This was a knockout mystery. Amazing story and writing.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

On a steaming night in 1977, New York City is plunged into darkness and two boys, Joe and Robbie, are abandoned by their mother, Lois. Forty years to the day after this unforgivable moment, Joe is a hard-drinking ADA and Lois has resurfaced: Joe wakes from another alcoholic fog to learn she’s been found murdered on a Coney Island beach.

This was an enjoyable book. Did not pull me in like some others but I did enjoy the story and writing style.

Eu amo livros de suspense. Quando envolve suspense psicológico então, melhor ainda.

Esse aqui é o típico livro que não dá pra largar enquanto não saber o que acontece.

Uma mãe desaparecida, o domínio da escuridão, um mistério para toda a vida. Quarenta anos depois, um promotor os enfrenta novamente, desta vez como um suspeito de assassinato em um thriller de suspense psicológico de tirar o fôlego.

É claro que esse desaparecimento da mãe trouxe sérias consequências para seus dois filhos. Mas eles não podem deixar isso de lado. Precisam entender o que aconteceu naquele fatídico dia, ou melhor, naquela escuridão.

Duvido você largar o livro enquanto não finalizá-lo.

Adorei!

While the synopsis soounded good. I just couldn't get into the story or the plot. I would most definitely not recommend this book

The thriller City Dark is incredibly suspenseful. This book's plot just moves along so quickly. I had no reason to be bored. Its name is also fitting. The story is extremely dark and touches on a variety of topics that may offend delicate readers. I truly enjoyed the story as a whole. The conclusion won't surprise anyone at all, but certain things could.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this advanced copy

This is the first book that I've read by Mr. Canaff and I was surprised. He goes into detail about the motions of a blackout and how people felt and worked through it. The story is sad, and dark, and left me feeling antsy because of the characters and their problems as I felt enveloped by the book's mood. It has a good plot, Mr. Canaff does know his way with words and composes a great text. I'll be looking forward to reading other titles by him.
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

July 1977, New York City - Lois DeSantos and her sons Joey and Robbie get caught in a blackout that few who lived through it will ever forget. Lois abandons her sons, and their trauma begins. In July 2017, Lois turns up dead on the beach at Coney Island. Based on papers found on her, the police are able to track down her son Joe, a smart prosecutor who is an alcoholic suffering from blackouts. When a second and similar murder takes place, Joe becomes the prime suspect.

I am attracted to stories that take place in New York City and City Dark does a fine job presenting its grittiness in the 1970s. Author Roger A. Canaff has created many intriguing characters in this interesting book which spends a lot of time in Brooklyn, which was a bonus. It's a dark book that you have to be in the mood to read as it addresses difficult and depressing subject matter.

Now if I could only get The Trammps 1977 song, "Where Were You Went the Lights When Out in New York City?" out of my head!!

Rated 3.5 stars.

The premise and the description of this story grabbed my attention in seconds. I was intrigued to know what happened that night, 40 years ago when his mother disappeared.
Throughout the story, I found myself a bit confused unfortunately because I felt like there were way too many voices and the switch between now and then maybe happening too fast for me to actually follow the story.
It’s a good book that many will enjoy but be prepared to maybe create your own pinboard and draw who is who and where everything goes.

Arc from Netgalley

A vanished mother, the grip of darkness, a lifelong mystery. Forty years later, a prosecutor faces them all again, this time as a murder suspect in a pulse-pounding legal thriller of psychological suspense.
On a steaming night in 1977, New York City is plunged into darkness and two boys, Joe and Robbie, are abandoned by their mother, Lois. Forty years to the day after this unforgivable moment, Joe is a hard-drinking ADA and Lois has resurfaced: Joe wakes from another alcoholic fog to learn she’s been found murdered on a Coney Island beach.

This book was right up my alley. Past and present draw together to bring us a very cleverly crafted story. A diverse cast of characters that I felt were very realistically portrayed who bring the story together, the baddies and the goodies that lead us on an exciting and suspenceful read. Even though court room drama was not significant in the story, it is there and enhances the depth of the book. The time frames move back and forth but it is all setting up to tie everything together. Also an ending I felt that makes the reader feel satisfied.

I had not read any of this author's work before but I will look up his other books now as I did enjoy this immensely. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest , unbiased review.

Hello and welcome aboard to the unpopular opinion train again... I know, I wasn't expecting it to be back this soon, but it is what it is I guess. I'm still not sure exactly what went wrong, because the blurb of City Dark itself sounded fascinating. I mean, the mystery around the disappearance of Joe's mother forty years ago, the crimes in the present, the legal thriller aspect... I fully expected to enjoy my time with this story, but unfortunately I ended up struggling considerably with it instead. It might just have been my fickle reading mood acting up again, but the fact is that City Dark and me most definitely didn't get along.

Like I said, I still like the premise of this story with the mysterious disappearance of Joe's mother during the blackout in 1977 and the crimes happening in the present. The New York setting makes for a perfect backdrop and helped set the right atmosphere. The story uses a multiple POV structure, switching between a LOT of different characters as well as different moments in time (both past and present). This is partly where the story went wrong for me... There were just way too many POV switches and different characters to juggle in general; it really broke up the pace for me and a lot of switches felt like were completely unnecessary. Going back and forth between the 1977 flashbacks and different moments in 2016 and 2017 became really annoying as well.

There was also something about the writing style that didn't work for me personally. I can't put my finger exactly on the why, but there is something about the tone, word choice and style in general that really irked me, and I struggled especially with the flashback chapters set during the 1977 blackout. I wasn't a fan of the characters either, and the pace was surprisingly slow in parts for a story with so much happening. Sure, there were twists and secrets to discover, but those started to become more and more over the top and not exactly credible as the story advanced... Although I have to confess that I already started skimreading before I got to the really unbelievable part.

All in all there is one thing that is certain, and that is that City Dark most definitely wasn't a right fit for me. I seem to be in the minority though, because the ratings are high and most people seem to enjoy this story considerably more than I did. So definitely don't give up on my account! Just adding my two cents in case someone else feels the same about this story...

The past comes back with a wallop to haunt Joe, a prosecutor who finds himself under suspicion and a murder suspect in in this thriller that merges past and present. Aideen, who really has no reason to help him except that she's his attorney is critical as they work through the events of 40 years ago- when his mother disappeared- and today- when her body has been discovered. You, like me, might guess the answers but it's a fast paced read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

I have mixed feelings about this one, the plot was interesting but the writing style didn't work for me. I think it would have been more interesting as a tv show or movie. Mysteries from the past intersect with the present and a man fights to defend himself again murder charges

3,5 stars

It took me an eternity to finish this one. I can't even explain why. Normally I loose my interests if the reading process lasts too long. But it wasn't the case with City Dark. I felt connected to the characters even if I didn't spend my spare time thinking about them. I could put this book aside for weeks and pick it up again without exhaustingly trying to remember what it was about (I have to admit, it happens not very often).

Probably the reason was the solid writing that I, by all means, enjoyed. It was an interesting case, in spite of I DIDN'T like the resolution of the mystery - it was really too far-stretched and hardly credible for my taste.

***ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.***

I'm a science fiction type of person, but I have been trying to expand to other genres. Overall this was a good book. Good plot, characters. etc. I enjoyed it.

A vanished mother, the grip of darkness, a lifelong mystery. Forty years later, a prosecutor faces them all again, this time as a murder suspect in a pulse-pounding legal thriller of psychological suspense.I love a good psychological thriller and this one went above my expectations. The twists and turns, the suspense, the shock factors! It was all enough to keep me reading, especially as I got closer to the end.

Though I found myself engaged and didn’t want to put the book down as I read. I’m not sure I can say I absolutely loved it.

I have let this review sit in my mind for days trying to decide what I would say. Trying to find what the other reviewer I was able to find saw in the writing that I was missing.

This is well written and the plot is there. But I still found myself somewhat bored while reading.