I think the disparity of my feelings for UNSUB and Into the Black Nowhere might be the greatest of any series I’ve read. I really enjoyed UNSUB because of Caitlin’s strong but flawed character, the creepy and semi-supernatural nature of the Prophet, the strained but tough relationship between Caitlin and her father, and the twists and turns of the case that left me enthralled all the way to the end. Into the Black Nowhere does away with literally all of those things, and suffers incredibly for it.

Let’s start with the subject of Into the Black Nowhere, Kyle Detrick. I’m not even really sure why this novel was part of the UNSUB series, as Detrick is anything but an “unknown subject”. The police, the FBI, and the reader are aware that he is the serial killer very early in the story. This removes all tension and mystery and surprise. Besides that, he has to be the most uninteresting serial killer I’ve ever read about. Perhaps I was simply bored and not paying enough attention, but his motivations seem to vacillate and never make much sense. His weapon of choice is his attractiveness, and of course every female he comes into contact with immediately becomes putty in his hands. I realize that this story was inspired by Ted Bundy, but give me a break.

Caitlin is no longer the flawed and determined heroine that she was in UNSUB, but is instead now going above her supervisor’s head and making controversial decisions that affect the lives of others. All of this despite her being brand new to the BAU. It doesn’t make sense in the world of Into the Black Nowhere, and it doesn’t make sense in reality. Speaking of reality, the police and FBI are portrayed as incompetent morons that make terrible decisions every chance they get. I’m all for suspension of disbelief, but this book made it very hard.

The biggest issue I had with Into the Black Nowhere is how absolutely boring the whole thing is. UNSUB was hard to put down, fast paced, and interesting. This second entry is none of those things. Entire swathes are dedicated to Caitlin following Detrick around, his dull daily life narrated in dry detail. A lot of this story attempts to be some kind of psychological battle between Detrick and Caitlin, but it’s just not compelling. I also feel that Gardiner’s prose here is worse than it was in UNSUB, with a lot of the dialogue being cringeworthy.

I was really excited to get back into the UNSUB universe, but this novel left me completely deflated and discouraged. It was a real struggle to even finish it and, in the end, I skimmed the last hundred or so pages just to get it over with. I doubt that I’ll bother with any future entries in this series.