Now that is how you do a crime book!! What a brilliant debut from Amy Jordan, an author that I am already looking forward to reading more from. I am really excited by this book and hope that it will be a big success.

A serial killer..and a copy cat killer. 30 years apart. Former Guarda detective Julia Harte is now living the quiet life in a small village on Irelands coast. Now in her 60’s, she is relieved when she hears that the serial killer she helped put away in 1994 has died in prison. She can finally relax..or can she? Soon she is summoned back to Cork to help stop a copycat who is following in the footsteps of this serial killer.

Told in dual timelines of then in 1994 and today, we learn about both cases and how they relate. We see what Julia risked for this case, what it cost her and why it still has a massive impact on her today. I don’t what to say too much, just read this and be constantly shocked and surprised. This is a brilliant police procedural. I loved that our protagonist was an older woman, who uses her experience in life and in her career to try to stop a ruthless killer. Really well done.

Thank you so much to HTP, MIRA on NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on January 28th, 2025.

“The Dark Hours” by Amy Jordan is a compelling thriller that gripped me with its intricate plot and complex characters. The story follows a retired police detective who has to track down a serial killer while facing horrible memories of her past. The pacing is well-balanced, with suspenseful moments that kept me on edge. Overall, The Dark Hours is a solid read for fans of thrillers who enjoy a mix of mystery and thrill.

Julia is a retired police detective who is called back to help with a case. The case has all of the same details as a case she worked on 30 years ago. Lots of twists and turns and a surprise ending for me.

This was a really good book. It had so many different twists and turns and it kept me engaged from page one. So many secrets come out while reading this. I liked the way that it was written.

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Riveting thriller.
Julia Harte is living a solitary life in retirement on the Irish coast. She left her job as detective and best selling author after solving one of Ireland's most prolific serial killer cases.
Now she lives a quiet life, far from the maddening crowds with no one knowing who she is.
Until she gets a call from her former boss telling her that a copycat killer is on the loose.
Julia returns to the force, with her former boss, as consultants on the new case.
Great mystery with non stop suspense and twists.
Jordan has a real winner here.

The Dark Hours is a great mystery crime thriller! I was engaged from the start. I liked Julia and appreciated the connections she made with co-workers, neighbors and the families she met. I sympathized with her emotional struggles and I kept reading to see what had happened in her past—then what the current case situation could be. By the halfway mark, I couldn’t put the book down. Great page turner!

Thank you to the publishers at NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for review.

A solid debut from an author that feels like it could easily be part of a series -- but a meh protagonist left me wanting more!

Julia was one of the detectives responsible for catching a horrible killer back in 1994. Thirty years later, she is trying to age quietly and alone -- made hard by her career and her subsequent book about her years as a detective. While it was supposed to be just an academic textbook for law enforcement, a societal obsession with true crime has given it a much wider audience (and her a much larger, unwanted fan base).

When the killer she caught dies in prison, she finally thinks she may be able to find peace. But her former supervisor calls her and asks her to consult on a copycat case, hoping that their experiences in the first go-around will help them catch whoever is perpetrating these eerily similar crimes.

This was just okay, honestly. I understood Julia's motivations but I didn't necessarily like her. Nor did I particularly like her husband, Philip. The 2024 timeline was definitely more palatable than the 1994 one, but overall I was left kind of disappointed by the mystery itself and the characters. There weren't many suspects so there wasn't a lot of room for the plot to go anywhere surprising.

Would give this author another try with a new plot/set of protagonists though!

This book was engaging from the beginning. I LOVE THE FACT that the protagonist is an older woman. Very relatable to readers. I also loved that the setting was in Ireland. This was a good thriller and kept me on my toes. Thank you for NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book early and review it.

Julia is tasked with tracking down a copycat killer. She’s very resilient and is willing to do anything to capture the bad people. She even puts her life at risk to try and save others.

I loved being able to read and see the growth of Julia’s character. This story alternates between the past and present life of Julia and her career in law enforcement. I was surprised when the book revealed who the copy cat killer was. I loved everything about this book.

A retired Irish police detective is called back to consult on a case -- someone is imitating the serial killer she caught some thirty years ago, and this killer must be stopped before several young women, now missing, turn up dead. The clock is ticking, so there is a lot of suspense here. I loved the dual timelines -- one story reviews her solving the 1990s era case, the other is present day. Great murder mystery with a great new character. I hope the author writes a followup.

Interesting premise and characters. Not too gory. Not my cup of tea though. 3/5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for letting me read an ARC of this book.

This debut crime thriller follows a retired police detective who must face down a vicious killer and the memories that haunt her, thirty years after bringing down one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers! Great read!! This book had great suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few crazy twists and turns. The story was interesting! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

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

To me, this is a rounded up 2.5 stars. I should just stop reading contemporary mystery/thriller novels, and it is on me to continue delving into the genre that usually (always?) leaves me cold. I can see that plenty of people like this book, so take this review with a grain of salt.

If this were not an ARC, it would have been a DNF at about 25%. The book actually grew on me around 70% in, but it has been a struggle to get there. I did not like the protagonist Julia, or any of the other people (especially her husband Phil). To be fair to Julia, she was greatly improved in the last third of the book, mostly because 1994 plot wrapped up before the 2024 one, and the older Julia was much more palatable. Don't get me wrong, I think Julia was a very realistic character, just not one I liked personally.

The two antagonists (1994 and 2024) were both obvious from the get-go, which made for a dull read from that perspective. It didn't feel like the protagonists should have guessed that (they weren't behaving stupidly like protagonists do in some other books in the genre), but it did mean that the book was sufficiently tropey for the reader to be able to see immediately who the killer was.

If you like twisty thrillers with dual timelines, this one is for you! I thought I had the ending figured out but I was wrong, which was delightful! Most thrillers are predictable by the end.

This book kept my interest because I had to know what happens next. It was a twisty thriller and the time jumps to 1994 from 2024 were easy to follow. I liked how all the ends tied up together and it was a fun read.
The writing felt clear and concise while also giving enough detail to describe the characters, crimes, and story. This is a book I would recommend to others.

Julia has retired from the Garde to a quiet town,Cuan Beag on the coast of Ireland. She receives a call, alerting her to the possibility of a copycat killer. We then leave the present and return to when Julia was young and solved a major case. Julia lost an awful lot due to this case, which will gradually unfold as the story is told.
I enjoyed both timelines equally. Something that is rare for me. There was nothing wrong with how it ended, except that I was sure someone else was the bad guy. That’s my bad, not the authors.
The Dark Hours kept me guessing and flipping pages. A new author to me and one that I hope to read again.