Three intertwined women take turns with the lead in this tale set in NYC in the early spring of 2020. There’s a murder and a missing woman. I thought this was going to be a home run, but flat characters and too many scene changes lost me pretty early on, and it was a struggle to finish.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Cate Holahan - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Imani Banks is a psychiatrist in Brooklyn and her husband, Phillip, is a chef/owner at a popular Michelin star restaurant. They have two kids that attend an exclusive private school. Life is good. Not so much for Tonya, a waitress in Phillip's restaurant. It's the pandemic so the restaurant is struggling to stay open and Tonya's job is in jeopardy. She is a single parent to Layla, who attends the same school as the Banks' children but on scholarship. When Tonya gets evicted from her apartment, Phillip takes her in with Imani begrudgingly going along with it only for the money it will bring in. The murder of Nate, a famous film producer and friend of the Banks, causes a major uproar - his wife and Imani's best friend, Melissa, is missing and presumed to be the killer. But Imani knows she would never leave her daughter, Ava, behind.

Whew - lots going on there but Holahan made this a tense, well-written thriller that I couldn't put down until all the puzzle pieces were in place. Told in various POV, this one will keep you guessing, even if you figure some things out. I loved how the pandemic added another tense layer to this thriller by going back to the days of complete fear about everything without focusing on the pandemic deaths. Don't miss this one!

The Darkness of Others by Cate Holahan is a recommended novel of psychological suspense.

When director Nate Walker is found dead by the cleaning lady and his wife Melissa is missing, Imani Banks is called to pick up their daughter from school and break the news to her. Meanwhile, Tonya Sayre, a waitress at the restaurant that Imani's husband, Chef Phillip owns, needs a favor. She is being kicked out of her apartment because her daughter's father has withheld support. Imani, however, isn't completely thrilled with Tonya living there and begins to suspect her of other actions.

First, this is set in NYC during the pandemic. I wouldn't have chosen to read this novel knowing this information ahead of time. There is plenty of masking fear, paranoia, and closing businesses, but at the same time the scope is limited. The afterword addresses the purposeful setting during the lock down. Setting that aside, the narrative explores the darkness that can be found in any relationship and it unfolds through the point-of-view of several characters.

While the writing is very good and the character development is also nicely done, the actual mystery isn't really much of a mystery at all as the perpetrator is easily guessed very early on in the novel. The twists aren't really that surprising and there really isn't a truly satisfying motive for any of the nefarious deeds that occurred. 3.5 rounded down

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Edelweiss, Google Books, and Amazon.

Kudos to Cate Holahan. This book was such a tangled web of deceit and lies that you couldn't tell who did it until the moment it was finally revealed. Well done!

Set during the pandemic, the characters in the book are definitely under extreme pressure. For the most part they are in fields tied to entertainment and food which were the two most impacted by the pandemic. It was almost painful to revisit that time period when people truly feared for their lives if their mask slipped or if an unknown person entered a room unmasked with no knowledge of where they'd been. That mindset definitely sets the stage for this book's volatile and emotional rollercoaster.

The book starts with the death of well known movie director as he is shot in his home. All signs point to the missing wife. But is she the murderer or a victim herself? Her best friend, Imani is left picking up the pieces and determined to not only find her friend but also prove her innocence. But she has other problems to worry about as well, her husband's restaurant is practically out of business and he's recently brought home one of his waitstaff and her daughter to rent a room in their home. A woman she doesn't trust for many reasons.

There are so many delicious twists and turns in this book. Once you start, it's very difficult to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

A suspenseful story set in New York, Imani’s friend’s husband is murdered and she is also missing. Everyone is assuming that she killed her husband and disappeared. Next, her husband rented a room in their home to a woman and her daughter. Imani is trying to figure out who the real suspect is and to her best to clear friend’s name. But, the two new people in her life is looking suspicious. All this drama swirling around her, she needs to keep her mind on track. The author tosses some twists in the story to keep the reader on their toes. A suspenseful plot and an all around thrilling story.

Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC, I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I needed to take some time after I finished this one to digest the full story. This book was absolutely fantastic. It is definitely one of the best books I’ve read this year.

The chapters alternated between characters. Imani, Tanya, Oksana, Rick, and Melissa tell this story. The book begins with a dead body. The plot takes off after that. I also liked the author’s use of the pandemic as the backdrop - it made the story more unsettling. It’s divided into 3 parts, and everything started to come together for me in part three. It kept me guessing through the entire book, and I never saw the ending coming. It was a very creative ending. All I can say is wow.

Cate Holahan writes truly original stories. There were clues sprinkled throughout this story, and I would find myself saying, “Wait. Stop. Go back.” I really enjoyed being kept in the dark throughout this story. This is not my first book by this author, but it is now my favorite. It certainly won’t be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advanced reader copy - I am so appreciative to have gotten an early read of this one! I highly recommend this book - it’s perfect for the upcoming fall season!

This one had me in the beginning and then lost me along the way. Most times I love an ensemble cast and shifting viewpoints but here I think a couple of them were unnecessary and didn’t really add any value. The twists may be surprising to someone who doesn’t read many thrillers but it seemed so obvious to me that I wasn’t surprised at all. It’s also set in the early days of the pandemic and I didn’t love being back in that time period. Not really the book for me, but it was a fast read and the audio version was well produced and probably what kept me reading while I was cleaning. I’ve also enjoyed the authors books in the past and will definitely give her a other try in the future.

One day, this book’s portrayal of life in a pandemic will seem haunting, but for now, I did not enjoy the seemingly repetitive pandemic references amidst a twisty resolution to a murder. I enjoyed the characters, but it didn’t resolve as cleanly as I would’ve liked.

Many treats await readers of Cate Holahan’s novel “The Darkness of Others.” Choosing five characters to relate this tale is a seldom-used tool, coupled with the story being told in a chronological style rather than the this-was-happening-at-the-same-time-as-the-last-chapter method.

While the five storytellers seemed a challenge at first, it was soon easy to differentiate between the characters, especially since Ms. Holahan has so excellently defined each of them. One of the treats for me was the inner workings of each person’s mind and how easy it is to judge others through the machinery running your thoughts while seldom identifying the truths that identify the motivations of those being judged. The false conclusions lead to actions that are incorrect for the situation, causing future events to wobble or spin completely out of control.

While I was able to guess who the villain of the story was there are enough surprises throughout and a few red herrings that more than once made me question my choice. This story deals with everyday life situations and demonstrates how quickly things can happen and the horrible “fixes” that many times end up being worse than the original deeds. The suspense element weaves its way through the pages until the climax races to a conclusion. Highly recommended. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for a complimentary electronic copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the copy of The Darkness Of Others This was the first book I have read by Cate Holahan but it won’t be my last because I was riveted by this one. The writing was masterful. I loved how the pandemic was woven into the story and the characters’ lives without overdoing it. As the characters were introduced it was hard to see how they were all connected until it was all tied together at the end. If you’re looking for a well-written thriller with a great story and interesting characters, this book is for you!

The Darkness of Others by Cate Holahan might just be the best book she has written.

"Imani and her husband, Philip, live in a posh townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. They are both stunned when they find out a movie director friend, Nate, has been murdered and his wife, Melissa, is missing. Police want to talk to her because it looks like she might have been the one to pull the trigger. Melissa also happens to be Imani's best friend.
Tonya works for Richard at his restaurant. When there's a mixup with her rent she is evicted and with the restaurant shut down because of the pandemic, she has nowhere to go. Richard offers to rent a couple of his extra rooms until she can get on her feet. But Imani thinks she might be involved some way in Nate's murder. And she won't stop until she's found her friend."

There is a lot of time spent in Imani's head and Imani spends a lot of it inventing situations. Do you ever have moments where your brain makes these unsubstantiated leaps in logic? "I really hope I don't get Ebola today at lunch." Imani's brain is constantly churning - as a reader you don't know where things are going or who's what. Holahan does a good job hiding the killer. There's one big clue that gives it away and that's where the pace picks up to the end.
Some nice twists and surprises. This is more psychological thriller than Holahan's usual domestic thriller.

The tough part for me is that the story is set in NYC at the beginning of the pandemic. People didn't really know what was going on and reactions were extreme. It's hard to relive that. Holahan explains her reasons in the acknowledgments.

An excellent story from Holahan

Thank you Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’ve read some of Holahan’s other books and found them to be satisfying and quick thrillers. This one took me a little while to get into — I usually don’t mind changing POV’s but it took me a while to start to get into the swing of it here. At first, the characters were a little dry and unlikeable, but that ended up being a big part of the story and I was able to see the point of why the characters were written this way. This was ultimately a quick thrill and I would recommend it to anyone just trying to get into the thriller genre — it wasn’t too intense at all and is overall a decent work.

This was certainly a funky one. I waffled throughout as to who I thought the killer was - I knew the location about halfway through, but wasn't quite sure who perpetrated the crime. Things feel mysterious and suspenseful throughout, determining who Layla's father is, what exactly transpired on the night of Nate's murder, and why the heck we have a chapter from Oksana to kick off the book. My favorite chapters were Tonya's, as she has the most to hide out of anyone, but seeing Melissa and Imani's perspectives were nice too. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a quick thrill but doesn't want to be kept up at night thinking about it.

*Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The Darkness of Others by Cate Holahan. Thanks to @grandcentralpub @netgalley for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Imani’s best friend, Melissa, goes missing after Melissa’s famous movie director is murderer. The obvious suspect is Melissa. Imani thinks her new tenant may have something to do with it.

I’m glad I kept at this one. It was a little slow going for a bit but got pretty darn exciting at the end. I liked the different perspectives and how everything came together at the end. It comes together in an unexpected way as well.

“”What killed you was rarely what you saw coming. It was something you’d missed.”

The Darkness of Others comes out 8/23.

Thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Told from multiple perspectives, this is the story of the events that unfold after wealthy director Nate Walker is found dead in his Brooklyn townhouse, with his wife, Melissa, still missing. The reader learns that there are a lot of people who could want Nate dead, and the mystery unfolds for us along with the characters. Set amidst the pandemic, many of the characters are forced into unexpectedly close quarters, where more drama unfolds between friends and relations Nate and Melissa left behind. I recommend this modern Brooklyn thriller, which had me excited to unravel the tangled web of the characters’ connections and figure out what exactly happened to Nate and Melissa.

Imani is a psychiatrist and lives in a fancy brownstone in Brooklyn with her chef husband, Philip and their kids. Her bff is an actress named Melissa, who is married to a director named Nate. When Nate is found dead in their home and Melissa is missing, Imani tries to figure out wtf is going on. Meanwhile, a waitress at Philip’s restaurant falls on hard times and moves into Imani’s house with her daughter and Imani is all kinds of paranoid about affairs and murder and whatnot.

As an FYI, the description for this book on Goodreads doesn’t describe the story correctly. For example: Only one Walker (Nate) is for sure murdered, the other one (Melissa) is missing. Layla’s dad is not “back in their life”, exactly (it makes it sound like he’s an abusive ex-husband or something). Tonya doesn’t “begin skipping payments” - she moves in and exchanges restaurant cleaning for rent until her unemployment kicks in. The NetGalley description is more accurate, but it still makes this story sound much more exciting than it actually ended up being. All of the men are terrible. All of the women are stupid. The kids felt like they were non-existent other than being mentioned occasionally for emotional drama. I did not like this book at all and found it a boring slog to get through.

Cate Holahan has released a new thriller, The Darkness of Others, which takes place in New York City during the pandemic. Told from the perspective of five different characters, readers discover a grisly dead body in the opening scene. A maid finds the corpse. The surviving wife talks like she's guilty. A chef is having various issues at his restaurant. A therapist is unhappy with her job. A young mother is worried about money. How do they all fit together? Visually, the book was intense and immediately drew me in. The plot appeared too obvious from the beginning until twist one is revealed - the wife isn't confessing but I won't reveal a spoiler. The young mother soon reveals a second shocker regarding her daughter's parentage -- not the one I expected. And finally in the end, there's a third twist that kinda leaves readers a little curious about what really happened. Holahan always brings the surprises and I enjoy every minute of the ride to get there. A few things were left open-ended which bugs me in a stand-alone thriller, so I couldn't give it five stars, but a solid way to spend a few hours reading!

Thank you @netgalley and @grandcentralpub for allowing me to read the Darkness of Others by Cate Holahan early! It comes out August 23rd, which is right around the corner.

Cate Holahan is an autobuy/read author for me. Whenever she has a new book come out I jump for it. In this one we follow a variety of people as an affluent man is murdered and his wife has gone missing.

❤️Review❤️

I over simplified the plot, but I also didn’t know anything going into this book. It was fun letting the story reveal itself to me. I loved getting the various perspectives. They were engaging and made you keep reading. It’s a short book that keeps you on your toes. It made it difficult to really see what was coming next. You would think one thing and then it would flip and take you another direction. I found this to be a really quick and fun read!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Finished this ARC today and I must say I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. I just really wasn’t as drawn to it like I thought I’d be. But it kept me reading only because I wanted to know who the killer was.

There was so much going on with each of the characters most of which tied the story together but a lot of it was irrelevant. The side stories kind of made it drag a bit in the beginning and it could’ve involved a little more suspense.

Then with it being told from multiple perspectives some of the characters like Okasana, Frank, and Rick were all irrelevant to me. Don’t get me wrong she did well tying all of the characters together but all of them really weren’t needed. Now the killer was the only highlight moment for me because I didn’t expect it to be them. She really almost lost me in part two when she kept referring to our said killer/kidnapper as IT. I would assume that was to prevent from revealing them too soon.

Overall this book did to much and didn’t give enough. Can’t say I’d recommend because it didn’t really wow me. But I’ll let you guys be the judge of this one if you choose to read‼️‼️

Imani Banks has a lot on her plate. Her husband Phillip is a successful restauranteur whose business has hit a rough patch. Her best friend Melissa’s husband Nate has been brutally murdered, and Melissa has gone missing. And now she has two houseguests who might be more connected to the crime than they seem.

This novel pulled me in immediately. It’s told from multiple perspectives, with various characters doling out little pieces of the puzzle for the reader to put together. You can’t help but wonder how (or even if) all these seemingly disparate events are connected, but it all comes together. It’s definitely twisty and engaging with so much going on, although I was able to guess whodunit too early for my liking.

Novels set during the pandemic are starting to crop up more and more, and this book uses it more effectively than any other I’ve read so far. The Covid-19 pandemic isn’t simply the backdrop to this story, it’s a primary driver of the plot. The NYC lockdowns that decimated the restaurant industry lend authenticity to Phillip’s struggle to stay afloat. The trickle-down effect on his employees and their livelihoods is all too real, and again, completely relevant to the storyline.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me an advance copy of this book.