Meg Gardiner, “Into The Black Nowhere”

Cat and mouse? More like tigress and giant pacarana.

Yes, we get the basic premise of the search for a serial killer. Find clues, develop profile, more clues, adjust the profile, another crime scene, more clues, adjust the profile, keep looking. Fire up the chase and off we go. But when the cat is Caitlin Hendrix and the mouse is the manipulative and diabolical Kyle Detrick, well, buckle up. And keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times.

Meg Gardiner has said that UNSUB 2, Into the Black Nowhere, was inspired by the story of Ted Bundy, who was exposed after years of abducting young women in plain sight. College girls “simply vanished.” Gardiner said she was fascinated by how easily a psychopath can wear “the mask of sanity.” (UNSUB, the title of UNSUB 1, was inspired by another real-life case, the Zodiac Killer.)

In Into the Black Nowhere (what a great title), Hendrix has taken a position in the FBI’s Behavioral Affairs Unit as, well, bodies start turning up with alarming frequency on Saturday nights.

So, straight line? Tighten the noose and keep tightening? Gardiner has other ideas and gives all us readers a feeling of what it must be like, behind the scenes, to see detectives develop a favorite, plausible theory and then watch it crash. And burn. The first section is delectable. And too easy. We know where we are in the book. And when the first balloon deflates, there are very few hard clues are found, which means a bigger vacuum for pet theories to gather veracity and believers.

Ooof. How to summarize? It’s a chase. It’s high-stakes clue-finding. It’s teamwork. And if you know a little about Ted Bundy, you won’t be too surprised by some of the plot points but Gardiner isn’t interested in blow-by-blow Bundy-related developments (not at all) as much as she’s interested in the methods and techniques at Hendrix’s disposal as she parries with her team and develops ideas and decides on what’s a lead. Or not. Gardiner develops Hendrix’s colleagues with care and depth.

Gardiner also gives us glimpses of the antagonist. He’s nameless, at first, and later unmasked. Hendrix corners her mouse and then, well, if you know the Ted Bundy story and how he escaped from jail (twice) then you can kind of see what’s coming. Maybe. That’s no big spoiler. Bundy went on a multi-state journey after his escape and suddenly Hendrix is on a cross-country trek that is cinematic and harrowing. The Hoover Dam. An abandoned mine. Oregon. A waterfall. When you think the rollercoaster should be coming back to the station, you’ll find yourself upside down.

Hendrix isn’t perfect; she’s human. But she’s relentless and determined and equal parts brain and brawn. Heavy thinking for us readers? Maybe not. Highly entertaining? Oh yes.

++

Previously reviewed: UNSUB