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laurarayson's review against another edition
4.0
First book I’ve read for the year and it was so good!! I wish I wasn’t busy so I could’ve finished it in one go. It had me speed reading flicking through page after page trying to get to the end. It had a great story line with a few really good twists and mysteries. The ending was sweet too. All in all really enjoyable story.
lxurx64's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
viccyroques's review against another edition
5.0
I only discovered the Lacey Flint series this year, from seeing someone reading the split and I’ve been obsessed with Sharon Boltons stuff since.
So I didn’t have as long to wait as some readers but the month wait was long enough!!
Another great book! Just when I think I’ve guessed it another twist happens and throws me right off. I had it on Audible and narration was spot on as usual.
I hope this isn’t the end of Lacey Flint books but I’m def looking through the list for the next SB book
So I didn’t have as long to wait as some readers but the month wait was long enough!!
Another great book! Just when I think I’ve guessed it another twist happens and throws me right off. I had it on Audible and narration was spot on as usual.
I hope this isn’t the end of Lacey Flint books but I’m def looking through the list for the next SB book
mischievous_monkey's review against another edition
5.0
Holy smokes, what a ride! I literally fist pumped at the conclusion of this book. This is one of my favorite series for a reason and this addition was every bit as good as the last which was my favorite thus far.
What an uncomfortable listen with members of the incel community taking their frustrations out on the city of London and wider world; scary and not so far fetched in our current political and social climate.
Very well narrated by Lisa Coleman. I wish the whole series were available through Audible, I am so stoked I would probably restart the series tomorrow.
What an uncomfortable listen with members of the incel community taking their frustrations out on the city of London and wider world; scary and not so far fetched in our current political and social climate.
Very well narrated by Lisa Coleman. I wish the whole series were available through Audible, I am so stoked I would probably restart the series tomorrow.
freyjaeve's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The twists and turns were truly unexpected and the author made them work well without a feeling of a twist being just thrown in.
A timely read with incel groups and misogyny on the rise.
The twists and turns were truly unexpected and the author made them work well without a feeling of a twist being just thrown in.
A timely read with incel groups and misogyny on the rise.
bibliotaphic_tendencies's review against another edition
5.0
The Dark by Sharon Bolton was a real shocker. And scarily this is something that isn’t so far fetched in this crazy world we live in.
This is book 5 in the Lacey Flint series. I really liked that the other characters have begun taking a more centre stage role in this book. The story is based on an investigation being carried out by DCI Joesbury (swoon) and his team, looking into an extremist group. The group are against women (yes, women as a whole). The extremists are known as Incels (standing for involuntary celibates) and blame women for their feelings of failure, inability to find a partner, and seemingly every other issue in their lives. The Incels have been encouraging men to take a stand, promoting harassment of women and the stripping of women’s rights. Joesbury and the team know that something big is coming, and it’s a race against time to find out who is behind the group. This one I found quite chilling, particularly the sneaky transition into dystopia.
This is book 5 in the Lacey Flint series. I really liked that the other characters have begun taking a more centre stage role in this book. The story is based on an investigation being carried out by DCI Joesbury (swoon) and his team, looking into an extremist group. The group are against women (yes, women as a whole). The extremists are known as Incels (standing for involuntary celibates) and blame women for their feelings of failure, inability to find a partner, and seemingly every other issue in their lives. The Incels have been encouraging men to take a stand, promoting harassment of women and the stripping of women’s rights. Joesbury and the team know that something big is coming, and it’s a race against time to find out who is behind the group. This one I found quite chilling, particularly the sneaky transition into dystopia.
tsquare345's review against another edition
3.0
Ugh... are incels real? How pathetic. I found this storyline very disturbing and an unusual perspective of people that have poor coping skills. Hm... that's what bothers me. A male with poor coping skills, awkward social behavior, and unrealistic expectations find similar men with hidden rage... combined with unbelievable sense of righteousness... are all ingredients for a very bad situation. I do hope there will be another in this series. But I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath since there were six years between this and the previous published work. Le sigh. So disappointing to realize that I love a character more than the author.
kellyvandamme's review against another edition
5.0
Hi and welcome to my review of The Dark! Massive thanks to Tracy for the invite and Orion and NetGalley for the eARC!
Years and years ago I fell in love with Sharon Bolton. I listened to Daisy in Chains, was blown away, read my way through Ms Bolton’s entire backlist and have been keeping up with her new work ever since. Doing so, I became a huge Lacey Flint fan so when, after all this time, I found out that Lacey Flipping Flint was back I jumped for joy!
Can I get a whoop whoop? And a collective blissful sigh that sounds suspiciously like FINALLY?
So, Lacey Flint is back for the fifth time, bar a couple of short stories, and no, you needn’t have read the previous books to jump into the series now if you really want to, but yes, I do think that you should read those previous instalments before reading The Dark cos this is an excellent series and how can you even call yourself a reader if you haven’t met Lacey, I should take away your bookworm badge right this minute!
Aaaaaanyhoo, Lacey is back and for what may be the first time, the mystery shrouding her is lifted somewhat. She’s always been a pretty mysterious character but, contradictory though it may sound, The Dark forces her into the light. It forces her to come to terms with her past, to stare it, and herself, in the face, and to accept it, to own it.
Also back is Lacey’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Mark Joesbury, seriously the guy deserves a medal for sheer patience alone, and for the first time in quite a while they have to work together.
The Dark hits the ground running with a baby being tossed into the Thames. So, only a few pages in, I was already clutching my pearls e-reader in suspense, and I really don’t feel it let up until I’d reached the end. Every time things seemed to calm down, another curveball was thrown, another spanner in the works messed with the case and this is honestly one of the most high-octane police procedurals I’ve read in a long time.
Fantastic main characters and lots of action, what’s not to love, but what I admire most about The Dark is the cleverness of the plot. Sure there’s smoke and mirrors but when the good guys figure out what the bad guys are really up to, it just makes so much sense. I always love it in a police procedural, or any story really, when the finale is not pulled from a hat like a white rabbit, revealing that what came before was actually a blatant lie. The Dark gives its reader little nuggets of information, little of which really registered in this reader TBH, and when it all comes together and all is revealed, you find the truth has been staring you in the face all along.
If I need to spell it out, I didn’t do this right, but just to be sure: I had a brilliant time with The Dark! It has everything I look for in a crime thriller and then some. It’s been a bit of a wait, but it was well worth it and with it ending on something of a cliffhanger for Lacey’s personal life, I’m already on tenterhooks for book 6. Highly recommend.
Years and years ago I fell in love with Sharon Bolton. I listened to Daisy in Chains, was blown away, read my way through Ms Bolton’s entire backlist and have been keeping up with her new work ever since. Doing so, I became a huge Lacey Flint fan so when, after all this time, I found out that Lacey Flipping Flint was back I jumped for joy!
Can I get a whoop whoop? And a collective blissful sigh that sounds suspiciously like FINALLY?
So, Lacey Flint is back for the fifth time, bar a couple of short stories, and no, you needn’t have read the previous books to jump into the series now if you really want to, but yes, I do think that you should read those previous instalments before reading The Dark cos this is an excellent series and how can you even call yourself a reader if you haven’t met Lacey, I should take away your bookworm badge right this minute!
Aaaaaanyhoo, Lacey is back and for what may be the first time, the mystery shrouding her is lifted somewhat. She’s always been a pretty mysterious character but, contradictory though it may sound, The Dark forces her into the light. It forces her to come to terms with her past, to stare it, and herself, in the face, and to accept it, to own it.
Also back is Lacey’s on-again-off-again boyfriend Mark Joesbury, seriously the guy deserves a medal for sheer patience alone, and for the first time in quite a while they have to work together.
The Dark hits the ground running with a baby being tossed into the Thames. So, only a few pages in, I was already clutching my pearls e-reader in suspense, and I really don’t feel it let up until I’d reached the end. Every time things seemed to calm down, another curveball was thrown, another spanner in the works messed with the case and this is honestly one of the most high-octane police procedurals I’ve read in a long time.
Fantastic main characters and lots of action, what’s not to love, but what I admire most about The Dark is the cleverness of the plot. Sure there’s smoke and mirrors but when the good guys figure out what the bad guys are really up to, it just makes so much sense. I always love it in a police procedural, or any story really, when the finale is not pulled from a hat like a white rabbit, revealing that what came before was actually a blatant lie. The Dark gives its reader little nuggets of information, little of which really registered in this reader TBH, and when it all comes together and all is revealed, you find the truth has been staring you in the face all along.
If I need to spell it out, I didn’t do this right, but just to be sure: I had a brilliant time with The Dark! It has everything I look for in a crime thriller and then some. It’s been a bit of a wait, but it was well worth it and with it ending on something of a cliffhanger for Lacey’s personal life, I’m already on tenterhooks for book 6. Highly recommend.
anionce's review against another edition
3.0
It's good, because it's Lacey Flint and Sharon Bolton. However, in my opinion, this last installment is not as great as the others: the culprit was incredibly predictable and the relationship between our beloved main characters felt a bit rushed after all the previous build up. Hopefully, I will love #6
lit_with_leigh's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up to a 4
Writing: 3.5/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: I SCREAMED/5
THE PLOT
A baby is snatched and yeeted into the water, kicking off an investigation into incels who promise a Day of Retribrution for all the down and out mans out there... Unless Lacey, Joesbury, and the gang can stop them first.
MY OPINION
#BoltonBish reporting for duty!!!! OMFG I SCREAMED LOUDER THAN I'VE EVER SCRUMMED BEFORE AT THE LAST LINE!!!!!!! WHERE IS BOOK 6??? SHARON I HOPE YOU'RE WRITING YOUR ASS OFF RIGHT NOW. IMA NEED THAT ASAP.
Tbh I'd like a case that doesn't have a direct connection with Lacey; homegirl can't be part of an investigation that doesn't center around the baddie tryna ruin her life. She needs a vacay lol... or to steal another identity and try again, because this shit is exhausting.
I liked that this case focused on incels and served as a light intro in cyber attacks. I work in cybersecurity so reading about these tings is always interesting bc... ya'll it's coming lol. Also I'm morbidly fascinated with the minds of incels/conspiracy theorists so this was right up my alley. I did have to toss Bolton a lil side eye when she wrote that Ben Shapiro's views weren't unreasonable... gurl. lmao.
Overall this book didn't wow me. I'm no Nancy Drew but I sussed out the baddie early-on. Lacey had her dummy moments as usual... going outside and leaving the door wedged open with the keys right there. Sweet. The book was giving me Honda Civic reliable but nothing extra. The last line though pushed it past 3 stars and I will be picking up #6 once it drops.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: cool premise, ending had me shooketh
Cons: just missing that je ne sais quoi that pushes a book from good to bangerlicious
Writing: 3.5/5 | Plot: 4/5 | Ending: I SCREAMED/5
THE PLOT
A baby is snatched and yeeted into the water, kicking off an investigation into incels who promise a Day of Retribrution for all the down and out mans out there... Unless Lacey, Joesbury, and the gang can stop them first.
MY OPINION
#BoltonBish reporting for duty!!!! OMFG I SCREAMED LOUDER THAN I'VE EVER SCRUMMED BEFORE AT THE LAST LINE!!!!!!! WHERE IS BOOK 6??? SHARON I HOPE YOU'RE WRITING YOUR ASS OFF RIGHT NOW. IMA NEED THAT ASAP.
Tbh I'd like a case that doesn't have a direct connection with Lacey; homegirl can't be part of an investigation that doesn't center around the baddie tryna ruin her life. She needs a vacay lol... or to steal another identity and try again, because this shit is exhausting.
I liked that this case focused on incels and served as a light intro in cyber attacks. I work in cybersecurity so reading about these tings is always interesting bc... ya'll it's coming lol. Also I'm morbidly fascinated with the minds of incels/conspiracy theorists so this was right up my alley. I did have to toss Bolton a lil side eye when she wrote that Ben Shapiro's views weren't unreasonable... gurl. lmao.
Overall this book didn't wow me. I'm no Nancy Drew but I sussed out the baddie early-on. Lacey had her dummy moments as usual... going outside and leaving the door wedged open with the keys right there. Sweet. The book was giving me Honda Civic reliable but nothing extra. The last line though pushed it past 3 stars and I will be picking up #6 once it drops.
PROS AND CONS
Pros: cool premise, ending had me shooketh
Cons: just missing that je ne sais quoi that pushes a book from good to bangerlicious