Name: A Field of Darkness
ISBN: 9781741765120

Cornelia Read

Praised for its individuality, intelligence and wit - not to mention its twisting, turning, nailbite-enducing plot - this is a fresh and funny debut crime novel featuring sparky heroine Madeline Dare.

A Field of Darkness

Madeline Dare would be the first to tell you her money is so old there's none left. A former socialite from an aristocratic family in decline, Maddie is a tough-talking, would-be journalist exiled to the rust belt of upstate New York. Her prospects for changing her dreary lifestyle seem dim--until a set of dog tags found at a decades-old murder site is linked to her family. Shocked into action, Maddie embarks on a search that takes her from the derelict smokestacks of Syracuse to the posh mansions of Long Island's Gold Coast. But instead of the warm refuge of home, this prodigal daughter soon uncovers dark, sinister secrets that will violently challenge everything she believes in and holds dear.

Dorian Avers

3.75 I'd say that this is more of a novel and the thriller and suspense bit is secondary. If I had to easily make a comparison it has the wit and quick banter of Gilmore Girls, the unchecked misogyny and bits of evil of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with a light-ish feeling of a Nora Roberts novel. The core group of characters feel pretty real and I enjoyed Madeline and Lapthorne immensely, but I did confuse the secondary characters every now and again. Also, Maddie's family and the town are kind of cardboard cliches. And it's almost humorously wrong that we're just supposed to be chill with the sexual tension between these cousins. I'm not really one who tries to figure out mysteries or thrillers, I don't know if that makes me weird or just lazy. I'm just along for the ride. 
 We're given a suspect right off the bat and I was a bit confused because that seemed wrong to me. You have a feeling and there are clues that you can go back and see which is nice. There was never really any mourning though or follow up after deaths which was weird. Even though there were flaws in this writing, you are so much more enamored by the characters that you really don't even care. I would read the next book by this author, I want to see where this can go. The fact that the author put some history in the back was a nice touch even though it was more than what I'd seen before.

A Field of Darkness

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