Weird book. It starts out pretty normal, thriller wise, dead body, police need help, and then veers off into the bizarre and then even further into the bizarre. I had to make sure I was accidently reading a King or Hill novel.
Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Initially, the book presents the setting as an open community with no secrets, but delving into the characters reveals a web of hidden truths. While it has a gradual build-up, the narrative remains accessible, and I genuinely enjoyed the unique storyline. If you're into the supernatural genre, this book offers a refreshing and distinctive read.

This book has all the hallmarks of those famous “kid gang” stories..like IT and Stand By Me. A group of 6 high school kids banded together to figure out what the local mega church is doing down in that small town mine. These 6 are kids that for the most part wouldn’t hang out together.

Aside from the founding families, I’m still trying to untangle what the town gets in return for supporting the supernatural answer to this question. (And it is obvious that the non Elders don’t know about the supernatural) The town thrives? Only the founders are getting rich and remaining healthy. Is it just the general religious promise that gives people hope and community?

This is what brings the book down to a 3.5 (I rounded up to a 4). It seems very long and drags out, yet I still don’t feel like I got a really well rounded picture of the characters and what makes the town support this church so heavily. Granted, I myself am not a church goer, so maybe the answer to that is obvious for someone more religiously inclined. I feel like it could be both fleshed out in some ways and thinned down in others. I found myself skimming some sections to get back into the action.

I enjoyed it, can’t wait to see what the author produces in the future as this is quite different from her last book.
Thanks to Vera Kurian, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy to read.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book really drew me in!! It is reminiscent of It, a group of kids that band together in the past, then again in the present to figure out and defeat the evil that is happening in their town.

I liked the characters, especially how they bond over what is happening in their town. I felt that the “evil” in the story was obvious, but the author did a great job of adding a few twists. I was fully engaged in both arcs of the story. It makes you feel a bit claustrophobic while reading, and I found myself reading late into the night to finish. I plan on picking up another novel by this author, as this was my first read of hers!

A Step Past Darkness premise was interesting and pulled me in however this was not my favorite novel of the year. I think there were too many characters. I didn't care what happened to them. None of them were interesting. It was hard to believe they were friends or connected by a crime. I don't think I could recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP Park Row for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book.

Hmmmm. Not sure how I feel about this one. It's definitely not what I expected. I think if I liked the first half, I'd give this a higher rating, because the second half was so much better. I almost gave up on this multiple times. It was so slow and there were so many characters in dual timelines that I was lost for a lot of it, and not liking the characters (at first) didn't help. I did end up liking 5 of the 6 main characters towards the end. The supernatural element came as a surprise and I can't say I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. I loved Never Saw Me Coming but I can't say I'd recommend this one.

I am choosing to DNF this book because the pacing isn't working out for me. I enjoyed Vera Kurian's debut novel and thought that this book would be in the similar vein to that, but it is not. I applaud the author for changing direction with this book, and it'll be a winner for many, but it isn't working out for me. I won't be posting a review on goodreads or bookstagram out of respect for the fact that I did not finish this book.

This book will stay with you long after you are finished reading it. This book is def Psychological thriller and just a supernatural in this book which made it awesome and great read.

At first when you read the book you think that where this book takes place is just a little community that has no secrets but as you get to know the characters you realize that it has lots of secrets. Nothing is as it seems. As the classmates grow and you go forward there are six people dead in their ring of friends and the remainder to get together to figure out what happened.

In some aspects of the book it is a slow burn but the storyline is easy to follow and i really liked the story. If you like supernatural you will like this book and it was unlike anything i have read so far.

Would like to read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

The first chapter of this book got my hopes up so high. I was pulled in! And then it fell apart. Don't get me wrong, the plot of this book was there. But it is SO hard to follow. Maybe since I got an ARC version, it will be cleaned up. I love when a book has multiple POV's, I love getting all sides of the story, which this book has. But it is so hard to follow, there is so much going on, and its all over the place. I had a very hard time getting through the beginning of this book. I forced myself to finish this book so I could do my NetGalley review, and I really wanted to know what the main plot and outcome would be, but I skimmed through so much randomness.

Highly and happily recommended. Like a female-forward It (Stephen King), with a few choice words for mega churches, A Step Past Darkness surpasses Kurian's debut novel.

A Step Past Darkness brings together the Kapstone six an unlikely group of students working together on a school project. When they decide to go to a party in the local minds, they witness murders by local churchgoers. What they uncover is enough to put them all on guard for the next 20 years when they come back to their hometown to finish what they started.

Thank you to park row and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

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.