When Darkness Falls by Kathleen Harryman

I received this book for free from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Are serial killers mad or evil?Follow the amazing journey of Tracy Bennett, an average, middle of the road woman working in a make-up counter in a York department store.But Tracy is not who she wants you to believe...."I was unable to put it down as the character is so driven, ghoulishly fascinating and wickedly humorous.""Kathleen Harryman's portrayal of a mind warped horribly out of shape is a compelling plunge into the abyss."Kathleen Harryman's When Darkness Falls is a gripping account of a psychopathic killer. Written from the killer's perspective, the story's intent is perfectly compelling and holds the reader enthralled.Make assumptions, draw your own conclusions and then find your theories debunked as the story unfolds.When Darkness Falls is a book that you will not be able to put down until the last page is turned. A testament to the human fascination with the criminal mind.Get your copy!

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my links, I will receive a small commission or free services from the sale at no additional cost to you.

Trigger Warnings: Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse of a Child, Gore, Murder, Forced Suicide, Mental Health Related Illness/Diagnosis.

When I picked up When Darkness Falls by Kathleen Harryman through NetGalley, I wasn’t expecting that the book had already come out in 2017 and had a sequel. While I haven’t yet read the sequel, I am going to give my thoughts on the first book.

Our story is being narrated in the first person by a mysterious character whose name we will later learn is Lauren. Lauren has it out for Tracy and wants her gone. Pretty quickly into the book I deduced what was going on with Lauren and Tracy – which I will not be spoiling for you – although I had to wait until the end of the book to find out that I’d been correct the entire time.

The characters are interesting enough – I felt Lauren was the most interesting of the bunch, with the others there merely as window dressing to help the story along. Even Tracy wasn’t much more than window dressing to me, but I feel as though that was to help convey part of the reason Lauren hated her so much.

I did find the book to have some unbelievable characteristics – for example, someone suspected of murder who was still working at their job. Most employers, even if a formal accusation had not been made, wouldn’t permit a suspect to remain employed by their establishment. However, the book does appear to be set in the UK, so perhaps that is why.

I felt the ending to be somewhat lacking. Yes, it gave us the “big reveal” but to me, the epilogue basically ruined it. I felt the information we gleaned in the epilogue would have made a better prologue to the second book, allowing us to think all was well until we started the second book. However, I didn’t feel it was a big enough issue to detract from the book. I flew through the book once I started reading it. It was a fast paced book with enough action to keep you wondering who was going to be the next person found dead.

I’d recommend this book for those who are looking to get into psychological thrillers.