The Dark Room is a great twisty revenge tale for all! Leonard Blaylock is still recovering from his fall from grace as a star reporter. Now he spends a lot of time obsessing on his hobby of developing strangers' abandoned rolls of film. When he finds a potential picture of a snuff murder, he isn't sure who to talk to or who to turn to because he recognizes the women!

Reaching out to his buddies on his hobby chat, he utilizes his research skills to track down the truth. In this case however, the truth might too much for anyone to handle! If you like quick thrillers, revenge stories and great twists, The Dark Room is for you! #LisaGray #TheDakrRoom #amazon

I so wanted to love this book as the premise sounded amazing! Firstly it is told from MULTIPLE perspectives some of which add zero value and some try to explain actions and motives that I felt would be better left for us as readers to decide for ourselves (dear auhtor you don''t need to explain every characters thoughts!) For example the detective really didnt need a voice (I can;t say more without spoilers) but I felt her chapters were just padding trying to wrap everything up with a bow tie. Ditto woth Boby and Caroline. I think it should have stuck to being told from Leonard and Martha's POV.

The plot itself undfolds way too neatly and methodically - although I understand why it was written this way. I will say I thought the ending was great plenty of twists and layers upon layers of deciet although definitely overkill with wrapping everything up with a neat bow.

Lastly, the charcters were all fundamentaly flawed and hiding numerous secrets - not one had any kind of redeeming quality that made me want to root for them so I did lack a little in the engagement. Sadly awith such a cool premise this just fell flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! A fantastic book with a dark and twisted story line and an amazing ending. I love Leonard as a character and I would love to read more

Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leonard is a freelance journalist who buys undeveloped film and develops it and allows himself to imagine back stories for the people in the photos. One day he develops some new film and finds a murder scene with a woman he thought died in his presence years back, but this is a completely different scene. So he starts to investigate with the help of another woman with the same undeveloped film interest, whom he met online.

I enjoyed this book. I thought it was an interesting premise. I felt like there were enough twists and turns to keep my attention. I really thought I had the whole thing figured out and thought the outcome would be pretty obvious and therefore a little disappointing, but I was wrong and definitely did not see the actual outcome coming. I love the Jessica Shaw series and thought this was one notch below that but still very good. I really like this author's writing style and look forward to more from her.

The Dark Room is a stand-alone thriller set in New York.
Leonard Blaylock is a NY crime reporter who buys undeveloped 35mm film spools and develops the pictures. One day he develops a film which has images of a murdered woman on. Leonard recognises the woman as he witnessed her death five years previously but not in the same way. The film is dated beyond this date so how can this be?
To find out, read the book, it is a twisty, dark tale with a cast of characters you will love to hate and a plot which will have you guessing through out.

I think the book had amazing potential, but the only problem with the book was the characters. I like unlikable characters as much as the next reader, but when you take it to the extreme, the reader no longer cares about what happens.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of The Dark Room, a stand-alone thriller set in New York.

Leonard Blaylock has an unusual hobby - he searches out undeveloped 35mm film and develops the pictures. One day develops a film which has images of a murdered woman, a woman that Leonard saw die five years ago and not in the same way, a woman whose death and his guilt cost him his life as he knew it.

The Dark Room has an interesting premise - it is crime fiction so coincidence isn’t usually a feature and that begs the questions of who set Leonard up 5 years ago and why do they (if it’s the same person(s)) now want him involved (if it’s not another setup)? These questions persist throughout the novel, but the execution lacks the spark and excitement that would turn the novel into a compulsive read. I never heard the siren call luring me back when I put it down.

To be fair to the novel this lack of excitement on my part may be down to my mood and other things I have going on, because it is full of twists and has an unexpected solution, which surprised me. I liked the format, although it takes away a certain amount of immediacy. It is told mostly in the present from Leonard and his friend Martha’s points of view, but whenever they make a new discovery the novel goes back to the past to explain what happened from more than Leonard’s point of view.

Leonard reached out to Martha for help after discovering the photos, until then she had been an unidentified contact on the missing photo forum. I don’t pretend to understand why he would immediately trust her or she would want to help him when they are essentially strangers. Anyway, the bottom line is they both have secrets. I don’t think their characters are well enough drawn for the reader to invest in their quest.

The Dark Room is an easy read.

This book was a definite departure from the Jessica Grey series. I'm still not sure what my thoughts are about this book even after reading it! I think if you go into it not expecting it to be like Jessica's story then you will quickly get into the story!

This is the first novel that I have read by this author. I enjoyed the book, and I could see what she was trying to do however there was some issues with the unfolding of the story. The author tried hard to build the characters and make the storyline exciting, however the book became a little dry in the middle. This was still an enjoyable read and would recommend. I would certainly be prepared to read another by this author.

For a book with such a promising and exciting premise, Lisa Gray’s upcoming novel, The Dark Room, missed the mark completely for me. You can’t tell me that coming across old film of a murder isn’t a plot you’d eat up. I don’t think I’m the only one who disliked it either, so I don’t feel as bad as I usually would for such a low rating. A strong start went downhill a lot quicker than I though possible, which resulted in me taking so much time to read this book, which could also be an element that contributed to the low rating. There just seemed to be a lot of unnecessary filler for my liking, and I will admit that I expected a lot more action and police drama than we get.

Leonard Blaylock is a long time developer of what is called “mystery film”; undeveloped camera film which he develops at home, basically for the thrill of having a window into a complete stranger’s life, that is until one day, the film he develops contains murder scene photos of a girl he saw die 5 years earlier, so what happened?

Personally, I thought the plot had so much potential, but it was executed terribly, and to go along with this, I didn’t find any of the characters likeable. Usually I can withstand disliking one or two characters, but none of them in this book grabbed me and held my attention; there was never really any interest after I’d been introduced to them all.

I know it seems that this book was abysmal, but I actually had hope in the beginning and then it went downhill, and as for the reveal, I will admit I didn’t expect it and found myself wondering who could have actually done it, so, this book does deserve me saying that the twist was great; probably the best thing about the book in general.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC!

I’ve persisted in trying to read this book despite its formatting issues however, I have given up at 53%. There is a ‘strangeness’ to the story that is quite unique: did he/ didn’t he.commit murder? His devastation and despair is understandable. Less understandable is his willingness to engage a stranger in his search for answers…. A book that I would have relished in its difference has been spoilt by the formatting. Not the fault of the author or the content and my rating reflects that fact.

Question Everything..
Question everything and believe nothing in this tense thriller. Leonard has an unusual and unexpected hobby. He develops strangers old, discarded film reels. Odd. However, from these he can create mysteries of his own making. He enjoys this, until one day he develops a film that makes him stop dead. An intriguing premise and an interesting mystery within but with a cast of mainly unlikeable characters, with few redeeming features, although some nicely done plot twists.

This was an intriguing mystery, plot was a little different than most. I did have a hard time connecting, or even liking, the characters, so it did make this book read a little slower than others by this author. Overall a good book with a great ending.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First book I’ve read from Lisa Gray and I read it in one sitting thoroughly good murder mystery.
Leonard Blaylock was a crime reporter for a New York paper, was engaged to be married, socially active before his nervous breakdown. Now he does freelance work, his fiancé is married to an older man and he no longer socialised with friends.
His one joy in life is finding old cameras and undeveloped spool’s which he develops in his own dark room in his apartment He developed one of the spools he recently bought at a flea market and was shocked to find a photo of a murdered woman but he was shocked and confused because this woman had died five years ago and he was there when it happened !!!!
What happens next will keep you reading until the end.
Highly recommend to all murder mystery lovers.

This was an interesting read, the whole story gets unfolded from different perspective, the ex-journalist Leonard whose hobby of developing old film reels which he picks up from curios and other shops , the photographer friend whom he befriends online and then gets her entangled in solving a mystery, his ex-fiancee, the person whom his ex-fiancee had succeeded and last but not least the mystery woman who was the cause of his breakdown. Lots of twists and turns with a surpise ending, this was an enjoyable read.
Thank you Netgalley for sharing a copy of this book for my unbiased feedback,
Overall Rating 3.5 stars
Worth a read once.

A man is intrigued by lost rolls of film and develops a photo which sends him reeling. A photo of a woman he recognises.
A tale of lies and photographs, of deception and betrayal, of revenge and redemption.

“Anything could be on those rolls, and that was the thrill of it.”
The Dark Room is the fifth thriller by Lisa Gray and her first standalone – following the hugely successful Jessica Shaw series. This is the first book I have read by the author, but I have heard the series mentioned by friends who enjoy thrillers as much as I do.
“Anything could be on those rolls.”
The novel is set around Leonard Baylock, an ex crime reporter who’s life was ruined in a mysterious incident several years prior. Now he works on a freelance basis, one of his projects being finding and developing film from strangers. One day, he sees something that scares him.
“Even so, Leonard knew he was wise to take precautions; that there was a chance he could come across a roll of film one day that contained something so damaging, so shocking and horrifying, that the police would be called, no doubt about it, if anyone other than Leonard was responsible for developing it. Today was that day.”
Now, heres my issue. I didn’t like Leonard. At all, throughout the book. Sometimes I enjoy a good morally grey character but Leonard was so self serving and indignant that I must say I struggled, although the plot did keep me going. It is a carefully woven mystery although I found the ending to be somewhat predictable.
All in all a three star!

3.5, really. A little bit simplistic, but not offensively so. Reads super fast, which was for the best.

I did enjoy this yarn. I engaged with the two lead characters believable and likeable even though you knew most of their faults early om in the book. There were a few turns that didn't appear to go anywhere but overall it was a well thought out book with just the right amount of pace.

My main criticism is that the ending was a bit rushed - I think that could have been fleshed out a bit. It could have been a bit more suspenseful at the end and left the reader wondering what would happen next rather than tying it all up neatly.

It was a good read that I wanted to pick up and get to the end of as soon as I could; always a good sign.

Leonard Blaylock has never rebounded from the night he accidentally killed a woman. His guilt led to the end of his engagement, a lost journalism position, and a regular life. While writing on a unique hobby, Mystery Film, where one develops random film rolls he finds a photo which changes everything.

I liked the character development (not the characters as people) and the choices made were understandable. Good set up of events and unraveling of the plot. The chapters have a variety of character viewpoints to help understand the "why".

I finished The Dark Room last night and was stunned. The story veered left. I had to stop to re-read several sentences again as my brain rearranged the facts. It was so good!