A twisty dark slow-burn thriller that puts you in the investigative hot seat to explore a heinous crime. Randall Silva creates a grounded tale that makes you question whether you’re reading a fictional crime thriller or a true crime story.

This book was a weirdly entertaining read. The author made himself a character in the book, and keeps you guessing throughout if the book is a figment of his imagination or the character's. Lines are blurred between fact or fiction and this keeps you entertained. Recommended, even though I didn't really enjoy the confusement myself.

Despite several well intentioned attempts to finish this messy book since last summer, I finally gave up and decided to move on. Mixing true crime with fiction simply didn't pass muster with me and none of the characters managed to catch my interest. It's always very hard to leave a bad review for a book but unfortunately this time around I'm left without any other option.

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen and Netgalley for this ARC

International bestselling author Randall Silvis delivers his 25th novel, THE DEEPEST BLACK, inspired by actual events—a mind-bending journey where the lines are blurred between fact and fiction. (love the cover)

The book starts strong and intriguing with the narrator, Randall Silvis (yes, himself), a crime novelist at a Chinese buffet.

He is approached by Thomas Kennaday and begins to tell a wild story about connections between a triple murder and a discovery of an abandoned baby.

He wants Silvis to look into the case.

Silvis, who lives in Pennsylvania's rural Mercer County, is searching for a subject for his next book, and when this guy provides him with details, he is intrigued.

Kennaday does not provide clear answers. Silvis cannot locate him after the conversation. Who is this man, and how does he know these things?

He seems to know what Silvis will do. The other clues wind up being frustrating.

Also frustrating for the reader, as well.

From here on out, I was lost. The book took a wacky downward spiral into conspiracy theories, men in black, UFOs, hells angels, paranormal, men in black, secret agencies that use time travel, aliens, Dan Aykroyd, New Age, realities, and all sorts of outlandish wild events.

Even though this is a favorite author of mine and a big fan, and I enjoyed his Ryan DeMarco series, a talented writer, this novel was definitely NOT my cup of tea. I was so looking forward to this one.

I thought it was going to be a crime thriller. Not paranormal. The setup was good and went downhill from there. It is not a classic whodunnit or mystery. It is bizarre. I do not have words to describe or try to review this novel adequately. I am being generous with the 3-star rating. My head is spinning, what is this? There are no words. Unfortunately, this one just did not work for me

STRANGE. BIZARRE. OUTLANDISH. FAROUT. CONFUSING. CONVOLUTED. UNSETTLING.

There may be a market for this genre; however, I am not one of those readers. Many fans may be shaking their heads in wonder. Hopefully, Silvis will soon return with the riveting crime/literary thrillers he is known for. I give him credit for being a risk-taker.

I look forward to picking up his next book. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this one.

Thank you to #PoisonedPenPress and #NetGalley for an ARC to read, enjoy, and review.

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Pub Date: Aug 2, 2022
My Rating: 3 Stars

I rarely choose to DNF a book but at 30% done, I just can't go on anymore. The whole idea of the author inserting himself as a character was an odd choice and didn't pan out well. What finally pushed me over the edge was a whole thing about Dan Aykroyd and UFOs.

The Deepest Black by Randall Silvis.
A Novel.
A triple homicide in a small Pennsylvania town is no small event. And when one of the locals is a writer with a hefty dose of curiosity, the secrets that people have been trying their best to hide never stay hidden for long...
Acclaimed author Randall Silvis pushes the boundaries of crime fiction with The Deepest Black, a gripping and twisty novel written in the style of a true crime memoir that blends fact and fiction and leaves the reader guessing every step of the way..
I found this slow. I read it in the hope it would pick up. 3*.

I do not know where to begin with my review of The Deepest Black by Randall Silvis. It should also be noted that I did not want to finish reading, but finish it I did in the hope that all would become clear about these characters and this plot. Oddly, the author has inserted himself as the main character which made this feel like true crime rather than fiction. Three murders have occurred in Pennsylvania and Randall Silvis is approached by a stranger who gives him the details about these murders, assuring him that he should look into the case. From that point on, the story becomes muddled with characters popping in and out, here and there, some supposedly hallucinations. This is not my first Silvis novel and I was disappointed but this is probably just a one-off. The author was aiming for something completely different and that was accomplished at the expense of a good story. This is only my opinion and readers should form their own. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF - I might try & revisit this title when it's available via audiobook however for the time being, this wasn't my jam. I enjoy the approach of mixing true crime with fiction but I didn't gel with this.

This book did not work for me. I kept losing the thread of the narrative, and my attention kept wandering as I read as none of the characters appealed to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

DNF. I just cannot get into this. The author has made himself the main character and his thoughts are meandering and annoying and blending fact and fiction. Just not my jam right now.

This is not your typical Randall Silvas story of Ryan DeMarco solving cases. This is first person Randall as a writer who needs to write, but nothing is working out for him until a man sits at his table in a restaurant and tells him of a recent local multiple murder. Randall, being an introvert who has lately been all in his head and sitting out the world was not aware of this happening, but decides to investigate. What he finds could be something unexplainable by ideas we have on this planet.

Based on some of his real life other worldly experiences, he does not presume to have answers for everything and some is left to our own ideas and experiences and beliefs.

I liked the first person relating of this story and while I was expecting more, based on previous books, I was glad I read it and feel it is worth reading and deserves at least 3 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest opinion

I’ve enjoyed previous books by Silvas, but this book was a tough read. The plot was intriguing, but the story has two many rabbit trails that were onerous to get through. The mystery itself was good, but there was just too much to wade through to find it. Thank you to Sourcebooks, Inc. and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Bestselling author/playwright Randall Silvis is on the hunt for a story. He is looking to write a new book as a follow-up to the mystery series that made him famous. While eating at a Chinese food buffet, a man named Thomas Kennaday invites himself to join Randall at lunch, dropping a story about a series of murders in small-town Pennsylvania into Randall’s lap. Kennaday leaves, sticking Randall with the lunch bill. Randall does dig into the story told by Kennaday, and soon finds these are no ordinary murders. It becomes abundantly clear that Kennaday, who has completely disappeared after that lunch, is somehow still orchestrating the murder investigation. The rest of this very strange tale reads somewhere between fiction and reality, as Randall digs deeper and experiences events that can only be described as “otherworldly.”

Told in first person narrative, the word that comes to mind to best describe this work is meta fiction (or maybe meta reality!?) The reader must willingly suspend disbelief in spite of the book being “based on a true story.” In all honesty, I’m not sure where fiction becomes reality or reality becomes fiction. Did a “spirit attack” or a panic attack happen? Did the “men in black” appear and disappear in a split second? Did Kennaday know what would take place in advance? Did Randall actually experience omens and portends or merely imagine them? The work contains a few genres wrapped into one, and while both page-turning and thought provoking, it also left me feeling like I read pure fiction. It’s not a book for everyone; it will read somewhat true to some and purely fictional to others.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Randall Silvas, and Poisoned Pen Press for the ability to read and review this ARC.

I’ve really enjoyed Silvis’ Ryan DeMarco series so I was excited to read his new one. I felt like the mystery part of this was interesting but the rest consisted of a lot of convoluted posturing and it fell completely flat for me. I did not really understand the point of it all. I hope Silvis will return to writing books more like his DeMarco series.

I'd like to know what parts of this are based on a true story. Like, WTF?! I'm honest in my reviews and this one is a doozy, so prepare yourselves.

The synopsis of this one sounded so good but I was honestly not a fan. This features the author as the main character and narrator. He is approached by a man who tips him off to a local shooting and a baby abandoned in the woods and then disappears.

I was interested at this point and then it quickly went off the rails. It was essentially a long rambling of about every conspiracy theory out there. Pedophilia rings, aliens, secret government agencies, time travel, evil spirits, astral projection. You name it, it was more than likely covered here. He went way too deep into a lot of it. Some of it honestly felt like a long-winded lecture from a believer of Q Anon. Double yikes.

I finished this because I was wanting some kind of closure on the original mysteries he set out to investigate and others he picked up along the way. I wish I hadn't. So much of the ending was speculation and I was left with a lot more questions than answers.

I've never read anything by this author before, so fans of his work might enjoy this. Thank you to netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, I don’t know what to make of this book. It’s a murder mystery and also about a kidnapped baby. There’s a lot of conspiracy theories and just ridiculousness.

The author is also the narrator in the book and I don’t think it works all that great. I think he’s supposed to be a meta-hero but it comes off as annoying. I DNF’ed at 34%. This one was not for me.

“The Deepest Black” by Randall Silvis is a novel that reads like a true crime memoir with a splash of supernatural elements. Silvis has written himself as one of the main characters and he is looking into crimes that have occurred in his town. The crimes on the surface do not seem to be related, but a one-time run-in with a person at a Chinese buffet have him looking into the crimes more in-depth. This leads to strange occurrences and meetings. Overall, the plot is interesting and kept my attention. The supernatural elements may be off-putting to some readers, but I found them to be interesting and that it added to the story.

Thank you @netgalley and @poisonedpenpress for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review! Happy Pub week!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The premise for this book was very interesting to me. Randall Silvis takes a meta approach by using himself as the narrator and protagonist in his own crime novel. Unfortunately the execution was poor. Portrayed in the novel as an introverted author who had written himself into a corner after his last series, I wonder if Silvis should have scrapped this one as well.

The Deepest Black reads more like a self-insert fan fiction and an opportunity to push a certain brand of conspiracy the author subscribes to than an investigative crime novel.

If you are a fan of author self-inserts or of Silvis himself you may still enjoy this book, but it was a bit of a dud for me.

The Deepest Black by Randall Silvis is a very highly recommended metafiction true crime memoir where Silvis is the main character.

When Silvis can't come up with the idea for a new novel he just happens to meet a stranger at a buffet who tells him about a murder case in a nearby small town in Pennsylvania’s rural Mercer County. Thomas Kennaday tells him some vague details about a local mystery involving an abandoned baby and the shooting deaths of two adults and a child. Then he mentions a young woman who will have more details, Phoebe, a resident of the house where the shootings occurred. The problem is that she only reveals small portions of the story as dictated by Kennaday, and there is much more going on that is apparent in her comments. This sends Silvis on a quest to uncover what really happened and why Kennaday told him about it.

Written like a true crime story this odd genre bending novel follows the plot of a true crime novel and a mystery but also veers off into supernatural. Silvis is the main character and narrator. I may be an outlier, but I though it was not only totally engrossing, but un-put-downable. Sure there are references to various collusions, unknown sections of alphabet agencies, an abuse ring, inexplicable events, spirituality, UFOs, oppression, mind control, men in black, and more, but it all made sense within the narrative. I appreciated his honest opinions about events he is observing in the novel.

Obviously, this is a novel that will work brilliantly for some readers and not for others.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Poison Pen Press via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

It is with a heavy heart that I rate/review The Deepest Black. The Ryan Demarco series is one of my all-time favorite detective mystery series, and I fell in love with Randall Silvis' writing. However, shortly after the start of this book, I just wanted it to be over. In my opinion, it was tedious and boring. I assumed I would love a story that melds fact and fiction and stars Randal Silvis himself as the narrator. Yet I did not, it was an exhausting journey of ramblings, time slips, visions, discussion of sex trafficking and pedophilia in the world, evil spirits and conspiracy theories.