Standing on the precipice of middle age, Maeve Shaw has worked hard for her accomplishments. She is a talented female lawyer in a male-dominated profession. She is a good mom to two precious little boys and is married to the love of her life. She has a tremendously supportive best friend who has helped Maeve to keep the skeletons locked in the closet. But suddenly, all the things Maeve has worked to build are falling apart. She is forced to take on a case that hits a little too close to home. The long hours take a toll on the family and especially on her flagging marriage. It will take every yoga class in Chicago and more than a few bottles of wine for Maeve hold everything together. Can Maeve truly become, “The hero of her own narrative?”

Darkness Drops Again is a brilliantly composed legal thriller with more than a few shocking twists. The characters are exceptionally well-written, from an understanding friend always ready with a chocolate bar, to an arrogant boss unwilling to make any allowances for perceived shortcomings. Melissa E. Manning paints the story with vivid clarity, be it a tragic crime scene or a tragic Brazilian wax. The story is imbued with genuine emotions of anger, volatility and insecurity, and it is rounded out with just the right amount of self-deprecating humor. With jaw-dropping twists balanced perfectly with down-to-earth mom-moments, Darkness Drops Again is a sexy crime thriller that isn’t afraid to push the envelope.

In this debut thriller, a lawyer reluctantly joins her first criminal case while trying to stay focused on her family.

As one of the few women at a large Chicago law firm, Maeve Shaw hopes to make partner. But after her second maternity leave, there’s little work available for her, and she struggles to maintain billable hours. Regardless, she steers clear of an imminent pro-bono murder trial. She has an apparent hatred of criminal law, stemming from her troubled childhood with an addict mother and a perpetually angry attorney father. But “the murder team,” wanting a female counselor, requests Maeve. The client is Tammy Sanford, a mom who supposedly strangled her 23-year-old daughter, Kyleigh, a frequent child beauty pageant winner who later became addicted to opioids. Maeve delves into the trial, but a recent discovery about her husband, Patrick, is distracting. He may be having an affair. Though a text message and further evidence aren’t rock solid, they’re certainly suspicious. She’s determined to keep her family together while her boss implies she’ll lose her job if her billables wane. And as she’s sure Tammy is innocent, Maeve and her best friend, Zara Patel, do some investigating of their own. Manning’s novel convincingly mingles Maeve’s personal and professional lives. This character-driven story reveals a woman thriving under intense pressure, even if she occasionally stumbles. As readers only know as much as Maeve does, there’s mystery surrounding both the murder trial and Patrick’s possible adultery. The tale is mostly gloomy, as the mother of two deals with a sexist boss; seems to blame herself, at least partly, for what Patrick may have done; and, via intermittent flashbacks, endures negligent parents. Fortunately, instances of humor offer relief, including scenes involving an odd Brazilian and a webcam failure. The author reinforces her taut narrative with punchy dialogue while each subplot concludes memorably.

An assured and wholly absorbing legal tale.