Amy's 4 star ARC review of Darkness Follows (Darkness Series - 2) by J.L. Drake

Emily McPhee is in the clutches of a monster… 

Despite the protection of her boyfriend Seth Connors and his colleagues with the Orange Police Department, Emily is imprisoned in a basement by her psychopathic stalker Jimmy Lasko. His bizarre behavior adds to her terror, and a video link forces Seth to witness her captivity, leaving him feeling helpless as he, the OPD, and the FBI search for her. 

Freedom isn’t free, and safety is just an illusion… 

Though Emily escapes the basement, the threat is far from eliminated. In fact, things she learned while being held by Lasko lead her to believe he isn’t working alone. Lasko is still out there, determined to get her back, and crazier than ever. If he does have a partner, Emily has no idea where the threat might lie or who she can trust. 

It’s impossible to live a normal life when family ties become tangled. 

Emily is deeply hurt when Seth is reminded that their relationship might endanger her further and he pulls away again. She’s even more frustrated when her globe-trotting mother returns and is charming to everybody…except her own daughter. 

When Emily meets Seth’s family, she loves his mom and little sister, isn’t sure what to make of his flirtatious brother—who is also a cop—and finds herself very uneasy around his father, who is a powerful attorney. 

Sometimes things seem very clear…until you look more closely

4.0 stars

We are picking up right where we left off. Emily has been taken. This is an extremely intense storyline so if you have triggers I might rethink this book. Emily begins to have flashbacks while she is being held captive by Lasko. He is filling her with drugs to keep her sedated. Emily quickly realizes there is another person with Lasko but who and why. 
Seth has more to lose than ever before. Lasko has set up a video feed for the guys to watch his playtime with Emily. Each day Emily is gone he goes a little deeper and darker in his own soul. Emily knows they are able to see her. Agent Patrick has formed a team to help search for Emily. Johnnie, Riggs and Avery have all volunteered to help. 
Nothing is as it seems. 
This is one jacked up series with a whole lot of psycho going on. My only dislike of this series is the use of a pit bull and the character it portrays. I have them, love them and am a rescuer of them. I have a huge issue with the portrayal of them as evil dogs. Honestly I skipped those parts because it made my blood boil. 
However being a reviewer I need to move on from that. The characters here are well written and Im telling you if I ever ran into Lasko I would be freaked the hell out. There is a scene that even I cringed at because I hate the “item” that was used. 
There is a huge cliff hanger again .. so be prepared because you might think you are figuring this out but I promise you .. you aren’t. 

I was provided an ARC for an honest review.