Very realistic and interesting characters. Fast-paced plot that kept me thoroughly engaged throughout.

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

I certainly wanted this to be a bit more interesting. I found it rather predictable but short. It's an okay book overall.

College is about friends, having fun, and expanding your horizons. Not about murder investigations, losing friends, surviving.
In this book, friendships are tested, trust is lost, and plots are foiled. Leo must find a way to prove his innocence, if he is innocent.

This book is a quick read with some twists and turns.

When Anita, a friend whom Leo likes, does not respond to his text messages, he does not pay quite as much attention as he should do. This is quite a mistake as Anita has been gruesomely murdered local detective, , aware of Leo's troubled upbringing going, is sure that he did it.
Once he realises he is a suspect, Leo has to work hard to clear his name. The question then is, if he did not do it, then who did? Could it be the geeky guy he took under his wing,, who may well harbour hate against his schoolmates for time to get him? Or perhaps it is his manipulative ex. Or could it be other faces at the Prom?
So this novella is a whodunnit for teens, or young adults. As such it is entertaining enough and the characters are all recognisable types that most people in this age group could relate to. The reveal is enough of a surprise to make this enjoyable as a whodunnit.

Not a fan, sorry to say. From the beginning, characters actions seemed superfluous, as if they were tossed in to make them feel more real to the reader. The tone I got was the author speaking down to the reader. I struggled and did not enjoy this book.

This was just an okay read. There were a couple of loose ends that were not tied up. It's not a book that I would recommend. Nothing special here.

Leo has had his own problems in life, so when his best friend, Anita asked him to “help out” Nick, he took the awkward teen under his wing. Now Anita has disappeared, leaving only a text, worried about Nick and Leo has become the prime suspect in her murder.

An over-zealous detective, looking to close a murder case, an awkward teen needing advice and a little rich girl chasing his affection, Leo’s life has become a living nightmare.

MENTORING DARKNESS by David Ring III has everything needed for a fabulously dark and twisted psychological thriller that will grip readers by the throat, everything except depth. A hugely intricate plot is skimmed over and deserves more detail, because its potential isn’t met with only a little over 100 pages.

I saw a five star tale that missed its promised mark by only a couple hundred pages of much deserved detail!

I received a complimentary copy from David Ring III and BooksGoSocial.

Publisher: Worn Key Press; 1 edition (March 29, 2018)
Publication Date: March 29, 2018
Genre: Thriller
Print Length: 104 pages
Available from: Amazon
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Mentoring Darkness is a psychological thriller novella and a quick read at 104 pages.

Leo receives a worried text from his friend Anita about a troubled youngster Nick, that Leo has taken under his wing. Leo, who has survived an abusive childhood, thinks Anita is blowing up the issue but knows he will see her later and they can chat about her fears. When he arrives at her place, she is nowhere to be seen. It soon comes out that Anita is gone and Leo is being blamed for it. In light of the text Anita sent to him about Nick, he is torn between reporting it or doing some investigating himself. The more he looks into it, the more he realises that things are most definitely not what they seem.

The blurb of the book sounded so promising that I thought I’d start it quickly one night before I went to sleep but landed up reading the whole thing. Unfortunately, it was a huge hit and miss for me. It had all the elements of a disappearance, a person being accused unjustly, snippets of info that could lead to a number of people being the killer and other storylines of romance and abuse being involved. All of a sudden, BAM, the story is over. I turned the page to see if who the killer is claimed to be is definitely the one and there is no more story. It felt like the book just ended in the middle of a chapter. There are too many unanswered questions for the story to end satisfactorily, and as the reader, I wasn’t sure if I believed the ending or not. The characters are engaging and the author does a great job of connecting the reader with their inner struggles, but too many paths are left open at the end. While I have no problem with cliffhangers, this was more of not knowing how to finish character’s stories off. It would be interesting to see more of this author’s work to see if that writing is in the same vein.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review the book.