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Friday, December 27, 2019

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

SYNOPSIS FROM AUTHORS WEBSITE⇣                      A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.
Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it’s better not to know.
Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother’s cruel brand of strength if she’s going to face the reality about her daughter’s death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother’s trailer for a final lesson.

A BookisObsessioFavorite


THE KEY POINTS OF THE STORY⇣



⬥OZARK MOUNTAINS
⬥MURDER OF TWO TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRLS
⬥A MOTHER TRYING TO DO RIGHT BY HER DAUGHTERS MEMORY
⬥LIFE IN THE HOLLAR
⬥TWISTED & A LITTLE TWISTY


STATS⇣


BOOK COVER It doesn't do the book justice
SETTING Missouri Ozarks
SOURCE I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
eBOOK LENGTH⇢ 256 Pages


MY THOUGHTS⇣


What makes a murder mystery a favorite?  This is a question I've asked myself quite a few times since I started reading this genre.  Seriously, there's not a lot to love about murder. Near as I can come up with...is a book that really affects you in some way, whether it be fear, loathing or one you just can't get out of your head.  This book is kind of all three of those, and then some.  I also still think about the Roanoke Girls by this same Author.  I've rated both 5 stars and they both totally deserve it.  Deeply affecting.

I've read a couple other books that deal with the area of Central to the Eastern United States Mountainous ranges (Winters Bone & The Weight of This World).  But, The Familiar Dark has been the best one of all three so far.  This book hooked me from the start, I felt like I was on this quest with Eve to solve the murder of her daughter and her daughter's friend.  Experiencing everything she experiences, from the lows to the even lower's and even the few highs.  

The beginning of this gutted me and the middle had me transfixed and the end left me gasping and in tears...such a gutwrenching story. That is not just superbly written but is also perfectly plotted.  I highly recommend.


MY RATING 5 STARS | GRADE A+


BREAKDOWN⇣

Plot⇢ 5/5
Characters⇢ 5/5
The Feels⇢ 5/5
Pacing⇢ 5/5
Addictiveness⇢ 5/5
Theme or Tone⇢ 5/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇢ 5/5
Backdrop (World Building)⇢ 5/5
Originality⇢ 5/5
Ending⇢ 5/5




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