I'm glad I read the second Cassandra Neary book before the first. When the series begins, Cass is a madwoman, equal parts self-destruction, malice, and ice. There isn't a sliver of what makes her a tiny bit appealing in
Available Dark. Mostly she's pretty creepy. She is sent off to Maine to interview a photographer whom she has always idolized as the real thing (a bit of a theme). But counter to Cass's expecations, Aphrodite isn't expecting her, and besides that hates her as a photographer. The Maine residents are mostly pretty normal, but the artsy folks "from away" are consistently bonkers.
I liked this a bit better than Available Dark, mostly because the people and location were more accessible (I hesitate to say more normal). Once again, I really liked the descriptions of the photographs and techniques used to film and print them. I think that Hand loves to write dark, atmospheric novels that make the reader uncomfortable. She's not as interested in story as in creating a situation in an out-of-the-way location peopled by weird, creepy characters. She is so successful at this that it was almost impossible to stop reading!
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