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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you Netgalley, Terri Parlato and Hera Publishers for the eArc of All the Dark places.
This was my first book by Terri Parlato and I devoured it within na few sittings over a couple of days. The narrative starts with Molly and her friends who are celebrating her Husband, Jay's 40th birthday. The following morning he is found in a pool of blood, throat slit and his office is ransacked.
Detective Rita Meyers takes on the case and starts investigating, only to believe, as the evidence points, to one of their friends. As the investigation deepens, Rita starts connecting the dots and finds out who the killer really is.
This grabbed my attention right from the start. The plot is medium paced, flowed very well into the twists and turns, It takes you into some dark psychological corners and the pay off was executed well. The character development comes through the investigation as she questions both Molly and Jays friends. Secrets come out and a killer is on the loose.
4.25 rounded down to 4 for Netgalley/Amazon
This was my first book by Terri Parlato and I devoured it within na few sittings over a couple of days. The narrative starts with Molly and her friends who are celebrating her Husband, Jay's 40th birthday. The following morning he is found in a pool of blood, throat slit and his office is ransacked.
Detective Rita Meyers takes on the case and starts investigating, only to believe, as the evidence points, to one of their friends. As the investigation deepens, Rita starts connecting the dots and finds out who the killer really is.
This grabbed my attention right from the start. The plot is medium paced, flowed very well into the twists and turns, It takes you into some dark psychological corners and the pay off was executed well. The character development comes through the investigation as she questions both Molly and Jays friends. Secrets come out and a killer is on the loose.
4.25 rounded down to 4 for Netgalley/Amazon
dark
mysterious
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
dark
medium-paced
LOVED it!! So hard to put down. It grabbed my attention immediately & wouldn’t let go until the very last page. Had me guessing until the end for sure. If you’re a fan of mystery, detective stories, etc..then definitely move this book to the top of your list! You won’t be disappointed.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thank you Kensington Books for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. IYKYK, my reviews are always honest.
2.5 rounded up to a 3
One sentence review: A lil shaky
SYNOPSIS
Molly wakes up after her husband's birthday party to find him ded af with his throat slashed. As Detective Rita looks into his murder, Molly's past begins to catch up with her.
MY OPINION
If I didn't know Terri Parlato was a debut author, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn so after I finished reading. This is what I expect a debut to be like: 50% basic, cliche thriller writing and 50% of solid writing that I hope is indicative of her true talents. You could tell Terri was trying to hit the "markers" of the genre, which left some sections and events feeling forced. But then she'd write some bangerlicious and insightful moments. This made it tough for me to rate it. I'm interested to see what she comes out with next. Will she go the more traditional, popcorn thriller route or carve her own path with unique prose? DUN DUN DUNNNN
Anyways. One particular "moment of greatness" was Rita and her drawing habit. I found this an interesting character trait that I haven't seen in other books (not saying it doesn't exist, so chillax), but it wasn't totally flushed out. It would've been cool if the drawings were used to solve the case. It felt kinda lame when she was like yeah drawing calms me down and that was it. If this is a series, hopefully the drawing quirk becomes more integral to her crime solving process.
Now ya'll know I keep it a stack, so I need to tell you about the not so great moments. When Molly adopts Sadie and decides she's gonna be her emotional support dog so she orders her a service dog vest off Amazon and viola
2.5 rounded up to a 3
One sentence review: A lil shaky
SYNOPSIS
Molly wakes up after her husband's birthday party to find him ded af with his throat slashed. As Detective Rita looks into his murder, Molly's past begins to catch up with her.
MY OPINION
If I didn't know Terri Parlato was a debut author, I wouldn't have been surprised to learn so after I finished reading. This is what I expect a debut to be like: 50% basic, cliche thriller writing and 50% of solid writing that I hope is indicative of her true talents. You could tell Terri was trying to hit the "markers" of the genre, which left some sections and events feeling forced. But then she'd write some bangerlicious and insightful moments. This made it tough for me to rate it. I'm interested to see what she comes out with next. Will she go the more traditional, popcorn thriller route or carve her own path with unique prose? DUN DUN DUNNNN
Anyways. One particular "moment of greatness" was Rita and her drawing habit. I found this an interesting character trait that I haven't seen in other books (not saying it doesn't exist, so chillax), but it wasn't totally flushed out. It would've been cool if the drawings were used to solve the case. It felt kinda lame when she was like yeah drawing calms me down and that was it. If this is a series, hopefully the drawing quirk becomes more integral to her crime solving process.
Now ya'll know I keep it a stack, so I need to tell you about the not so great moments. When Molly adopts Sadie and decides she's gonna be her emotional support dog so she orders her a service dog vest off Amazon and viola
All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is a suspenseful and atmospheric mystery thriller. This debut novel is well crafted and hooked me in the first chapter. Molly Bradley has thrown a fortieth birthday party for her husband Jay with their closest friends gathered for the event. Everyone loved Jay, but the next morning Molly finds Jay dead in his home office in the detached garage.
Detective Rita Myers and her partner Detective Chase Fuller, with the Graybridge, Massachusetts police department, get the case. Jay’s murder doesn’t seem to be a crime of opportunity or random. Did one of his and Molly’s friends kill him? As the police dig into Jay’s life and those of their friends, everyone becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, Molly is devastated. Jay is the only person who really understands the horror she lived through when she was young. Now, her rock is gone. Who can Molly trust and who killed Jay?
Molly is haunted by her past, but readers only gradually learn what happened to her. She no longer feels safe. However, some of the things she does made me believe she wasn’t thinking straight. I found myself asking multiple times: Why did Molly do that? Rita is an experienced Boston police officer and detective who accepted the job in Graybridge when a friend became the police chief there. She loves training new detectives, has recently turned sixty, and still likes the challenge of the job and solving mysteries.
This fascinating story is told from the points of view of Molly and Rita. It had the combined aspects of a police procedural, a murder mystery, and a psychological thriller. As readers, we get clues as the characters do. Will you guess who the killer is?
This author brought a wide variety of characters together, but they weren’t extremely diverse. I hope that changes in the next novel. Most of the characters are self-confident, but are their stories truths or lies?
With a strong start to the novel, readers have to decipher the clues with Molly and Rita. Everyone seems to have secrets. The plot is deeply involved with several twists to the story to keep readers captivated to its dramatic conclusion.
Parlato brought suspense, interesting characters, and an exciting story line together in a thrilling novel. I am looking forward to reading her next book. I would also love to see a series featuring Rita. If you enjoy intriguing police procedurals, mysteries, and psychological thrillers, then this may be the book for you.
Kensington Books and Terri Parlato provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for December 27 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------------------------------------------
My 3.98 rounded to 4 stars review will be coming soon.
Detective Rita Myers and her partner Detective Chase Fuller, with the Graybridge, Massachusetts police department, get the case. Jay’s murder doesn’t seem to be a crime of opportunity or random. Did one of his and Molly’s friends kill him? As the police dig into Jay’s life and those of their friends, everyone becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, Molly is devastated. Jay is the only person who really understands the horror she lived through when she was young. Now, her rock is gone. Who can Molly trust and who killed Jay?
Molly is haunted by her past, but readers only gradually learn what happened to her. She no longer feels safe. However, some of the things she does made me believe she wasn’t thinking straight. I found myself asking multiple times: Why did Molly do that? Rita is an experienced Boston police officer and detective who accepted the job in Graybridge when a friend became the police chief there. She loves training new detectives, has recently turned sixty, and still likes the challenge of the job and solving mysteries.
This fascinating story is told from the points of view of Molly and Rita. It had the combined aspects of a police procedural, a murder mystery, and a psychological thriller. As readers, we get clues as the characters do. Will you guess who the killer is?
This author brought a wide variety of characters together, but they weren’t extremely diverse. I hope that changes in the next novel. Most of the characters are self-confident, but are their stories truths or lies?
With a strong start to the novel, readers have to decipher the clues with Molly and Rita. Everyone seems to have secrets. The plot is deeply involved with several twists to the story to keep readers captivated to its dramatic conclusion.
Parlato brought suspense, interesting characters, and an exciting story line together in a thrilling novel. I am looking forward to reading her next book. I would also love to see a series featuring Rita. If you enjoy intriguing police procedurals, mysteries, and psychological thrillers, then this may be the book for you.
Kensington Books and Terri Parlato provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for December 27 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------------------------------------------
My 3.98 rounded to 4 stars review will be coming soon.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
There’s just too much in this, and it’s also just sort of corny. Too many “really??” Moments and eye rolling. But I did finish it.