Kara Thomas

When her father dies, Tessa is pulled back to the small Pennsylvania town where her life came apart when her father was sent to prison, her mother went to pieces, and her beloved older sister ran away, and where her testimony and that of her now-estranged friend Callie sent a serial killer to death row--a serial killer who may be getting a new trial as long buried secrets come to light.

The Darkest Corners

Melissa Palmer

Book #114 Read in 2016
The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

When Tessa and Callie were young, Callie's cousin Lori was murdered and the two girls were witnesses who helped put "the Monster" in jail. But did they truly know what they saw? Years later, Tessa returns to her hometown because her father, who is in jail, is dying. Will she find her estranged mother, missing sister and the truth while back home? This is a gritty good read. High school girls and adults would like it.

Emelie

It was a lot of things happening at the same Times, so it was from time to time hard with all the characters! But other than that, the story was kind of creepy and the end sums up the whole story good!

"Gripping from start to finish . . . with twists that left me shocked."—Victoria Aveyard, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen For fans of Gillian Flynn and Pretty Little Liars, The Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller about the lies little girls tell, and the deadly truths those lies become. There are secrets around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about what happened there that last summer. She and her childhood best friend Callie never talked about what they saw. Not before the trial. And certainly not after. But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette—to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth. Only the closer Tessa gets to what really happened, the closer she gets to a killer—and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away. And don't miss Kara's next "eerie and masterly psychological thriller" Little Monsters—on sale now (SLJ)!

Sven Test

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

Around ten years ago, there was a serial killer that targeted girls. Four were found dead near the Ohio River and that's how the name "Ohio River Monster" came to be. Tessa and Callie were having sleepover when they were 7-years-old when all of a sudden, Callie says she had seen Wyatt Stokes and that he was the one to kill her cousin, which put Wyatt in prison. After leaving Fayette, Tessa comes back years later to see her dying dad. What makes her stay is a fifth body appears and Tessa starts to question what really happened that night of Callie's cousin's death and if they really accused the right person for those murders or if the killer is still on the loose.

For a YA Psychological Thriller, this was a good story, but not great. It entertained me a lot and I read it in a day but I think it could have been done a different way. Nonetheless, I think it was really interesting. While the story is slow, the pace gave the story a more realistic feel to it. In real life, trying to solve a murder case doesn't just happen over night, especially if you aren't with the official team (cops, PI's, etc). 

The friendship between Tessa and Callie was very rocky at the beginning but they were able to join forces to figure out who the real killer was. Tessa and Callie would spend days investigating this whole case on their own without help from the cops and it took them a long while to even figure out who could have done it. Tessa isn't only trying to figure out who's the killer but also where her sister is because she just up and left one day and never came back so she has a lot on her plate.

At times, the story would feel out-of-place and then get back together but that's just how I saw it and how it felt to me. What did surprise me were the last few chapters. Everything that unraveled was very mind-blowing. I did suspect this character but, as sometimes it happens to me, I forgot about the character until it came into the story near the end. I couldn't believe the plot twist that had happened. Not only that, we got another plot twist in the last chapter that left me like.... What?! But it was very good and kudos to Kara Thomas because I really didn't suspect this at all.

Overall, it was an interesting story that had lots of potential but my expectations weren't completely met. I still consider it was a good story since it left me entertained.

I received an eARC for review from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews.

María Belén

3.5 stars

The Darkest Corners was a surprisingly good read for me.

There are lots of YA mystery books nowadays and I think these are two difficult genres to balance. But Thomas did a pretty good job.

The characters are well written believable teenagers and there are some interesting twists in the story I didn't see coming. 

It's a quick, enjoyable book. I really liked it.

Laura

After reading Little Monsters, I was impressed by Kara Thomas' talent, even though it was only her second novel. She wrote a realistic-seeming (by realistic I mean no super-amazing kid detectives) YA mystery novel that kept me on my toes and took risks that ultimately paid off. And even though it was fairly obvious who one of the people involved was, it was fun to try and figure out who the other person was. So I was excited to read The Darkest Corners and see if Kara Thomas would become a new favorite author.

An aside: I wouldn't really call this book a psychological thriller. Or really any of the stuff in that first part. Those are minor aspects if anything.

And, well, I'm conflicted now. Because this book wasn't as good as Little Monsters. It felt much more like a typical YA mystery novel with typical YA mystery features- the tough and intrepid young detective (her tough, "bitchy" front felt tired and put on), the redneck and almost abandoned small town- though it was cool it was set near Pittsburgh and focused around mill towns (Pittsburgh's a really cool little city, by the way, it's a great place to stop for a couple days on a road trip- the Andy Warhol museum is a must see), the innocent man in jail because the cops fucked up his case, etc. 

Another aside: I always wonder how all these teenagers always get so involved in solving cases of serial killers and the like, personally, even if my best friend dies I probably wouldn't get too wrapped up in actively trying to solve the case. I'd follow it, yes, but I'd be in wayyy over my head if I tried to get involved in the investigation. At some parts Tessa is literately talking about suspects and gathering clues and putting together patterns that even the FBI couldn't like she's Nancy fucking Drew. It's like those armchair detectives on true crime internet forums who have way too much time on their hands. I don't get it. 

I sound like I really hate this book and I don't. It's just not really anything special. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places, strangely enough, and does have that same messy quality, like Thomas is trying to do too much with the book. She should have picked one thing to focus on, the murder of Lori Cawley instead of both trying to find out the real Ohio River Monster and the person who really did kill Lori Cawley. As it was now, it was way too convenient, that she happened to be in town when the Ohio River Monster happened to strike again- after what, 8 years?- and killed the girl who happened to be an old childhood friend. Come on now. That's not even factoring in the fact that she happened to solve both crimes.

Continue reading this review on my blog here: https://bookwormbasics.blogspot.com/2...

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Julia

"There are secrets around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about what happened there that last summer. She and her childhood best friend, Callie, never talked about what they saw. Not before the trial. And certainly not after. But Tessa still has questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette--to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie's dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth. Only, the closer Tessa gets to what really happened, the closer she gets to a killer--and this time, it won't be so easy to run away."--Page [4] cover.