Love Her Darkly

A Psychological Thriller (Shadows of Love, Book 1)

De: L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain

Narrado por: Audrey Solara

Love and danger. Sex and violence. The heart wants what the heart wants.

When a couple on a crime spree slashes down the east coast into Florida, the perfect vacation goes horribly wrong. Armed robbery. Kidnapping. Murder. Innocent travelers get swept up in the violent wave.

Desire runs from light to dark. Loving thoughts turn to dark fantasies.

Ellie is a college student on spring break. After years living under the shadows of controlling parents, this wallflower is finally free — or trying to be.

This vacation will be an inflection point in her life, she knows. Can she shake off the nerves and come out of her shell?

Wes is a social media influencer. After years of drifting through the days, he’s looking for something different, something real, something that actually means something to him. Has he found that in Ellie?

Sparks fly as soon as Wes and Ellie meet. Drinks in the bar turn to walks on the beach. It escalates from there.

And that’s where the dead body comes in.

Love pushes a person to extremes, shoves them into the darkest places.

Detective Avery Stinson works the case: a dead body found in a ravine alongside a motel in the boonies. No marks on the body, but it all seems to be related to Jimmy and Scarlet, the modern day Bonnie and Clyde ripping through the county and leaving a path of destruction.

Stinson follows the clues deeper and deeper into danger. The way ahead keeps distorting and rippling, morphing shadows that won’t hold still.

And that’s where the shocking twist comes in.

What happens when that passion delves too deeply, wants too greedily?

Soon all the paths cross. Detective Stinson, Wes, and Ellie find themselves confronting a chaotic force that’s more complex than it first seems.

Life and death hang in the balance. Not everyone will make it.

©2025 L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain (P)2025 L.T. Vargus and Tim McBain

Shock and tears

Fantastic writing and a great performance, I fell in love with the characters and have to admit that when the unthinkable happened I was shocked and devastated. I can't reveal anything about the story line without giving clues that the reader really needs to find for themselves. Bravo to the authors for crafting such an engaging and exciting story. Can't wait for more titles from this team.

Many twists!

To provide full disclosure, I received this book because I agreed to write a review, BUT I am really excited about it! The writing style is similar to the Violet Darger series (which I absolutely love!), but this story took me on a wild ride of unexpected twists and turns. Had to stay up until 1:00 am to finish it, and was sorry it was finished at the same time. I highly recommend this new series to fans of fast paced thrillers with unexpected plot twists. Can't wait for Book 2!

A very dark, gritty nonstop action thriller.

Last month I read an Advance Reader Copy of the eBook of Love her Darkly and loved it. I’ve included the review following this update.

This past week I was offered a review copy of the audio book and couldn’t resist revisiting a highly entertaining experience with the additional benefit of a narrator. I wasn’t familiar with
Audrey Solara, but after listening to her for close to sixteen hours I sure hope when the second book in this series arrives in Audible, she is the narrator. She brought each character to life with distinct voices and gave a dramatic presentation that my inner voice couldn’t accomplish when I was reading the eBook.

While I occasionally read a book and listen to its audio book later, books by L. T. Vargus and Tim McBain are the only books that I always read and listen to consistently. Sometimes more than once, or even when a box set comes out, I’ll listen to the entire series after having read and listened to the separate books.

Over the past seven or eight years and thirty-six novels, Tim McBain and LT Vargus have taken me on adventures through a postapocalyptic/dystopian America. I’ve been all over the United States on the hunt for serial killers with Darger and Loshak, together and with Darger by herself. I’ve been on the hunt across the Midwest for killers and a conspiracy with Loshak and Spinks and finally I’ve gone on cases with Charlotte Winters.

However, these authors have never taken me on Spring Break. Well, that is until they offered an advance reader copy of Love Her Darkly. I’m not sure I want to go on any more Spring Breaks with these guys. Love Her Darkly was wall to wall action, some of it was students having some good fun while there was also plenty that was fatal or had the potential to be fatal.

The characters in this story are amazing. Some are fully fleshed out while there are a few who are just supporting cast. The thing is those supporting bit players are essential to the story. Without their contribution this story wouldn’t have had an intense impact.

If you have ever read any of Tim & LT’s books you should grab a copy of Love Her Darkly and settle in for an intense emotional rollercoaster ride that will leave you gasping when it ends.

Really good book

I loved this story and the journey it takes you on. You never know what is going to happen next. It keeps you invested with all the characters until the end. You will experience so many emotions getting through it. Highly recommend this read!

Great writing!

Well, I'm not going to lie. For half a second, I thought I would stop reading because it got so tense, but the way it all came together in the end made it worth it. Nice twists I did not see coming. Lots of rooting for the bad guy. Great character development. Worth it! Sidenote, the narrator is phenomenal!

Let's Do the Twist

You know a book is intense when you realize you’ve been clenching your jaw for the last three chapters and you’re gripping your device like it’s a life raft. Love Her Darkly had me stressed in the best way.

From the very first scene—a body in a ravine—this book pulls you in and does not let go. What starts as a beachside spring break turns into a full-blown nightmare.

The cast of characters is wild and colorful, and the setings are all visually written for greatest impact. The detectives on the case find themselves chasing leads that keep changing shape like shadows creating a plot that never stops shifting.

And let’s just say: the ending? WHIPLASH. Total jaw-drop moment.

This book has it all—love, danger, messed-up motives, and a plot that keeps you guessing. If you like your thrillers sharp, steamy, and packed with surprises, definitely add Love Her Darkly to your list.