Dark of night dr evan wi.., p.1
Dark of Night (Dr. Evan Wilding), page 1
PRAISE FOR BARBARA NICKLESS
At First Light
“[In] this intense psychological thriller . . . Evan and Addie race to prevent more bloodshed. Hints of a romantic relationship between the pair enliven the story, and references to Beowulf and Viking history add depth. Readers will hope to see more of Addie and Evan.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Brilliant Evan Wilding, with his goshawk and unusual friendships, will fascinate those who read for character.”
—Library Journal
“At First Light is a winner.”
—Denver Post
“A high-intensity thriller that will take your breath away . . . Barbara Nickless is an awesome talent.”
—Mysterious Book Report
“The moment I finished this intelligent and pulse-pounding psychological thriller, I was ready for Book Two . . . Dr. Evan Wilding is one of the most interesting fictional characters I’ve met in some time . . . Author Nickless’s prose is crisp and, at times, poetic. Her descriptions are vivid but balanced. I became immediately attached to her engaging and well-drawn characters. In some respects, At First Light is reminiscent of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. I highly recommend this book to fans of fast-paced thrillers that include riddles, ancient languages, and literature.”
—Claudia N. Oltean, for the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union
“At First Light is a stunner of a tale. Barbara Nickless has fashioned a deep exploration into moral depravity and the dark depths of the human soul in a fashion not seen since the brilliant David Fincher film SE7EN. This wholly realized tale is reminiscent of Lisa Gardner, Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Scottoline at their level best.”
—Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author
“Barbara Nickless has crafted a dark, twisty thrill ride with a bad guy to give you nightmares, and a pair of protagonists you will want to come back to again and again. Lock your doors and curl up with this book!”
—Tami Hoag, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boy
“At First Light by Barbara Nickless is one of the best books I’ve read in a long, long while. With unique and unforgettable characters who match wits with a devious, sophisticated, and ritualistic serial killer, this complex and compelling story is as powerful as a Norse god and just as terrifying. I can’t wait for the next book in the series featuring Detective Addie Bisset and Dr. Evan Wilding! Bravo!”
—Lisa Jackson, #1 New York Times bestselling author
Gone to Darkness
“A gritty, hard-boiled crime novel with breathless action and deep, sturdy characters. Detective Sydney Parnell and her partner, Clyde, a police dog, are a tantalizing duo, and the story’s narrative and dialogue are authentic and witty and demand compulsive reading. Gone to Darkness is everything you want in thriller fiction.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series
“Nobody does atmosphere better than Barbara Nickless. With deft strokes, she draws impending doom within bleak settings and then colors them with vivid action and brilliant characters, both human and canine. Gone to Darkness is mystery and suspense writing at its best!”
—Margaret Mizushima, award-winning author of the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries
“Barbara Nickless’s Gone to Darkness is another stellar entry in the Sydney Rose Parnell series. Even though she’s now a Denver police detective, Sydney and Clyde catch a case involving trains, a unique milieu that Nickless masterfully evokes. Readers who enjoy an atmospheric setting, a kick-ass yet vulnerable heroine, solid police procedurals, fast-paced yet lyrical writing, and/or the closeness of a human-dog partnership should immediately buy or borrow every book in this series. (I stop short of suggesting stealing a copy, but if that’s your only option . . .)”
—Laura DiSilverio, award-winning and nationally bestselling author of The Reckoning Stones
“Barbara Nickless creates characters who matter—to each other and to the reader, who is fortunate to journey with them. With Gone to Darkness, Nickless expertly crafts a dark tale brightened with heart, humor, and humanity. It’s a tightly woven, always-escalating, keeps-you-up-past-your-bedtime novel. And Sydney Parnell is my favorite kind of detective: a relentless empath on a mission to solve herself as well as the crime, navigating her demons to ensure justice for the victims of evil.”
—Matt Goldman, Emmy Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of the Nils Shapiro series
“In the fourth episode of her popular, bestselling Sydney Rose Parnell series, award-winning thriller writer and fan favorite Barbara Nickless leaves no doubt that she’s on the fast track to A-list stardom. In Gone to Darkness, the action never slows, and the suspense ratchets up in every chapter of this delightfully twisted and energetic page-turning thriller from the mind of a budding superstar!”
—Mysterious Book Report
Ambush
“A nail-biter with some wicked twists . . . Fast paced and nonstop . . . Sydney is fleshed out, flawed, gritty, and kick-ass, and you can’t help but root for her. Nickless leaves you satisfied and smiling—something that doesn’t happen too often in this genre!”
—Bookish Biker
“Ambush has plenty of action and intrigue. There are shoot-outs and kidnappings. There are cover-ups and conspiracies. At the center of it all is a flawed heroine who will do whatever it takes to set things right.”
—BVS Reviews
“Ambush takes off on page one like a Marine F/A-18 Super Hornet under full military power from the flight deck . . . and never lets the reader down.”
—Mysterious Book Report
“Ambush truly kicks butt and takes names, crackling with tension from page one with a plot as sharp as broken glass. Barbara Nickless is a superb writer.”
—Steve Berry, #1 internationally bestselling author
“Ambush is modern mystery with its foot on the gas. Barbara Nickless’s writing—at turns blazing, aching, stark, and gorgeous—propels this story at a breathless pace until its sublime conclusion. In Sydney Parnell, Nickless has masterfully crafted a heroine who, with all her internal and external scars, compels the reader to simultaneously root for and forgive her. A truly standout novel.”
—Carter Wilson, USA Today bestselling author of Mister Tender’s Girl
“Exceptional . . . Nickless raises the stakes and expands the canvas of a blisteringly original series. A wholly satisfying roller coaster of a thriller that features one of the genre’s most truly original heroes.”
—Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author
“Ambush . . . makes you laugh and cry as the pages fly by.”
—Tim Tigner, internationally bestselling author
Dead Stop
“The twists and turns . . . are first rate. Barbara Nickless has brought forth a worthy heroine in Sydney Parnell.”
—BVS Reviews
“Nothing less than epic . . . A fast-paced, action-packed thriller-diller of a novel featuring two of the most endearing and toughest ex-jarheads you’ll ever meet.”
—Mysterious Book Report
“A story with the pace of a runaway train.”
—Bruce W. Most, award-winning author of Murder on the Tracks
“Want a great read, here you go!”
—Books Minority
“Nickless is on my favorite writers list now.”
—Writing.com
“Riveting suspense. Nickless writes with the soul of a poet. Dead Stop is a dark and memorable book.”
—Gayle Lynds, New York Times bestselling author of The Assassins
“A deliciously twisted plot that winds through the dark corners of the past into the present, where nothing—and nobody—is as they seem. Dead Stop is a first-rate, can’t-put-down mystery with a momentum that never slows. I am eager to see what Barbara Nickless comes up with next—she is definitely a mystery writer to watch.”
—Margaret Coel, New York Times bestselling author of the Wind River Mystery series
Blood on the Tracks
A SUSPENSE MAGAZINE BEST BOOKS OF 2016 SELECTION: DEBUT
“A stunner of a thriller. From the first page to the last, Blood on the Tracks weaves a spell that only a natural storyteller can master. And a guarantee: you’ll fall in love with one of the best characters to come along in modern thriller fiction, Sydney Rose Parnell.”
—Jeffery Deaver, internationally bestselling author
“Beautifully written and heartbreakingly intense, this terrific and original debut is unforgettable. Please do not miss Blood on the Tracks. It fearlessly explores our darkest and most vulnerable places—and is devastatingly good. Barbara Nickless is a star.”
—Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha, and Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author of Say No More
“Both evocative and self-assured, Barbara Nickless’s debut novel is an outstanding, hard-hitting story so gritty and real, you feel it in your teeth. Do yourself a favor and give this bright talent a read.”
—John Hart, multiple Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of Redemption Road
“Fast-paced and intense, Blood on the Tracks is an absorbing thriller that is both beautifully written and absolutely unique in character and setting. Barbara Nickless has written a twisting, tortured novel that speaks with brutal honesty of the lingering traumas of war, including and especially those wounds we cannot see. I fell hard for Parnell and her four-legged partner and can’t wait
—Vicki Pettersson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Swerve
“The aptly titled Blood on the Tracks offers a fresh and starkly original take on the mystery genre. Barbara Nickless has fashioned a beautifully drawn hero in take-charge, take-no-prisoners Sydney Parnell, former Marine and now a railway cop battling a deadly gang as she investigates their purported connection to a recent murder. Nickless proves a master of both form and function in establishing herself every bit the equal of Nevada Barr and Linda Fairstein. A major debut that is not to be missed.”
—Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author
“Blood on the Tracks is a bullet train of action. It’s one part mystery and two parts thriller with a compelling protagonist leading the charge toward a knockout finish. The internal demons of one Sydney Rose Parnell are as gripping as the external monster she’s chasing around Colorado. You will long remember this spectacular debut novel.”
—Mark Stevens, author of the award-winning Allison Coil Mystery series
“Nickless captures you from the first sentence. Her series features Sydney Rose Parnell, a young woman haunted by the ghosts of her past. In Blood on the Tracks, she doggedly pursues a killer, seeking truth even in the face of her own destruction—the true mark of a heroine. Skilled in evoking emotion from the reader, Nickless is a master of the craft, a writer to keep your eyes on.”
—Chris Goff, author of Dark Waters
“Barbara Nickless’s Blood on the Tracks is raw and authentic, plunging readers into the fascinating world of tough railroad cop Special Agent Sydney Rose Parnell and her Malinois sidekick, Clyde. Haunted by her military service in Iraq, Sydney Rose is brought in by the Denver Major Crimes unit to help solve a particularly brutal murder, leading her into a snake pit of hate and betrayal. Meticulously plotted and intelligently written, Blood on the Tracks is a superb debut novel.”
—M. L. Rowland, author of the Search and Rescue Mystery novels
“Blood on the Tracks is a must-read debut. A suspenseful crime thriller with propulsive action, masterful writing, and a tough-as-nails cop, Sydney Rose Parnell. Readers will want more.”
—Robert K. Tanenbaum, New York Times bestselling author of the Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi legal thrillers
“Nickless’s writing admirably captures the fallout from a war where even survivors are trapped, forever reliving their trauma.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Part mystery, part antiwar story, Nickless’s engrossing first novel, a series launch, introduces Sydney Rose Parnell . . . Nickless skillfully explores the dehumanizing effects resulting from the unspeakable cruelties of wartime as well as the part played by the loyalty soldiers owe to family and each other under stressful circumstances.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An interesting tale . . . The fast pace will leave you finished in no time. Nickless seamlessly ties everything together with a shocking ending.”
—RT Book Reviews
“If you enjoy suspense and thrillers, then you will [want] Blood on the Tracks for your library. Full of the suspense that holds you on the edge of your seat, it’s also replete with acts of bravery, moments of hope, and a host of feelings that keep the story’s intensity level high. This would be a great work for a book club or reading group with a great deal of information that would create robust dialogue and debate.”
—Blogcritics
“In Blood on the Tracks, Barbara Nickless delivers a thriller with the force of a speeding locomotive and the subtlety of a surgeon’s knife. Sydney and Clyde are both great characters with flaws and virtues to see them through a plot thick with menace. One for contemporary thriller lovers everywhere.”
—Authorlink
“Blood on the Tracks is a superb story that rises above the genre of mystery . . . It is a first-class read.”
—Denver Post
ALSO BY BARBARA NICKLESS
Blood on the Tracks
Dead Stop
Ambush
Gone to Darkness
At First Light
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2022 by Barbara Nickless
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle
www.apub.com
Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates.
ISBN-13: 9781662500817
ISBN-10: 1662500815
Cover design by Kirk DouPonce, DogEared Design
To the men and women who work long hours and risk their lives to return a nation’s cultural treasure.
CONTENTS
START READING
ONE—CREATION
“The Social Significance . . .
PRELUDE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
TWO—DISCOVERY
“Signs and Symbols . . .
INTERLUDE
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
THREE—VERITAS
“The Architecture of . . .
INTERLUDE
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
POSTLUDE
AUTHOR’S NOTE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another, render true and perfect justice in your gates, and do not contrive evil against one another. And do not love perjury because those are things that I hate, declares the Lord.
—Biblical scroll fragment discovered in the Cave of Horror, Judaean Desert, Israel, 2021
ONE—CREATION
“The Social Significance of Everyday Words”
Semiotics 300: Social Structures in Language
Dr. Evan Wilding, Professor of Semiotics, Linguistics, and Paleography at the University of Chicago
Our days are filled with decisions, from what to have for breakfast to whether to drop a bomb.
But few of us stop to consider that each choice for something is a move away from something else. The word decide comes from the Latin decidere, which itself rises from the Latin de—meaning “off”—and caedere—meaning “cut.” Every choice we make is a cutting off. It is a door closed. A road not taken.
It is of interest to note that the English word decide shares its suffix with homicide, genocide, and suicide. All of these words represent a cutting off. They refer to a choice we have made for ourselves. Or a choice another person has, with violence, made for us.
PRELUDE
When I thought about their deaths, which I did often, I knew it had begun in Jerusalem. First came the book. Then the hunt. Soon after, the violent, venomous arguments.
Much of what happened I could lay at my own feet. But the book had been the start.
I found the volume in Jerusalem’s Christian Quarter. I’d ducked inside a squalid little shop after thinking I was done for the day and good for nothing more than a drink at the hotel bar. I glanced at my watch as I wound my way through the warren-like maze of shelves, past the touristy offerings of guidebooks and religious tracts, and to the back, where any literary treasures might be found.
Ten minutes, I told myself.
Nine minutes later, a cover caught my eye as I sorted through a teetering stack of old Hebrew tomes and Coptic hymnals. A dirty-cream background with a black cobra entwined around the title’s gilt letters. The book, crushed in the middle of the pile, was in wretched condition. The cloth cover was creased almost to the point of amputation, the spine broken. The gold in the title was scratched. Tiny flecks of mold dotted the yellowed pages.
