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muddypuddle's review against another edition
5.0
This had everything I love in a mystery. Best of all, it's all show and no tell. A setting - San Francisco - that I know, with lots of great description that emphasizes the map in my head. Deeply interesting characters that are real and not superficial or just words on a page. A small part of the story is about the protagonist and what's going on in his life, which is slowly unfurled and also tinged, just a bit, with mystery. And a super suspenseful, intricate plot that keeps you wondering and thinking until the very end, then wraps everything up without any questions left in your mind. Whew! What a ride. Masterfully read by David Colacci, I'm so sad that it had to come to an end.
fusrodah's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a huge fan of crime based novels! The whole mystery and trying to solve it side by side (albeit almost always getting it wrong) is really interesting. The Dark Room intrigued me on this aspect.
The plot goes like this. Detective Gavin Cain is in the middle of an exhumation when he gets a call about how someone is blackmailing the mayor, and how he personally asked for the best detective in the PD (Cain) to get to the bottom of the whole deal. Cain tracking down the blackmailer and making a lot of revelations on the way is essentially our story.
Positives first - I loved how Jonathan Moore's written this book. Everything is subdued and gritty and has a realistic feel to it. There were a lot of instances where it could've taken a whole "Dan Brown"-ish turn into high octane exaggerated action. Instead, Moore portrayed everything almost exactly how it would've happened in real life, major props to that! boring logical decision by going back to the coffee shop This kind of gritty style might not be for everyone though.
The characters are pretty fleshed out and we grow to care about them. I liked how Moore had a way of giving us exposition without making it feel like exposition.
My gripes with this books are the ending and something that happens near the 80% mark. The ending is.... well meh. It leaves a sour taste and you don't really get that feel that you've found who the culprit is. It's not BAD but isn't that good either. As for the other problem I had
All in all I liked Dark Room and would recommend it to anyone who likes gritty crime.
The plot goes like this. Detective Gavin Cain is in the middle of an exhumation when he gets a call about how someone is blackmailing the mayor, and how he personally asked for the best detective in the PD (Cain) to get to the bottom of the whole deal. Cain tracking down the blackmailer and making a lot of revelations on the way is essentially our story.
Positives first - I loved how Jonathan Moore's written this book. Everything is subdued and gritty and has a realistic feel to it. There were a lot of instances where it could've taken a whole "Dan Brown"-ish turn into high octane exaggerated action. Instead, Moore portrayed everything almost exactly how it would've happened in real life, major props to that!
Spoiler
For instance when Cain and Chun chase the guy through traffic and into an alleyway, Cain doesn't rush forward gun-ho and try to kill him. No, he assesses the situation, and takes theThe characters are pretty fleshed out and we grow to care about them. I liked how Moore had a way of giving us exposition without making it feel like exposition.
My gripes with this books are the ending and something that happens near the 80% mark. The ending is.... well meh. It leaves a sour taste and you don't really get that feel that you've found who the culprit is. It's not BAD but isn't that good either. As for the other problem I had
Spoiler
Hated how the random Brit called him up and gave him exactly what he wanted when it was needed. It was a cop-out (pun intended) and totally went against the realistic setting the book had till then. My guess is Moore couldn't think of a better way to make Cain find it out on his own.All in all I liked Dark Room and would recommend it to anyone who likes gritty crime.
martyfried's review against another edition
5.0
A very interesting story with a lot going on. It seems that nothing is what it appears to be, but the pieces slowly fit together in a way that we don't see until the end. We never know quite what is going on about anything; even the main detective's girlfriend is a mystery. But the book starts out seeming like it's cut and dried as to what happened, except... Well, I don't want to give anything away.
I've lived in the SF Bay Area for 50 years, so it was fun knowing all the places that feature prominently in the book. But it's not necessary, of course, to know the area.
There was just one thing that kind of bugged me. At one point, the detective got an important phone call very late at night, and his cell phone ran out of juice. I don't understand how someone who depends on his phone as much as this guy could not be bothered to plug it into a charger overnight. And if he has trouble remembering, he should carry a spare battery for emergencies. I don't really depend on mine that much, but I still make sure I keep it charged. You never know when something might happen and you really want your phone for some emergency.
I've lived in the SF Bay Area for 50 years, so it was fun knowing all the places that feature prominently in the book. But it's not necessary, of course, to know the area.
There was just one thing that kind of bugged me. At one point, the detective got an important phone call very late at night, and his cell phone ran out of juice. I don't understand how someone who depends on his phone as much as this guy could not be bothered to plug it into a charger overnight. And if he has trouble remembering, he should carry a spare battery for emergencies. I don't really depend on mine that much, but I still make sure I keep it charged. You never know when something might happen and you really want your phone for some emergency.
baishali_dhar's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hardscifi's review against another edition
5.0
Great read
Very good characters, plot development, and a nice resolution. Mr Moore has other great books as well. Highly recommended.
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Very good characters, plot development, and a nice resolution. Mr Moore has other great books as well. Highly recommended.
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kgaitzimeo22's review
2.0
I really don't know what to think of this book.
I originally decided to read this because it vaguely reminded me of the first episode of Black Mirror.
Unsurprisingly, it was nothing like that.
This was a crime novel which is not my normal type of book, but it largely kept me interested.
As soon as I started to get bored with the story, it got real dark. It ALMOST reminded me of Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund, but not about children.
I thought the character development could have been much better. They felt like cliches to me and that was made worse by the narrator of the audiobook.
I HATED his women's voices. He made all but one of the female characters sound like some tiny, dainty, drugged up, cowardly bitch. That ruined some of it for me. I also felt the main character's voice turned him into a cliche as well.
The book itself was alright, I suppose, but I really did not like the narrator and despite me not seeing the ending coming, I still was not that impressed. But that could be due to this being outside my normal genre.
I also have to add that I HATED the ending of this book!!!! It was stupid af in my opinion.
I originally decided to read this because it vaguely reminded me of the first episode of Black Mirror.
Unsurprisingly, it was nothing like that.
This was a crime novel which is not my normal type of book, but it largely kept me interested.
As soon as I started to get bored with the story, it got real dark. It ALMOST reminded me of Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund, but not about children.
I thought the character development could have been much better. They felt like cliches to me and that was made worse by the narrator of the audiobook.
I HATED his women's voices. He made all but one of the female characters sound like some tiny, dainty, drugged up, cowardly bitch. That ruined some of it for me. I also felt the main character's voice turned him into a cliche as well.
The book itself was alright, I suppose, but I really did not like the narrator and despite me not seeing the ending coming, I still was not that impressed. But that could be due to this being outside my normal genre.
I also have to add that I HATED the ending of this book!!!! It was stupid af in my opinion.
_whatlivreads's review
4.0
The Dark Room follows the story of Detective Inspector Gavin Caine's latest case. He's about to start the case of exhuming an old grave after they've had a tip off that they should check it. Whilst this is about to happen, his phone rings and he's pulled off the exhuming case, to the new case where he's specifically been asked for. The new case is the blackmail of the San Francisco mayor, Harry Castelli. Castelli has received some bizarre and incriminating photographs alongside a letter, which could threaten his career and his reputation, showing him in a bad light to the city of San Francisco.
But somehow, this blackmail case leads back to the grave they've just exhumed. What does Harry know? Is he hiding a dark secret? Who is blackmailing him and why?
It's so clear that the mayor and his family have this hierarchy about them, they can get away with anything and no one would bat an eyelash. To put it bluntly, I really did not like the Castelli family at all.
I'll be honest, at the beginning I wasn't that interested in the story, but it's definitely a slow burner and I did start to enjoy it as I got more involved in the plot. I think when you're so used to reading thrillers, crime/detective books can be really slow paced? I think it was well written, understandable language that wasn't cryptic to the average person who wouldn't understand police codes. The plot was enjoyable and all tied together in the end, however, the storyline of how DI Cain and his girlfriend Lucy met, was just sort of thrown in and not explained well and didn't have any purpose? I'd understand if this was the second book in the series, however, this is a standalone! It was completely unnecessary and had me puzzled, like what am I supposed to do with this??? It was an enjoyable read, but nothing so rememberable and I wouldn't tell you to rush out and buy it
But somehow, this blackmail case leads back to the grave they've just exhumed. What does Harry know? Is he hiding a dark secret? Who is blackmailing him and why?
It's so clear that the mayor and his family have this hierarchy about them, they can get away with anything and no one would bat an eyelash. To put it bluntly, I really did not like the Castelli family at all.
I'll be honest, at the beginning I wasn't that interested in the story, but it's definitely a slow burner and I did start to enjoy it as I got more involved in the plot. I think when you're so used to reading thrillers, crime/detective books can be really slow paced? I think it was well written, understandable language that wasn't cryptic to the average person who wouldn't understand police codes. The plot was enjoyable and all tied together in the end, however, the storyline of how DI Cain and his girlfriend Lucy met, was just sort of thrown in and not explained well and didn't have any purpose? I'd understand if this was the second book in the series, however, this is a standalone! It was completely unnecessary and had me puzzled, like what am I supposed to do with this??? It was an enjoyable read, but nothing so rememberable and I wouldn't tell you to rush out and buy it
madeleinefranz's review
5.0
There is barely anything I wanna say about this book except that it was fantastic! The story was gripping and i LOVED the write style of the author. Can’t wait to pick up another one of his books.
whisperingchapters's review
4.0
This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
Gavin is asked, or more like moved without a warning, to be in a threatening case against the mayor. Black and white devastating photographs have been sent to him in which it shows a woman being tortured and raped. If he kills himself, the photographs will never appear to the public eye. If he doesn't, he may not be a mayor anymore.
With that kind of plot, who wouldn't be interested?! I dived into this book and it was hard to put down so I could get some sleep. Each chapter would have something revealing and intriguing that would hold my attention completely. My mind was going crazy with all the possibilities of who could be sending the pictures and why. Not only that, those photographs were taken when the mayor was a freshman in college and now he's old so I was wondering what their purpose would serve. Turns out, a lot!
I cannot say much without giving the story away. It's better to go in not knowing a lot. I kind of had a hunch of who could be doing those things but I wasn't certain. Also, I had another hunch from the beginning of the book and it turned out I was right! I mean, along the way the story I totally forgot about the connection, but when it came to light, I was patting myself on the back for thinking about it as soon as I started the book.
The Dark Room is one of those books that when you think you know what happened, it veers directions and plunges into another stream of questions and doubt. It's a Crime Thriller novel that will lure you in from the first chapter and then capture your attention until the very last page. I do wish there had been a better resolution or justice to the case. Other than that, this was a great crime novel that I won't forget anytime soon.
I received an ARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
Gavin is asked, or more like moved without a warning, to be in a threatening case against the mayor. Black and white devastating photographs have been sent to him in which it shows a woman being tortured and raped. If he kills himself, the photographs will never appear to the public eye. If he doesn't, he may not be a mayor anymore.
With that kind of plot, who wouldn't be interested?! I dived into this book and it was hard to put down so I could get some sleep. Each chapter would have something revealing and intriguing that would hold my attention completely. My mind was going crazy with all the possibilities of who could be sending the pictures and why. Not only that, those photographs were taken when the mayor was a freshman in college and now he's old so I was wondering what their purpose would serve. Turns out, a lot!
I cannot say much without giving the story away. It's better to go in not knowing a lot. I kind of had a hunch of who could be doing those things but I wasn't certain. Also, I had another hunch from the beginning of the book and it turned out I was right! I mean, along the way the story I totally forgot about the connection, but when it came to light, I was patting myself on the back for thinking about it as soon as I started the book.
The Dark Room is one of those books that when you think you know what happened, it veers directions and plunges into another stream of questions and doubt. It's a Crime Thriller novel that will lure you in from the first chapter and then capture your attention until the very last page. I do wish there had been a better resolution or justice to the case. Other than that, this was a great crime novel that I won't forget anytime soon.
I received an ARC from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.
liz1004's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Really good police procedural, but the ending was way too abrupt. I needed more answers.
Really good police procedural, but the ending was way too abrupt. I needed more answers.