Name: Mae Gabriel Loke's review of The Dark Corners of the Night by Meg Gardiner
Item: The Dark Corners of the Night
Rating: 3
Author: Mae Gabriel Loke

Meg Gardiner

I am the legion of the night ... He appears in the darkness like a ghost, made of shadows and fear--the Midnight Man. He comes for the parents but leaves the children alive, tiny witnesses to unspeakable horror. The bedroom communities of Los Angeles are gripped with dread, and the attacks are escalating. Still reeling from her best friend's close call in a bombing six months ago, FBI behavioral analyst Caitlin Hendrix has come to Los Angeles to assist in the Midnight Man investigation and do what she does best--hunt a serial killer. Her work is what keeps her going, but something about this UNSUB--unknown subject--doesn't sit right. She soon realizes that this case will test not only her skills but also her dedication, for within the heart of a killer lives a secret that mirrors Caitlin's own past. Hesitancy is not an option, but will she be able to do what must be done if the time comes? Tense and impactful, Edgar Award winner Meg Gardiner's latest UNSUB thriller will leave you on the edge of your seat until its riveting conclusion.

The Dark Corners of the Night

Mae Gabriel Loke

*A thrilling but slightly overdramatic installment in this series*

After the personal drama that got thrown into the previous book leading up to the blatantly sensational cliffhanger of 

, I grew annoyed with this series. I delayed reading 

 for a whole year because of how gimmicky the ending of the previous book was. It wasn’t 

, but it was just the sort of ramped up stunt that irritates me in series. I decided to final jump back into the series though.

 opened hours after the previous the previous book. Then it jumped ahead months. This made it crystal clear that (as I suspected) the event was fabricated entirely for dramatic purposes. Major eye rolling ensued. It really irks me when authors overdramatize things just for the sake of it.

Setting that aside, the series does continue to deliver thrilling cases. As mentioned in my reviews for the first two books, this is a great series for fans of 

. If you like procedurals about hunting serial killers, then I would recommend this series (despite the superfluous drama).

In this installment, Caitlin Hendrix, FBI behavioral analyst, is back in L.A. hunting a serial killer killing parents and leaving threatening messages for their children. The case itself was interesting and full of twists and turns. However, I did continue to be frustrated with the drama in Caitlin’s personal life that made me wish the story just stuck to the case. She also engaged in a lot of self-destructive behavior including self-harm. I continued to have niggling suspicions that these things were included for dramatic purposes and shock value more than actual character development. I’m definitely including content warnings for detailed self-harm and self-destructive behavior/ self-sabotage as well as murder, kidnapping, stalking, animal death, gun violence, and body mutilation.

 delivers a page-turning creepy look into the mind of serial killers. The ending start to drag on a bit too long, but it was an engaging story overall. Good enough for me to continue with the series despite some reservations.

Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars

Colleen

3.5 Stars

*A thrilling but slightly overdramatic installment in this series*


After the personal drama that got thrown into the previous book leading up to the blatantly sensational cliffhanger of Into the Black Nowhere, I grew annoyed with this series. I delayed reading The Dark Corners of the Night for a whole year because of how gimmicky the ending of the previous book was. It wasn’t bad, but it was just the sort of ramped up stunt that irritates me in series. I decided to final jump back into the series though.

The Dark Corners of the Night opened hours after the previous the previous book. Then it jumped ahead months. This made it crystal clear that (as I suspected) the event was fabricated entirely for dramatic purposes. Major eye rolling ensued. It really irks me when authors overdramatize things just for the sake of it.

Setting that aside, the series does continue to deliver thrilling cases. As mentioned in my reviews for the first two books, this is a great series for fans of Criminal Minds. If you like procedurals about hunting serial killers, then I would recommend this series (despite the superfluous drama).

In this installment, Caitlin Hendrix, FBI behavioral analyst, is back in L.A. hunting a serial killer killing parents and leaving threatening messages for their children. The case itself was interesting and full of twists and turns. However, I did continue to be frustrated with the drama in Caitlin’s personal life that made me wish the story just stuck to the case. She also engaged in a lot of self-destructive behavior including self-harm. I continued to have niggling suspicions that these things were included for dramatic purposes and shock value more than actual character development. I’m definitely including content warnings for detailed self-harm and self-destructive behavior/ self-sabotage as well as murder, kidnapping, stalking, animal death, gun violence, and body mutilation.

As with the first two books, The Dark Corners of the Night delivers a page-turning creepy look into the mind of serial killers. The ending start to drag on a bit too long, but it was an engaging story overall. Good enough for me to continue with the series despite some reservations.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 2 Stars

Denaiir

amazing, I'm definitely adding MEg Gardiner to my auto-buy authors

Alison Rebovich

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this at Bookcon and couldn’t put it down. Definitely recommend it, can’t wait to read the next one!

Totally Addicted to Reading

I requested this book from Edelweiss based on the recommendation of a fellow blogger. I am happy to report I made the right choice to read it, as the book delivered all I expected and more. The Dark Corners of the Night took me on hair-raising, spine-tingling and nerve-wracking ride.

This is the third book in the UNSUB series and it works well as a stand-alone. This is my first time venturing into this world created by Meg Gardiner, and it was an experience that I hope to repeat whenever the opportunity arises. The Dark Corners of the Night is the type of story that will pull you in and grip you, making it difficult to put down. An engaging read from start to finish. A note of warning a book like this is not for the faint of heart.

I have read several psychological thrillers, which featured some scary villains, but I have encountered none like the Midnight Man. He took scary to another level. His modus operandi involved him entering homes in the middle of the night, where he targets the father, then the mother, but leaves the children, but not before terrorizing them and leaving chilling messages in his wake. The community is on edge as no one knows who will be the Midnight Man’s next victim. His reasoning for choosing his victims were unclear at first, however as the profilers dug deep into his psyche the reason for his actions became clear. The more information I got about him, the scarier he became.

It was great meeting the members of the profiling team. I loved how they worked as a team. They were relentless in their pursuit of the villain. I especially enjoyed getting to know Caitlin. She possessed an inner strength and an analytical mind, which aided her in the investigation. I loved how Caitlin’s personal life was incorporated into the story. It provided me with a better understanding of her as a person, flaws and all.

The scenes were dark, gritty and intense. The last quarter of the book was heart pounding, and it had me gritting my teeth in fear for the parties involved, except for the villain.

Conclusion/Recommendation
Gardiner weaved an incredible tale with twists that held me spellbound. The plot was tight and the characters well developed. This is perfect for fans of thrillers and police procedurals.

Taylor McNeely

I’m so happy I got an ARC for the next book in this amazing series! The first two books I actually listened to on audiobook, so I thought my experience would be different this time since I was physically reading it. I read it in TWO DAYS though so it definitely didn’t change my experience with this series and how much I enjoyed it.
.
.

I was talking to @crofteereader about this book yesterday since she got me into this series (thank god for book friends) and she asked me what book I liked the best and I said The Dark Corners of the Night. I loved the first book, but in this one our main heroine, Caitlin Hendrix, is more flushed out as a character like how we understand her strengths and weaknesses and why she reacts to certain things the way that she does. .
.
.

Also, this book had some crazy twists that I loved since I DID NOT see them coming! Another aspect I loved was the killer was very unique and super intelligent so a lot of things that happened in the book you could see happening in real life if the killer had the kind of background that this character did. All in all, you should definitely should start this series if you love crime books just as much as I do. READ THIS BOOK WHEN IT COMES OUT FEB 18th!
*Thank you @this_is_edelweiss for this advanced copy.*

Mae Gabriel Loke &
The Dark Corners of the Night by Meg Gardiner

Reviews

Join the club

Mae Gabriel Loke &The Dark Corners of the Night by Meg Gardiner

Reviews

Join the club

Mae Gabriel Loke &
The Dark Corners of the Night by Meg Gardiner