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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
It’s taken me nearly a year to finish this book. I found the start somewhat boring and then around page 300 I found it picked up and got interesting before coming to a somewhat slow end.
3.5 stars
This was my first Cara Hunter book, so DI Adam Fawley and his team are new to me. I really enjoyed their personal stories, especially when they intertwined with the cases being investigated.
IN THE DARK has the team working on two cases: A woman and small child have been discovered after being locked in a basement for several years while an unsolved case is reopened after new leads come to light.
The book held my interest but I was jolted out of the story when written communications such as typed police interviews, TV scripts, newspaper articles, emails etc. were used to move the story along. I’ve realised I am not a big fan of this method.
There are plenty of twists and turns but the story is easy to follow. There are some uncomfortable moments as we discover how some of the characters have been victimised, and it’s easy to imagine this type of thing happening in suburbia today.
The writing is well paced and the tension increases nicely the closer we get closer to the end. The mysteries are solved, leaving no loose ends but I groaned a bit at what I felt was a somewhat far-fetched resolution.
This was my first Cara Hunter book, so DI Adam Fawley and his team are new to me. I really enjoyed their personal stories, especially when they intertwined with the cases being investigated.
IN THE DARK has the team working on two cases: A woman and small child have been discovered after being locked in a basement for several years while an unsolved case is reopened after new leads come to light.
The book held my interest but I was jolted out of the story when written communications such as typed police interviews, TV scripts, newspaper articles, emails etc. were used to move the story along. I’ve realised I am not a big fan of this method.
There are plenty of twists and turns but the story is easy to follow. There are some uncomfortable moments as we discover how some of the characters have been victimised, and it’s easy to imagine this type of thing happening in suburbia today.
The writing is well paced and the tension increases nicely the closer we get closer to the end. The mysteries are solved, leaving no loose ends but I groaned a bit at what I felt was a somewhat far-fetched resolution.
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Cara Hunter really knows how to nail the ending! This is the second in her DI Fawley series, the second time I've been completely drawn into a story with a twist at the end. Now I can hardly wait to read the third in the series. May Ms. Hunter live a long long time and write many more books!
2.75 stars rounded off because I love police procedural books. But I didn't enjoy this as much as Hunter's first book. I found the plotting a bit all over the place.
I really liked all the twists in the book but I found some of the descriptions of the crime unnecessarily explicit. The crimes were horrendous but I didn't think the details were vital for the story, they seemed to be added just to be raw and edgy which I found disappointing.
The cast of characters was also huge! There were many occasions when I would be part way through a paragraph before I could remember who a character was and how they fit into the narrative.
And the ending!! I was rolling my eyes right though the last epilogue the irony was just too ridiculous.
The cast of characters was also huge! There were many occasions when I would be part way through a paragraph before I could remember who a character was and how they fit into the narrative.
And the ending!! I was rolling my eyes right though the last epilogue the irony was just too ridiculous.
This is a fabulous mystery / police procedural set in the city of Oxford and is the second book to feature DI Adam Fawley. It is not necessary to have read the first book as the cases are completely separate. We learn much more about Fawley's home life and the tragic loss of his son, and his team of officers really shine with their individuality, totally believable characters and completely realistic dialogue.
This book certainly has a dramatic start - the accidental discovery of a young woman and small boy in a locked, dark cellar of a rambling house belonging to an old man who is showing signs of dementia. As we learn more about these victims, Fawley's team painstakingly investigates what seems like an open and shut case to reveal suspicions, theories, clues and red herrings. In this complex and superbly crafted story we find lies, deceit and ulterior motives are cleverly revealed at all stages and what we thought we knew is not necessarily the truth.
"In The Dark" is definitely a step up from "Close To Home", the first DI Fawley book, which is a good read in itself. In The Dark however is compelling, believable and completely entertaining throughout.
This book certainly has a dramatic start - the accidental discovery of a young woman and small boy in a locked, dark cellar of a rambling house belonging to an old man who is showing signs of dementia. As we learn more about these victims, Fawley's team painstakingly investigates what seems like an open and shut case to reveal suspicions, theories, clues and red herrings. In this complex and superbly crafted story we find lies, deceit and ulterior motives are cleverly revealed at all stages and what we thought we knew is not necessarily the truth.
"In The Dark" is definitely a step up from "Close To Home", the first DI Fawley book, which is a good read in itself. In The Dark however is compelling, believable and completely entertaining throughout.
4.5* rounded up.
The crime this books sets up at the beginning is excellent - a young woman and her baby are discovered locked in a cellar, almost starved to death, and the elderly owner of the house is suffering from dementia and claims to know nothing about them. Then the police wonder if this case is linked to the disappearance of a women who lived in the house to the rear two years ago.
This was “gritty” in places, without becoming too difficult to read. I liked all the police officers, and we got to know a little about their personal lives, but the plot was really all about the case. The twists and turns towards the end came thick and fast, requiring concentration and perhaps a slight suspension of beliefCould the two sisters really have lived in the house for periods of time without anyone noticing?
This is the second novel in this series, but they stand alone well.
The crime this books sets up at the beginning is excellent - a young woman and her baby are discovered locked in a cellar, almost starved to death, and the elderly owner of the house is suffering from dementia and claims to know nothing about them. Then the police wonder if this case is linked to the disappearance of a women who lived in the house to the rear two years ago.
This was “gritty” in places, without becoming too difficult to read. I liked all the police officers, and we got to know a little about their personal lives, but the plot was really all about the case. The twists and turns towards the end came thick and fast, requiring concentration and perhaps a slight suspension of belief
This is the second novel in this series, but they stand alone well.
I am really loving this series. I read the first book a while back and it was good but this one was even better which I didn't think was possible.
The plot and storyline were great and I am looking forward to more from this series.
I loved this. If you have not been reading this series, you are really missing out. Cara Hunter is a fantastic writer. There are so many twists and turns and I just never knew what to expect. The main characters are really likable and I thought their development was balanced perfectly with the mystery. This is probably my favorite book of the year so far.
I am not often surprised by the ending of a good police procedural because the evidence as it accumulates usually points to the murderer. And when I am surprised I often feel like I was manipulated to believe it was someone else. Well, I was totally surprised by the ending of In The Dark but I didn’t feel manipulated in the least. DI Adam Fawley and his team collected evidence and put it together like pieces of a puzzle until they had a picture of the crime and then they found an odd piece, and all bets were off. You are left asking yourself why the pieces don’t fit. Then then do great police work and find more pieces but now you are not even sure what the picture should look like. I loved learning more about Adam Fawley and his back story and loved the look at how difficult it must be to be the head of a squad with lots of egos and infighting over who gets credit for what find. This one truly had me guessing until they put all of the pieces in order. Even the epilogue had a nice surprise!
I listened to the audio book from Libro.fm and loved the change in voices for the interruptions of the local news programs and the emails and texts that were interspersed. It was most effective at giving an overall picture of what the police and public were thinking at different points in the story.
I listened to the audio book from Libro.fm and loved the change in voices for the interruptions of the local news programs and the emails and texts that were interspersed. It was most effective at giving an overall picture of what the police and public were thinking at different points in the story.