Member Reviews
This was a fast paced thriller with a great twist. That is exactly what I look for when reading a thriller. I enjoyed this book a lot. I kept telling myself one more chapter and before I knew it, I had read most of the book! I had to finish it in that one sitting of course.
All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato and Narrated by Stephanie Cozart; Christina Moore is the first book in the new Detective Rita Myers series.......and what a creepy, dark and full of twists and turns this book was......The moment I started to read it I could not put it down......It was excellent especially as it is the first book I have read by the author. I loved it and looking forward reading more from Terri.
I highly recommend this book. Great start to a new promising series.
I'm the first to point out that I don't routinely read thriller titles, so I'm not the best at critically reviewing them, but I am also the first to tell you when I find them twisty and exciting and this book absolutely hit that mark. It's short and quick chapters make it easy to get sucked in and stay sucked in and the twist was one I was totally surprised by!
Ok, I love Detective Rita Meyers!! I hope the series continues for quite some time because I want to see more of her.
The story was a good mystery, tons of lying and gas lighting all around. I felt so terrible for Molly because she really had no one she could truly trust, past and present. I did not guess the who dunnit and why.
Good first novel in a series that I look forward to reading more of.
Interesting well-crafted novel.
It isn't always as important what happens to us in childhood as how the adults around the child react to whatever happened. This is how children learn to process a situation, and causes them to respond with either the strength of being glad they were a survivor versus, having shame about being a victim.
When one feels shame, It is as though there is something we must have done to cause what happened, which is a horrible lens with which to view past events.
There was a large negative for me regarding this audiobook's production, and that is that a main character, Rita, the police detective, was narrated by a female with a very masculine voice (more so than anyone I have encountered in real life, or in ANY other audiobook's narration). This fact kept getting in the way of my "suspension of disbelief", and I found it confusing, as I would hear a young male's voice talk about romantic feelings toward a male character, and numerous times it caused confusion (I thought it was a gay couple until I was once again reminded of the name of the detective, Rita. I found it a very distracting choice of narrator for this chapter. That said, the mystery kept my attention, as I haven't experienced the book in any other format (such as an ebook or a hard copy) I find it hard to judge how I would have rated the book had this constant distraction not gotten in my way. I know it is an odd comment, but with narrator's, all we have is their VOICE and their "acting" abilities with that voice, intonation, etc, and it caused a hurdle I could successfully combat every time I heard the "Rita" narrator. Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the opportunity to experience this audiobook.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of All the Dark Places. I need to say right up front that I read a lot of thrillers, and this one, while overall a solid, three stars, was just OK for me. Good in a story, and I like the procedural aspect of it all, but it fell just a bit short for me.
Everybody in this book has a secret, those secrets were safe until the morning after Jay’s birthday party he is found murdered and everyone at the party is a suspect, so how long will everyone’s secrets stay that way? Molly, Jay’s wife, has a huge secret of her own, is something from her past the cause of her husband’s death, was it on of his patients or one of their friends? Former Boston cop Rita will figure this out.
This was a twisty story that kept me guessing and suspecting everyone and didn’t see the culprit or the final reveal coming!
Narrated by Stephanie Cozart & Christina Moore, both of these ladies did a great job and I really loved that both have a unique voice and it was easy to know which character was talking. They both were great at the emotion.
Highly recommend this audiobook.
4 Stars
I received this book from the publisher RB Digital and NetGalley for a fair and honest review.
After putting off classifying myself as an audio fan, I can now say with confidence, I absolutely love audio books.
I am not sure If it's the convenience of being able to multitask while listening or the soothing sounds of someone else narrating a wild, pulse racing thriller. Either or, I love it.
All The Dark Places, is a book that needs to be read/listened to by all.
This book took me on a wild ride from page one and didn't let me go until the very last sentence.
Terri Parlato is natural born talent when it comes to weaving together an intricate story of secrets, lies, deceit and well... murder.
This is an A plus thriller that is not for the faint of heart. I will be recommending this book/audio for years to come.
Teaser :
A savage murder rocks a quiet Massachusetts suburb, revealing the dark secrets at the center of a group of friends and setting two women–one with a traumatic past, the other a Boston police detective–on a hunt for truth in this stylish debut thriller for fans of Megan Miranda and Shari Lapena...
Snow falls softly outside Molly Bradley’s home on a frigid January night. Inside, half a dozen close friends are gathered to celebrate the fortieth birthday of Molly’s psychologist husband, Jay. Candlelight gleams against dark wood, wine flows, and the house rings with laughter. Everybody loves Jay, Molly most of all. Yet next morning, Molly discovers Jay dead on the floor of his office, his throat brutally slashed.
After decades working with the Boston PD, Detective Rita Myers has grown accustomed to the banality of evil—the murders that make no sense beyond bad luck or a tragic brush with the worst of humanity. But Jay Bradley’s murder isn’t random, or a mere crime of opportunity. Rita is convinced that someone in the couple’s small circle killed him. Someone who was celebrating with them that night.
Devastated, Molly tries to make sense of her husband’s death. Jay was her rock, the only person who really understood the nightmare she lived through long ago. He knew the horrors she’s kept hidden even from her friends. But shocking revelations are making her question if Jay was all he seemed to be—and whether someone else knows her past too. And until Molly figures out who she can really trust, she won’t be able to stop herself becoming the next target . . .
What a terrific story it has been. The slow pace at the start gradually turns it into a shocking way is intriguing.
I just appreciated 'Rita' till the end about her work, approach to the cases, and being herself.
It is a psychological thriller having a murder case of the protagonist's husband and Rita is all set to solve the mystery of death amidst everything.
Having set in modern culture, the story climbs from a deadly incident to the trauma of the protagonist's past which she left far but didn't know would follow her and snake up until she choke.
This story conveys that never let past traumas that you have been through eat your present. It not only ruins you but also pains those who love you. Be a fighter, keep hope alive, and be kind to yourself.
It was a notable experience listening to the audio, and I think it is because of being an audiobook. When I listen to thrillers in audio format, it triples my curiosity. In addition to that, the Two points of view of Rita and the protagonists were interesting sometimes it has been stretchy. Language and pace were good to follow, leaving certain parts which made me sleep.
All in all, It was an amazing story ending on an emotional note which has melted my heart.
Thank you @netgalley for the audiobook.
This is a Debut Thriller. I would say I found this book to be more of a suspenseful read than a thriller because I did not find it to have big twists and shock I want in a thriller vs a slow build suspense that happen in this book. If you are looking for a twisty fast paced thriller this is not the book for you. I normally do not love slow build books, but I really enjoyed this one. I enjoyed that this book kept me guessing. I did not love the police in this book because I almost feel that their point of view was not needed until the end of the book. I felt the other times could have been covered with the friends and the main character. I liked the character developing in this book, and I loved the dog in this book. How this book was written I could picture in my head what was going on because there were so many little details mixed in without over doing it. I really love when I book does that. This is a solid read that I really got into, and I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook, and I liked the narrators. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Kensington Publishing) or author (Terri Parlato) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.
I couldn't put it down and I didn't want to. This book lived up to every ounce of hype that I had experienced for it. This book is beautifully written; a gripping storyline with strong characters. It ticked all the boxes of my expectations. I would definitely recommend it to others.
This was a fantastic debut thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The narration was not great and it was hard to listen to the audio so I ended up opting for the physical copy instead.
Sorry it took so long for feedback. This one truly improves from the amazing audiobook.. Thank you to the publisher for the ALC.
I was really keen to read this one but overall it just fell a bit flat for me. In fact, I forgot I'd even read it until I was looking at what I still had to read and recognised the title.
All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato is a thriller that will keep you on your toes. The dual narration was really fun and helped propel the story forward. Would recommend!
On the night of Jay’s 40th Birthday, a small group of friends gather at his and Molly’s house to celebrate. But by the next morning, Jay is dead, found by Molly on the floor of his office. Everybody loves Jay, so who would kill him?
Rita, a seasoned Boston detective, has seen a lot of violence in her decades working for the police department, but she’s convinced that Jay’s murder is not random or a crime of opportunity and that someone in his close-knit circle is the murderer.
Molly is beyond devastated by her husband’s death, not just because she loves him but because he’s always been her rock, and the keeper of the nightmare she lived through as a child. But the more the crime is investigated, the more she starts to question whether her husband is who he appeared to be. And who else knows the secrets she’s desperate to keep?
I love a good psychological thriller and I can honestly say this one kept me guessing until very close to the end on who the killer was. I was able to determine why I thought the murder had occurred and a lot of my reasoning was sound, I just could not figure out who was guilty. And honestly, that is exactly what I love about reading thrillers!
I enjoyed the two narrators as well, who read for Molly and Rita. I always enjoy when there are alternating chapters, so you get to experience things from different points of view in the story and see their thought process. Sometimes when there are a lot of characters it can get confusing but that was not the case with just two. This was Terri’s debut thriller and I think she hit it out of the park! I can’t wait to read more of whatever she releases.
I enjoyed this tremendously. The characters were great, for the most part (not all, but then where would we be without villains?). I especially loved Rita and Joe, and please can we have a series of police procedurals featuring them? That would be great!
Molly was a complex and interesting character who I really enjoyed, along with Hayes and Alice. But the star of the show for me was Sadie. Always a good idea to add a super-cool hound, as long as nothing bad happens to him or her.
I will certainly be on the lookout for anything else by this author.
A healthy, wholesome 4 stars.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for my ARC.
What an excellent debut. This book was a super twisty thriller with multiple POV's. I love how a tragedy from the past intertwines with the present.
It was so fun seeing how it all fit together. As with the MC, I was second-guessing her husband as well. This book goes to show you don't always know the people closest to you. I will definitely be reading whatever comes next from this author.
If you're an audiobook lover like I am, I recommend the audio of this one. It was really well done.
I was super excited when I got approved for this one, but overall I thought it was average. It definitely fell a bit flat.
Excellent debut! I love a well written mystery/thriller with multiple POV's and this one did not disappoint! The story was well written, the pace was spot on, and I enjoyed the characters - even the "clueless wife". I will definitely be looking for more books by Terri Parlato in the future.
⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)