Shadows in the Dark (Blackridge Detectives 1)by JC Valentine-review
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 19, 2026
Accountant Nora Bell knows someone’s watching her. She just can’t prove it—until Detective Carson Black becomes the first person to believe her.
Carson’s seen too many victims ignored. When Nora reports feeling stalked, something in her terrified eyes convinces him she’s telling the truth. He moves into her apartment to protect her, and the chemistry between them ignites like a fuse. But Carson’s obsessed with saving everyone—a compulsion born from failing to save his missing sister nineteen years ago. And Nora’s spent her life in foster care learning that no one stays.
Then the danger escalates. Someone’s not just watching Nora—they’re trying to kill her. And the threats are coming from two directions, each with their own twisted motive for revenge. As Carson hunts the men destroying Nora’s life, he’s forced to choose: the job that’s defined him for two decades, or the woman who’s shown him what living actually means.
Because catching killers is what Carson does. But loving Nora might be the one case that breaks him.
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REVIEW: SHADOWS IN THE DARK is the first instalment in JC Valentine’s contemporary, adult BLACKRIDGE DETECTIVES romantic suspense series. This is Police Detective Carson Black, and accountant Nora Bell’s story line.
Told from omniscient dual third person perspectives ( Nora and Carson) SHADOWS IN THE DARK focuses on the protection of Nora Bell, and the hunt for a stalker. For months Nora Bell suspects she is being watched but the police refuse to do anything without proof, and her best friend believes our heroine is spiralling out of control. Several threats and a possible break in pull Detective Carson Black into the investigation, wherein our heroine’s safety becomes Carson’s number one concern. having lost someone he loved in the past. Moving Nora into his apartment brings our couple closer together but as Carson begins to dig deeper, with the help of the woman with whom he will fall in love, a pattern begins to emerge, and our couple discover there may be more than one woman on the stalker’s radar.
The world building follows several pathways. As one investigation closes, another investigation opens, and more suspects begin to emerge from the shadows. Revenge for sins of the past target Nora Bell for something that was out of her control.
The relationship between Nora and Carson begins as protection duty but as the hours turn into days, Nora finds herself drawn to a man who will break her heart. The are no $ex scenes, everything is implied. Saying that, I did not feel the passion; the chemistry was low.
The secondary and supporting characters include several of Nora’s questionable co-workers, as well as her best friend Lila. We are introduced to Carson’s former partner detective Knox Dalton, and Detective Finn, CIS Jade Matthews, bomb specialist Dax Mercer, profiler Silas Kane and Captain Darius Holloway. The requisite evil has many faces.
SHADOWS IN THE DARK is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, obsession and madness, forgiveness and love. The premise is intriguing and entertaining; the romance is limited but subtle; the characters are energetic and desperate.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
J.C. Valentine is the USA Today and International bestselling author of the Night Calls and Wayward Fighters Series and the Forbidden Trilogy. Her vivid imagination and love of words and romance had her penning her own romance stories from an early age, which, despite being poorly edited and written longhand, she forced friends and family members to read. No, she isn’t sorry.
Living in the Northwest, she has three amazing children and far too many pets. Among the many hats she wears, J.C. is an entrepreneur. Having graduated with honors, she holds a Bachelor’s in English and when she isn’t writing, you can find her editing for fellow authors.
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