This one was a little hard to get through. It could be due to it being translated into English, but it felt like it was trying too hard. The description while building the characters and backstory almost felt like it was being forced instead of unfolding naturally.

The story line itself could have been really interesting with better writing. A mysterious dissappearance of multiple children got the attention of the FBI. Little did they know, it was related to a different species looking to overtake the world.

I liked how the story wrapped up all of the loose ends and different leave anything hanging.

"The Essence of Darkness" by Tom Clearlake presents an intriguing premise but ultimately falls short of its potential. The book opens with a series of chilling child disappearances in the quiet town of St. Marys, setting the stage for a gripping mystery. FBI Special Agent Eliott Cooper is dispatched to investigate, and the promise of a supernatural element lurking in the forests adds an enticing layer of intrigue.

Clearlake's talent for crafting horror scenes is undeniable. He effectively immerses readers in a world of darkness, fear, and gore, creating moments that send shivers down the spine. However, this novel's strengths are overshadowed by its weaknesses.

One glaring issue is the underdeveloped characters. Cooper, the protagonist, lacks depth, making it difficult for readers to connect with his journey. The supporting cast is equally one-dimensional, leaving readers wanting more from the characters who should drive the narrative.

The writing style also proves problematic, with repetitive descriptions and verbose passages that hinder the pacing. It feels as though the book could benefit from more rigorous editing to streamline the narrative and eliminate unnecessary wordiness.

Additionally, some procedural aspects of the investigation feel under-researched, causing the story's credibility to suffer. While translation from French may contribute to some of the issues, it is not the sole reason for the book's problems.

In the end, "The Essence of Darkness" starts with a promising premise and excels in creating a chilling atmosphere but ultimately falls short due to underdeveloped characters, repetitive writing, and procedural inaccuracies. It leaves readers with the feeling that it could have been so much more with tighter editing and a deeper exploration of its potential.

We look into the darkness but, can we get out. We are taken to the edge and dropped off the side. The twists and turns that is shown in this book and how the storyline is play is such a marvelous way. It makes the reader want to keep turning each page to see what happens. I could not put in down as it kept me up at night. I recommend it.

- I really struggled with this book. Based on the blurb, this book should have been right in my wheelhouse; unfortunately, it fell short in several ways.
- The story was really slow, and the supernatural element simply wasn’t incorporated well. The dialogue was strange (possibly due to the translation) and completely unrealistic at times. There were some plot inconsistencies, and the character development was shallow at best and non-existent at worst. The ending was way too abrupt and incomplete.
- I feel really bad when I don’t end up enjoying a book I requested, but this one just wasn’t written well.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book, which I have read voluntarily and honestly.

This was a thriller book with dashes of horror mixed in. I hoped to enjoy it more, but for some reason I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.

The cover, synopsis and title drew me into the book. The story chased me away. I wish I could say more about this story but it just wasn't good. Also wasn't terrible but I wouldn't recommend it to any of my horror loving friends sadly.

This is not a bad book but also not good. I don't know what to say other than I couldn't read it and that I don't recommend it

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis was good and had piqued my interest. The story has potential. It just didn’t deliver. The story lagged in a lot of places. The main character wasn’t very likable. I had trouble connecting with him. There were some contradicting scenes and parts in the story. There are some good scenes. Just not enough to keep my interest.

Almost unsettling in the time we are living. In right now. Wished there was more to the ending. Ended very wuickly

When FBI Special Agent Eliott Cooper is sent to discover when the missing children has gone, he uncovers an ancient evil that may be more than he can handle. Jump into this fast-paced supernatural mystery.

I no longer request an ARC of a book unless something about the book (sometimes the author, sometimes the description, sometimes even the publisher) attracts me to the title. So it should go without saying that I genuinely want to like and enjoy each book that I read. Sadly, that is not always the case.

Five children have been abducted from a very small town in the past four months. The FBI send agent Eliott Cooper to investigate. But what Cooper thought would be a pretty straight-forward investigation takes a sharp turn as an ancient evil begins to reveal itself in the woodlands around the community. Cooper is in for more than he ever bargained for.

This book was a bit of a slog to get through.

The mystery premise of the book was interesting and I was initially looking forward to getting more into the investigation. But the supernatural element just didn't play well.

But the problems here are more than just an element that isn't presented cleanly. The writing itself often had me scratching my head and ultimately had me wondering why there wasn't a stronger editing process. Two things, small overall, but odd enough to catch my attention in the reading, jumped out at me.

The first was a conversation a man had with a doctor:

“Look, Doctor, I’m a businessman, and I’m up to my neck in work right now. I can’t allow myself the slightest health problem; do you understand? My company’s going to sign a big contract with a client in New York, and I need to be there this afternoon.”

“This afternoon? I’m afraid you’ll have to postpone your meeting until tomorrow. That would be wiser.”

Cooper pressed on. “That’s absolutely impossible!”

The doctor gestured that he could get dressed. Cooper went to his jacket and pulled out his wallet.

“Doctor, if it’s about money,” he said, pulling out a wad of bills, “I can pay, but I absolutely must have a full examination this afternoon.”

In my notes I wrote: "Is this really how you talk to a doctor you've never met before?" and "Why is he demanding an examination 'this afternoon' if he must be meeting a client in New York 'this afternoon'?"

By all accounts, St. Marys, PA is a small town. This is where the abductions have occurred. The town appear to be surrounded by forests, where the evil dwells. I've spent a lot of time living in small towns and something I've never seen or heard attributed to small towns before is 'riots.' In response to one of the abducted being found, dead, we are informed: "The city has been in turmoil since Captain Sherman made the news official. The residents are horrified. There have even been riots over the past two nights."

'Horrified' - for sure. 'Turmoil' and 'riots'? Mmmmm...doesn't ring true at all.

This was hard to read - not because of the theme or subject, but because it just wasn't written well.

Looking for a good book? The Essence of Darkness by Tom Clearlake would not be the path to finding it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, well, this was an ambitious undertaking by an author who clearly knows little about law enforcement. A combination of horror and mystery, it's a strange one. A rare pass from me.

Something strange is going on in the small town of St. Mary’s. Their children are disappearing, and the FBI are called in to investigate. The investigating agent discovers something way more sinister than kidnapped children. Human trafficking? The slave trade? Yes, children being kidnapped is bad, but that is only the tip of the iceberg of what is happening in St. Mary’s.
The FBI agent suspects the kidnappers are hiding out in the woods, so there he stays. Does he find anything? Yes, he does but it isn’t exactly what he expects to find. He sees three witches, and the head witch calls for something to take her over. Demon possession, maybe? Anyway, take her over it does. And then they see him. Guns take them down, but then what had possessed the head witch now has to possess someone else. And the FBI agent is the only one around. And now it looks as though he is the one who has committed the kidnappings and murder.

Now things get really interesting. And, yes, there is a lot of blood and gore, so you might not want to read this if you can’t handle such things. An ancient evil has returned, and its plans are affecting the entire world, not just this little community.

This doesn’t sound like a story where romance would enter in, but it does. The only person Agent Cooper can think of that would help him out is an ex-girlfriend, another FBI agent. Before too long, what happens between them impacts the plans of this ancient evil.

What starts out as an FBI case and mystery soon morphs into a full-fledged tale of horror, one quite capable of giving you nightmares. Little by little it is revealed just how horrible what is going on is. I found this book hard to put down and full of surprises. This is a book I’d gladly read again.

This book was very difficult to get through. It is almost as if the writer had two different personalities. Why all the details about ex lovers view of sex? It is not a romance novel. I found this book just weird with the lack of depth in the character of Agent Cooper was confusing. He is described over and over again as sexy. How does this fit in with the plot? I was just left confused. I would not recommend this book.

A very creepy book. FBI agent Elliot Cooper is investigating the disappearance of 5 children. You might expect the regular run of the mill child kidnapping book but you would be wrong. There is something in the forest and everyone should stay away from them, especially the little ones.

Thanks to Netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really didn't enjoy this book. There was a brief section in the middle where I really thought this was going to be something I enjoyed. Unfortunately, just over halfway through I started to really struggle just to finish it. The story was really hard to follow and I was confused about what was happening for the majority of the second half of the story. I didn't enjoy this experience and while I'm glad that I pushed through the whole thing I'm also glad it's over.

It sounded interesting but unfortunately misses the mark. I'm wondering if something was lost in translation but i'm not so sure. The characters weren't developed enough, the mc was pretty unlikeable. The story felt repetitive in parts and seemed to drag, it really could have been a lot shorter.

The author hits the mark with some of the horror scenes, they're unsettling. However, that doesn't make up for the plot.

First things first, this book does contain some well-done horror scenes. The author certainly knows how to grab a reader's attention with graphic details and gore. Unfortunately, that's the best of it in my opinion, and you can't build a whole story on that alone. The rest of it was a mish-mash of half-developed characters, repetitive descriptions (when you say the same thing in different words, it's still the same thing), and glaringly under-researched procedures. With all of that, the book is just wordy and much too hard to get through. As I understand it, this one is translated from French, and maybe that has a bit to do with my problems while reading it, but I don't think it's all of it. It has the feel of a rough draft, a very long rough draft, and too many things just don't come together.

The Essence of Darkness is the story of Special Agent Elliott Cooper who is investigating the mysterious disappearances of several children over the last few months. All signs at the scenes would lead to it being child abductions, but as the investigation persists, we learn that things are not as they seem, and some dark, ancient evil could be at fault.

As much as I thought this novel would be a really interesting read, I have to unfortunately call it quits with this one! I tried my best to push myself into reading it, and the more I pushed myself the more I did not want to continue. I find paranormal stories to be really interesting and normally I’d dive in deep, but I feel like this one is it quite up my alley at this time. I’m really much more into mystery/thriller genre, minus the paranormal activities right now. Maybe this will be something I can pick up at a later time though!

As such, I will have to leave this unfinished for the moment!

A special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher of this novel for allowing me the opportunity to read this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was incredibly difficult to read.
I understand that the book has been translated from French, but I don't think that's the problem. The story felt very disorganized and all over the place, making it impossible to keep up.
The dialogue was unrealistic and forced, the characters were underdeveloped and frankly just unlikeable. The plot dragged and dragged.