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3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
UPDATE REVIEW!
Visit the locations in the novel
A thriller to transport you to a UN research station in Antarctica
Ooh this is a bit claustrophobic and creepy! Imagine being effectively trapped in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of Antarctica where you are there for work but you know the only way out is an airplane that rarely comes. I would hate to work somewhere so isolated and so this set the fear inside me from the off…
The writing is creepy and sets the scene well. I was inside that working station and pretty much feel I was actually there. I got a keen sense of the atmosphere, maze of tunnels and the fear of having to go outside…
There were only a few characters given that the group who work here are few and few between. One of them has a strange addiction to pills which added unnecessary complications to the plot if I’m honest. There was plenty of hidden trauma without this. The locked offices, locked medical cabinets and missing torches were more than enough.
The pacing was well done as I really got a sense of the tension and the immediacy of the dangers these people faced. I felt compelled to read on though as I wanted to get out – of the station, not the book. That’s the sign of a good book, right? Ok, so I guessed the perpetrator early on, but I went along for the ride and it was a really fun and chilling one.
The Dark was darkly dangerous and a thriller with a keen sense of place.
Earlier review back in Feb:
I've just read and enjoyed this and although I'm not reviewing it for a while, I don't think it deserves the low scores on here. I read it in the dark commute in the snow and it totally made that commute the most interesting I have ever had!!
It's a thriller set in a remote location in the dark and snow. A very good sense of time and place. LOTs of secrets and traumatic moments. There is a character with a pill popping problem but ignore that and this is claustrophobic fun.
Visit the locations in the novel
A thriller to transport you to a UN research station in Antarctica
Ooh this is a bit claustrophobic and creepy! Imagine being effectively trapped in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of Antarctica where you are there for work but you know the only way out is an airplane that rarely comes. I would hate to work somewhere so isolated and so this set the fear inside me from the off…
The writing is creepy and sets the scene well. I was inside that working station and pretty much feel I was actually there. I got a keen sense of the atmosphere, maze of tunnels and the fear of having to go outside…
There were only a few characters given that the group who work here are few and few between. One of them has a strange addiction to pills which added unnecessary complications to the plot if I’m honest. There was plenty of hidden trauma without this. The locked offices, locked medical cabinets and missing torches were more than enough.
The pacing was well done as I really got a sense of the tension and the immediacy of the dangers these people faced. I felt compelled to read on though as I wanted to get out – of the station, not the book. That’s the sign of a good book, right? Ok, so I guessed the perpetrator early on, but I went along for the ride and it was a really fun and chilling one.
The Dark was darkly dangerous and a thriller with a keen sense of place.
Earlier review back in Feb:
I've just read and enjoyed this and although I'm not reviewing it for a while, I don't think it deserves the low scores on here. I read it in the dark commute in the snow and it totally made that commute the most interesting I have ever had!!
It's a thriller set in a remote location in the dark and snow. A very good sense of time and place. LOTs of secrets and traumatic moments. There is a character with a pill popping problem but ignore that and this is claustrophobic fun.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Book started out a little bit slow but storyline and characters became more interesting as the book progressed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Car accident
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy
Minor: Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
The Dark, Emma Haughton
A&E Dr Kate North needs a big change so she accepts a new job as far away from her life as she can find it: UN Research Station Antarctica. The previous Dr died on the ice and not long after her arrival, after 24 hour darkness sets in for the winter Kate begins to feel unsettled, was the previous Drs death an accident? Or is a killer lurking in the dark?
My second snow based thriller in as many weeks! This setting offers something different to other thrillers the genuine feeling of being trapped. To leave the base means the risk of dying from exposure and the truly isolated setting means those trapped are genuinely trapped. A perfect and claustrophobic setting despite miles of open snow as far as the eye can see for Dr Kate.
Years of delving into thrillers gave me a head start on who to suspect however Haughton does a fabulous job here, she has a cast of people to work with and each one is tinged with just enough suspicion, just creeps into the darkness enough to point a finger at. Every twist and turn are gleefully swallowed.
This is a solid thrill, if you are new to the genre or fancy cutting your teeth on a slightly different spin then this is for you.
A&E Dr Kate North needs a big change so she accepts a new job as far away from her life as she can find it: UN Research Station Antarctica. The previous Dr died on the ice and not long after her arrival, after 24 hour darkness sets in for the winter Kate begins to feel unsettled, was the previous Drs death an accident? Or is a killer lurking in the dark?
My second snow based thriller in as many weeks! This setting offers something different to other thrillers the genuine feeling of being trapped. To leave the base means the risk of dying from exposure and the truly isolated setting means those trapped are genuinely trapped. A perfect and claustrophobic setting despite miles of open snow as far as the eye can see for Dr Kate.
Years of delving into thrillers gave me a head start on who to suspect however Haughton does a fabulous job here, she has a cast of people to work with and each one is tinged with just enough suspicion, just creeps into the darkness enough to point a finger at. Every twist and turn are gleefully swallowed.
This is a solid thrill, if you are new to the genre or fancy cutting your teeth on a slightly different spin then this is for you.
An atmospheric and well-researched thriller. I loved the growing sense of unease as Kate realises that not all is as it seems. Due to the isolated and dangerous environment, there is no-where to run and no chance of rescue, leading to a tense and page-turning story. There were a few predictable moments, but I loved the mystery.
Kate North has left the UK and taken up the post as doctor at a base in the Antarctic. She's hoping it will be a fresh start for her and an opportunity to leave the past behind. As the amount of daylight the base receives each day diminishes the tensions at the base ramp up. The doctor Kate replaced died during a team excursion and not all of those at the base believe it was an accident. When a team member is found dead Kate starts her own investigation in to the death as well as the alleged accident which killed the previous doctor. She soon realises that both believed that someone on the base was a danger to everyone else.
A really good read with the tension ramping up in each chapter as Kate struggles with her own issues while trying to determine who among her colleagues is a murderer.
Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Emma Haughton for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
A really good read with the tension ramping up in each chapter as Kate struggles with her own issues while trying to determine who among her colleagues is a murderer.
Thanks to Netgalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Emma Haughton for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
Rounded up from 2.5
The Dark is a slow burn psychological thriller set in Antarctica which I thought as we're in the middle of a heatwave I thought probably would be the best time to read it!
A doctor dies in an accident leaving the post open, Kate Noble jumps at the chance for a fresh start. What she finds in a tense atmosphere hanging over the station and the suspicion that the doctor's accident may not have really been an accident. Things escalate when she pokes her nose into things, putting herself and everyone in the base in danger.
I love a locked-in mystery and the setting of Antartica was a great backdrop for the story, with its inhospitable terrain that really gave you a sense of being in the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from civilisation.
I didn't particularly find any of the characters all that likeable, which I kind of expect from a psychological thriller, but usually I can get behind a main character but I couldn't with Kate. I'm all for flawed characters, but her entire personality seemed to revolve around her addiction issues stemming from a car accident. How she got past a supposedly rigorous interview process, I don't know.
I felt that it also took a bit too long for the story to really get going, then the ending felt a bit lacklustre, as I realised who the culprit was pretty much from the start.
It may not have been entirely my cup of tea, but I'd still recommend The Dark if you love a slow burn thriller with unlikeable characters.
The Dark is a slow burn psychological thriller set in Antarctica which I thought as we're in the middle of a heatwave I thought probably would be the best time to read it!
A doctor dies in an accident leaving the post open, Kate Noble jumps at the chance for a fresh start. What she finds in a tense atmosphere hanging over the station and the suspicion that the doctor's accident may not have really been an accident. Things escalate when she pokes her nose into things, putting herself and everyone in the base in danger.
I love a locked-in mystery and the setting of Antartica was a great backdrop for the story, with its inhospitable terrain that really gave you a sense of being in the middle of nowhere, completely cut off from civilisation.
I didn't particularly find any of the characters all that likeable, which I kind of expect from a psychological thriller, but usually I can get behind a main character but I couldn't with Kate. I'm all for flawed characters, but her entire personality seemed to revolve around her addiction issues stemming from a car accident. How she got past a supposedly rigorous interview process, I don't know.
I felt that it also took a bit too long for the story to really get going, then the ending felt a bit lacklustre, as I realised who the culprit was pretty much from the start.
It may not have been entirely my cup of tea, but I'd still recommend The Dark if you love a slow burn thriller with unlikeable characters.
The Dark is an atmospheric and riveting crime-thriller that keeps the readers guessing the killer’s identity and intentions!! The story is about an Antarctic expedition crew and a mysterious killer who is killing them one by one. The plot start right away in the first few chapters, and its claustrophobic and super creepy!! The characters were all well rounded and each of them have a dark past that makes us readers suspect that they might be the killer. Its good and I cannot recommend this enough to you all thriller lovers.
Thanks to the publisher for the reader’s copy via Netgalley!
Thanks to the publisher for the reader’s copy via Netgalley!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t imagine much more scary than being stuck somewhere as inhospitable as Antarctica for months, with just the company of twelve people you’ve never met. Oh wait…yes I can. Being in that situation and then having some of your colleagues turn up dead, the power going out in an act of sabotage and being stuck in that place knowing someone there has a gun and is prepared to kill you.
Kate is a doctor, struggling after a car crash in which her fiancé was killed, and she decides to take a job as doctor on an Antarctic base for the winter. She is scared of the dark, is not managing her addiction to painkillers after the accident and finds herself in a situation that would test the patience of a saint. When she starts to hear rumours about what happened to her predecessor and the ‘accidents’ that befall anyone trying to find out more she can be forgiven for acting irrationally and starting to doubt those around her.
The claustrophobic atmosphere of the base is everything. I think the identity of the killer was quite obvious, though there’s plenty of attempts to throw us off the scent. We’re never wholly sure what Kate is experiencing and what she’s imagining. There’s a few characters that give cause for concern, and by the time we start drawing to the inevitable ‘big moment’ I was desperate for it to be over because I was doubting everyone.
Huge thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for my thoughts, and I am convinced we’ll see this on the big screen in the not too distant future.
Kate is a doctor, struggling after a car crash in which her fiancé was killed, and she decides to take a job as doctor on an Antarctic base for the winter. She is scared of the dark, is not managing her addiction to painkillers after the accident and finds herself in a situation that would test the patience of a saint. When she starts to hear rumours about what happened to her predecessor and the ‘accidents’ that befall anyone trying to find out more she can be forgiven for acting irrationally and starting to doubt those around her.
The claustrophobic atmosphere of the base is everything. I think the identity of the killer was quite obvious, though there’s plenty of attempts to throw us off the scent. We’re never wholly sure what Kate is experiencing and what she’s imagining. There’s a few characters that give cause for concern, and by the time we start drawing to the inevitable ‘big moment’ I was desperate for it to be over because I was doubting everyone.
Huge thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this in exchange for my thoughts, and I am convinced we’ll see this on the big screen in the not too distant future.