Learning this was a debut makes this even better! Seriously impressive! Bravo, Terri!

Writing: 4/5 - Plot: 5/5 - Ending: 4.5/5

This was a very solid police procedural mystery thriller that I mainly devoured in one day. I was completely enthralled the whole time and couldn't put it down. My copy had some grammar errors, but it was an ARC, so I don't mind. Otherwise, it was written very strongly!

I loved Molly's character and felt the 2 POVs were actually different people. I felt bad for Molly, the more we learned about her past. This sub-genre of thriller is my favorite, and this had everything I love in it. Red herrings, suspense, twists, all of it.

The plot was far more layered and complex than I was suspecting based on the synopsis, which I loved! It got darker than I expected — I also loved that.

Then it stuck the landing very well, I really liked the reveal and didn't guess it. On top of a great twist I didn't see coming!

After thinking on it for a bit, I believe I was equal parts entertained and confused by this one. I can see why the ratings are all over the board. So, there were a whole lot of characters and yet the character development wasn't there. There was a lot of back and forth in order to get Molly's backstory, but I found myself frequently losing interest. And a lot of what Rita did (her drawings, her conversations with her neighbor, etc) led her (and us) nowhere. I've read a lot of thrillers lately that hit the mark. This one just didn't do it for me. A huge thanks to Kensington Publishing/RB Media, Recorded Books, NetGalley and Terri Parlato who provided me with an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Given this is a debut novel, Terri Parlato's All The Dark Places is a decent little thriller. All the usual hallmarks of the genre are in place, complete with a list of suspects whittled down over time, a self-doubting protagonist who's also a victim, and a gruff detective desperate to get to the bottom of the case, but it's enough of a page-turner to stick with until the end.

The book seesaws between two different character perspectives, Molly and Rita. After a party, Molly awakens to find her husband has been murdered and the suspects are likely to be one of half a dozen friends over for a party that night. Haunted by ghosts of the past and a potential killer that has his (or her!) sights set on Molly next, she tries to find salvation and comfort in her friends. But can she really trust them?

Speaking of trust, Boston PD have their hands full with this one. So who better to take the case on than veteran officer Rita? But is this one case too many and way too complicated to resolve?

The framework of the book actually works quite well, with short, snappy chapters that you can easily get through in about 5 minutes or less. This helps to keep things suitably pacey, although personally it would have been nice to see a few longer chapters - especially in the middle of the book - to really stew over the list of possible suspects.

Of course, I'm not going to reveal who that is but this reviewer guessed the killer incorrectly, which is always a bonus with a book like this! The actual reveal and reasoning around what happened is serviceable enough and the motivations make sense in the context of the story. It's helped too by a decent final act that rackets up the tension and drama considerably.

You can tell that Terri Parlato has made sure to hit all the usual beats of the genre and while that's great, on occasion this does make the book feel overly familiar, like a repetitive feeling of Deja vu as the book hits the beats you'd expect to find along the way with little in the way of real surprises.

The characters are pretty good though and Rita in particular has a couple of quirky stand-out segments, especially her old-school feel of writing on notebooks rather than phones and making sketches. These little additions give her some nuance and character, and it helps you really rally around her for the investigation.

All The Dark Places isn't outstanding but it's a perfectly serviceable thriller and a good way to spend a few days curled up on the sofa reading. It's a decent debut for sure and hopefully Parlato can grow in confidence from this and deliver a second book that takes some intriguing turns. We'll definitely be there to read it, that's for sure!

This is how you do a debut novel! "All the Dark Places" tells the story of Molly, wife of psychologist Jay - whom is found murdered the morning after his 40th birthday party. While coping with her own grief and working with detective Rita to solve the crime, Molly is also hiding something from her own past that she doesn't want anyone to know about.

This book was SO good. I really enjoyed the set-up of the mystery - told between the perspective of both Molly and Rita. The chapters were short and easy to get through. I think just enough information is given throughout the novel to potentially figure out "whodunnit", but also enough red herrings to keep you guessing - I know I couldn't figure it out. I also appreciated how Molly's backstory plays into the story, without it feeling like two totally different stories being told at the same time. My only complaint (and it's a small one) is having trouble keeping Molly's friends straight. Molly would refer to them by their first names, and the detectives would refer to them by their last names, which made it hard for me to remember who was who. Overall this was a fantastic suspense that I highly recommend!

This book centers on the narration by Molly, who just celebrated her beloved husband's 40th birthday, with narration by Detective Rita Myers as she sets out to solve who murdered Molly's husband Jay in his office during the late night directly after his party. All of Molly's friends are suspects! As the reader gets to know each of the suspects and their relationships, this book kept me reading as I couldn't put it down,. the mystery evolved to not only solving Jay's murder, but to also solve a dead-end missing person's case as well as shed light on a long ago kidnapping (there was even another mysterious death that was explained towards the end!). Wonderful detail and great suspense, I enjoyed this book thoroughly! I would love reading another mystery that Detective Rita has to solve!

Wow! This book captures you in the beginning and keeps you guessing until the end and I loved it. Molly is having a small intimate birthday party for her husband because he is turning 40. The next morning she wakes up to find that her husband has been murdered in his office. The killer is one of the six friends she had over that night for the party. She thought they all loved Jay and were her friends but one of them is lying.

Who is hiding secrets and how far will they go to keep them hidden?

I love how you just keep guessing who the killer is but don't get it revealed until the end.

A perfect debut! This was a great domestic thriller with all the twists and turns. I enjoyed the dual perspectives, quick chapters, character development, and a lot of suspense. Full of plot twists and interesting characters, I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more by Terri Parlato! Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

All The Dark Places by @terriparlatoauthor is another book that would be worthy of those holiday gift cards and money! This gripping psychological thriller debut has so many twists and surprises. It follows Molly who has a secret past. Her husband is murdered after his 40th birthday party and there is a body found at their vacation home. Who can Molly trust? Is the murderer one of her closest friends?!

Thank you @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is a suspenseful and atmospheric mystery thriller. This debut novel is well crafted and hooked me in the first chapter. Molly Bradley has thrown a fortieth birthday party for her husband Jay with their closest friends gathered for the event. Everyone loved Jay, but the next morning Molly finds Jay dead in his home office in the detached garage.

Detective Rita Myers and her partner Detective Chase Fuller, with the Graybridge, Massachusetts police department, get the case. Jay’s murder doesn’t seem to be a crime of opportunity or random. Did one of his and Molly’s friends kill him? As the police dig into Jay’s life and those of their friends, everyone becomes a suspect. Meanwhile, Molly is devastated. Jay is the only person who really understands the horror she lived through when she was young. Now, her rock is gone. Who can Molly trust and who killed Jay?

Molly is haunted by her past, but readers only gradually learn what happened to her. She no longer feels safe. However, some of the things she does made me believe she wasn’t thinking straight. I found myself asking multiple times: Why did Molly do that? Rita is an experienced Boston police officer and detective who accepted the job in Graybridge when a friend became the police chief there. She loves training new detectives, has recently turned sixty, and still likes the challenge of the job and solving mysteries.

This fascinating story is told from the points of view of Molly and Rita. It had the combined aspects of a police procedural, a murder mystery, and a psychological thriller. As readers, we get clues as the characters do. Will you guess who the killer is?

This author brought a wide variety of characters together, but they weren’t extremely diverse. I hope that changes in the next novel. Most of the characters are self-confident, but are their stories truths or lies?

With a strong start to the novel, readers have to decipher the clues with Molly and Rita. Everyone seems to have secrets. The plot is deeply involved with several twists to the story to keep readers captivated to its dramatic conclusion.

Parlato brought suspense, interesting characters, and an exciting story line together in a thrilling novel. I am looking forward to reading her next book. I would also love to see a series featuring Rita. If you enjoy intriguing police procedurals, mysteries, and psychological thrillers, then this may be the book for you.

Kensington Books and Terri Parlato provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for December 27 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is her debut novel and a quality mystery thriller. It is set in Boston and has alternative chapters narrated by two different women. Firstly, there is Molly Bradley whose psychologist husband is violently murdered on the night of his fortieth birthday party. Then police detective Rita Myers recounts the investigation as it slowly unfolds with few clues and numerous suspects. Slowly, several themes are revealed, with Molly’s tragic past, her husband’s book research and their group of friends with their own suburbia secrets. An engrossing read, with interconnections that make this a psychological mystery and a police procedural tale in one book. An enthralling tale that keeps you interested and so makes it a four stars rating. With thanks to Kensington Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

All the Dark Places begins on the night of Jay’s 40th birthday. His wife, Molly, has invited over their best friends to celebrate. The food is great. The wine is great. The cake is a fun surprise. After they all go home, Jay goes to his office out in the garage to work on his book, but he is not in bed the next morning. He was murdered, and his friends are the prime suspects.
The tale focuses on how great a person Jay was, how no one had a reason to kill him, and how his marriage and his friendships had no problems. But as you continue on, you learn that Molly, Jay, and most of their friends had their secrets. We had to learn what secrets were relevant to the case. Were all pieces of the puzzle supposed to go together or was the author giving us a few red herrings? It was interesting seeing what the author did with the information in the end.
This book focuses on the points of view of two characters – Jay’s wife and the main detective, Rita. I felt having these two perspectives provided what was absolutely needed to get a good view of everything going on in the story. I think having the perspective of the killer at some point may have been an interesting addition, but it was not needed.
I had mixed feelings about the conclusion. I understand why the author picked who she did, and I appreciated how she did explain the villain’s background when it concerned what drew them to wanting to kill. However, I felt like there were some holes, or unanswered questions, pertaining to the villain’s adult life and their crimes.
Overall, All the Dark Places was an interesting story. I would recommend it to those who like domestic suspense and tales about the killer psyche and secrets amongst friends.

Thank you Kensington Books, Kensington for arc and RB Media, Recorded Books for alc.

I love to read and listen together. It gave me special vibes. I liked the start od mystery death but the end let me a little meh. Anyway I was intersted in this characters, always when drawing is mentioned I want to draw. Maybe visualising will be use next time. I hoped to be more secret and less obvios but difficult to listen at all, loved how the narration was done as well

All the Dark Places is a slow burn, but picks up toward the end. The novel starts with our main character, Molly, as she is throwing a 40th birthday party for her husband Jay. Three of their couple friends attend to celebrate. However, when Molly wakes up the next morning she finds her husband murdered. The novel switches between Molly’s POV and Detective Rita Myers’s from the local PD. While we read Molly’s chapters we learn that she has a dark past that she has been running from for years. As Rita starts investigating Jay’s murder, we start to wonder if Molly’s past has anything to do with Jay’s murder and if maybe these friends aren’t truly friends.

While the book is a slow in places, I was intrigued by the story line and stayed up late to finish because I had to know what happened! I really enjoyed Rita’s chapters and would love to read a series based on her investigations. I wished more characters had been eliminated during the course of the book, instead of all but the killer being cleared at end. However, this was a solid thriller that keep me engaged.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for sending this book for review considerations. All opinions are my own.

✰✰✰✰
You won’t be able to decide who can be trusted in this intensely chilling debut thriller! The creepy cover will entice you and the gripping story will keep you reading to the final page!

Ending up dead can really spoil a party. Molly throws a birthday party for her husband—Jay. The next morning she finds him dead in his office with his throat slit. Jay is a highly-respected psychologist and is adored by his friends. Who would want him dead?

The investigation begins and the police discover that everyone at the party has secrets, including Molly. She thought Jay was the only one that knew hers. He was her protector, supporter, and her rock. She starts receiving phone calls from someone who knows the dark secret of her childhood. A secret she’s tried so hard to keep buried.

Another body is found. This time in the yard of Molly and Jay’s mountain home. Then something is revealed that makes Molly believe her husband has betrayed her. Could Jay have been hiding something?

Sincere thanks to Kensington Books and Terri Parlato for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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I loved this book. Told from the perspective of Molly - a married woman with a secret and traumatic past and Rita -a detective who gives her all to solve the mystery of what happened on the night of Molly's husband Jay's 40th birthday. The characters are so believable, and the story drags you into the mystery a little at a time. I couldn't turn the pages quickly enough. The chapters were short, so it was easy to read one more chapter and then another. There is a huge twist near the end and a shock as the real villain is uncovered. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery or a psychological thriller as the book has something for everyone. I will review this on Amazon when it is published.

Decently entertaining debut thriller!

This isn't a perfect book, but it kept my interest throughout my listening experience with the audiobook. I will definitely see where Parlato goes with her writing in the future because I do see some talent here.

This story focuses on Molly, who has just celebrated her husband Jay's 40th birthday the night before with two other couples who are their best friends. She wakes up the morning after and discovers Jay murdered in his back yard office. Who could have done this and why? The other POV of the book is from Rita, a 60-year-old police detective who is assigned to the case. As the police begin to investigate, some disturbing clues come to light and there are many secrets being concealed.

This story kept my interest, but I struggled with the focus. There are quite a few extraneous things thrown in (lots of random conversations with Rita and her neighbor), but they don't help us to know the characters more. I feel like better development of the characters might have allowed me as a reader to have various suspects as we went along and kept me guessing about who murdered Jay and what their motive was. As it was, the extra elements just served to make the story looser and not as taut as it could have been. The book has shades of a police procedural, but we spend more time with Molly than with the police and I'm not really sure the police actually figured anything out.

There was one instance where they were asking all of the suspects if they would give a DNA sample. It was a huge thing they asked everyone and a couple of paragraphs are dedicated to each of their reactions. However, it is stated as a police aside that they have NOTHING to compare any DNA to, so there is no point in actually collecting the DNA at all, nor does it ever come into play within the narrative after the people are questioned. It was just a waste of words honestly, with zero point.

Clunky parts aside, this is a solid story that kept me entertained and I look forward to another book from this author in the future.

This didn’t blow me out of the water but it was a very good debut and hit on all of the key points that make up a successful psychological thriller. There was intrigue, mystery, suspense and a plethora of unrighteous characters. The dual narrators, one the wife of the victim and the other a police officer, added an extra layer of suspense to this and kept the plot moving along. I found the ending to be so-so and not entirely plausible. This will appeal to fans of Mary Kubica and Megan Miranda.

On the night of her husband Jay’s birthday party, Molly finds him murdered in his office. During the course of Detective Rita Myers’ investigation many other secrets are uncovered about Molly, her past and her group of friends.

“All The Dark Places” is a debut thriller from Terri Parlato that I could not put down. I finished this in one day because I was so invested in Molly’s story. I will be definitely be following what’s next from Terri Parlato!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher to the opportunity to read this in exchange for my review.

Spectacular debut! I was hooked right from the beginning and the pressure and guessing did not stop until the very end! A new must-read author!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC!

One morning, after a big party for her husband, Jim, Molly, who drank everybody under the table, wakes up to find him murdered in his home office. Detective Rita is convinced that this murder is not a random one, and that a guest from the party did it.
The writing in this book was smooth, the flow was good, and each character (of which there are many) has their own voice and is easy to distinguish. However, the story was very redundant and repetitive. Told in dual POV (Molly and Rita), the short chapters makes this easy to go through, but it is not a very thrilling thriller, it's more of a mystery. It starts strong, but it quickly gets tepid. There are however plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing!
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.