Andrew Klavan has long been a superior writer of crime fiction and psychological thrillers, with some of his books being turned into feature films. Recently, his terrific series starring former spy turned college English professor Cameron Winter has given us stellar stories told in classic hard-boiled style. AFTER THAT, THE DARK is no exception.

This fifth and latest entry also skims the surface of both science fiction and horror, with elements of medical technology conspiracies along with some potential supernatural plotlines driving this tense story forward. Klavan is known for his strong faith, and I enjoyed seeing the novel open with a biblical quote from Matthew, as well as some of the characters discussing their faith in Jesus Christ.

"AFTER THAT, THE DARK is certainly the darkest and most suspenseful entry in this excellent series. Andrew Klavan has created a unique character that readers will root for and follow anywhere."

In the prologue, we witness a family in crisis. Tilda Bach is pregnant with her first child, yet she is suspicious and fearful of her husband, Martin, who recently has shown an unnatural dark side almost as if he were possessed by something evil that was turning him against her. This plays perfectly into the narrative to come as Winter becomes involved in a pair of cases where the individuals at the center of two crimes are described as being possessed by the devil. These incidents also end up tying into a storyline involving Winter’s longtime handler in his spy days, The Recruiter, who may be in danger.

In a series of flashbacks that Winter shares with his therapist, he was on assignment for The Recruiter and targeted a wealthy villain, Thaddeus Blatt. Blatt had an evil tattooed henchman who made it a point to end Winter’s life in violent fashion. On a positive note, Winter finally may have found true love in the form of Gwendolyn Lord, for whom he would do anything. She tells him about Owen McKay, a computer repairman who stabbed his wife and child to death and later killed himself in prison. Winter takes a personal interest in the case and temporarily leaves his teaching role to investigate.

Winter’s investigation yields some interesting evidence. Anyone who knew McKay had nothing but positive things to say about him and his family. We learn from the initial unpublished autopsy that McKay may not have been a victim of possession but rather was operated like a puppet due to a wire that was found implanted in his brain. The fact that he killed himself with a homemade gun, filled with sharpened wooden nails, is highly suspicious. The autopsy report is redacted and released with false findings that Winter becomes obsessed with exposing. Meanwhile, a man in Connecticut has been accused of killing a young girl and fleeing the scene of the crime. We later learn that he may have had a brain implant as well.

While all of this is going on, the tattooed assassin returns and attempts to kill Winter. He reconnects with The Recruiter, who is retired and in hiding, and realizes that the past has caught up with the present, putting him and everyone in his life in danger. Winter is fine operating under this pressure, but once Gwendolyn is threatened, the gloves completely come off as he channels his former self to go on the attack to take down his enemies before they can hurt him or his circle of special people.

AFTER THAT, THE DARK is certainly the darkest and most suspenseful entry in this excellent series. Andrew Klavan has created a unique character that readers will root for and follow anywhere.