Alone in the Dark by Joanne Ryan

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

She witnessed a murder… but nobody’s dead It was a quiet night, like any other, when Abi went for her usual night-time run. It was her escape from all the stresses of life, the thing she did so she was stronger than the man who’d once hurt her so badly.

But then – as she turns a quiet corner – she sees a car hitting somebody. Rushing forward, as the driver screeches off into the night, she realizes the man in the road has already died.

After rushing to call for help, Abi returns to find a policeman already waiting. But there’s no body. No one is there.

Abi knows what she saw. But everyone else thinks she’s lost her mind. Everyone except one person. Who wants her to stay silent.. forever.

My Opinion

From the first run I was hooked, with a fast pace it was difficult to stop reading. At just under 300 pages this is a relatively quick book that is quite easy to finish in a few evenings or over a weekend. Abi witnesses a hit and run but with no body will anyone believe her?

This was my first book by Joanne Ryan but I already have my next one lined up. Follow Abi as she tries to pick herself up after having a rough time.

Rating 4/5

Gripping, tense, and hard to put down, Alone in the Dark kept me on my toes and turning the pages! I enjoyed the plot, the pacing, the writing, and the mystery behind what Abi witnessed on her late night run.

While out running, Abi witnesses a man getting hit by a car which quickly drives away. When she rushes to the man, he looks dead and she runs for help. When the authorities arrive after she reports the hit-and-run, there is no body. The investigators question Abi's version of events and her mental health. Did she actually see a man get hit? Is she reliable? Where is the body?

This was a tense and tight mystery where Abi stands by what she saw and those in her life question what she saw. I rooted for Abi and along with her, I wanted to know the truth! I enjoyed how the author built upon the mystery, the tension, the mounting sense of danger, and suspense. Plus, there are a fair amount of twists in this book which kept me on my toes and turning the pages.

I also enjoyed how the author uses 'then' and 'now' chapters to provide readers with a fuller glimpse into Abi's life and past. This was a nice device and introduced a subplot in addition to the main plot. Both worked very well for me and all came together nicely in the end.

Well written, well thought out and gripping!

A brilliant read - super twisty and it gripped me from the start, with the crazy tense prologue.

Abi is rebuilding her life, after escaping an abusive relationship and losing her licence due to a DUI charge. When she is out for a run, she witnesses a hit and run accident, with the victim left for dead in the road, but when she returns, having left to call the police, the body has gone. From that point on, nobody believes anything she says, the police are sure she is deranged and add a conviction into the mix, Abi is considered to be an entirely unreliable witness.

I liked Abi, her character was well written and I admired her determination to find out the truth, depsite the police's dismissiveness of her. The pacing was great, I flew through this page turner and although one of the twists was easy to figure out, there were plenty more jaw droppers in the mix, that I didn't see coming.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Joanne Ryan and Boldwood for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I'm reviewing this via NetGalley, as part of a tour with Rachel's Random Resources.

I felt the suspense from the beginning, as the protagonist, Abi, witnessed an incident. I found there was something about some of the other characters that made me a little bit uneasy, and I felt uncertain about who I might choose to trust, in Abi’s place.

I felt that I learned a lot about Abi through her narrative, and I found her relatable in some ways, particularly the way that she expressed herself. As the story progressed, it started to play with my head. The chapters themselves were fairly short, and often ended in an ambiguous or surprising way.

This was a suspenseful thriller, and easy to read in one sitting too. Thank you to NetGalley, Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books, and to the author, for the opportunity to read and review this.

While the plot doesn't sound original, Joanne Ryan's treatment definitely gives it some original twists. This is the first book of hers I've read, but I was impressed with the way she pulled me in from the first chapter and held my attention through a binge read. Luckily my family likes pizza.

When a young woman witnesses a death by hit and run and the body disappears before anyone else sees it, she'll find herself doubting what she saw. Circumstances will conspire to keep readers guessing exactly what she saw until Ryan's surprise ending.

It took a bit for me to get into this book I felt like it was a bit slow paced and dragged on at times. The story was good it just needed a bit more for me to really enjoy it fully.

Abi runs in the dark to avoid people seeing her during the day - after all, what if they know about her past?

When one night she witnesses a hit and run but the body disappears, Abi is terrified and those she thinks she can trust continue to surprise and disappoint her. It’s hard enough that she’s rebuilding her life after the traumatic breakup of a relationship that wasn’t quite what it seemed…

I couldn’t put this down and felt the writing was well-paced and varied, and the underlying flashback theme sensitively handled.

A woman is losing a deadly race, but the reader doesn't know why. The story unfolds gradually, revealing who the woman is, who is pursuing her and why in this twisty, often dark, psychological suspense. Abi, the woman, is an unreliable narrator; she has suffered domestic violence, which led to a series of life-changing incidents that have left her emotionally vulnerable. The reader invests in Abi as she tries to voice her concerns. I like the story's intensity, the toxic ethos that leaves Abi alone in the dark and the impactful final chapters that lead to a resonating conclusion.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This was such a exciting and twisty read, I was hooked right away and had to keep reading as I needed to know more!

Abi is out for her usual night time run when she sees a man get run over by a car. They stop and get out of the car but drive off leaving the man on the road. Abi goes to get help and when she returns there is a police officer there but nobody on the road. So what happened to the man? And is Abi now in danger? Once I started reading this book I was unable to stop. It's very talented writing and one of the best I have read of this genre. It keeps you thinking from the moment you start reading and you suspect every single character at one stage or another. I felt the dark vibes which gave me goosebumps. It is a dual timeline one in which we learn of Abi's previous abusive relationship to the present of the hit and run. It's hard not to love this book and I believe it needs lots of recognition. Hugely recommend!

Abi has really bad taste in men.
It takes a while for the truth to be revealed about why she is living the way she is because of her deal with the devil named Will.
But other things don’t add up for Abi when she witnesses a frightful event and no one will believe her. Does she even believe what she saw herself?
I kept waiting for the clues to add up because a few things seemed off from the beginning.
It’s a good guessing who is responsible for what sort of book.

I was hooked from picking up the book to the end
the twists were packed in -
I would highly recommend this to anybody who loves a good thriller
especially ones which make you go 'what the heck!'

EXCERPT “In just one second, I ruined my life.”

Abi is slowly rebuilding her life after a messy relationship with her ex Will, she has taken up running and whilst out on a run she is witness to a hit and run. Without her mobile and the man lying motionless in the street, she finds the closest telephone box and calls the emergency services. But when she returns the man is gone. This starts the dominoes falling on Abi’s life as things begin to spiral.

This is a quick read with enough to keep you interested. A suspense thriller with twists.

Many thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for my eARC.

A fast paced, well written thriller. I really enjoyed being inside Abi's head, I felt akin with her and her thought process. It reminded me a lot of the way I would think in a situation. Also, it was so nice to read a thriller with relatable people in relatable situations.
Full of secrets, twists and turns it only took me about 4 hours to read it, I wasn't bored for a second and the author got right to point which I really liked.
I don't want to explain to much about the plot, your best just going in reading the blurb, as the shock and suspense start right from the first chapter.

This was gearing up to be a five star read for me, but I felt like I was left on a cliffhanger, I wanted to know where everyone's lives went next. What happens with Abi and Mel? Will Abi ever meet anyone normal and stable? I would have liked to have seen her get some form of happy ending! To be honest, the ending felt a bit stunted and fast, that's the reason for the 4 stars (in my opinion).

I enjoyed reading this ARC.. When Abbi is out running early one morning she witnesses a hit and run.. she hasn't got her phone and runs to the phone box to get assistance. ...... only when she gets back to the scene there is no body.......... There is definately more to this book than at a first glance, if you like a physcological thriller, read this one, you won't be disappointed......highly recommend.

Twisty thriller about a woman who witnesses an accident and no one believes her. Abi is trying to rebuild her life after losing her license in a DUI and escaping a terrible situation. She is out running one early morning when she sees a man in a business suit run over by a car. The man appears to be dead and Abi doesn't have her phone so she has to run to the nearest phone box. When Abi returns to the scene a police officer is there but the man who was hit is gone. The police tell her to forget about it but when she sees the man's picture on TV as a missing person, she knows something strange is going on.

Abi is a likable character and I was rooting for her to be believed and at the same time I thought she wasn't making the best choices. With her best friend happily married and expecting a baby, Abi wonders if her life will ever get better. She works nights stocking shelves in a supermarket and her only attempt to get back out there is join a local Spanish class at a community college. Then one day her class has a new student: handsome, friendly John and he takes an interest in Abi. Can her luck be changing for the better? At the same time, Abi is more convinced than ever that the missing man and the man she saw run over are one and the same. The big twist was easy to figure out but the novel was fun and I liked the relationships Abi had with her family and her best friend. Quick, one day read and another win by this talented author. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC for review.

I recently finished reading Joanne Ryan's latest novel, "Alone in the Dark," and it has quickly become my new favorite, surpassing her previous work, "Don’t Let Her In." I had the chance to read an advanced copy of her earlier book, and I've noticed that Ryan's writing has matured with each new release. Her growth as a writer is evident not only in the technical aspects of her craft but also in the increasingly intricate and engaging plot development.

In "Alone in the Dark," the protagonist, Abi, shares traits with characters from "The Girl on the Train" and "The Woman in the Window," as the author presents her as an unreliable narrator. The narrative introduces subtle clues that connect characters, providing a satisfying sense of validation.

The addition of a poignant side story enhances the main narrative, bringing depth and emotion to the story and introducing a truly unsettling element of terror.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

Caution: Don't read this book if you're alone in the dark, because it will scare the crap out of you! And it definitely did. Had to read it with all the lights on, but oh, how I enjoyed it!

Abi is out running in the early morning darkness when she witnesses a hit-and-run accident, although it looks like the car deliberately hit the victim. She has to leave the scene in order to find a telephone to call the police. And when they arrive, there is no body. Abi is sure of what she has seen, and has trouble believing that the man, who appeared dead, could have gotten up and walked away. Abi is not sure she is thinking clearly due to recent trauma in her life, but she can't forget what she saw that morning and makes a few inquiries, each of which leaves her deeper in trouble with the police, her friends, and whoever wanted the man dead.

This fast-paced thriller held my interest on every page. I couldn't put it down. I did wish that Abi would be a little smarter from time-to-time, but trauma does have a way of influencing people's way of thinking. This is a well-written book and I hope to read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

WOW what a read! I found this book so hard to put down once I stared. A fast paced read full of twists and turns.