How well do you know your girlfriend?

How well do you know your lover?

How well do you know yourself?

Daniel and Victoria are together. They're trying for a baby. Ruby is in prison, convicted of assault on an abusive partner. But when Daniel joins a pen pal program for prisoners, he and Ruby make contact. At first, the messages are polite, neutral - but soon they find themselves revealing more and more about themselves. Their deepest fears, their darkest desires. And then, one day, Ruby comes to find Daniel. And now he must decide who to choose - and who to trust.

This Little dark Place. It seems not little, but enormous. What a brilliant read. I did to an all-nighter to finish the book. Few books do this. A.S. Hatch I will follow.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

The novel is written in the first person by Daniel, as a letter to Lucy. It is a slow burn of a story, as our narrator describes his upbringing and his marriage to Victoria. One lonely night, Daniel joins an online pen pal site to correspond with prison inmates. And...no spoilers. This very original book was suspenseful and ominous and I couldn’t put it down. What a good book!

This Little Dark Place by A.S Hatch is by far my favourite book of 2019. I do not even know where to begin writing to say how good this book was. The characters, plot, twists, suspense and narrative had me on the edge of my seat throughout and I was so sad when it finally came to the end.

I will start with the characters. Each character the reader meets within the novel has been clearly devised through huge amount of research and effort. Each character is fleshed out we learn to think, feel and breathe like them. I have never read a book that does this as well as A.S Hatch has done. The main character "Dan" is so likeable it keeps you guessing as your read as to why he is in prison? Surely a lovely guy like himself couldn't end up behind bars? The female characters in the book especially Ruby make you feel so many emotions is hard to know where your head is at between her relationship with Dan.

In terms of the plot, it is such a clever and refreshing style of writing as it is written through Dan's letters to someone called Lucy. You get to feel how Dan feels and how he thinks from page to page. The story starts of by Dan going to the very start of his life. We find out about his parents, where he lives and about the experiences he has been through (don't want to give too much away). You instantly like Dan and are keen to know more about him. Dan continues to tell his story and you go through his emotions as he writes them down on paper to Lucy. When we meet Ruby we are constantly questioning her motives and we are always thinking if we can trust her.

The twists throughout the book are ones I have not experienced they are jaw dropping and I found myself reading and recapping the page where it was revealed to make sure I was not missing anything. (Not giving anything else away about the twists)

In terms of suspense I was constantly on edge and did not want to put it down to work, eat or sleep. Hatch writes in a way which is easy to follow yet complex enough to keep you engaged and interested. As the story fleshes out the suspense unfolds more and more.

Likewise with the narrative structure of the book it is told through Dan's letters to Lucy and as already mentioned it is a refreshing and creative way of structuring a novel.

In conclusion I have to say that for a debut novel, A.S Hatch as done amazingly well, I was blown away. This is my favourite book of 2019 so far, but I doubt it will be topped! I am honoured to have been given an ARC copy by NetGalley and Serpent's Tail in exchange for an honest review! I can't wait to see what A.S Hatch does next.

Wow what a riveting read. Full of intrigue and suspense This Little Dark Place had me reading into the early hours to reach the end. I liked the way the story is mainly told via various letters to and from some great characters. At times I could feel the anxiety, pain, happiness of the characters as it was so well written.
A brilliant read with a surprise ending which I never expected which left me thinking about the book days after I had finished it.

Had a hard time getting into this one, but glad I stuck with it. It got really good at the end!!

Thanks to net galley and the publisher for an early release if this book.

This is really a dark and creepy little number! But in the best possible way. Lots of twists and turns and despicable characters but I could not put this down. The end surprised me which doesn't happen often and now I am wanting to read more from this author. If you are looking for a dark and sinister poolside read this is it. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Firstly I must say, if this is an authors Debut I look forward to watching their career.
I was hooked on this book from the very begging. The book is told in the format of letters which I loved. It was the perfect format for this story. It gave it such an ominous feel that really kept you diving for the next page.
I felt like our main narrator Dan was extremely relatable in his very flawed way. His dark and brooding inner thoughts really flesh him out.
My only complaint is that I felt like things escalated from kinda normal to very dire so quickly. I would have believed the climax of this book a little more if we’d had a little more tension and stress. That said, this book was not what I expected at all in the best way. It wasn’t predictable and it kept you on end up until the very end (with a fantastic final twist)
Can’t wait to see more from this author.
Thank you so much serpents tail and netgally for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Loved this book, and the way it was told through letter writing. This premise really works for this book. The tension definitely builds throughout the book. I particularly enjoyed the location the book was set and I think the author did a really good job of using the description of the setting to contribute to the tension that was created. As the book progressed I did guess elements of the ending but this did not detract from the overall enjoyment. Thank you for very much. I look forward to reading future work by the author.

A powerful tale of obsessive love and betrayal, full of unexpected twists. Great read, fully recommended!

4 stars

What a great debut novel! I knew only 2 things by the middle but some of the ending definitely surprised me. I liked the letter set up in the novel but the switching up to the present could be a little unclear sometimes. I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

I received a free arc of the book for an honest review from net galley and Serpent's Tale.

Fabulous debut novel. Narrated by Dan, as a series of letters to and from a pen pal convict you quickly doubt everyone in this twisted, engaging story. Who is who? This little Dark Place is a black hole I was thrilled to be sucked into, willingly.

I'm still a little confused as to what to say about this book. The length was good as I feel if this would have continued much longer, I would have lost interest. I feel parts in the middle were slow going and predictable. Never would have guessed the ending though or believed that characters would basically end up switching places!

3.5 stars!!! Told through letters from the main character Dan to someone named Lucy was a very interesting way to tell the story. I really enjoyed this concept. It took a little bit for the story to pick up steam but when it did I couldn’t stop reading it. Really makes you think about how our actions and inactions affect the way things in life turn out. The atmosphere of the cottage is creepy and sets a definite tone for how things play out. Thank you to NetGalley, Serpent’s Tail publishing, and A.S. Hatch for the ARC!!

An excellent debut by A.S. Hatch. It starts with Dan writing a letter to Lucy telling his story of what transpired on that fateful October. His tale involves two women Victoria and Ruby and how they influence and affect his life. However, this book is so much more full of tension and second guessing. Well written with imagery and character development. Satisfying ending.

Thanks Netgalley for a ARC and introducing me to a new author.

Highly readable, dark little book that I found myself racing through. In a short book, the author conjures up convincing, flawed, very human characters that one can’t help but empathise with.

This book was a very different storyline than I had originally imagined. It was a tad confusing at times trying to keep track of who the narrator was talking to, however it did take a turn I didn’t see coming. I enjoyed the mystery that the author conveyed through the different writing style that they used.
Incarceration is not typically a topic that is included in books, and especially the subject of being pen pals with an inmate. I truly was captivated by the writing style of this book and would be very intrigued to read more by this author.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review and opinion.

Daniel and Victoria are together. They're trying for a baby. Ruby is in prison, convicted of assault on an abusive partner. But when Daniel joins a pen pal program for prisoners, he and Ruby make contact. At first the messages are polite, neutral - but soon they find themselves revealing more and more about themselves. Their deepest fears, their darkest desires. And then, one day, Ruby comes to find Daniel. And now he must decide who to choose - and who to trust.




Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This Little Dark Place is narrated by Daniel, who is writing to someone named Lucy. We learn of his life with Victoria, how they are trying to conceive and issues they face as every couple does.

Daniel also begins to write to a prison inmate, Ruby, who is incarcerated for an assault on her partner. When Ruby is finally released, she comes to find Dan.

This novel was a bit of a slow burn but so beautifully written and at times sad. I felt so much for these characters and honestly, I had no idea where this was going or how it would end. There were so many questions!! These characters were all so flawed and mysterious but you couldn’t help feel for everyone of them. I flew through this book.

Very impressed with this debut novel and look forward to reading more of this authors work.

Thank you to for this free review copy in exchange for my honest and unedited feedback.
4.5 ⭐️

When I'm travelling I love to read these short, twisty psychological thrillers – the sort of thing that's complex enough that you can get engrossed in even when you're on a delayed plane with a screaming baby and someone's elbow digging into you, but simple enough that you can still follow even when you're exhausted and can't focus well. Light, but not too light. This book fit that perfectly.

It's very slow to get going (to the point that I had to check the book description as what it claimed to be about didn't seem to be actually happening), but then it does some interesting stuff. It's rare that I read a plot twist I didn't see coming but that still makes sense, and this one took me by surprise. Ask me in a year and I don't think I'll remember much about this book, but I certainly enjoyed it at the time.

Brilliant! A different take on a thriller and one that kept me going right to the very last page. Recommended book and author.