Thursday 30 June 2016

That Darkness by Lisa Black



A body is found, and the Cleveland police force must work out who the young lady is, where the murder took place and why the body was left draped across a grave in a cemetery. Thanks to Maggie Gardiner, a junior forensic detective, most of their work is done for them. She cannot leave mysteries unsolved, questions unasked and detections undone, so her mind beavers away at things until everything makes sense.

They must also deal with the rising body count resulting from vigilante behaviour. Someone is taking advantage of his position on the inside to assist them in his way, and Maggie begins to suspect a serial killer.

The forensic details were masterfully handled - and I felt like I was in the room, scouring every paragraph for evidence. The interaction between the characters was great - amusing and light - which keeps you entertained.  A few elements of the plot were slightly concerning - most of these around the vigilante element - the why was not really dealt with. In addition, he had a great and important underlying mission (don’t they all?) which he only got to late in life and late in the book (why, other than it suited the plot?). This worried me.

Lots of action, a steady pace, dialogue galore and a few plot turns with interesting and unusual elements kept me enthralled, and my enjoyment level high, nevertheless.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC to review. This in no way influenced my opinion or review of the book.

A solid three star read


ISBN: 9781496701886


You may also enjoy With our Blessing by Jo Spain or Icarus by Deon Meyer.

My Books of 2016 - so far.



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