Print Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington Publishing (December 27, 2022)
From Goodreads.com: Snow falls softly outside Molly Bradley’s home on a frigid January night. Inside, half a dozen close friends are gathered to celebrate the fortieth birthday of Molly’s psychologist husband, Jay. Candlelight gleams against dark wood, wine flows, and the house rings with laughter. Everybody loves Jay, Molly most of all. Yet next morning, Molly discovers Jay dead on the floor of his office, his throat brutally slashed.
After decades working with the Boston PD, Detective Rita Myers has grown accustomed to the banality of evil—the murders that make no sense beyond bad luck or a tragic brush with the worst of humanity. But Jay Bradley’s murder isn’t random, or a mere crime of opportunity. Rita is convinced that someone in the couple’s small circle killed him. Someone who was celebrating with them that night.
Devastated, Molly tries to make sense of her husband’s death. Jay was her rock, the only person who really understood the nightmare she lived through long ago. He knew the horrors she’s kept hidden even from her friends. But shocking revelations are making her question if Jay was all he seemed to be—and whether someone else knows her past too. And until Molly figures out who she can really trust, she won’t be able to stop herself becoming the next target . . .
*******************
My Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Sadly, for me, this book was one of those cases where the blurb was the most interesting part. Don't get me wrong, it had potential, but ultimately, I just didn't feel the tension and suspense the author was going for.
In my opinion, this was partly because there were just so many characters that were mentioned over the course of the novel that it became hard to keep track of just who was who. I didn't feel any of the background characters were well developed, although certain ones did seem to play a more important part to the story (but that is a whole different can of worms that I will get to in a minute).
When I look at the two main characters, I found them hard to like. On one hand we have Rita, the seasoned detective who says "uh huh" entirely way too often. She comes across as a competent enough officer, but to me, lacked any real personality.
And then we have Molly, whose entire personality seemed to be her husband (and a traumatic past). And while I get it, you've just had your world upended and now it seems like someone might know about your secret past, I cannot condone the fact that one of her solutions is to go to the shelter and rescue a dog just so she could purchase a service dog vest, slap it on said dog with no training whatsoever and decide the dog could go everywhere with her, and no one could stop her. Yes, I know it's a work of fiction, but stuff like that makes it so much harder in real life for people who own actual service dogs to be taken seriously.
Another big problem I had with this one was just who the killer turned out to be. I found it a bit on the inconceivable side that this person would have been allowed into their lives without either of them having any idea who they really were.
However, being that this was a debut novel for this author I would give them another chance because I can see the potential they have.
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
*******************
All the Dark Places is available on Amazon.com
>
Post a Comment
0 Comments