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Fiction. Thriller. HTML: As a medical examiner, Samantha Owens knows her job is to make a certain sense of death with crisp methodology and precision instruments. But the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, the light vanished from Sam's life. She has been pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrate--until she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C. On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend's mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam's sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car. Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan's old notes. It leads her to the untouchable Xander, a soldier off-grid since his return from Afghanistan, and then to a series of brutal crimes stretching from that harsh mountainous war zone to this nation's capital. The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody's hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.… (more)
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4 STARS
It was moving for me, other wise I cried in parts of the book. Was not sure who the bad guys were till the end.
Dr. Samantha Owens is having hard times since the death of her husband and daughters. She is head of medical examiner for the state of Tennessee. She
Edward Donovan and Samantha were lovers in collage till he left medical school to go back into the army as a ranger. Edward is now married and has two daughters. He works as a contracter advisor. He was killed by a carjacking.
Susan Donovan father was a general and husband was a Major till he got out of army. When late at night their is a knock on the door when her husband was supposed to be home knows its bad news.
Eddie mother has kept in touch through the years with Samantha and kept her informed about her son. Now she does not believe her son was killed in a car jacking and asks Samantha if she will come to D.C. and do another autopsie. She knows it will be hard on her but needs her help.
Samantha agrees to help. Susan does not want her to help she is jealous of Sam's history with her husband, but finally agrees.
Their are more deaths of Edward rangers squad. Sam gets right involved in the case.
I stayed up late because I could not put the book down. Look forward to more books like this one.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange for honest review from Netgalley.
04/24/2012 PUB Harlequin HarlequinMira
I didn't feel like this was the same Sam who was in the Taylor books, but maybe she isn't. Maybe losing her family changed her so much that this isn't the old Sam any more. Not having Sam as
Despite that, I really enjoyed this book, and I would like more. I'd like to see more of quite a few of the characters too - not just Sam, Xander and Fletcher, who I believe will be back, but Susan and Eleanor too.
This book was definitely not a light read as a lot was going on and you definitely had to keep track. Sometimes I felt like I was getting confused, not due to the writer’s ability, just trying to remember everything. So this is definitely a book to read when you’re wanting to think and use your brain. There is no fluff.
I did like the main character Sam. As her story is really woven in between all that has and is happening. I was able to connect with her. What a tough situation she was in, but became stronger by the end of the book.
This book is definitely a must read for readers of thrillers, suspense, and/or mystery. There was a small amount of romance, but definitely not enough to categorize it is a romantic suspense, or for those who don’t like romance to be concerned.
Asked what I thought of A Deeper Darkness,
The characters of A Deeper Darkness are well developed with interesting personal histories and motivations. I liked Samantha and thought Ellison did a credible job of creating a well rounded, sympathetic protagonist. The details of Samantha's tragic personal background is revealed piecemeal throughout the story with her OCD a symptom of her grief and emotional stress. Donavon's death is yet another blow despite it being so long since their intimate relationship ended and explains why Samantha is so willing to get involved further in the case. The conflict between Samantha and Donovan's wife, Susan, seemed a little forced to me though that element is quickly resolved.
Detective Darren Fletcher is the the cynical but dedicated officer, I enjoyed his wry sense of humour and his partner, Detective Lonny Hart provides a good foil for him.
Even though we meet a few members of the Ranger team briefly, and others not all, Ellison ensures they are encapsulated as individuals. I would have liked to learn more about them but it wasn't strictly necessary in terms of the story.
I enjoyed A Deeper Darkness and I am intrigued by the premise for the second installment of this series, titled Edge of Black, due for publication in December.
Sam's character was what really got on my nerves. One moment she's on her knees begging Detective Fletcher to let her contribute to the investigation, the next she's ignoring his phone calls. A protagonist "are allowed" inner contradictions, but they must be believable, ie, they must come from the writing itself not from "outside".
On top of that, other main characters keep coming to her, or search her out, as a person in whom to confide or someone who could render assistance in eliminating that specific character's turmoil. This was a quite odd phenomenon, as Sam's character was never shown to have any special talents, skills, knowledge specific to the case, or investigative powers.
This character was a sort of deus ex-machina that, for me, was annoying and not believable.