Friday, October 4, 2013

{Edelweiss Review} Darkness First by James Hayman

ASIN #: B00CGZXQDU
File Size: 514 KB
Page Count: 306
Copyright: October 1, 2013
Publisher: Witness Impulse


Book Summary:
(Taken from Amazon)

The mutilated body of a young woman. The town doctor lying comatose in the road. A hundred and fifty tablets of Canadian OxyContin. This is the havoc that a merciless killer has wreaked on a sleepy Maine seaport.

As detectives Maggie Savage and Michael McCabe investigate, they realize the man they are after does not exist. Nobody knows his real name. Nobody has seen his face. But everybody fears his blade.

The only one who may know the murderer's true identity is an eleven-year-old girl - who has vanished into thin air.

Taut, twisting, and starring two unforgettable heroes, Darkness First will thrill fans of John Sandford and C. J. Box.


Mandy's Review:

This is my first James Hayman novel. While I'm also willing to give new authors a chance, there's always a little sense of apprehension when I do. What if I don't like their writing style? What if I think the story was horrible and unimaginative? But that's part of being a reviewer, right? To not only read and review the authors you're familiar with, but to also find authors you've never heard of and maybe, just maybe, you'll find a new author you're willing to keep reading.

Maggie is the middle child of sheriff John Savage. And, like her father, she's great at what she does: solving cases. So when a case is opened in her hometown involving her best friend, Maggie knew there was no way she could not be involved in the case. As she delves deeper into the case, suspicion is cast onto Maggie's younger brother, Harlan. A military veteran back from two tours overseas, Harlan's PTSD and the fact that he had an affair with one of the victims, causes him to be in the spotlight. Maggie doesn't want to believe that her brother can be a serial killer, but she has to consider all of the evidence and facts. Will she be able to clear his name or is he hiding a secret so big Maggie can no longer protect him?

This was one of those instances where I was glad I gave a new author a chance. One of the things I look for when reading a mystery/thriller is to see whether or not I can figure out the killer. While reading this book I had a few suspects in mind. Over the course of the novel, I would discard one or two only to put them back on my suspect's list. I love when an author can make me do that. I don't want a mystery/thriller that's so easy to figure out it doesn't allow me to use my deduction skills. On the other hand, I don't like a mystery/thriller so difficult to figure out that the end result seems far-fetched. Darkness First was the perfect blend. I would highly recommend this novel to all mystery-lovers out there.


*An ecopy was available through Edelweiss per the publisher's permission in exchange for an honest review.

2 comments:

  1. Sounds like an interesting read, though I have never read a book by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't either, it was my first one. I'd read another one by him for sure.

      Delete

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