One of the best books I have read in years. The dynamic writing and plot twists had me reading instead of eating on my lunch break! A must own for libraries looking to add material that will circulate like crazy.

Thank you to net galley for sending me this book in exchange for a honest review.

I did enjoy this one. It’s my favourite type of genre and it didn’t disappoint. It was full of suspense and I loved the ending. Definitely one I’d recommend to my friends.

I had a tough time getting through this book... even though it was relatively short it totally dragged for me. I couldn’t relate to any of the main characters and thought they were super boring. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

1.5/5 stars

I highly enjoyed this book. The plot twists are good and well thought out. The main character is well written and you can almost feel his paranoia building throughout the book.

Hats off to A.S. Hatch! This book is a true winner! I was drawn in from the first page until the last.

A thrilling suspense story about Dan, who had had a difficult life; both in childhood and as an adult. His stepfather was abusive to his mother. Also his partner, Victoria, had been obsessive about becoming pregnant and then cheats on Dan with her Personal Trainer, Scott.

We find Dan writing to someone named Lucy at the start about his past. During his recent past, after Victoria, Dan becomes involved (via email) with Ruby, a prison inmate. Dan moves to an isolated cottage that he had inherited and that's when his life becomes very intriguing. Taking a turn for the worse? Or better?

This is a MUST for any mystery/thriller/suspense reader!!!

I give the book 5+ stars !

Many Thanks to Serpent's Tail / Profile Books and NetGalley for a roller coaster ride

I really enjoyed this book. I adored the story line and loved the main characters. I read this book in one sitting and would highly recommend this book.

This was a little gem of a book. I really, really loved it Twisty little turns throughout the book to the very end. Not a book you can put down, thats for sure. Just an absolute fabulous mystery. An easy five stars.
A.S. Hatch better come out with another book soon. I can't wait long for the next one. Damn, this was good.

A unique thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's one of the best stories I've read in a while.

The story is told by a man named Daniel in the form of a letter to Lucy. The story is about his girlfriend Victoria and a pen pal Ruby, he had been writing through a pen pal program for prisoners. Throughout various twist and turns that will keep you spinning. The story was just so well written.

A brilliant Debut from A.S. Hatch.
Thank you Serpent's tail and Net galley for the advanced copy for an honest review.
This is a 5 star read. #thislittledarkplace #netgalley
Expected release date October 3, 2019

Well..... where to begin......

For the first 80% of the book, VERY little of excitement happened. It was the longest character development I’d read in a while! So, while I feel that I got to know the characters well, I didn’t care a fig for any of them!! The plot twist in the last 20% was good, but even that wasn’t all that exciting. Sadly, I would not recommend this book, as it just didn’t capture enough of my interest and left me quite disappointed. 2 stars.

Wow I loved this book... it was fast paced but took some thought... there weren’t any chapters but I always found somewhere I could stop.

Dan was a very dark character though I did see cracks of light and pictured him completely. Loved the twists and turns throughout and never guessed who Lucy was or what he had done until the last few pages. Would recommend highly and will read this author again.

This is the first time I have read a book by this author and they did not disappoint. Its quite a quick read but is very enjoyable and gripping. I think I was definitely lulled into a false sense of simplicity at the outset, but as the plot is slowly revealed (I am trying not to give anything away!) I started to realise the extent of the web of deceit! Recommended to people wanting a thrilling psychological read, that is easy to start and stop and short overall, with a solid gripping plot line.

This book is very good if you like a slow burner. If you can handle not much happening and a long road to finding the end game. I predicted a lot of this on the way to the conclusion. And because of that, I was not shocked or excited to find out what happened. I feel that witha story lines like this it could have been a lot more gripping and more twists around the corner. But they didn't appear.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


WHOA. what an unique book. I honestly have never read a book with this storyline/concept... who do you trust? the person you've been living with and trying to have a baby with? OR the prisoner penpal you've been writing all your secrets to?

Man, I plan on rereading this and sharing it with my book club.. immediately. check this book out.

This is a good book with lots of quirks and twists and turns. It kept me guessing till the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

A great novel, beautiful depiction of the characters with some tense moments thrown into the mix. Will definitely pick more books by this talented author.

This is a very clever book, written in a deceptively simple style but there is, in reality, nothing simple about it.

Daniel is writing to Lucy, who, he has decided, will be the only one he tells his story to and as some of it was also correspondence between himself and his friend, Ruby, it is in part letters within letters. Gradually Dan explains not only what happened to thrust him into the limelight but also why and how it all came about.

I read this book in one sitting, something I very rarely do, as it held my attention from the very first line. I love books which surprise me, cause 'ohhh' moments or leave me wanting more and as this book drew to a close all three requirements were met many times over. There were clues throughout as to what had happened to Dan but there was never a  feeling of anything being dummed down or hidden away. Everything was there for the reader to discover and even though Daniel was guiding us there was always the chance to see things from a different perspective.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it unreservedly to anyone who enjoys an original,  tautly written thriller or experiencing a new author's work. That this is a first novel definitely bodes well for the future.

This novel messed with my mind and left me in a place, a little dark place, *nudges* get it?? All jokes aside it was such a unique and twisted psychological thriller. It starts off in a conventional way and just ends somewhere so far off from where we begin with Dan and the other characters. While I predicted certain elements of the story along the way, the central few twists still took me by surprise and it was an unnerving reading experience for sure.

The novel is told entirely in the form of a letter from Daniel, the main character to someone called Lucy. I’m a big fan of epistolary novels so this was an unexpected but welcome surprise in a thriller. I don’t think I’ve read any other thrillers that make use of this device in the same way. It really worked well in this novel and heightened both the mystery and sense of foreboding. I also thought there was a nice symmetry in this choice as we read the story through letters and get to know these characters, and Daniel and Ruby also converse through letters.

At times, the pacing was a little off and it felt like it was dragging in places where there could have been more plot development or just any action at all. However the way it all comes together more than makes up for these slower moments in the novel as when it got going, it was so engaging. This is the kind of book which will have you questioning each and every one of the characters motivations and you’ll be suspicious of every one. Whether this suspicion is warranted or whether it’s because of Dan and his fractured state of mind as the novel progresses is a key question.

I felt for the characters as they go through a lot as individuals and for Dan and Victoria, as a couple when they face setback after setback when trying for a baby. A. S Hatch explores quite a few important themes such as domestic violence, abuse, grief, miscarriage and cheating to name a few. Some are explored more than others but I believe Hatch does so sensitively and I felt empathy for these characters even in their most morally grey moments. While the novel ends in quite a shocking way, it’s also quite sad which fits the tone of the novel well. It’s a complex and well written novel and I would definitely recommend it if you’re looking for an original story in the mystery and thriller genre.

How well do you know your girlfriend?

How well do you know your lover?

How well do you know yourself?

Daniel and Victoria are together. They're trying for a baby. Ruby is in prison, convicted of assault on an abusive partner. But when Daniel joins a pen pal program for prisoners, he and Ruby make contact. At first, the messages are polite, neutral - but soon they find themselves revealing more and more about themselves. Their deepest fears, their darkest desires. And then, one day, Ruby comes to find Daniel. And now he must decide who to choose - and who to trust.

This Little dark Place. It seems not little, but enormous. What a brilliant read. I did to an all-nighter to finish the book. Few books do this. A.S. Hatch I will follow.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

The novel is written in the first person by Daniel, as a letter to Lucy. It is a slow burn of a story, as our narrator describes his upbringing and his marriage to Victoria. One lonely night, Daniel joins an online pen pal site to correspond with prison inmates. And...no spoilers. This very original book was suspenseful and ominous and I couldn’t put it down. What a good book!

This Little Dark Place by A.S Hatch is by far my favourite book of 2019. I do not even know where to begin writing to say how good this book was. The characters, plot, twists, suspense and narrative had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I was so sad when it finally came to the end.

I will start with the characters. Each character the reader meets within the novel has been clearly devised through huge amount of research and effort. Each character is fleshed out we learn to think, feel and breathe like them. I have never read a book that does this as well as A.S Hatch has done. The main character "Dan" is so likeable it keeps you guessing as your read as to why he is in prison? Surely a lovely guy like himself couldn't end up behind bars? The female characters in the book especially Ruby make you feel so many emotions is hard to know where your head is at between her relationship with Dan.

In terms of the plot, it is such a clever and refreshing style of writing as it is written through Dan's letters to someone called Lucy. You get to feel how Dan feels and how he thinks from page to page. The story starts of by Dan going to the very start of his life. We find out about his parents, where he lives and about the experiences he has been through (don't want to give too much away). You instantly like Dan and are keen to know more about him. Dan continues to tell his story and you go through his emotions as he writes them down on paper to Lucy. When we meet Ruby we are constantly questioning her motives and we are always thinking if we can trust her.

The twists throughout the book are ones I have not experienced they are jaw dropping and I found myself reading and recapping the page where it was revealed to make sure I was not missing anything. (Not giving anything else away about the twists)

In terms of suspense I was constantly on edge and did not want to put it down to work, eat or sleep. Hatch writes in a way which is easy to follow yet complex enough to keep you engaged and interested. As the story fleshes out the suspense unfolds more and more.

Likewise with the narrative structure of the book it is told through Dan's letters to Lucy and as already mentioned it is a refreshing and creative way of structuring a novel.

In conclusion I have to say that for a debut novel, A.S Hatch as done amazingly well, I was blown away. This is my favourite book of 2019 so far, but I doubt it will be topped! I am honoured to have been given an ARC copy by NetGalley and Serpent's Tail in exchange for an honest review! I can't wait to see what A.S Hatch does next.