An outstanding legal thriller that intrigues your brain, shocks your senses and compels you to complete it in a single sitting.

When 32-year old insurance lawyer Jane Knudsen is implicated in the murder of her boss, Ray Corrigan, she retains her college roommate, Allison Barton, as her defense lawyer. While Jane has always been referred to as Ice Queen, untouchable, odd duck, cold fish, etc. Allison realizes that no one ever really knew her old roommate that well. But as she digs into her new client's past to help save her, Allison uncovers secrets so disturbing, that she is forced to rethink her first impressions about the beautiful enigma that is Jane.

I honestly can't decide what I loved more - the characters or the plot. Criminal defense lawyer and single mom Allison comes across as a very relatable and everyday woman - flawed, insecure and judgemental, but quick to accept her mistakes and make amends. Jane starts off as an ambiguous character, guarded in her interactions and thoughts, but once her explosive truth is out, you can't help but seethe in righteous indignation at the appalling injustice that has been meted out.

The first book in the series made me a fan of the author; the second one sealed her spot in my list of favourite authors. Though I greatly missed the snark and sarcasm of the previous book, the narrative remains just as taut and spellbinding as before. The author has dealt with a horrific crime in a very sensitive manner in the plot without getting too preachy or graphic, but ensuring that the repercussions of the crime on the victim remain imprinted in the minds of the reader.

Overall, a quick and engrossing read that explores an issue that is not talked about enough. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for providing a digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I found this very readable and I enjoyed the style, although I preferred the first in this series. Here Allison represents Jane, an old roommate from law school, on the charge of murdering her boss. Jane seems to be in hiding, yet she also works hard as a lawyer. She tells no one about her past, and Allison comes to realize she never really knew anything about her while they were students ether. After a few chapters of this, Jane's past starts to be revealed, and it is a very distressing one. I felt the author returned to details of what had happened to her more frequently than was necessary. The final chapter struck me as unnecessary and left a bad taste in my mouth - was it supposed to make us feel better for Jane? The important points which had been made about how women are treated throughout the novel were somewhat muddied for me.

The Emmett and Libby scene at the end was adorable. I hope there are more in this series.

The Darkest Web is a fast-paced, interesting story with lots of characters to analyze, critique, and love or hate, depending on who they are. The main story follows Allison and Jane as the story alternates between each of their points of views. When a murder occurs at Jane's law office, she is completely convinced she will be accused of the crime and so she asks Allison, her college roommate and a criminal defense attorney, for help. Truth is, they were never close back at school, Jane is very private and holds her secrets close. As a result she never lets anyone get close to her - then or now - and in the past Allison made assumptions about Jane that Jane never corrected.

As you read the story, you quickly realize that one of the main themes/topics is about making assumptions about individuals. What do we assume about women vs men? What are we more apt to believe when we hear a rumor? For Allison's part, I appreciated her character growth in realizing some of the mistakes and assumptions she had made in her past relating to Jane and how her bid to correct them helped open up the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and can recommend if you are looking for a light modern-day mystery that features women in lead roles. I hate books that drag on and thankfully this one never did. Every chapter brought you a new question or motive or event. One additional note: I didn't realize it was the 2nd of the series, but there were only minor references to the first book and had no trouble keeping up.

Excellent mystery with very well-developed characters. Once I sorted out who was who, the story moved at a very good pace and kept me guessing.

This was a really good engaging read! It is a whodunit story that pulls you in from the start and holds you there until the end where it is all wrapped up. There were a few things that irked me about the layout of the characters and story itself but overall I really enjoyed it. I did not read the previous story by Kristin Wright that had the character of Allison in it but I found I did not have to read that one to still enjoy this one.

Jane has spent her whole life trying to stay in her lane and keep her past buried deep. One morning she shows up early to work, as always, and finds her boss shot dead in his office. All arrows point to her being the number one suspect. She hires Allison, whom she knew from law school as her old roommate, to represent her. Allison agrees but has a curiosity as well on what she can find out about Jane since she was always so quiet, so secretive, and most importantly in this story, absolutely stunningly beautiful. Throughout the book you go through the usual motions on finding out that there are others that could have been guilty as well, so why does Jane get front and center suspect?

There was one big topic in this book that I won't spoil but I would have liked to see it presented a little more ghastly than it was. I felt it was slightly skimmed over and sort of hyped in a sense without the hammer nailing it down yelling THIS IS WRONG. Other than that it was well written and had me gripped to keep turning and find out the whole truth.

Thank you netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for honest review.

A dark web indeed. This web was tangled, knotted, and I was desperate to know what would happen next. I did have issues getting into the writing and then trying to keep so many characters straight, but overall this was a good and suspenseful read.

What is more dangerous? The lies she tells or the truth she’s hiding?

I hadn't read the first in this series but this was great as a standalone. A thrilling courtroom thriller with an interesting and relevant backstory. I loved the focus on the legal aspect rather than the crime, I was desperately trying to work out everyone's motives and trying to work out Jane's past.

I enjoyed the characters, especially the female leads and there were a number of twists and turns to keep things exciting after opening straight into the murder. It was realistic and made me start to question what my own colleagues get up to outside of work and the price of beauty.

This was a well written book and I can't wait to read more from this author.

Loveeeed the first book but had a hard time getting into this one. I feel like I would enjoy the audiobook so I'll try that. Thanks NetGalley!

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. The characters are believable and unforgettable. They have so many problems that the reader wonders what will happen next. This author weaves a story that is difficult to put down. The one part that was somewhat problematic was that there were so many characters intertwined in each other’s lives, I had trouble keeping them straight. That being said, I look forward to more books by this author. Perhaps we will discover what Jane does next.

Thank you so much for my ARC!

I will feature the book on my Instagram blog @thrillers_and_unicorns on January 11, and will also post my review there on April 12. I will tag the author, the publisher, and Netgalley in both posts.
I will also share my review on Netgalley, Amazon, and Goodreads as soon as I finished reading.

Best regards,
Sandie