The Essence of Darkness is an investigation thriller surrounding the missing children at a small town of St.Mary’s. FBI spl agent Cooper investigates the unexplainable disappearances which kind of shifts the main plot from investigation to supernatural. He soon uncovers a dark ancient evil (like ElCuco in The Outsider - which is so cool and ethereal btw!!). This story is a believable amalgamation of great suspense and thriller. Its written in a very serious freaking tone!! Its listed as horror, but i saw no horrific reference! A big bummer for a horror lover!!
Thanks to Netgalley, Tom Clearlake, Moonlight publishers for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and Moonlight for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

First let me say that I think this book was not for me. Some are and some aren't and I understand that. This was listed as horror/mystery/thriller and I read a lot of those. This book however was not what I expected in a bad way. I feel like this was possibly translated and not done well. I hated the footnotes, the odd language, and the character description, especially of the main character, FBI agent Cooper. The author spent a lot of time on the agents appearance, sexual magnetism, and how he didn't recognize it in himself. There are an abundance of sex scenes that I skimmed because they didn't fit into my perspective as a woman.

I felt the story had promise initially, I expected it to focus on the investigation surrounding the missing children in St. Mary's which it did but that wasn't the main focus of the story. It changed from serial abductions to something much more supernatural than that.

Unfortunately for me this was a 1 star. Others may find it enjoyable but I am a fast reader and had to FORCE myself to finish this one. It is really long and the pacing was slow.

I could only get through 15% of this book. It took me a few tries to get this far.
The settings details was great but the story failed to appeal to me.

#ThrillerMysteryHorrorSuspenseFantastiqueDarkRomanceTomClearlake #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book,

I was really exited for this books based on the synopsis here on Netgalley but this work really didn’t work for me. I couldn’t connect with the writing style- it is translation from French so I don’t know if that had something to do with it .

This is a great story with elements of FBI procedural, horror, the spirit world, murder, and just a touch of romance. When five small children go missing without a trace, the FBI sends an agent that starts the wheels rolling for an ethereal being to take over Earth. Written in a very serious tone with wars and pandemics causing global collapse, this isn't your run of the mill scary story. More than 5 stars are deserved.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

The premise of this one caught my attention - missing children and the hints of some kind of spooky supernaturalness tied to the deep woods of Pennsylvania.

But unfortunately once I started reading this book ,the story just distracted me .

The writing style could have been better .

I DNF’d this book at 10%, so I won’t be rating it on Goodreads or other review sites. I really wish I had liked this book. The premise sounded like something I’d enjoy. Five kids go missing, an FBI agent starts investigating, and then it takes a paranormal/horror turn. All of those things sound right up my alley. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get past the writing. It was overly descriptive and had several typos in the 10% that I read. I kept getting pulled out of the story by odd word choices and misspellings. I feel like this books needs a bit more editing before publication.

I really wanted to like this book. I love horror and mystery, so I was excited to get an advanced copy from NetGalley, unfortunately I was just unable to get through this one.

The good:
Intriguing premise. The initial descriptions of the missing children were captivating! I was invested in finding the kids/out what happened to them.

The translation! This book was originally published in French and I found the translation to be spot on.

Lots of detail!

The bad:
Lots of detail about weird things. I wanted more focus on the actual problem at hand (initially missing children), but we got lots of details about the MC--mostly how great and attractive he is.

Honestly, this was the worst part for me. I tried to get past it, but it really took away from that I thought the story was supposed to be about.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced copy. Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

The Essence of Darkness was poorly formatted with strange spaces between words and no formatting to define the dialogue.  And that dialogue was just plain strange, reading more like a screenplay than a novel.  I understand the author usually writes in French so I can say that the book was well translated although could use some heavy editing. 

I was really close to a DNF at less than 20%, but decided to stick it out.  Just past 50%, it turned into a semi-decent thriller, but still unbelievable with at least one jaw-dropping scene that made no sense and the author should be ashamed for writing.  It did nothing for the plot and was in very poor taste.  Then the last 10% came and I was glad I hung in.  It was absolutely silly, but also a wild freefall roller coaster ride but I am glad it's over.

Overall, this book is not recommended without some heavy editing and reformatting.  But I learned I need to stop taking ARCs that don't require a request.  This book couldn't choose a genre, POV, or format.  Kudos for writing a book but please get an editor. 

Finally, what the heck Pizza Hut has an indoor playground OR cappuccino?!?!?

The plot of this book sounded so far up my alley that frankly, it was insane. Horror? I'm down. Mystery? Heck yeah. This book was originally written in French, I believe. The translater, as far as I can tell, did an excellent job. Unfortunately, this book just didn't hit right for me. I thought the horror elements were the strongest part of the book, which was awesome, but I find myself really needing to connect with the characters in order to be fully invested in a horror story. I found the characters to be unlikeable, but it doesn't seem like Clearlake was going for unlikeable characters.

From reading the book description, I thought that this story would be about an FBI agent working to discover what happened to five missing children. That played a small role in The Essence of Darkness as this was not a police procedural with a supernatural element. Special Agent Eliott Cooper may have been chosen to investigate these crimes, but his first trip into the woods bordering the disappearances, lead him in a whole other direction.
The story quickly shifts into something ancient and evil and horrific, and honestly, I don't know if it was because of translation issues, but I had a very hard time connecting with the plot and the characters. I am not going to say much more, because in this case, this story just wasn't a good fit for me. I do think if I had a better understanding of what the book was about, I might have enjoyed it more. I couldn't get past my preconceived notions, and this is one of those times that I would like to be able to read this again for the first time, knowing it is a supernatural horror story.

I received this book from a request through NetGalley.
I was not a fan of the main protagonist. He is described as if he was a God who can do everything perfectly and All women would fall at his feet. This sets him up as unbelievable and hard to relate to by us mere mortals.
The story is described to be about missing children but there is not much in the book about that plot point.
Overall it was a dislike of the main character that ruined this book for me.
I am a fan of both mysteries and horror books so this one seemed to combine the two but an unlikeable protagonist destroyed the book for me.

I usually love horror/sci go books but this one did not catch my interest. I tried to force myself to finish the book but I really struggled.

This was book was translated from its original to French and the translation itself was not bad. Though I will say the word improbable was used a lot.

I was really hoping for a lot of focus on the missing kids and the touch of the supernatural but what I got instead was a major focus on the main character. Apparently he is very good looking and part Native American. The reason I say this is because there was a decent sized section focusing on his looks, past relationship, and that his nickname was Mr. Cookie. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. While I didn't love it maybe someone else will.

I selected this book thinking I'd be getting a book about missing children with a dark occult type of twist or theme. While the book starts out about missing kids, it goes completely off the rail. I don't know if something didn't translate correctly from French to English or if the author simply isn't good at writing.

None of the characters are likeable. None. Of. Them.

Also, why is everyone a slut? There is a wham bam thank you mam that was utterly ridiculous. Methinks the author may have been fulfilling some of his own fantasies.

This was nothing but a overly long, one dimensional & boring eye rolling fest that I desperately wished to finish so I could read something - anything else.

At the end, the author states being a fan of authors like Clive, Koontz, & King. This book has a feel of these authors but it's missing one very important element, talent.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

There was a lot more science fiction and horror to this book than I was expecting. I thought it would be more of a mystery / FBI procedural. It wasn’t a bad book, but not one that I loved either. It had a lot of great aspects, those parts reminded me of the movie Independence Day with a touch of Da Vinci Code. The horror was okay but not overly scary or graphic. I would have liked it better if it had been more action packed and a bit less bloated. I usually do enjoy a good science fiction thriller, especially throwing in conspiracy theories and secret societies and good versus evil. I think this one just wasn’t fast paced enough for me. I skimmed through a lot of the middle part because it wasn’t too thrilling but I was interested enough to see where it was going and how it would end up.

The premise of this one caught my attention - missing children and the hints of some kind of spooky supernaturalness tied to the deep woods of Pennsylvania. When I first realized that it was translated fiction, my hopes sunk somewhat because I do feel like translations can be so hit or miss. In the past, I would stick to the end of the book no matter what, but in recent years, I have tried to instill some rules to stop me from wasting time on anything that I am not really enjoying. And while I do still end up with a handful of one-star reviews each year, it isn't as many as in the past. And this one, I really didn't have to make it too far in before I realized that this isn't the story that I had hoped for.

Maybe this is in part due to the translation, but it really just seems to not be grounded in fact - and other than some fog and disappearing apparitions, I wouldn't say that I really got to any of the supernatural stuff before I set it aside. It just feels like the only research into FBI practices were taken from seeing old movies. The main character, Cooper, may be an FBI agent, but he also makes his own cat food pellets (though he also mentions going to the store for cat food - I can only hope that the word "ingredients" or "supplies" was cut off, because this is such a distinct contradiction) is able to run in the woods for long distances and also lugs his supplies in what seems to be a bag of Mary Poppins-like proportions from all that he equips the cabin and camp sites with. He also has a past history of being a poor student and also spent time being raised by his Native American grandparent. And like the unfocused nature of the main character, the writing also jumps scenes between dreams, memories and the present, where time passes in unexpected chunks. The wooded area stakeout isn't really built up enough for it to make sense...

And while I am curious about the overall premise still, and the mysterious figures in the woods, I just can't stand the shifting verb tenses, lackadaisical approach to research and the contradictions. I just am not finding anything redeeming here, so this is my first Do Not Finish of 2020. I mean, how can this have been originally written in French and then have the word "omelette" misspelled - it is the same in English and French!! I hate to bail on a book, but I am not sticking through until the end here!

Description
Five unexplained child disappearances have plagued the small town of St. Marys in the space of four months. All the elements indicate that these are abductions. FBI Special Agent Eliott Cooper is sent to investigate.

Little by little, he uncovers facts that he can’t rationally explain. Soon, he discovers that a dark and very ancient evil seems to have taken over the forests around the city. This is only the beginning of his investigation...

I was invited to read this and admit I haven't read this type of book in a long time. It reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz and Stephen King style of writing -- at one point the main character "jumped up and ran to vomit a stream of hemoglobin out the the cabin window." I figured that part was just lost in translation from French to English. It was also hard to read at times because the words pandemic, virus and cities being wiped out completely were part of the story line, especially with what is going on in the world today.

I gave it three stars for the abrupt ending. It left me with so many unanswered questions at 11:00 at night that I found the author on Facebook and PM'd him about them, I haven't ever done that before! I hate when a book ends like that but I guess books aren't always meant to end neatly with a bow, so I'm told. I'll edit the review if he ever answers me.

Thank you to #Moonlight for an honest review and an advanced copy. The #Pub Date 18 Apr 2020.
#ThrillerMysteryHorrorSuspenseFantastiqueDarkRomanceTomClearlake #NetGalley

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

3 stars

There was a lot about the story that I wanted to love (mystery, horror, the supernatural), but I couldn’t really get into this book. The characters never really connected with me. Overall, not bad, just not my favorite this time.

Let me just start by saying that this book was not at all what I thought it would be.

Five children have been kidnapped in the small town of St. Marys. FBI Special Agent Eliott Cooper is sent to investigate and try to locate the missing children. He camps out in the woods because that is where they think the kidnapper may be holding the children. He starts noticing some strange things, such as the lack of sounds in the woods - no animal sounds at all, and as well as some other strange things. One night he sees three women in the woods.....and this is where everything veers into the strange and unusual.

I do not want to give the plot away, so I will stop here.

This book was outside my usual story type, and even though it was very fantastical, it was a good read. If you like supernatural stories, then you will love this book!

This book is well written with fleshed our characters. I was looking forward to a FBI procedural with some supernatural elements thrown in. This is more supernatural with a bit of FBI elements thrown in. There is a lot of witchcraft and demonic possession with gory cannibalism and dark forces. While this type of book is not for me I can find not fault with the writing and if you enjoy this type of book then you will certainly enjoy this one.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tom Clearlake for the chance to read and review this book.