Take a photo of a barcode or cover
kelly_e 's review for:
Dark August
by Katie Tallo
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Title: Dark August
Author: Katie Tallo
Series: Gus Monet #1
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 30, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Twisty • Fluid • Bingeable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother--her last living relative--has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother's possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that's not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I picked up a used copy of Dark August at a library book sale and had been saving it just so I could read it in August. I knew this was a debut novel by a Canadian author, but I didn't know what the plot was about, so I really didn't have an expectations before beginning. I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
Set in and around Elgin, Ontario the small town vibes and familiar places and references were a special treat. It added another level of immersion into the mysterious plot. Dark August develops very slowly and easily could have been 100 pages shorter but I loved unraveling the long buried secrets with Gus. There is a large cast of characters, which could have easily been overwhelming. Yet Tallo developed each one just enough that it was easy to keep track of everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dark August. Tallo's writing style is unique and at times even cinematic - not knowing where the story would go next. A solid debut and I didn't know this was part of a series, so I'd be curious to pick up book 2.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of an inheritance plot
• readers looking for a Canadian voice
Author: Katie Tallo
Series: Gus Monet #1
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: June 30, 2020
T H R E E • W O R D S
Twisty • Fluid • Bingeable
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother--her last living relative--has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother's possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that's not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I picked up a used copy of Dark August at a library book sale and had been saving it just so I could read it in August. I knew this was a debut novel by a Canadian author, but I didn't know what the plot was about, so I really didn't have an expectations before beginning. I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
Set in and around Elgin, Ontario the small town vibes and familiar places and references were a special treat. It added another level of immersion into the mysterious plot. Dark August develops very slowly and easily could have been 100 pages shorter but I loved unraveling the long buried secrets with Gus. There is a large cast of characters, which could have easily been overwhelming. Yet Tallo developed each one just enough that it was easy to keep track of everyone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Dark August. Tallo's writing style is unique and at times even cinematic - not knowing where the story would go next. A solid debut and I didn't know this was part of a series, so I'd be curious to pick up book 2.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of an inheritance plot
• readers looking for a Canadian voice
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
Minor: Death, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent