“Everybody has scars. Yours are just on the outside...they make you look dangerous. Are you?”

Sam Easton is a scarred war veteran, recently returned from Afghanistan. Melody Traeger is a bartender trying to rebuild her previously disastrous life. They are two very broken souls that bond over their demons. But when Melody’s abusive boyfriend and Sam’s estranged wife both turn up dead within 24hrs of each other, you begin to wonder if Sam is starting to come unhinged.

I struggled a bit initially to keep all of the characters straight. There are so many homicide detectives and ancillary characters that I think it detracted from the story. I initially had to reference back to which case each detective was working on and how they all intertwined in order to keep the POV straight. The book really picked up in the last 1/3, but then BAM, the twist, and then it all wrapped up in a nice little bow. A little too convenient? I believe so. But overall a good read.

Thank you to @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Publication date January 12, 2021.

I received a free advance ebook of Deep into the Darkfrom NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

The horrors of war prey heavily on Sam Easton, a combat veteran suffering from PTSD. Badly scarred both externally and internally, Sam's life unravels as LA is mesmerized by a serial killer who is dubbed the Monster. When the two worlds collide, can Sam trust his own memories and perceptions as the violence hits those he knows and loves.

Tracy has a great plot here with one exception - the eerie but unlikely touches where Sam has inklings about the fate of others as blood red letters appear across their foreheads. His perception of himself in the throes of PTSD and excessive alcohol may be viewed as valid but the appearance of blood red warnings on the foreheads of strangers is a touch too far.

Despite this book being a murder mystery, there is such an element of hope here. Sam Easton, wounded warrior, has understanding and caring people in his corner and he derives strength from their concern and faith in him.
#NetGalley #DeepintotheDark

I have read all of the MONKEEWRENCH GANG books and really enjoyed them. DEEP INTO THE DARK is also a good twisty thriller - there are definitely some unexpected turns in the plot and the characters carry the day. Tracy is setting this up to be the first in a series and I will definitely read the second.

I received an ARC to get a free book with an honest review. I thought this book was very good I read it in one day and it kept me hooked from beginning and the end. The storytelling was great and the character built ups was fantastic. Would want to read more from this author.

Thanks to @netgalley for the eARC!

📚 Deep Into The Dark
      By: P.J. Tracy
Pub Date: Jan 12, 2021

Sam is a former Vet suffering from PTSD. Melody his co-worker/friend is dealing with an abusive boyfriend.  They both share a common bond in the fact that they have had troubled pasts and begin to relate to one another. Until Melody's boyfriend ends up dead leaving Sam as a suspect.

Margaret Nolan is the detective working on a serial killer case, who is also grieving her brother killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. When someone close to Sam is also murdered, he is looked at even harder, along with Melody. While Nolan and her detective team try to connect the dots between the two murders and the serial killer murders, Sam and Melody try to maintain there innocence.

This was a new author for me. I honestly, was not all that impressed (sorry P.J. Tracy fans)! The characters were a little underdeveloped for me, except for Sam.  Nolan was constantly drooling over partner and there was a whole nother subplot going on. It got kind of confusing going between so many characters.

This one just could not hold my attention. However, you may enjoy it!
I give it two stars. ⭐⭐

Instagram: @nellagirl.reads

I couldn't get past the first three chapters of this. It felt too generic, and both of the (I assume) main characters introduced in the first two chapters were not characters that I wanted to keep learning about.

The impact of trauma on Sam ends up with him working in a bar rather than being an engineer. His friend Melody was beaten, and when her abuser is found dead, Sam becomes the obvious suspect, but of course he didn't do it.
Then Sam's about to be ex wife is found dead and the shit hits the fan.
In uncovering the killer's identity, both wealth and mental illness come into focus.

Keeping everyone's story straight was a bit challenging, otherwise nice little mystery.

This ended up being a good book, it started slow and was somewhat confusing with so many characters. It was the story of a serial killer, the cops trying to figure out how it was and three other murders which seemed to be linked to two main character and the two cops trying to figure it out. worth reading

“Sam Easton is trying to rebuild a life in his hometown of LA. Recently separated from his wife, bartending and therapy sessions take up most of his life. When his friend Melody is beaten by her boyfriend, she turns to Sam for help. When he turns up dead the next day, Sam becomes the perfect suspect. Sympathetic to his troubles, LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan can’t quite see him as a killer. Deep Into the Dark features two engaging, dynamic characters and explores the nature of obsession, revenge and grief.”
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
From the start of this book I was very confused. In my opinion we followed an excessive amount of points of view. Because of this it was hard to really connect with what was presented as our two main characters. The development throughout the book was chaotic with so many details and ultimately was hard to keep track of. I was excited after reading the summary in hopes of a strong female lead, but we didn’t learn much about her and most of her chapters were spent ogling over the men in her department. I did enjoy that it was fast-pace and a quick read.
In the end I gave this book 2 stars.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

Sam has PTSD and is working as a bar back although he has an engineering degree. Shortly after he finished college he enlisted in the Army where he suffered a traumatizing injury when an IUD got him and his crew on his second tour of Afghanistan. His fellow soldiers did not survive, he barely did with a faulty memory and half his face scarred. He is under psychiatric care. Mel works as a bartender with Sam. She is a recovering addict and may have been a former guitarist with a somewhat underground band. Mel and Sam are friends. One night she comes to his house after her boyfriend hits her. The next day the boyfriend’s maid finds his dead body in his apartment. Sam’s wife of eight years had recently moved out of their home and her body is found the next day. Both Sam and Mel are looked upon as persons of interest by the LAPD. The detectives are also working on a serial murder case where the perpetrator is known as the Monster. Our protagonists’ goals are to survive and stay sane. The author grabs the reader at the onset and never lets go. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur for an ARC for an honest review.

P. J. Tracy introduces a new series featuring LAPD Margaret Nolan. Sam Easton is a Afghanistan veteran suffering from PTSD trying to rebuild his life. When his friend and co-worker, Melody Traeger, is beaten by her boyfriend who, subsequently, is murdered Sam’s like becomes complicated . Detective Margaret Nolan whose own brother was killed in Afghanistan, although sympathetic, becomes suspicious of Sam, the perfect suspect.

Deep into the Dark is a page turner and twist and turns in the plot will keep you guessing who is the actual murderer. This book is throughly entertaining and highly recommended. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review.

Grab a double espresso before delving into P.J. Tracy’s, 'Deep Into the Dark', to be published January 12, 2021. This is book one of a new series set in Los Angeles and features Detective Margaret Nolan and a murder suspect, Sam Easton. Your central nervous system will definitely not need stimulating while enjoying this fast-paced adventure into the darker side of Hollywood; the espresso prior to reading is so you don’t miss one tidbit of this masterpiece. It’s a meat and potatoes kind of read. There’s no kale nor chickpeas in sight.

In Spanish, Los Angeles means ‘the angels’, but Detective Nolan will tell you, there are very few angels here. The opposite, in fact. There’s a monster loose on Miracle Mile leaving a spate of killings in his wake. Sam Easton has just completed 2 tours in Afghanistan and, in addition to facial scarring, is suffering from PTSD due to a traumatic brain injury. Blackouts and memory loss are just two of the myriad of symptoms Sam experiences. When his motive, opportunity and means intersect with the murders, Sam becomes a suspect. What really happened during those backouts? Could he be responsible for the slew of deaths on Miracle Mile? Sam and his boss, Melody Traeger, both work in the bar at the Pearl Club. Melody is a former junkie looking for a happy ending. She’s cleaned herself up, is holding a steady job and has a steady boyfriend. Trying to hide from their past, they become supportive friends as they both face their future alone. Unfortunately, they become entangled in the Miracle Mile murder cases and need to go to desperate measures to prove that they are innocent.

Tracy explores Sam’s strength and courage as he manages being a suspect in the face of a devastating series of events in his personal life. You’ll read about love, obsession, grief and revenge in this exciting storyline with short, well-paced chapters. Central to the theme is the idea that one shouldn't wait for an opportunity to come, instead, one should make an opportunity happen. It’s obvious Tracy has done her research on PTSD as she is able to expertly articulate both the patient and therapist perspective. Furthermore, she has described the military experience as if she had firsthand knowledge.

This is a new author for me and I appreciated that she didn’t dumb down the prose. I found myself looking up words and double-checking to see if the PTSD manual reflected in the title actually existed. With such a dark topic, it was nice to see the author sprinkle some humour within her storyline. I giggled at the reference to hotdogs, Crawford’s beard and the ability of the LAPD described as “a bunch of diddling troglodytes who can’t put their pants on in the morning.” In addition to the humour, I noticed that Tracy ties up all her subplots and doesn't present red-herrings without intending to exploit them. I’m happy to hear that Tracy was convinced to make this a series instead of a stand-alone book because I’m looking forward to (hopefully) read about Sam and Melody in future sequels.

Keeps the action pulsing with enough intrigue to make it hard to turn the virtual pages fast enough. Thoroughly fleshed-out characters you tend to either like or dislike with enthusiasm. A great bedtime read that'll keep you engaged till the very end. Highly recommended!

*This book was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest review. My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to participate in this program.*

I loved this book. I thought all the characters seemed so real. What great suspense too. I didn’t guess who the bad guy was. I hope this is going to be a series! Keep it going!

Joan's review Nov 01, 2020 · edit
liked it

thanks to netgalley, i got a headstart on reading the latest PJ Tracy novel. the interesting news is that this is the beginning of a new series. i've read and loved all her (their) previous books, so my expectations were high...i liked this a lot, but for a new series, i think there should have been more about the main character, detective nolan. i'm not convinced that the sole author is quite as good as the mother/daughter duo were, but i'm definitely planning to keep reading her books. her other 2 main characters, sam and melody, had plenty of backstory and loads of personality to keep me reading. while this book held my interest throughout, i've concluded that i'm more impressed with the plot and the characters than the writing.

Deep into the Dark is a brand new series set in LA and features LAPD Detective Margaret Nolan and murder suspect Sam Easton. Several stories are going on in this novel, and the two main characters, Sam and Margaret, both have very intriguing backstories that seem to control their actions and reactions. Sam is suffering from PTSD since his return from Afghanistan, and when work friend Melody is abused by her boyfriend, Ryan, Sam offers her his place to stay at. Then Ryan ends up dead. And this is just the first murder! Margaret is the detective assigned to the case, and she, too has demons in her past she’s trying to escape, and although Sam is the prime suspect in two of the murders, she has a gut feeling he is innocent. All the pieces of these stories fit together nicely in the end, and I appreciated a female detective who wasn’t a gorgeous supermodel!!

An excellent thriller based on murders that bring two unlikely characters together. The twists are very good but I found the ending a little unsatisfying. The two main characters are a female bartender and a former badly wounded soldier that is a bar assistant. People in their lives are being killed and a team of cops are trying to figure out what's going on while the two main characters remain as possible suspects.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138143-deep-into-the-dark?fbclid=IwAR2uzPNA5H6whjFottNnsFL7Dks5RO02gabh0pD8XC59q03vFRpoWYktm1I

https://twitter.com/szacharius/status/1320575766531350528

Sam Easton has been struggling with PTSD ever since he returned from Afghanistan. Melody Traeger, a former singer, works at the Pearl Club with Sam. Because they both have their struggles, they are more understanding with each other and eventually become great friends.

Melody’s abusive boyfriend, Ryan Gallagher, is found dead inside his apartment by his housekeeper, Consuela Ortiz. While the LAPD are investigating, they find out that Melody confided to Sam about Ryan. Soon the prime suspect turns to Sam, another thing added on top of his stress and PTSD.
LAPD detective Margaret Nolan is one of the detectives investigating Ryan's case. She comes across Sam during questioning, but her gut feeling tells her he didn't murder Ryan. Margaret's brother was killed overseas a couple of months ago, so she feels sympathy for Sam though her detective partner, Al Crawford, doesn't agree.

The characters weren't perfect in the beginning because of what happened in their lives before, but it's what makes the novel interesting to read. Instead of seeing perfectly shaped characters, I got to see them with their flaws and how they grew in the book.

This book is portrayed as a "darker" side of LA and it gave insight into how Hollywood isn't as glamorous as you think. Ryan's death just set off a chain of murders that hit too close to Sam and Melody. It only continues to get worse from there.
This mystery is unlike the other ones I tend to read because it was more serious and dark. The author did a good job creating a darker mood for the usual sunshine and bright LA city, so I enjoyed that part of the book.
This mystery is unlike the other ones I tend to read because it was more serious and dark. The author did a good job creating a darker mood for the usual sunshine and bright LA city, so I enjoyed that part of the book.

I prefer reading mysteries like Nancy Drew where the setting wasn't so dark because I'm kind of a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror and scary things, but it was a good book. I just don't think it was the best fit for me. One thing I thought the author could have done was included more was the story from Margaret's point of view. In the synopsis, I thought it sounded like more of the book would be based on Margaret and Sam while Melody would be more of a side character, but overall I still liked the book.

Deep Into the Dark- A Mystery by P.J. Tracy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A killer is loose on the streets of Los Angeles. We mainly follow Sam Easton, a veteran who has returned to his hometown after an accident in Afghanistan almost killed him. He’s trying to rebuild his life while working at a bar, and seeking therapy for his PTSD.

Melody Traeger is a bartender at Sam’s bar, and she, too, is looking to rebuild her life. She seeks Sam’s help when her boyfriend becomes abusive. When the boyfriend winds up being murdered shortly after, she and Sam become prime suspects.

Detective Margaret Nolan is on the case. Her brother died in military action overseas, so she feels a connection and respect for Sam and his service. Detective Al Crawford, her partner, thinks Sam is guilty as sin. Can Sam, in his dark, fragile psychological state, be the man the LAPD is after?

Deep Into the Dark held my interest throughout. I enjoyed the twists. There were enough shady characters built into the story that I had (incorrectly) thought I’d “solved” the mystery a few times. The characters are well rounded and intriguing. This book is a solid 4 star mystery.

Thank you kindly for this ARC. I look forward to reading more of P.J. Tracy’s work.