CW: Torture, Rape, Dark Web, Snuff Films, Animal Cruelty (The dog does not die!)

Spoilers for Killman Creek below

I recently finished reading Killman Creek by Rachel Caine. This is the second book in the Stillhouse Lake series. I went into reading this book expecting I would love it. I loved the first book, and I felt this was a series I would complete. This changed when I finished Killman Creek. It’s not that I hated this book, but I felt this book was so dark to the point where it felt like a chore to finish. I like reading thrillers and mysteries, but occasionally, I will read a book that goes to those places where it feels like it’s a bit too much for me. How dark is too dark in thrillers?

I will be spoiling Killman Creek and touching on some of these darker themes in the book. If any of the content warnings are upsetting, this might be a blog post to skip. As mentioned, Killman Creek was dark. The premise of the book is that Gwen is raising her two kids from the aftermath of her husband, Melvin, being a serial killer. At the end of the first book, Melvin breaks out of prison, so in Killman Creek, Gwen is going to face her ex-husband. Gwen uncovers a fake video created on the dark web where she is shown as an accomplice to Melvin’s crimes. This fake video is seen by someone close to Gwen and the FBI. If that wasn’t gross enough, this video was sent to her two children, so now they think Gwen is a murderer. If you’re like, wow there’s no way this book can get any darker, you would be incorrect. At the final climax of the book, Gwen is kidnapped, held captive, and is going to be tortured on video on the dark web by Melvin.

Listen, I’m all for the protagonist of a story of any genre to go through their perils. I expect Gwen to face an uphill battle while going after her ex-husband, but this? I would have been fine if the fake video existed, and Gwen fights Melvin to be exonerated in the end. I think where this book went further than I would have wanted was to send it to her children, so they are exposed to the violence of it all, and the ending. When I think about this topic, it boils down to one thing: if there is no way for the protagonist to win, or the protagonist wins, but at a cost to their humanity or sanity, why am I reading this series?

With that said, Gwen is successful and kills Melvin. My thought after finishing Killman Creek was, well, maybe this is a blip. Gwen can finally start over. I read through the other plot summaries of the books remaining in this series. One plot summary mentions how her town turns on Gwen, and another mentions how her kids are put in danger. I’m out. I already read about Gwen overcoming this massive event from her past, and she is put through so much.

It saddens me to not continue with this series, but it’s for the best. I know I wouldn’t be able to read these books without thinking negatively about them, and I have so many other series I want to read. There’s nothing wrong with thrillers and mysteries having dark themes, but when it comes to continually putting the protagonist in several awful situations with little to no hope of seeing them win, then I have to ask myself why I’m bothering to continue with their story.