SIX CLASSMATES. ONE TERRIFYING NIGHT. A MURDER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING…

Ohhhh emmm gheeeee!!!!

I can recite a line from each and every Vera Kurian book yet haven’t been able to predict an ending yet!

Listen up folks, the queen of twists is back and quite frankly, better than ever.

Each and every time, Kurian leaves my jaw on the floor and heart in my throat.

I have been pending for MONTHS and then finally, my wish came true!!! Yippe, skippy!

A Step Past Darkness…..

I did not blink once

I hung on every word

There are many many details that I had wished I could have slowed down but i was so consumed in the plot, I couldn’t get to the next page fast enough!!! I’m eager to read this one again !

In true Kurian, fashion the twist is earth shattering and will have your head spinning right off your shoulders. I might have actually said “what in the actual DUCk, was that?”

I am yet to give any Kurian book less than 5 stars and I am not about to start now.

This wild little ride releases Feb 20, 2024

Teaser :

There’s something sinister under the surface of the idyllic, suburban town of Wesley Falls, and it’s not just the abandoned coal mine that lies beneath it. The summer of 1995 kicks off with a party in the mine where six high school students witness a horrifying crime that changes the course of their lives.

The six couldn’t be more different.
Maddy, a devout member of the local megachurch
Kelly, the bookworm next door
James, a cynical burnout
Casey, a loveable football player
Padma, the shy straight-A student
Jia, who’s starting to see visions she can’t explain

When they realize that they can’t trust anyone but each other, they begin to investigate what happened on their own. As tensions escalate in town to a breaking point, the six make a vow of silence, bury all their evidence, and promise to never contact each other again. Their plan works – almost.

Twenty years later, Jia calls them all back to Wesley Falls—Maddy has been murdered, and they are the only ones who can uncover why. But to end things, they have to return to the mine one last time.

Loved it! Starts off a bit slow but when it takes off it zooms. A group of teens decide to party in an abandoned mine. Tragedy follows. A cult theme which works well in this book. Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book. Thanks also to Killer Crime Club.

This was SO not what I expected and it was SO amazing! I loved Vera Kurian's debut, and was prepared for another look at psychopaths but instead she's written a dazzling story about friendship and life in small towns *and* she's even woven the supernatural in a fascinating way! It's a coming of age story, a love story, a story about life in a small town *and* it has elements of a Supernatural mow episode...and it shouldn't work.

Look,typing this all out I can see where it seems like there's no way it could work but guess what? It does! It's so does! One of the most surprising and entertaining books I've read in quite a while.

What a fantastic book! So many psychological thrillers are the same, but this one had such a unique plot. I love the paranormal twist. The dual timeline with the group of friends was done beautifully. Nothing about the story was predictable. Absolutely loved it and will recommend on publication day.

I do suggest having a proofreader go over the book before publication. There are many missing words and it is distracting. I would hate for such a good book to be published with those mistakes.

Thank you for the opportunity to read!

Thank you for the opportunity and privileged to read this book before it is officially released.

A Step Past Darkness left me thinking about what I just read for days! The premise is unlike anything I had read before, a cross between a mystery and a psychological thriller, but in all honestly the element of supernatural was a bit much for me personally but many readers would enjoy this.

On the surface, the town of Wesley Falls seems like a sleepy, boring little community but as we get to know the characters in the story we realize it is anything but. There is a division within the town that goes deeper than anyone can imagine or even understand, that dates back for generations. Six classmates initially brought together for a summer capstone project in high school witness something that could endanger them, they each go their separate ways with a pack never to be in contact again. Fast forward 20 years and one of the capstone 6 is dead, they all reunite and investigate.

I personally found the story to be a bit slower moving at times and some of the details were a little weird for my tastes, particularly with the supernatural elements. Overall though, I was able to follow the storyline, which did feel to jump around a bit, and I enjoyed the story. I’d say If you’re open minded and up for something a little different than the norm, then definitely grab this book and give it a read.

I was really excited to read this but unfortunately it didn't work for me. The writing is quite good but at times I had to re-read sentences because something was off (I'm assuming this will be fixed before publishing?).

I don't mind a supernatural twist to mysteries so that wasn't the problem. It was the necessary suspension of disbelief on several occasions: the unrealistic reactions to finding a dead body in the beginning of the novel, that a medium in a small town would be able to have a thriving business, and that civilians would help solve a crime? Also, so many characters to keep track of and unnecessarily long. So basically, some judicious editing and tweaking of plot points and pacing, and this would be much better.

Thank you for NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

Wow! I did not expect this book go to the way it did. The beginning was a little slow but I'm glad to continued to the end.

My favourite part was the group friendship, seeing the characters when they were teenagers and adults, twenty years later.

All in all, I recommend this book. It's different from the murder mysteries I typically read but in a good way!

Thank you so much to killer crime club, NetGalley and the author for allowing me the privilege to read this book! I would like to get the bad out of the way before all of the good! First this book really really really needs to be gone over because there are way too many chapters that have hugely noticable sentences with missing words or have been written in a way that something needs to be reworded to make it make sense. I shouldn't have to be caught by it, stop the flow of reading and figure out what the author actually meant. However well that occurs far too frequently for my liking and once you get past the first 50 pages (which are just kind of slow but that's background setting I get it) this book is phenomenal! Despite the little things this book does flow, you're not sitting there waiting and drudging through to get anywhere. There is always something going on and it's good so good! If you liked the Netflix show The Fall of the House of Usher (this is not as morbid) but the central idea behind it and the characters you will like this they are slightly similar! Not bloody, not gory, not super twisted, yes there is a supernatural element but again if you like the above you will like this you will understand. I fell in love with the characters, the story, all of it and (I only ever keep books I will read again and again) once this book comes out if I can I will be buying this to bring home there aren't many books of this genre that I would actually want to read again because once you've been there it's done and over with, but not this, this is fantastic and a book to read again and again. Honestly I would love to see this become a Netflix short series, or a Mike Flannigan short series because it has that quality to it (without the gore and so on) and it would work as one so well. I can't wait to see all that this book will do, and I can't wait to get my hands on the author's other book! Thank you so very much again!

In 1995, a group of teenagers witnessed a horrific crime and took it upon themselves to investigate. When things took a sinister turn, they vowed never to speak about what they’d uncovered nor would they see or speak to one another ever again. Twenty years down the line, they were called to reunite in search of justice for a group member who died under suspicious circumstances.

A Step Past Darkness was the ultimate sinister thriller with a supernatural twist. This book was so deliciously dark and I loved how the author took this book in a direction that I never would have predicted. All six of the main characters were perfectly executed and I loved how the dual timeline provided an opportunity to see them as teenagers and then as the adults they grew into. This group shared an incredible bond. It was so pure and heartfelt and was one of my favourite elements in the book. I highly recommend adding this book to your 2024 TBR!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the opportunity to read this ARC!

A copy of this review will be posted on my Instagram account (whats.amy.reading) during the week of December 4, 2024.

This was gifted to me by Netgalley & the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I was so pumped to get an early copy of this book after reading and loving the author's last novel. Needless to say, I had high expectations jumping into this one.

A murder that has been twenty years in the making.......Does that not sound interesting?! Wesley Falls is just your everyday average suburban town...right? Wrong. There is something eerie just below the surface of this town, it could be the abandoned coal mine beneath the town. Our story kicks off in 1995, summer is meant for parties. However, six high school students witness something that will change their whole lives.

I am not going to say much more than that. You just have to read this, especially if you liked the previous book from the author.

Thank you to NetGalley, Vera Kurian, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC!
This book was quite a ride. I truly enjoyed each character of the capstone six! Their backstories in addition to the current plot line of the story added an exceptional depth to the book you don’t always see in other reads of this genre.
I really resonated with the church trauma theme of this book. It was both painful and cathartic in an impactful way. Cultish themes are one of my favorites and Kurian did not disappoint here!
I highlighted the following: “If you really believed you were saving souls from eternal damnation, why on earth would you care about the color of people’s skin?” 😤
This book felt a bit slow-moving although a somehow so much really did happen. At times, the backstories felt so in-depth I think there was a limit to their level of necessity, only because I grew a bit tired waiting for the main plot line to continue. It is possible that I am just allergic to longer books (hello, ADHD) but I am sure I am not the only one. Feelings of fatigue are probably my least favorite in reference to reading, however, so it did affect how I ultimately felt about my reading experience here.
Overall this was a good read with haunting elements sure to be appreciated.
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4!

Thank you to netgalley for advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Well, honestly, this one wasn’t great. The premise sounded great, and the first third of the book was fine, but when a supernatural element got involved, the story got weird. It then felt very dragged out, and completely unreasonable.

The police officer in town was completely fine with letting 5 “civilians” he knew from high school, conduct their own investigation into a murder and blow up a priest in a mine. This one is a no for me.

Kindle Copy for Review from Net Galley, Killer Crime Club and Harper Collins Canada.

I received a free, advance copy of this book and this is my unbiased and voluntary review.

It was the summer of 1965 as an epic party turns into a murder. Six guests are gathered once again to relive the harrowing tale where young women lost her life where no one can trust wither.

Will this reunion answer questions or will it cause more and perhaps further deaths? A fascinating glimpse of relationships, as you witness things in their eyes,

Very intriguing synopsis, and I did like the plot, but it was extremely slow paced. I can't say nothing happened, because so much did, but certainly not enough to fill the almost 500 pages of this book. It dragged on and on and I couldn't wait for it to end.

I requested this because I loved Never Saw Me Coming and unfortunately I don't think it met my expectations. I'm going to admit I mainly liked NSMC due to Chloe and Charles, not plot or writing, and ASPD doesn't have characters with the same star power or even any that stood out enough to look past the, well, mediocrity of everything else. While the characters are not complete stereotypes, I found them to be extremely rigid in their roles in a way that seemed highly unrealistic.

I also had issues with the prose and the plot. The writing itself is very clinical; I could connect to very few of the emotional scenes. You would think this would make the book straightforward and easy to read, but that's not true either. The alternative timeline on it's own wouldn't be confusing, but when added to a cast of six different povs, I had to reread several parts multiple times to understand what was happening. Another thing I didn't like was how social and political issues were described or brought up in, well, social media/tiktok terms. For example, one phrase that jumps out to me is "shamed for their sexuality" when talking about women being sexually abused and raped by priests. It just cheapens the subject.

My one problem with the otherwise okay plot is that they find out something in the 1995 timeline which should have cut down at least half of the 2015 timeline (which was just "who is he" and "how is he alive"). You know how he's still alive. This revelation at around 70% (?) rendered at least the first 1/4 of the book entirely unnecessary and I really think one of these things should be cut.

I really am sad I didn't enjoy this like I thought I would.

Thank you to Netgalley for an early copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A Step Past Darkness presented an interesting mix between mystery and supernatural. It started slowly but once it picked up I was really into it! It was so interesting to see how the small town was completely controlled by the church and how it infiltrated everyone’s lives.

This one started out really interesting to me, with a bit of a misfit vibe and a creepy edge that I found engaging. Unfortunately it's a bit uneven and it got weird and random and I got pretty confused about a quarter of the way in and just never found my way back into feeling like I had any idea what was going on.... This is the second of Kurians novels that I've tried and I had similar issues with the first one. I think her writing style just doesn't suit me. This one didn't work for me.

I loved this mystery, though it felt more like an epic than a traditional mystery or thriller. Kurian's first thriller was great, and this is a whole different direction, so it's very cool that she has such range.

I absolutely devoured this book, it was so good! I have to agree with another reviewer, this story definitely started out with It vibes. There were multiple perspectives, but it worked really well. I loved seeing the perspectives of each character and their relationships with the other characters. It gave a unique insight that a single or even dual POV doesn’t give you. Despite that it was dual timeline and multi-POV, I found it really easy to follow along with, just like when I read It. There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t like about this book. I almost wish there would be a sequel! I know that doesn’t work for the story, but it was so good! I’m definitely going to be suffering from a book hangover for a long while after this!

Huge thanks to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

Oof. I really wanted to love it, and the premise and comparisons to Stephen King's 'It' (but way less problematic) were like catnip to me. Unfortunately, for me this book *dragged* and the characters never fully engaged my interest, for reasons that it's hard to pinpoint. So I was left disappointed, but the overall plot engines were still compelling.

This book had more supernatural elements than the description led me to believe. I am a skeptical person and had difficulty with believing some of the events that unfolded. That being said, I really enjoyed the characters in this book. The writing and plot was suspenseful and I do think this is worth a read especially if you enjoy supernatural things. Thank you to Vera Kurian and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me this ARC.