“Lukasik (White Like Her) delivers a gripping ghost story of pandemics past in this well-crafted gothic mystery. Readers will sympathize with Nellie’s fears and frustrations, and Lukasik maintains a deliciously dark tension throughout. With unpredictable plotting and superior atmospherics, this is an early autumn treat fit for late-night devouring.” —Publishers Weekly
Lukasik blends all the elements needed for a dark suspense novel: a forbidding mansion, ghostly presences, secret passages, a hostile housekeeper, a temperamental employer, and residents unwilling to talk to outsiders. For fans of Rebecca, The Woman in White, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway.” —Library Journal
“An engaging concoction, set in 1918, that consists of all the right ingredients: a young nurse protagonist with a puzzle in her past, a creepy and isolated island setting, an old creaky mansion that rivals Manderley, a colorful and suspiciously sinister supporting cast, and the discoveries of a corpse or two. Atmospheric and poetic, this is a tale that will keep you turning the pages until you reach the final, startling revelation.” —Raymond Benson, official author of the James Bond novels and The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way
“The Darkness Surrounds Us is a taut gothic mystery with an intriguing twist. Her heroine, Nurse Nellie Lester, is resourceful and determined as she unravels old and new secrets in her search to make sense of her own past. Readers will enjoy the romantic undertones and the unrelenting suspense in this classically imagined tale.” —Susanna Calkins, author of the Lucy Campion Mysteries and the Speakeasy Murders.