When I first read the synopsis for this book, I was mildly interested. Something about the idea of exchanging letters with a prisoner captured my interest, but I didn’t think it would be a book I “love” Sadly, . I often prejudge a book based on a short snippet or unattractive cover and I’m always excited when I’m proven wrong. This is another case of being completely being wrong about a book. This book was phenomenal. From the unique way it’s written to the absolutely emotional heartbreak I felt for Daniel, I was captivated, I read this book cover to cover in less than 24 hours. For a unique ride through the psyche of this lost character, pick up this book.

This Little Dark Place proved to be different from what I expected. I enjoyed the letter format of the book - that always interests me. Yet, there was something missing for me here that kept me from getting completely into the book.

The book jumps around in timelines and that proved confusing as there were little to no transitions to help guide you at times. Unfortunately, I did not find this one very twisty - I had it figured out early on and was not at all surprised by the ending. Personally, I expected more though I did enjoy the 2nd half of the book better - I read that part in 1 sitting.

A good debut - I just wasn't blown away by it. I'd definitely still see what Hatch writes next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail Books for the opportunity to read and review an arc of this book.

Daniel and Victoria are trying for a baby. But Daniel starts to feel lonely. He joins a group that sends letters to prisoners. His pen pal is called Ruby. They start writing to each other but it's not long before revealing more about themselves.

This story jumps back and forwards from present to past. The pace is slow. The book starts off with a letter to someone called Lucy. This story is a out jealousy, anger, grief, loss and frustration to name a few. It also has an undertone of danger. I wanted to hate Daniel, but I couldn't it's quite a dark and creepy tale.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Septents Tail/Profile Books and the author A. S. Hatch for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like some other reviewers, I found this book a bit difficult to follow. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it - the storyline is actually very good - but it was rather muddled in places, and I found that several times I had to skip back and forth to try and work out where I was in the story and exactly who was who.

There are books that should come with warnings. Get out of a toxic relationship and do you really think writing to prisoners is a good idea? Both of these things happen in this creepy read and let’s just say there’s no happy endings.

There’s a very twisty time getting there though. Oh boy, this is like the game where you carefully hold the wire handle trying to keep it away from the metal rail. Touch it and the alarm will go off and you’ll get a shock. Well this book is that game and what a series of shocks. Then the ending! It’s buzzing! It’s set in a vague location somewhere near the Lake District so the idea of a dark place is enticing from the off. All those trees and shadows around! The title is cleverer than that however….

Most of the novel is told via letters - the perfect way to tell a story of this kind. Very effective!

A gritty, grippy read.

~ www.roxtao.com ~

We’re leaving in an era where information is available so largely, so easy and in such quantities that it created a downside. Our attention span is way shorter than it used to be, we’re losing our patience to concentrate for long and our interest is hooked only for a limited period of time. Therefore, as a reader, when you are choosing a certain type of book that is promising to offer you a quick gratification, like a thriller or a horror or a YA book, you’re definitely not expecting a very slow action, tons of descriptive paragraphs, either on the surroundings or on the characters feelings.

When I rated This Little Dark Place, I browsed a bit through other reviews and as I was anticipating, a lot of readers were disappointed by how slow this book is. Of course, if you’re reading a family drama, a decades saga or whatever book that obviously has an imminent unhurried rhythm, this wouldn’t be a problem. But the story A.S. Hatch creates is centered around not one, but two mysteries, one in the past and one in the present and it starts building the suspense from the very first pages. So when it continues to develop the storyline is a painfully slow pace, I cannot imagine how any reader would feel other than frustrated.

The whole plot of the book is not bad at all. But there are so many unnecessary descriptions that it’s difficult to get past this annoyance and not lose your interest until the end.

Despite this issue, I did enjoy the story and I did like the characters. With so much insight that the author offers on the characters, it’s easy to see their evolution, to understand their actions, even if some of them are negative, to feel their fears, their struggles and their hesitations. You get to know them so well that you can even anticipate their future moves and you might get frustrated when the main character himself still acts surprised or is unable to predict what comes in his way.

Despite suspecting what the outcome of all that suspense will be, I still couldn’t hold myself from hoping that I’m mistaken, mostly because of one of the characters involved, which seemed to be the most interesting of all and have the most potential to spice up the story and the lives of the ones around her.

Even if it was definitely not a WOW read, This Little Dark Place cannot really be thrown in the „bad books” basket, as it has an equal amount of positive and negative parts. I wouldn’t rush on recommending it to the people looking for a very thrilling experience so as long as you keep in mind that the action develops in a slow rhythm, you might find it pretty satisfying.

This was one that I wasn’t quite sure of.
I don’t know if it was the format that confused me slightly. It seemed to jump about and I wasn’t quite sure whether it was the present or the past at times. I got a bit lost at the start. As the story progressed I realised certain things about the setting and it became clearer.
Thanks to NetGalley and Serpent's Tail for the opportunity to read an early copy in which I give my honest unedited feedback.

This book was hard for me to follow. It was confusing being written in the form of letters and then all of a sudden it wasn’t while at the same time it was going off about something completely different. This book was just not for me, too slow and no direction.

Thank you to netgalley and Serpent’s Tail for the copy in exchange for the honest review! This Dark Little Place publishes October 10th, 2019!

This psychological thriller was quite a good read.. I think I was expecting too more with it. It grips you at times, I didn’t connect with any of the characters which was a shame but I’ll keep my eye out for more by this author in the future.
Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this

Oh man. This Little Dark Place grabbed me from the beginning and wouldn’t let go (literally read it in one night!). This us a gripping, unique, twisty thriller that I highly recommend!

This was a page turner, different and interesting. It was just a tad muddled it parts. I think there were just too many names thrown around with no background at first, so it was hard to follow in the beginning.

I had this book on my shelf waiting to be read for a while, and I’m not sure why I didn’t pick it up and read it instead of waiting until it was nearer it’s due date for release. I would like to thank netgalley and Serpents tail publishers for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

I have just finished this book and I absolutely loved it, it was somewhat different to what I expected and I’m not sure why, or even what I expected, to be honest. The story is told by Daniel, although we don’t find out his name until a page or two in, he is writing a letter to Lucy. Again we have no idea who Lucy is, but she is obviously important in some way to Daniel. As he says he wants to tell her everything from the beginning.

Daniel loses his father at 12 years old, his mum soon remarries a man named Frank, he is not a nice man, he claims to be a Christian, but he beats Ivy, Daniels mum. A few years later Christmas Eve 2010 to be precise, Daniel meets Victoria and after a year of dating they move in together. I’m not sure about Victoria’s character she never seems to be satisfied, and Daniel does everything he can to make her happy.

New Years Eve a few years later, a very low time for Daniel, he decides he needs a hobby, so he gets onto the internet and Mr Google and searches for hobbies. How did we manage before the internet, I really have to ask that! Anyway, one of the things that crops up is being a pen pal to someone in prison, Daniel knocks up a brief letter and off it goes, the following day he receives a reply from someone called Ruby, this comes as a surprise, as he believed it would be a male prisoner he would be writing to.

All this is going in the letter that Daniel is writing, but occasionally he will say he has to go, because Gordon has just come in asking about the mirror frame for his wife, as Daniel is a carpenter, and then Robbie comes in to watch television with him, Daniel doesn’t mind as he feels sorry for Robbie as he seems lonely.

Unfortunately to tell much more of the ins and outs of the story will give spoilers and I really don’t want to do that because I really feel this is a book to be read to really appreciate the story. It is a psychological thriller, there are a few twists and turns, but I was literally hooked from page one until the end, because I really wanted to know who Lucy was. I really felt for Daniel, whether I was supposed to or not, I don’t know but I liked him. I liked his character, yes he had faults but who doesn’t.

The way the author describes things, for instance when Daniel was planing some wood, the way he described the feel of the wood, the shavings, the sawdust you felt like you could smell it and feel it yourself. This is done throughout the book, some great descriptions very well written. I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. I give it five out of five stars.

Great writing, great plot, great story, what more could you want from a book.

Woah woah woah! What a story. I enjoyed the letter writing in this novel but some of the timelines got messy for me. It didn't stop me from reading because Hatch does a great job of really pulling you in tightly. The characters are all flawed in a very real way and the ending will leave you with your head spinning!

Dan is in love with Victoria but is losing her bit by bit. He just wants to make her happy, the miscarriage is the last straw and Victoria leaves him. Dan just wants to be loved. At one of his lowest points he befriends a prisoner Ruby. His life is falling apart and becomes a recluse. Ruby turns up one day when she has been released and both their life's will never be the same again. This is a real dark, twisty psychological thriller which I found very hard to put down. The climax was shocking but SO GOOD and definitely not what I was expecting. A MUST READ and an easy five stars and so Highly Recommended.
I would like to thank the author, Serpents Tail / Profile Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Written as letters penned to a mysterious Lucy, This Little Dark Place, is a story being told by the main character Daniel. I didn’t have any big expectations for this tale beyond expecting it to be told in present tense. Instead, we are treated to Daniel’s version of past events which left me wondering how much he was glossing over. It was a clever approach on Hatch’s part and I enjoyed the style once I adjusted to the abrupt switches from present to past.

Honestly, I didn’t particularly like the main character, Daniel. Right from the beginning when he thanks Lucy for asking for his side of the story rather than the narrative from the trial I knew we were in for an interesting ride. The mystery is carefully plotted and the story moves quickly and grips readers from the start.

I don’t read many books in epistolary format but I found it did work for this story. As the story continued, I felt my dread slowly increasing as the story went. It wasn’t due to caring about Daniel but rather the knowledge that this is his take on events and so I read the letters with heavy skepticism and I knew that there was so much not being relayed. Even with a day or two to decompress after this book I still feel my lip curling in distaste. I think that is probably the most striking thing about this book by A.S. Hatch, that I am still feeling an intense reaction to a book even after picking up a new story.

So many titles these days claim to be dark and twisty, but the twists don't always deliver. That wasn't the case with this book at all! It was a twisty and often bleak exploration within the domestic thriller genre that left me guessing throughout most of its chapters. I went through so many emotions ranging from pity, to shock, to sadness while reading A Little Dark Place. Some of the writing was clearly on the wall, but it was still an engaging read that gets under your skin.

At times it was a little hard to follow as we go back and forth between different points in time seen without much explanation, so I was confused quite often at the beginning. Once I started to get used to the book's stride, though, it was much easier to follow.

A Little Dark Place has a slow burn, hinting at something much more explosive, and has several little bits of terror peeking out, too. It was a really enjoyable read, one I would recommend to any other fans of this genre.

Full, in depth review to come at publication on my blog.

I was recommended this book by another book blogger on Twitter. I have finally gotten round to reading this before its release date. It's a good one. Another new author to me.

The story is based around Daniel and Victoria who are trying for a baby and over the coming months of failure are beginning to lose interest in one another and so Daniel takes up the hobby of pen palling with a prisoner, Ruby.

Over the course of yet more months they tell each other their life story and as it gets too close, Daniel suddenly stops corresponding as he is about to move to an inherited cottage by the coast. By this time, relations have completely broken down and Victoria stays behind and moves in with Scott, her personal trainer.

Lots of strange events and people are happening around the cottage at Lanes End and suddenly Ruby appears on Daniel's doorstep.

What happens next.... you need to read it. Go on....

Wow this book was kind of crazy. I really enjoyed it but it also was pretty confusing at parts. The suspense the book brought really kept me reading and on the edge. A bit different then the books I usually read but refreshing. Thanks NetGalley.

Wow, what a great read! This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The story begins with Daniel responding to a letter from a woman named Lucy, and right off the bat the reader can presume that he is in prison since he mentions a trial and telling his side of the story. From there he dives right into his relationship with Victoria and how they met, moved into together, and tried for a baby.

Tragedy strikes and over time their relationship appears to not be as amorous as it once was, but during this time, Daniel joins a pen pal program for prisoners. It is through this program that he meets Ruby, and while they start off casual and friendly, they eventually start to divulge more about their personal lives to one another. I knew it was too good to be true, and when she admits her feelings for him, he starts to pull away. Her messages then start to come across as a bit upset and obsessive, and one day she appears at his doorstep out of the blue...and out of prison.

The rest of this story was so full of suspense and the buildup had me thinking the story would go one way when it actually went another. As the story came to a conclusion, I was actually quite surprised to find out who Lucy was, but I thought it was the perfect way to bring to story full circle.

Highly recommend!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2978979303

The story is told in the form of letters to a woman called Lucy, by Daniel who is a very likable character. He is open and honest going way back to when he was much younger up to the point that he falls in love with Victoria and gets married. He is easy going, a little bit too much and supports his beautiful wife in anything she wants to do.
Daniel gets involved with a penpal system where he writes to an inmate in prison called Ruby, who swears that she has been wrongfully convicted of a violent crime. What starts as a basic how are you doing sort of penpal grows into something bigger.
The setting is so very perfect, with the house surrounded by woods tucked away from prying eyes which at times feels safe and inviting but at others a place that made me edgy and vulnerable. This is a cracking story that was simply impossible to guess how it would all end, as it branches so many ways and comes back on its self.
My heckles were up as the story seemed to turn on to unpredictable paths that were impossible to backtrack, as it headed full-on towards a dark and twisty place, perfect reading for the evenings that are drawing in now.
An unusual way to write a story but it worked brilliantly, a super debut from an exciting new author.
I wish to thank the publisher for an e-copy of this book, which I have reviewed honestly.