Reviews

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

emleemay's review against another edition

4.0

The world might be changing in some places, but not here. Here it was still the same old merry-go-round of drugs and poverty and women being chewed up and spit out by men. People in other worlds could wear black evening gowns and give speeches about equality and not backing down, but out here in the trenches, we fought our war alone and we lost the battles every day.

There's clearly a reason why so many of us are drawn again and again toward these thrillers told from the perspective of a parent who has, in one way or another, lost a child. It's definitely stronger now I have kids of my own, but this emotional connection to a parent - usually a mother - driven by love, fear, grief and desperation, has always been one of the strongest emotional ties I can experience to a book.

[b:The Familiar Dark|51068923|The Familiar Dark|Amy Engel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562580367l/51068923._SX50_SY75_.jpg|69295658] stands out because, unlike many thrillers of this kind, it focuses on working class people, struggling with poverty, addiction, and abuse. Eve knows most people view her as "white trash". She knows her mother's ugly reputation as the local dealer precedes her. When her daughter is found dead, she knows everyone is scrutinizing her behaviour, looking for some way to blame her for not reacting in the right way.

Well, I loved Eve. She is such an easy character to feel sympathy for, but she also has a lot of bite. She simply cannot play the part they want her to play when her daughter is murdered-- the part of meek brokenhearted mother --because that is only a tiny fraction of what she is. Because far more than she is sad, she is furious. She wants to know who took away her baby. And she wants to kill them.

I definitely think this is more of a character-driven thriller than a twist-driven shockfest. It explores what it is like to try so hard for a better life, to work your ass off so your kid can have something better than you did, and then to find that none of what you did was good enough anyway. [b:The Familiar Dark|51068923|The Familiar Dark|Amy Engel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562580367l/51068923._SX50_SY75_.jpg|69295658] takes on all kinds of dark themes, like poverty, partner abuse and child abuse. It looks at how women continue to suffer most in low-income areas.

Truth is, there's no good way to navigate being female in this world. If you speak out, say no, stand your ground, you're a bitch and a harpy, and whatever happens to you is your own fault. You had it coming. But if you smile, say yes, survive on politeness, you're weak and desperate. An easy mark. Prey in a world full of predators.

Definitely not an easy or a light read, but it was an effective one for me. While the mystery itself is quite easily solvable, it is Eve Taggert I will remember long after putting this book down.

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amesjo's review against another edition

4.0

Love reading books based on my home state.
This book takes place in The Ozarks and deals with generational family trauma, small town crimes and the murder of 2 young girls.
The twist at the end, did make me gasp. It was a bit slow at first, but I did enjoy it.

christalnoel's review against another edition

dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cassidys_bookshelf32's review against another edition

4.0

Thank you to @netgalley and @duttonbooks for my free e-copy of The Familiar Dark for an honest review.

Wow! What an addictive page turner. The Familiar Dark is set in the Ozarks and is about a mother seeking justice for her murdered 12 year old daughter. It is gritty and as dark as you can imagine. The main character, Eve, is tough as nails and not always very likeable, but considering what she has been through, you can't fault her for it.

There were a few twists and turns in this one that kept me turning the pages late into the night. I was able to predict 'whodunit' but not for the reasons I had figured. Fans of the TV show Ozark would probably love this one. 3.5/5⭐️ (rounded up to a 4)

marie_kreuter's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

theodoragreene's review against another edition

3.0

Not bad. This is one of those books that wraps up in the last 20 pages or so. I read this as my inbetween book so it took me 2 months to read and I think I would have liked it better if I read it in a shorter period of time.

jprice94's review against another edition

slow-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

3.5

cctay's review against another edition

4.0

Super good read! Nothing can beat a love like a mother's and her only daughter. A few more twists and turns than I expected which made it an easy read.

complexlyleslie's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

blessedwannab's review against another edition

5.0

How much does our upbringing dictate the kind of person we’ll be? I know it sounds like a philosophical thought, like nature vs nurture. Can you be a “good” if you were raised by someone terrible? Or, the better question is, can a traumatic childhood twist a good heart into something questionable?

I mean, really, is “good” and “bad” even a thing?

I did something different with this review. Normally I finish a book and immediately sit down to purge my thoughts; then I come back to edit another day. Except, after finishing The Familiar Dark I felt very conflicted. I legitimately could not understand what emotion I was feeling. There was no way I could have written anything remotely productive. It took me a full 24 hours of marinating before I could articulate, and all night those were the questions running through my head.

Backing it up a little, the plot of The Familiar Dark was intense. I mean, I knew it was about a mother who lost her daughter, but I guess I didn’t expect to be that shook over it. By chapter two I was crying. For a mom, especially a mom with a teenage girl, it really hit me hard. This author really captured the pain, an all consuming grief, a parent would feel. Yeah, outwardly we’d all react differently, but it’s hard to imagine that inside we’re all equally shredded; bleeding out on the inside. Reading a loss like that, my biggest nightmare, made me feel ill inside.

So, while I felt awful the entire time, I believed every second of it.

You have to see how powerful Amy Engel’s writing was.

The little town in the Ozarks was so desolate. It was dark, and… brittle. It was easy to imagine how a place like that could create people this messed up. And, holy sh*t they were so messed up!

Which brings me to the characters, and back to my bundle of mixed up emotions. First of all, I realized I love a good psychological thriller, and The Familiar Dark was the best one I’ve ever read. I hated it so much, I loved it. I will seriously never ever forget this book. There wasn’t one character in the entire story that was flat. There were no cookie cutter characters, just thrown in for fodder. Every single one was multi-dimensional. There were some you loved. They were the hero(ine)s of the story. They fit in the “Good” box. Then, you had the characters you knew in your gut were just evil. They were “Bad”. And in this world of books we can almost always bank on the good being good, and the bad being bad. Sometimes good loses, but in the end they were still good.

And this leads me to the psychological part of the story, and those questions. How much does our nurture affect our nature? Who determines what “good” behavior is? How quickly does “good” behavior go out the window when it comes to survival?

The Familiar Dark opened my mind up, and I hated it the way a child hates finding out there’s no Santa Claus. Clearly I both hate and love this story, the same way in the end I hate and love every single character. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I won’t read it again. I was enthralled, but I was also left with some scars.

I love a good psychological thriller, but yeah… I won’t be reading another for a while.

I hope this review inspires someone to read this book. I could really use a sounding board right about now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for providing an advance copy, in exchange for an honest review.

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