Member Reviews
I had never read a book by this author before. I did not know what to expect. From the very first page she manages to drag me in, hold my attention and makes me changing my mind about a thousand times about the name of the culprit.
This story is about how a holiday made in heaven turns in to the holiday from hell. This is the story how 8 people looking forward to a luxurious stay realise they are caught in a trap with a killer in their midst.
Who can they trust and more importantly can they survive?
I loved the creepy atmosphere surrounding the characters and it made me wanting to look over my shoulder too.
It makes you think about accepting a freebie ;), but on the other hand, when you have nothing to confess, you should be safe. :)
A great book with chapters alternating between the group of 'holiday makers', the search for them and the wrapping up of the case in the now.
I enjoyed it a lot. 5 stars
Thank you
This book was not for me. I started reading it and it just didn't hold my attention, so I stopped. I'm sure other people will enjoy this more than I did.
Creepy. dark and full of atmosphere. Lots of tension, suspense and danger. I wasn't too sure about the ending but it wasn't a big deal. Would definitely read more from the author,
After coming back and rereading the synopsis, I no longer believe I would enjoy this book to it’s full potential. Some of my most trusted book friends have written reviews that show me that I am probably not going to enjoy this one so I am going to spend my time elsewhere. I look forward to reading her future books.
This book was too stressful for me. I expected something less tense and more along the beats of a romantic suspense (heavy on the romance, light on the suspense) but from the 15% I read, this was not the case. I am sure this will work better for people who actually can read thrillers without being stressed out but I am not that reader, especially not anymore.
In The Dark is a tense, creepy and atmospheric closed-circle whodunit. One of my favourite tropes is the 'And Then There Were None' set up and, although the influence of that book is pretty on the nose here, it is a great entry in my best-loved sub-genre!
The characters are all three-dimensional and distinct so it is easy to follow who is who. There's a real feeling of suspense and danger as the group's expectations of the luxury getaway are stripped away and their polite veneers start to crack. Their descent into suspicion, mistrust and desperation is well done, complemented by the increasing ferocity of the incoming snowy storm and the rescue attempts of the authorities.
The dark secret at the heart of the story is shocking, the lodge and surrounding area is skilfully described and some of the scenes are thrillingly terrifying. All the time it is not at all clear who is to blame for their predicament and the full conclusion is a surprise. I read this over a few wintry nights, which was the perfect time, and could barely bring myself to put it down. Highly recommended. Thank you to the publisher for my copy of the book.
Have you been wishing for a modern Agatha Christie type mystery? In The Dark may be just what you’re looking for!
Eight lucky people are being given the opportunity to visit a brand new remote luxury resort before its open to the public. It’s so remote that they know they won’t have cell service and can only get there by plane. As soon as they arrive, a big storm blows in - cutting off their only means of escape. And they quickly begin to realize nothing is what they expected.
I suggest going into this one without knowing much more about the plot and just let it unfold. It is available to read or listen with Kindle Unlimited. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook. I decided to listen and it was the kind of book you just want to read straight through!
The ending didn’t quite work for me - but I still really enjoyed the experience of reading this one and would recommend it if you’re looking for a fun mystery.
The Perfect Getaway...?
The perfect getaway, a secluded lodge, a luxury spa and eight very lucky guests. What could possibly go wrong? Engaging suspense following a well known and tried and tested formula. Characters are slightly one dimensional but still an enjoyable and entertaining read providing some much needed escapism.
What a great book. This book is set in the Wilderness. Lots of characters to keep you on your toes. The story is told by multiple characters. I loved the chemistry between Mason and Callie. This book had so many twists in it, one minute you thought you knew what was going on but really you had no idea. I highly recommend this thriller.
As a big fan of And Then There Were None, I really enjoy locked room mysteries. The search party parts kind of dragged but the chapters about the group of strangers stranded kept me hanging on to try to figure out who the murderer was. I loved how everything was connected to the past.
Wow! I found this book to be gripping and attention grabbing. This is my first book by this author and she really pulls some feels for Agatha Christie. I loved the whole murder mystery concept
This book was actually fantastic. I loved it takes place in Canada (my home country). The setting was beautiful, suspenseful, and atmospheric. It was brilliantly written and paced. The characters intriguing and well fleshed out. The mystery, although very well done overall, had a *touch* of predictability to it. Never the less, it was a cracking excellent read, and I definitely would recommend it.
I've been wanting to read Loreth Anne White for a while. The quarantine has gifted me with more time to read, and I started a book club with the other teachers at my school. They were not interested in starting out with a romance novel. (big surprise). We opted to start with a mystery/thriller instead, and In the Dark is our first pick.
First, a caveat: I almost exclusively review romance, and while there is a tease of a romance in this story, it is extremely subtle. If you are looking for romantic suspense, look elsewhere. Maybe a different White novel?
I raced through this and enjoyed almost every bit of it. I liked the Lodge party chapters best, and I often found myself flipping back through them to keep track of where all the characters are located as the story unfolds. Especially that first chapter! I 'assumed' the sex of the person narrating this section & I was...ha! I'm not going to say. Learning all the painful, and often sordid guests' secrets was more compelling to me than the non-romance/maybe-romance happening in the investigative/rescue party. I thought the romance was an unnecessary distraction.
Clever, absorbing, disturbing...I loved everything about the set-up and execution...except the role of a significant secondary character that is revealed in the final denouement. That's all I'll say. It just didn't fit with the tone and mood of the novel, and was too vague and convenient. I also thought the pacing and and PoV changes in the second half weren't as strong as the start.
Recommended, 4.5 stars. Looking forward to the conversation about this one.
A little too haphazard for my taste, and I found it slightly difficult to follow the story here. It feels like the beginning of a series; perhaps we'll revisit when later books come out.
This closed room mystery was a lot of fun. I love atmospheric books and this one definitely put me in the creepy cabin in the woods. The story is based on Agatha Christie's, "And then there were None", and references the story often. Spoilers are given for Christie's book so read it first if you are interested in the story (and you definitely should!)
I enjoyed the story but found the large cast of characters a bit confusing at times. The "villain" was slightly predictable but not completely.
Overall, this was a good story but I found it to be a little too long.
I received an e-copy of this book to review from NetGalley and Montlake Romance. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Strong premise, mediocre execution. I really enjoyed the relationship between Callie and Mason, and how each o of their stories were drawn out, and was itching for more about/with them. I liked the rhyme, it added a creepy, sinister touch, but I had to keep going back to it to try to figure out how it matched up with the characters. The dual timelines and the many, many characters made the plot hard to follow. And with such a large cast, I didn't feel like I truly got to know any of them and their pasts and motivations. (Which i guess was fine since the majority wound up dead anyway.) Overall there were too many holes and things that were explained one way, but didn’t add up or make sense in the sequence of events.
Thanks to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book was very entertaining and thrilling. It's about a group of "strangers" going to an elite getaway spa in the middle of the woods but don't realize they all will be facing demons from their past. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie type of mysteries, then this one is for you!
In the beginning, when they start introducing all the characters (roughing around 10 main characters) it can be a bit confusing. I had to write out who they were and occupation just so I could keep up. The chapters bounce between the past and present plus in between the point of views of all the characters. I really enjoyed how the writer review what happened to the characters based on evidence the two main SAR detectives find during their search. The ending wasn't super predictable and overall I enjoyed the murder mystery from start to finish.
4/5
You guys - I absolutely LOVED this book! It is SO my type of read! I can't even put into words how much this one is in my wheelhouse. Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None is my favorite of all her books that I've read so far (I have a personal goal to read everything she has written eventually). Basically any book that is compared to And Then There Were None or follows a similar type of trope is one that is instantly going on to my radar to check out. What I loved so much about this book was the fact that it paid homage to Christie's work while putting its' own twist on it! And the author did this SO WELL! I found myself instantly drawn into this book from the very beginning. A secluded lodge set in the remote wilderness of Canada, a storm bearing down, and a murder mystery....what else could you want in a thriller?! The thing about this book that also made it stand out for me was that it was told in two different parts that it goes back and forth between. The first is with the guests at the lodge and the second storyline is featuring the cop who is leading the searching for them. I really liked both Mason and Callie's characters! I liked them both enough that I'm kind of curious if there is the possibility that we will see their characters in future books? I would be ALL over it if that happened...just saying! I also have to say how much I loved that the author threw in a nod to Christie's book directly in this one. I won't say how or anything but it made my readerly heart sing when I saw it. This is honestly such a great book and I cannot seem to say enough good things about it!
Overall, I loved this one which is should be completely apparent by now. I really haven't seen enough readers finding this one which is an absolute shame! Books like this are why I love the mystery/thriller genre so much! This book had me guessing the entire time while turning the pages as fast as I could. I loved both the similarities and the differences that made this book stand out from Christie's original work. I'm honestly so excited to have found this author and cannot wait to checkout her other books. Highly, highly recommended and my first five star read of 2020!
Bottom Line: My first five star read of 2020 - enough said!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher and NetGalley.
In the Dark's premise intrigued me. I was taken by the beginning chapters, and the pacing was fast . Then the addition of more and more characters started to slow down the pace and the story lost momentum. I would have liked a little less description and a more tightly woven story. In the Dark was entertaining but not riveting, and the ending left me disappointed.
I received my copy through NetGalley under no obligation.
If you like reading thrillers, you will want to pick up In the Dark by, Loreth Anne White! You will be entertained from start to finish.