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aabdou's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tennilles's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jennie_cole's review against another edition
4.0
When Robin is hit with immense tragedy, she finds solace back home when she is asked to assist with a case. Marjorie Loman disappears from the Portland area after her husband is tortured and killed due to a visit from a couple of goons the same day she is notified of her husband's death. She turns up in Elk Grove, Robin's home town, and makes money by being a surrogate for a local family. But being a surrogate was hard than expected after a mistake at the hospital allows Marjorie to bond with the baby.
While in the throws of postpartum depression, the men she ran from appear at her apartment causing her to take drastic actions. Marjorie finds herself in court on charges of kidnapping and assault while also being searched for by Portland police for the murder of her husband (I guess you should not disappear right after being told a loved one is dead).
To Marjorie's benefit, Robin Lockwood is in town and has agreed to work as co-counsel on the kidnapping case. The long term question Marjorie needs to ask herself is if this really is for the best.
Because this series is not just about the case but very much about Robin, you do need to have read the previous books for the personal story. However, Margolin does do a short recap of who people are at the beginning and because this one takes place outside of Portland it revolves more around Robin and new characters and less about the ones you have already grown to know. This one was very refreshing and different than the previous books which was nice.
While in the throws of postpartum depression, the men she ran from appear at her apartment causing her to take drastic actions. Marjorie finds herself in court on charges of kidnapping and assault while also being searched for by Portland police for the murder of her husband (I guess you should not disappear right after being told a loved one is dead).
To Marjorie's benefit, Robin Lockwood is in town and has agreed to work as co-counsel on the kidnapping case. The long term question Marjorie needs to ask herself is if this really is for the best.
Because this series is not just about the case but very much about Robin, you do need to have read the previous books for the personal story. However, Margolin does do a short recap of who people are at the beginning and because this one takes place outside of Portland it revolves more around Robin and new characters and less about the ones you have already grown to know. This one was very refreshing and different than the previous books which was nice.
xenlinde's review against another edition
4.0
I love the lack of fluff and filler in these books especially after just finishing another book by another author that was significantly longer because it went into excruciating detail about every little thing about and thought of the protagonist.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
The Darkest Place is the 5th Robin Lockwood legal mystery by Phillip Margolin. Released 8th March 2022 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and available in hardcover, mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written legal thriller series with a strong romance element and lots of action. The plotline moves along very quickly (and generally not overly realistically). It's pure escapist reading and that's not a bad thing. The dialogue is choppy in places and I found myself yanked out of my suspension of disbelief fairly often by seemingly out-of-character and completely unrealistic plot developments. The antagonists were ridiculously incompetent and so thoroughly without redeeming features, they just seemed more appropriate for a comic book setting. That being said, the denouement and resolution were satisfying.
There were some really out-of-deep-left-field plot elements here. Some of them are potentially triggering (child loss, gambling, murder (obviously), bereavement, infertility, surrogacy, and torture for example). There was also one very difficult to read exchange in the book between titular protagonist Robin, and her mother, which was breathtaking in its wrongness. It literally colored the rest of the read for me. I felt the author was portraying the interchange in a positive manner and it was horrifying. ("Tough love" is neither).
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 1 minute and is narrated by Therese Plummer. She has an impressive vocal range and reads very well - however - there were directorial/artistic decisions made at some point in the process which meant that one of the character's voices was 90% screech (including snotty screaming crying outbursts). Much of the read was literally painful to listen to. I had to go back to the print format.
This might be a good choice for particular fans of legal / courtroom mysteries.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Darkest Place is the 5th Robin Lockwood legal mystery by Phillip Margolin. Released 8th March 2022 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 304 pages and available in hardcover, mass market paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a well written legal thriller series with a strong romance element and lots of action. The plotline moves along very quickly (and generally not overly realistically). It's pure escapist reading and that's not a bad thing. The dialogue is choppy in places and I found myself yanked out of my suspension of disbelief fairly often by seemingly out-of-character and completely unrealistic plot developments. The antagonists were ridiculously incompetent and so thoroughly without redeeming features, they just seemed more appropriate for a comic book setting. That being said, the denouement and resolution were satisfying.
There were some really out-of-deep-left-field plot elements here. Some of them are potentially triggering (child loss, gambling, murder (obviously), bereavement, infertility, surrogacy, and torture for example). There was also one very difficult to read exchange in the book between titular protagonist Robin, and her mother, which was breathtaking in its wrongness. It literally colored the rest of the read for me. I felt the author was portraying the interchange in a positive manner and it was horrifying. ("Tough love" is neither).
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 1 minute and is narrated by Therese Plummer. She has an impressive vocal range and reads very well - however - there were directorial/artistic decisions made at some point in the process which meant that one of the character's voices was 90% screech (including snotty screaming crying outbursts). Much of the read was literally painful to listen to. I had to go back to the print format.
This might be a good choice for particular fans of legal / courtroom mysteries.
Three and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
hailey_sar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Dialogue leaves much to be desired. However, you’re reading this for the plot not the communication. Court room scenes feel realistic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Child abuse
willowmoulton18's review against another edition
3.0
The beginning of this book was terrible, I had no idea what was going on or who was who until I was in the middle of the book. The second half was good though!
browsemyshelves's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to this on audio—thank you to libro.fm for the ARC!
I kept seeing this at my work so I thought i’d give it a chance. The author is local—which always makes things better.
I didn’t realize when starting this that it was part 5 in the series. Though, I read you could read them each as stand-alones so I continued, and this is definitely true!
It read great as a stand-alone. I don’t think detective mysteries are for me but I definitely enjoyed it as it is. The characters were enjoyable and the storyline was pretty good! Just as I would have expected it to be :)
Great if you enjoy Louise Penny or other detective mystery authors!
I kept seeing this at my work so I thought i’d give it a chance. The author is local—which always makes things better.
I didn’t realize when starting this that it was part 5 in the series. Though, I read you could read them each as stand-alones so I continued, and this is definitely true!
It read great as a stand-alone. I don’t think detective mysteries are for me but I definitely enjoyed it as it is. The characters were enjoyable and the storyline was pretty good! Just as I would have expected it to be :)
Great if you enjoy Louise Penny or other detective mystery authors!