Status
Call number
Series
Genres
Collections
Publication
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Suspense. Thriller. HTML: The "taut and haunting" first thriller in the Gardiner and Renner series from the New York Times bestselling author of Every Kind of Wicked (Jeff Lindsay, creator of the Dexter series). As a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, Maggie Gardiner has seen her share of Jane Does. The latest is an unidentified female in her early teens, discovered in a local cemetery. More shocking than the girl's injuries�for Maggie at least�is the fact that no one has reported her missing. She and the detectives assigned to the case (including her cop ex-husband) are determined to follow every lead, run down every scrap of evidence. But the monster they seek is watching every move, closer to them than they could possibly imagine. Jack Renner is a killer. He doesn't murder because he enjoys it, or because he believes himself omnipotent, or for any reason other than to make the world a safer place. When he follows the trail of this Jane Doe to a locked room in a small apartment where eighteen teenaged girls are anything but safe, he knows something must be done. But his pursuit of their captor takes an unexpected turn. Maggie Gardiner finds another body waiting for her in the autopsy room�and a host of questions that will challenge everything she believes about justice, morality, and the true nature of evil . . . "An absolute must read."�Suspense Magazine "Black skillfully portrays the stark realities of homicide cases."�Library Journal "Intriguing forensic details help drive the plot to its satisfying conclusion."�Publishers Weekly "The surprising ending is sure to keep readers coming back for more."�Booklist.… (more)
User reviews
Lisa Black’s introduction to her first installment of Gardiner and Renner #1, THAT DARKNESS, is a psychological crime suspense of justice, morality, and evil, keeping you page-turning.
Maggie
Jack Renner is a Homicide Detective for Cleveland PD. (A serial killer). He believes in justice. Good at details. A vigilante. Truth and Justice. Morality. Evil. Revenge.
Glad to meet another Florida crime author ---who currently works as a latent print examiner and CSI for Cape Coral, Police Department in Florida, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes. Drawing on her expertise as a forensic scientist, she has analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes.
With some good forensics, humor, a unique cat and mouse twist, and a suspenseful mystery of good and evil--keeps the reader guessing and speculating.
Looking forward to more from the author, and future books in the series.
"But if thine eye by evil, thy
whole body shall be
full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in
thee be darkness,
how great is that darkness!"
Matthew 6:23
Jack Renner is a homicide detective with the Cleveland PD. He
Maggie Gardiner is a forensic technician with sharp observation, dogged determination and a meticulous eye for trace evidence.
This was a really appealing set up for a police procedural. These two are working together on an investigation while Maggie's razor-sharp logic gradually uncovers Jack's secrets.
That Darkness contains a lot of details about forensics. The author worked as a forensic scientist and is now a latent print examiner. Her expert knowledge of crime scenes and trace evidence is obvious. Fans of CSI will probably love it. I found it quite interesting, but it was a little too detailed for me and slowed down the pace a bit.
The two main characters were really interesting, but I felt I didn't get to know them enough. Maggie more than Jack appeared a bit flat. Considering there were some quite emotional scenes, neither Maggie nor Jack seemed to feel very much.
A slow build-up but the last 30% were definitely gripping. I am quite interested to see how both of them and their relationship will develop (hopefully) in the next book. A solid 3.5 stars rounded up because of the later part of the book.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
That Darkness had no suspense or thrills. We know who the killer is and how he does it. We just follow Maggie as she solves the crimes and Jack tries to stay ahead of her. That Darkness reads more like a police procedural manual than a fiction novel. I had a hard time getting through this book (I read two other books while I was supposed to be reading this novel). The characters are not really likeable (and have questionable morals). I could not wait to finish That Darkness. I will not be reading any more books in this series (sorry). I give That Darkness 2 out of 5 stars (I took pity on it). That Darkness is just not my type of novel. I want more interest (the best part of mysteries is solving the crime). I like to be drawn into the story and feel that I am a part of it (and I like solving the crime). The novel includes many details on fingerprints (which I liked), fibers (hair, rugs, wool, etc.), and dead bodies (autopsies). Some of it was interesting, but it did bog down the story (it got a little too technical at times). Somehow it is better on television than in print.
I received a complimentary copy of That Darkness from NetGalley in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
ARC from Netgalley.
So Brian, like the 14 before him, never knew it when the gun pointed at the back of his head was fired.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Maggie Gardiner works as a civilian criminalist with the Cleveland Police Department primarily collecting fingerprints but has experience in serology and spends time working crime scenes work as well. Naturally inquisitive, doggedly persistent and keenly observant, Maggie takes on a crime scene challenge like hound dog on a scent.
Renner has managed to control his shady side to perfection right up until he bumps up against Maggie. As the morgue fills with unfortunate victims and murdered criminals, Maggie begins to connect the dots and unknowingly closes in on Renner’s secret life. As Jack unravels trying to control and steer the investigation away from his involvement, Maggie begins to question inconsistencies in his behavior and statements until the day….
Jack straightened and turned to her…She stared at him open-mouthed. Then she said, “It’s you.” “Yes, Maggie,” he told her. “It’s me.”
The novel’s overarching theme posits the question… when is it moral to take the law into your own hands? When society fails to protect the weak from predators that game the system should someone step in and stop the madness? What is the line between justice and vigilantism?
Strengths
The author, a forensic investigator herself, shares her knowledge of the work in exquisite detail.
The parallel story lines with Jack as part of the investigative team trying to distract Maggie from linking him to her findings and Maggie’s dogged determination to unearth the truth move steadily through the story before reaching an unexpected ending.
Jack’s clients reveal the seedy side of life and focus the reader’s thoughts on topics such as human trafficking and elder abuse and neglect.
Weakness
Black “tells” us things about Jack, Maggie, the victims and the perpetrators, but we don’t become invested in their lives. We don’t know the back stories. She doesn’t scratch beneath the surface. It would have been better to personalize the main characters in enough detail to excite the reader to follow them in later works.
Overall impression
A worthy read. The hot topics will challenge your thoughts about the justice system and the plight of the innocent. Hoping for more character development in the second issue of the series.
A forensic investigator gets more involved in the mystery and background of the body of a woman found in a cemetery.
Then things get more complicated....
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Kensington Books via Netgalley in return
This is the first book in the Gardiner and Renner series.
I’m not entirely sure my feelings about this book are entirely settled just
Maggie is a fingerprint expert working in forensics and Jack is a cop working homicide. They cross paths after a spate of dead bodies show up in the Cleveland morgue, all of them murder victims. While they seem unconnected, forensics tie them together and it nags at Maggie, who is perhaps a little OCD. But, her powers of observation could be her undoing when evidence begins leading her to the most unlikely suspect she could ever imagine.
This is one of those times when I struggle with what to leave in or what to leave out in a review. Suffice it to say, Jack Renner is a most interesting man, a man with a hidden agenda, one that Maggie inadvertently stumbles across. This part of the story was very well executed because the reader is well aware of Jack’s after hours activities. So, I was on pins and needles as Maggie begins to methodically connect the dots. Does her knowledge put her in danger? Will she expose Jack?
The crime element exposes all manner of lowlifes and losers who parade through the criminal justice system without being rehabilitated, or those who walk away with a slap on the wrist or get off Scot free, and who continue to terrorize and murder at will. This novel explores the flaws in our system as well the temptation one may entertain of taking the law into their own hands. This type of personality, the vigilante, is not without conscience, like, say, Dexter, who is sociopathic. The vigilante is righting a wrong and so could evoke a certain amount of empathy from the reader and perhaps even garner some respect, become something akin to the antihero.
In this type of setup, I questioned my own moral code as I caught myself actually hoping Maggie would remain in the dark. Two wrongs never make a right, but are there gray areas? Is it right to cheer this character on or feel relief if they escape prosecution themselves?
To balance out the equation, we have a 'by the book' character, in Maggie, who is sharp, dedicated, and sees things in a right or wrong manner, until she crosses paths with Jack, who leaves her feeling conflicted, up against a wall, forced to make a choice she will have to live with for a long time come.
Did she do the right thing? What would you do? How do I feel about her decision?
Although I don’t know what’s going to happen next in the series or what plans the author may have for the characters, it should be very interesting indeed.
Overall, this is a very well written crime novel and a compelling, thought provoking thriller. It’s unique, dark, and at times brutally graphic and raw with emotion, but also provides a smattering of dark humor which is like the cherry on the cake.
I’m definitely on board for book two!
In Part One of the novel, Dyer creates a fictional journalist, John Steadman, to uncover and pursue what exactly transpired on the Californian the night the Titanic sank. He alternates Steadman’s story with the story of the crew members that were aboard the Californian that night. Second Officer Herbert Stone, a crew member on the Californian, had night watch on his ship in the early hours of April 15, 1912. As he is watching the sea he begins to see white rocket flares in the sky coming from another ship. He alerts his captain, Stanley Lord, who chooses to do nothing but continue sleeping. The next morning the crew members of the Californian learn that the Titanic in fact sank while Lord slept. While Lord attempts to cover up the Californian’s role in the tragedy, the story slowly comes out.
In Part Two of the book, Steadman follows Lord as he appears before the Senate committee and later an inquiry in Great Britain. Dyer finishes the story with a fictional article, entitled “Eight White Rockets” that Steadman wrote as a journalist following his investigations into the event. While I loved the entire book, “Eight White Rockets” was by far my favorite part; it was so beautifully written.
David Dyer writes beautifully and so descriptively that I frequently felt that I was on board the Californian and the Titanic. I really liked John Steadman and his dogged pursuit of the truth. I had a harder time with Stone (who was a real person) and his inability to stand up for himself and do the right thing. I intensely disliked Lord and felt that he should have paid more for his inaction.
I knew very little about the Californian before I read this novel. The story was absolutely captivating and so terribly tragic. It is always easy to say what might have been when looking back at events that have occurred, but in this case if two men had acted differently an entire tragedy might have been averted or at least been limited to a smaller death count. I highly recommend this novel – it is so well done.
The good stuff:
The plot tackles the philosophical question of
The focus of the story is very much on forensics. We're given a lot of detail in how forensic work is really done, apart from the typical - and unrealistic - DNA evidence shown to us in TV programs. The hunt for a killer runs parallel with the evidence, one thing leading to the next, in a steady pace.
The not so good stuff:
My one issue is a huge one for me, and that is the total lack of character development. I spent 336 pages with Jack and Maggie, but I didn't feel like I ever knew either of them. Both main characters were very much one-dimensional.
With Jack, I figured out his driving factor for vigilante killing early on. Beyond this obsession, we learn little else about him. For me to take that leap with a vigilante, to really connect with him as a person and not just a killer, I need more than his playbook and excuses. I need to feel his pain, to see him beyond the murders, and I never got that here.
With Maggie, we learn her relationship status, but no details. We learn she doesn't sleep well and takes long walks alone every night, though we never learn why. And we learn that she excels at her job. She is the hero of the story, yet she could have been anyone or everyone. I couldn't like her, because I didn't know enough about her to care.
My reading experience was a bit like watching a chess match between two strangers; lots of intricate moves but I could walk away and never think about it again.
*I received an advance copy from the publisher, via Amazon Vine.*
The question of vigilante justice is an
I received an ARC from NetGalley.
Like other reviewers here I object
Finally, although we are not supposed to accept the ARC text as the final text, no one who writes: "a properly decimated [facial] expression" even in a draft, could rank high in my estimation.
I received a review copy of "That Darkness" by Lisa Black (Kensington) through NetGalley.com.