Some Choose Darkness

As I began reading this, I immediately thought that Charlie Donlea has a little bit of a hanging obsession. I immediately thought of his book, Summit Lake but this also has some auto-erotic themes as the killer likes the “Rush” hmmm…or maybe he is just wanting to put that research to good use…. Either way, he had me from page one.

I was completely sucked in as I said. I really enjoyed all the characters. One thing I especially enjoyed about this book is that he gives various characters POV. This is a nice touch. l liked getting into the mind of the killer without knowing who the killer was initially. I also liked how the character of Angela was depicted. My son is on the ASD, so I am sensitive to how those with Autism and those on the spectrum are depicted. I feel he did a great job and handle the issue with sensitivity. Plus, there is another female character, Rory, who has similarities to Angela. It was refreshing to see two female characters who were on the spectrum and experienced anxiety yet were strong and intelligent. Each, in her own way, did not back down. Donlea receives high marks for this.

Donlea is quickly becoming my go-to writer. There are Authors who I anxiously await new books from and he is right there at the top of the list. I enjoy that his plots are plausible. There are twists, turns and reveals but all of them seem plausible. Nothing comes to far out of left field. He does his research and writes very good mystery/crime/psychological fiction. His book contains interesting characters who I feel for, root for and some I boo and hiss at. I also appreciate that his books are intelligent. He does not spoon feed his readers. True, some will figure out things around the half way mark. I figured out one thing fairly early but still didn’t now everything until around the 55% mark. Even if you figure things out or don’t, this is still a riveting tale about “the Thief” his “rush” and the women who he encountered and had in his life.

Again, I was captivated from page one. I found this story to be engrossing, well thought out, perfectly paced, exciting and intelligent. There were some suspenseful moments, but more importantly, Donlea knows how to write interesting and fully developed characters which we care about. I cared about what happened to the female characters in this book. I admired their strength and the way their minds worked. The strength in this book was not only the way in which the story was told via multiple POVs but in the characters themselves.

Another solid book by Donlea. I read this book in one day as it was so compelling and captivated and held my attention. Highly recommend.

This was a traveling sisters group read.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.