I not been required to write a review in exchange for requesting it. When I saw that Paula McLean had written a new book, an author that I admire. When I read the synopsis it did give me pause but I went ahead and requested this anyway due to the two books of hers that I had read and loved.

This one was written with prose that often read like poetry throughout, but if I am to be honest didn't quite work and was at first at least for me a distraction from the plot. It begins with a female fleeing from her life with a husband and it is evident that she has recently given birth. As I read on I was able to ascertain that she is the protagonist that is an experienced detective named Anna Hart who grew up with early childhood trauma from her first family of origin. At the same time she reflects back to two caregivers that she received in foster care who gave her stability and therefore provides her with a primal innate nature to be the effective detective that she is when it comes to finding missing persons.

Maybe what was deeply unsettling to me is the factual details woven into the narrative about the Polly Klaas abduction. Knowing that it was real life juxtaposed with the missing teenager of fifteen named Cameron whom Anna is obsessed with finding. Will who is a former childhood friend of Anna's who she reconnects with and agrees to help. Will and Anna are on their own as far as help goes in solving the case compared to all of the manpower and the involvement of the FBI and national media attention given to the Polly Klaas case.

At this point in the novel events become more linear compared to the jolting beginning and the plot becomes much easier to follow. In the author's note at the end of the book Paula McLean gives some frightening statistics regarding female sexual assault. She also discloses that she grew up in the foster care system during a period in her life which explains the authenticity that she infuses with her brilliant characterization of Anna. Anna is particularly finely attuned to be able to align herself with the victims that she is searching for in the Mendocino village in 1993. She appears to have great insight into the missing females that her and Will are investigating. Anna's almost sixth sense of what most likely transpired and her ease to untangling clues takes front and center stage on the hunt compared to Will.

This was a book that I had to read until the final page and then go back to the beginning and read it again for me to grasp the whole narrative. On reflecting back I do feel like the book was well written and does succeed in the message this author delivers. It does make sense, but it did take me to backtrack as it was complicated by the structure not always following a straight line. I can't say that I enjoyed this but other's may who have a strong stomach for the subject matter of missing children and young adults. I also can't deny that Paula McLean's talent as a gifted writer due to her MFA in poetry and her life experience does succeed in this newest work and it is worthy of its four stars. As a mother of two grown son's aged 19 and 22 I am grateful that so far this author's plot and the facts of this work have not yet affected their lives and I hope that it never does, For me this was hard to read but my takeaway is to be more informed no matter how uncomfortable I felt reading this. As I mentioned beforehand the poetic prose made the writing and my comprehension of the story somewhat jarring at first. However, after reading further and by the time Anna and Will are firmly established the poetic writing was quite beautiful. Especially as it describes the atmospheric setting of the outdoors in the vast wilderness of the woods and the Pacific Ocean and its cliffs and beaches. In one phrase it describes the pine needles on the forest floor to smell like cinnamon. The breathtaking imagery lifts this novel far above most in this genre and what most likely attributes it to feel so real and eery.

Publication Date: April 13, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Paula McLean and Random House Group Publishing--Ballantine for generously providing me with my Arc in exchange for a fair and honest review, All opinions are my own,

#WhentheStarsGoDark #PaulaMcLain #RandomHousePublishingBallantine #NetGalley ...more

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Feb 02, 2021 Alexa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: thrillers

4.5 stars rounded up. This one is more of an upmarket light suspense, but damn if it wasn't a beautiful book in places. The prose was *chef's kiss*. When I got to the end and saw the author has also published poetry I was like yep. This is one where you sink into the setting/atmosphere and the deep character studies and roll with it, less than a who-dun-it guessing game. I read it slowly over the course of a month (on and off) and no regerts. Sinking back into it each time was like a warm bath a 4.5 stars rounded up. This one is more of an upmarket light suspense, but damn if it wasn't a beautiful book in places. The prose was *chef's kiss*. When I got to the end and saw the author has also published poetry I was like yep. This is one where you sink into the setting/atmosphere and the deep character studies and roll with it, less than a who-dun-it guessing game. I read it slowly over the course of a month (on and off) and no regerts. Sinking back into it each time was like a warm bath and the story was vivid enough to stay front of mind.

The one thing that threw me more than once was that the book is historical--set in 1993, and includes the very-much-real abduction story of Polly Klaas. When I first got to that part I was like wait, what? It threw me for a loop more than once, though it's not like it was poorly done. It added texture to the story, and, well, reminded me every time it was 1993 ha. To that end, the book has a nice "old school" feel b/c there's no cell phones or fancy technology to assist in the story. I don't even think CODIS was a thing at the time. There are even psychics assisting in missing kid cases which just feels so 80s/90s. (the book, however, leans IN on that idea FYI so you need to be a little bit kumbaya to enjoy some bits.)

At heart this is character driven with a slow pulse of missing girls, with some really beautiful moments, particularly as they relate to being in the foster system/finding place and family. I got a bit teary at the end. The twist itself I found relatively easy to guess but because of the tone and style it wasn't about guessing/catching the bad guy so much as finding the girl, about vulnerable girls, and healing. Recommend this one to those who like character driven suspense and WOODS BOOKS OMG and small town secrets. I could drink the atmosphere in this book.

Oh also VERY IMPORTANT. There is a dog. THE DOG DOES NOT DIE. I was so worried y'all. And it's so important that's not going in a spoiler tag. THE DOG IS OK. (I love the dog.)

Oh but one trigger warning related to children, as well as CSA. (view spoiler) ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 Literary Redhead rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-review, mystery-thriller, reviewed, women-s-literature, adult-fiction

Such a different focus for this beloved historical fiction writer (The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun)! McLain applies her elegant descriptive style to an absorbing mystery involving an emotionally wounded detective, a missing child case, and trauma stirred up by the past. Heartbreaking and redemptive, especially as McLain reveals in her Author’s Note why she felt called to write it. Perfect for a book club discussion and Skype call with the author!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 13 Apr 2021

Thanks to the au ...more

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Dec 18, 2020 Christy rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

This is a novel about missing persons detective Anna Hart fleeing back to her home town of Mendocino in an effort to escape her own personal angst and tragedy. Ironically upon her return the town is reeling with it’s own case of a missing teenager. Anna is quickly thrown into the mix as the Mendocino detective working the case is her childhood friend. Thus the story begins with past and present scenarios intertwined in this suspenseful saga.

Bits and pieces of Anna’s past are revealed sporadicall ...more

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Dec 19, 2020 Kathleen rated it liked it

This is a slow moving mystery and a mystery that has very little actual physical clues, but instead uses the experience and gut of the main character. So, not a police procedural or a thriller by any means. More, I would say, a thoughtful and contemplative look at abused and missing children, told through the narrative of a detective main character and a current missing person case. After reading the author notes it was clear this was a book rooted in deeply personal experience and that definite ...more

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Feb 15, 2021 Laurie Murphy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-books, arc

I don't remember why I requested an Advance Reader's Copy of this book, but I'm glad I did. The subject matter, missing and abused children, is dark but the story is so compellingly told that I found myself involved to the point of obsession with the characters in the book. The author also includes real missing person cases (remember Polly Klaas?) and interweaves them effectively into the plot.

Anna, a specialist in finding missing persons, is trying to recover from the accidental death of her ch ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 Bandit rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ok, here we go, a long and proper book deserves a long proper review and mine is the first of that kind here, which is always a pleasure and often a privilege. To boldly go…
Just when you thought Paula McLain has finally quit plundering historical figures for her reimaginings and wrote a proper mystery thriller…you go and realize that no, she’s still at it, it’s just toned down. Which is to say this abuse centric kidnapping/murder/serial killer thriller does feature a famous/infamous Polly Klaas Ok, here we go, a long and proper book deserves a long proper review and mine is the first of that kind here, which is always a pleasure and often a privilege. To boldly go…
Just when you thought Paula McLain has finally quit plundering historical figures for her reimaginings and wrote a proper mystery thriller…you go and realize that no, she’s still at it, it’s just toned down. Which is to say this abuse centric kidnapping/murder/serial killer thriller does feature a famous/infamous Polly Klaas case, but it isn’t the center of the story. In fact, the way McLain tells in in her afterword, it was almost an afterthought, occurring after the general idea came to her. And so, McLain plunders her own past, time spent in social services provided care as a youth, sexual abuse, etc. and comes up with this story about a small Northern California town thrown into chaos after a fifteen year old adopted daughter of a locally residing actress disappears. The local sheriff is overwhelmed, but as timing would have it, his childhood friend comes for a stay, a childhood friend who has grown up to become a leading kidnapping detective in San Francisco. Meet Anna, your protagonist, a detective so dedicated, so driven by her own past trauma, that it affects her family, tragically so, and now she is reeling from something so devastating, it drove her away, all the way back to the sleepy Mendocino. But no R &R for Anna in her freshly rented cabin, she can’t help herself, can’t not get involved, can’t stand by and wait for the girl to become another tragic statistic. And so her and Will, the sheriff, investigate the case, slowly, steadily, methodically, until she gets a Sherlock moment or two and suddenly it’s grand reveal. And ok, to be fair, it’s a good reveal, in retrospect it should have been easier to figure out and I all too often do, but this one did take me by surprise and for that, major kudos to the author. And ok, to be fair, she does throw a lot to distract you from a pretty obvious killer and that lot is all about abuse, a subject that’s obviously personal and important to the author to shine the light on. Specifically child abuse and abuse against women of all ages. The afterword features some genuinely terrifying statistics on the matter and having read those, it doesn’t seem so far fetched how much of it is featured in the book. It’s difficult to read about and worth tackling, fictionally and otherwise, so reader beware. It does all serve to advance the plot here, so yeah. The real distraction is the overwriting, which McLain is prone to do. Maybe it’s the poet in her, maybe it’s just her style. She just writes like she’s in love with her writing. It’s the best way I can explain it. And mind you, she should be proud of it, it’s fine writing, but it just seems so overwrought at times. But at any rate, this is a huge improvement upon the only other book of hers I’ve ever read (from her historical fiction phase), that one was almost chicklity in its exuberant estrogen driven extravagance. This has a tough realistic genre appropriate style to the narrative, it was moody and dark, again very appropriate, and overall it worked quite well as a suspense thriller. It only ever so often went off on a random whimsical tangent, like the entire chapter towards the end. Mostly it stayed in its lane, as it drove down the message while chasing down the killer. The pacing was ever so slightly leisurely at times, but it read well enough not to matter. Fans of literary ark psychological fiction would most likely enjoy this one. Plus it’s always nice to see the author shifting gears and trying something different. Though she does go from a very popular genre to an insanely popular one, but that’s just what’s out there these days. Who knows. Maybe one day she’ll try pure fiction, something so wildly out there that no real people will be used in making of it. But for now, there’s this and it’s pretty good. Thanks Netgalley.
...more

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Nov 20, 2020 Meribeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

4.5* This book takes place in 1993 Mendocino, CA before cell phones and internet. It is told by Missing Persons Detective Anna Hart and opens with a scene of her child’s death with no details about what happened. The facts of her loss and her past are revealed in snippets. Fleeing her husband and job, Anna returns to her hometown where she almost immediately becomes immersed in assisting the local sheriff, a childhood friend, with a missing teenager investigation. The real-life Polly Klaas kidna ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Celia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-read, thriller, 2021-pub, suffragette-city-author, 2020-a-rccc, ten-year-challenge, netgalley

Paula McClain with her new book, has completely blown me away.

I have read three other books by McLain, all of which were about historical celebrities - traditional historical fiction.

In this book, McLain has created a cross-genre book: a little bit of historical fiction and a lot of thriller!!

Highlights of the book:
- I really got into the mind of the heroine, Anna Hart. She is troubled by the events of her life. She is a detective who is so married to her job, that nothing else seems to matter. ...more

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Feb 24, 2021 Liz Barnsley rated it really liked it

I absolutely adored the writing in this novel, an edgy, literary vibe with noir undertones that really immersed me immediately into this story. That added to the beautifully engaging main protagonist made this a fantastic read.

The setting really pops, a small town and a lot of secrets that start to emerge during the urgent hunt for a missing girl. The real life case of Polly Klaas gives the historical context and this is a real page turner, unpredictable and plotted to perfection.

Theres a lot o ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Wendy rated it it was amazing

This was the story of a search for a missing girl, but so much more.
The reader knows from the prologue that the protagonist has suffered some recent tragedy, but not what it was. At first that bothered me, but as I got into the story (which hooked me right away) I was less concerned with it. Well written and with a lot of suspense added for good measure.
I did guess who the villain was partway through the book, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment.
One minor error did bother me: The story takes pla ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Claire Fullerton rated it it was amazing

I absolutely loved it and my full review will appear in the New York Journal of Books on release day. Here is the opening paragraph: .

A haunting, intelligent novel for the discerning reader, Paula McClain’s, When the Stars Go Dark thrills you into engaging with the riveting story lest you miss the tenor of its well-wrought beats. This is a thinking man’s page-turner; a riveting crime-detective story experienced through the wounded soul of narrator Anna whose life-path comes full-circle even as ...more

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Jan 13, 2021 Kpthebookworm rated it liked it

I was drawn to this book because I'd heard about it from other book reviewers, so I decided to give it a go. It was my first book I've reviewed from Net Galley.

I've ultimately decided to rate it three stars, and I have several reasons.

First, I want to say that the book is very, very well written. The author is clearly quite talented. Her prose and ability with the written word is amazing. Some of the language in the book was stunning. The descriptions so vivid. This is also my first read by th ...more

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Nov 19, 2020 Annissa Joy Armstrong rated it it was amazing

Anna is a detective who works on missing persons cases and is a bit obsessed about her work. After tragedy strikes at home, Anna decides to return to Mendocino where she used to live with her foster parents.

Anna at this point is broken and battered. She needs time to heal and recover but she decides to help with the missing person case of a girl named Cameron. The police chief is her childhood friend, Will.

This book takes you on a great ride in the journey to find Cameron who is assumed to be ki ...more

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Aug 20, 2020 Taylor Noel rated it it was amazing

I've loved bestselling author Paula McLain’s rich historical novels. But I think I love her new novel—a propulsive, deeply affecting literary thriller— even more! Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, WHEN THE STARS GO DARK tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives. Perfect for fans of Tana French and Louise Penny!

#teamprh ...more

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Feb 15, 2021 Laurie Murphy rated it really liked it

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Feb 17, 2021 Devon rated it it was amazing

4.5 stars! Thank you Netgalley and Random House for the ARC. Paula McLain hits it out of the park again, but this time with a true crime focus. Detective Anna Hart returns to her hometown and discovers a fifteen year old has gone missing. This is isn't her first time on a missing person's case, in fact she spends her whole life obsessing over the victims she fights for. McLain writes with such a lushness that you feel like you're standing next to her in the dripping Mendocino nature reserves. He ...more

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Feb 28, 2021 Mary McBride rated it really liked it

Paula McLain has taken a detour from her historical fiction.
She has tackled the very relevant and dark issue of missing children and murder. Pulling from her own experience in foster care and being a victim of sexual abuse, she brings attention to a subject that is horrific.
I wasn't sure she would make it work, but she did. Glad I read it- ...more

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Jan 04, 2021 Carla rated it it was amazing

When the Stars Go Dark has a dreamy title but a nightmare of a plot. Over 600,000 people go missing in the US each year-of these more than two thirds are children-but only a handful get national media attention or their photo on a milk carton. When the Stars Go Dark mixes true crime (the kidnapping and murder of Polly Klass-taken from her bedroom during a slumber party with two friends) and fictionalized accounts of similar missing person cases in Northern California near Polly's home. Paula McL ...more

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Nov 29, 2020 Elizabeth Giordano rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed reading this book. I previously read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain and this novel was quite different. I was unsure how I was going to feel about the book when I started it; the prologue felt off to me and I was trying to figure out what tragedy forced Anna Hart to leave home and return to a place from her past. The way the author writes the setting/scenery transported me to the woods of California. It felt like I was there alongside the characters. I liked how the novel was se ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Caroline Bertaud rated it it was amazing

This book is stunning. It feels like it’s really been written by a detective specialized in missing children, by someone who’d been a fostered kid herself, someone who’s lived and witnessed tragedies firsthand—I almost ache for McLain, thinking about the mountains of research she must have gone through. At some point, the main character, Anna, says, “I wasn’t just involved in my cases, I lived and breathed them,” and it’s exactly how I felt about this book. It breathes on its own, as do Anna and ...more

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Nov 29, 2020 Joyce rated it it was amazing

In 1993, Anna Hart is a Missing Persons Investigator with the San Francisco Police Department. She and her husband are having marital problems and he has asked her to move out. She returns to the small town where she lived with her last set of foster parents to recover from job related PTSD and the separation. Shortly after her arrival, the town Sheriff, a friend from high school, enlists her help in searching for a missing 15 year old girl who is the adopted child of celebrities. Anna allows he ...more

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Oct 29, 2020 Shrav rated it liked it

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the Advanced Reading Copy of this novel.
Trigger Warning for this novel : Rape, Sexual Abuse, Neglect
Reading this novel was like watching law and order SVU in a book format. The novel has some life flashbacks in Anna's life and her life now. Three girls are missing and how Anna's life intermingles with these girls make the crux of the story.
Its a very slow novel which kind of makes it hard to read. A little fast pace would have been nice.
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Paula McLain

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Paula McLain is the author of the New York Times and internationally bestselling novels, The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun and Love and Ruin. Now she introduces When the Stars Go Dark (April 13, 2021), an atmospheric novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense. She received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan in 1996, and is also the author of two collections of poetry, ...more