As in the first of this series to feature Megan Carpenter this author does not disappoint. Nail biting, hair raising and in places heart stopping. This author knows how to deliver a story. Another book in this series which I devoured in one sitting I HAD TO KNOW THE TRUTH and finally turned the last page in the wee hours. Yes this book is that good, can be read as a stand alone but I am sure that once you have read this gripping read you will want to go back to where it all began. 
Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This is the third book in a series but the author did a good job of connecting the past and its an easy stand alone read as well.  The bantering partner dynamic between meghan and ronnie is likable and the story flows easily.  The crime scenes were gruesome and highly entertaining.  I do wish I had started the series at the beginning to get a better glimpse into their world. Look forward to continuing to read Gregg Olsen novels.





Thank you to NetGalley, Gregg Olsen and Bookouture for giving me the chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

Having recently returned to work after their previous traumatic investigation, Detective Megan Carpenter and her temporary partner Deputy Ronnie Marsh are hoping for some more ordinary working experiences for a little while at least. Then Ronnie takes a call about a particularly brutal murder and when Megan realises she knows the victim it becomes clear this case is going to be anything but run of the mill and, in fact, could destroy her. 

Monique Delmont helped make Megan the person she now is, having confidence in her abilities and helping to provide her with a future totally different from the one she had imagined for herself. The detective is sure their friendship has led to the older woman’s death and she is also sure she knows exactly who the killer is and how much he knows about her secret past. 

Megan has always worked alone, avoiding friendships and partners until very recently while telling no-one about how her present lifestyle makes it imperative she never has to justify previous actions. She is now absolutely certain she will finally be able to end the reign of terror which has dogged her for decades. With Ronnie by her side however, that task is a little less straightforward and far more dangerous for all those around her than she ever could have imagined. 

This is the third in the Megan Carpenter series and another thrilling offering from the ever excellent Mr Olsen which continues her story in an intriguing way. There is a lot more information about Megan's past and the reasons she lives the way she does which gives her a much more rounded character and I really enjoy her as a main protagonist.  

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. This is easy to recommend as it is a very good read.

I am a fan of Gregg Olsen and have enjoyed his books for some time. I, somehow, missed the first two books in this series, and probably would not have requested this book if I had, as I am not interested in the main character. I struggled with the book and was unable to finish it. Just not my cup of tea.  I was given an ARC for my honest opinion.

I didn't know this was the third book in a series when I requested it, and for a while I was confused because it felt like the continuation of a series but the recaps were so many and detailed that it also felt like a standalone giving the character her backstory.
I got frustrated with the main character outright lying to everyone around her and withholding vital information in a murder case. I have to be honest and say I didn't like her very much. She was very egocentric.
My favourite character was Ronnie without a doubt. She is smart and I look forward to her character and role development in future books. And I liked the small town setting. 
The story was good and a page turner.

This book was extremely well-written! The suspense, murders, and the plot twists all made this book gruesomely gripping! I was lost in the beginning because I didn't realize that it was part of a series, but after a while, I was sucked in even though I didn't understand ever little detail. The writing and plot were very well-written and sucked me in from the start. Megan was an interesting and not your typical heroine. I really liked her character and her personality was so different than what I was expecting. She and Ronnie are a very good team and I enjoyed their search for the killer. It was a gripping tale that I couldn't put down and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I can't wait for the next installment of this series and I would definitely recommend this!

As a lover of thrillers and mysteries, I have read a lot of detective novels.  I find that the characters make all the difference in whether the novel is intriguing or falls flat.  I was definitely enamored with the detective in this book and maybe even more by her rookie partner who proved quite intuitive.  There were snippets from the first two novels in the series which made me a little sad that I started at Book 3 because it sounds like I missed a lot of action.  Even though I know how it will turn out, I still plan to go back and read them because of how much I enjoyed this book.

I love all of Gregg Olsen’s books and this was no exception! I didn’t realize I had missed a book in this series but I was still able to keep up and could be read as a stand-alone. I love Megan Carpenter’s tough character and the fact that she does have an emotional side that she tries to hide. This book was full of suspense. Megan is working her way through her case and her past trying to figure out who the killer is and why an old picture of her was found at the murder scene. While she can’t reveal too much of her past to her boss she has to come up with a plausible reason so she can stay on the case. This was another great one and I can’t wait for book #4 to be released!

Nail biting, hair raising and amazing as always. This instalment of the Megan Carpenter series did not disappoint. It was fast paced and suspenseful. The characters were brought to life and easy to like. Gregg Olsen is adept at gruesome yet intriguing tales, shocking even the most seasoned crime reader. This is one of those books you stay up way to late to read.... and then have nightmares about. Keeps you guessing till the very end.  I can’t wait till the next book!

Dark Falls is the third book in the Detective Megan Carpenter series. Although I hadn’t read the previous books, I didn’t feel that distracted from the enjoyment of this book. I found this book to be quite gruesome, tense and thrilling and quite hard to put down. It’s well written and the plot flowed well. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

This was a difficult one to review. 
It was the third book in a series, which I hadn't realised. I think reading the first two books would definitely benefit the reader- we are given some of the background to Megan but I feel it would help understand her character better and we would feel more invested in the book. Not having read them made me feel a little detached. 
This book was fairly graphic in places which made for difficult reading and the plot was fairly slow paced but I enjoyed it on the whole.

Dark Falls by Gregg Olsen is the third in the Detective Megan Carpenter Tapes series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:    (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)

Megan Carpenter is a detective in Port Townsend, Washington.  Her childhood was a nightmare, with a mother who did little but lie, and a father who was a serial killer.  Her uncle was just as bad.  Her brother Hayden, who she tried to protect, joined the Army, and has never forgiven her for what she did.  She is re-living her childhood by listening to tapes made by a therapist, who is the only one who knows her full story. As a detective, she works under her friend and mentor, Sheriff Tony Gray, and now has a young partner Deputy Ronnie Marsh.


My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

The body of Monique Delmont, an advocate for victims of violent crimes,  shocks Megan.  Not the fact that this woman had first helped, then betrayed Megan years ago, but the fact that she has been skinned, and two photo's of Megan, one when she was 16 years old, are left at the crime scene.  The fact that Megan knew Monique and why, is going to be difficult to conceal.

Megan is almost positive that Monique's murderer is one of two people.  Her uncle, Michael Rader, has not forgiven Megan for killing his brother, her serial killer father Alex.  The other possibility is someone named "Wallace" who has been sending Megan emails.  Both these people know that Megan is still alive, although she has moved repeatedly, and changed her name.  Only three other people know she is alive, but neither her brother, her therapist, nor her ex-boyfriend are capable of murder.

However, the murder of Monique Delmont definitely has ties to Megan's past, and it looks like that is where she will have to look in order to find the killer.  It will be difficult to do this without sharing her secrets with her team.  If her secrets get out, she will have to run again.  But if she can kill the perpetrator before she ends up dead herself, perhaps she can move on.


My Opinions: 

I am enjoying this series.  Megan is flawed.  She has had a rough life, and although she has killed, she doesn't regret the bodies she has left behind.  They deserved what they got.  She is honest with herself, if not with anyone else.

I like the other characters that surround Megan as well.  I wasn't sure about Ronnie at first, but she grew on me. Olsen has built a great support network around Megan, even though she doesn't always see it that way.

This book further delved into Megan's past,  creating a wonderful plot, and lots of suspense.  I liked the way the story was told from both Megan's and the perpetrator's perspective, so that the reader was able to see when Megan's thought process was right, and when it was wrong.

I guess my main problem with the book, is the constant re-capping.  Yes, I understand if you didn't read the first two books in the series, re-capping is good.  There was just a lot of it.

I know that there are 3 more books planned for this series, and I assume one of them will center on Megan's brother, but I am having problems imagining more books about Megan's past.  Sooner or later you would think she'd stop lying and move on.

Anyway, I am still looking forward to the next book.

Gregg Olsen’s “Dark Falls” is third in a series of Detective Megan Carpenter books. Megan has a very dark and nightmarish past that consistently haunts and at times consumes her. Her past just might succeed in killing her.

Gregg masterfully and absolutely grips you in the first paragraphs detailing where and how a woman’s body is found. Detective Carpenter knows the victim Monique Delmont - now Megan has to find out who and why she was murdered.  Monique helped Megan in her past - could that play a part of why Monique was murdered?.... and just who did this.....why?  Megan is tormented again. Megan thinks she knows who’s behind this.  Could she be dead on? 

Megan and partner Ronnie Marsh are on this case, including how Monique’s daughter’s murder many years ago may play into this.  Yet all those years ago, are enveloped in Megan’s dark past - she’s got to walk that fine line between hiding her horrific past and using everything that she is and
can muster to find the murderer and put and end to this and them - before the murderer puts an end to Megan. 

Gregg Olsen, the number one New York Times, USA Today’s, Wall St. Journal’s, Amazon’s and Goodreads best selling author, is the master of the psychological thriller and is unmatched in creating, building, weaving, and detailing a most intricate web of the most gripping, edge of your seat and best stories ever. 

I highly recommend Dark Falls and all of Gregg Olsen’s books. You’ll be jolted and hooked.   Enjoy!!

This is the third book in the series and best to read in the order. The story is more about Megan and her past, pushing the plot and the suspense behind. The story and conclusion doesn’t add much to the series except character development. The positive is, the tapes take a minor role unlike the previous books. As the author is planning three more books, I hope he moves from Megan’s past and write about her present and the future.

Gregg Olsen is a quite prolific writer, and Dark Falls is his latest book in the Detective Megan Carpenter series. Full disclosure: I haven't read the first 2 books in the series, but Olsen does a great job of introducing the reader to the Megan Carpenter world. Enough background was given to catch me right up.

If you enjoy police procedural/detective-style mysteries, you will like this book. Olsen is as always a fantastic writer who keeps the tension taut and the story moving right along in Dark Falls. 

Megan Carpenter is called to the scene of a crime where she recognizes the victim, and in fact, has quite a past with said victim. Megan must find the killer before he finds her, while keeping secrets that could cost her quite a lot, including her career and life. 

As well written as this book was, as twisty as the mystery was, I struggled with Megan as a character. She seemed similar to just about every other detective with a past I've ever read, AND it bothered me that she didn't actually sound at all like a woman. As in--after I read the first few chapters, I went back and made sure I hadn't somehow gotten confused and was reading about a male detective. 

The voice just doesn't sound like a woman, even a woman who doesn't fall along traditional lines of feminine vs. masculine. For some reason her reference to "eye makeup" which apparently mascara is not a part of really stuck out to me. I don't know a single woman who calls eyeline/eyeshadow "eye makeup", nor wouldn't include "mascara" under the heading of "eye makeup" if they did. This very much felt like a man writing a woman, and that made it hard for me to stay in the character's head. I knocked it from 5 to 4 stars for that reason.

Twisted and somewhat disturbing story. Definitely read the others first. 3.5 STARS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I made a technical error with this book. This is definitely a continuation in a series so I did feel a little bit lost here and there.

The author did a good job recapping other books in the series to try to keep the reader on top of it all. But it seemed like a lot of the book was recapping prior situations and stories. While it was great for me to get a handle on the missing pieces, it also made me feel like the story never really moved too far along the way.

Many times I did lose concentration and with the number of characters, I was losing track of who was who. Or maybe the author just did not grab me or suck me in enough.

Megan the Detective is certainly not your average heroine. She is definitely a bad girl and for much of the book, she is lying and covering her tracks while looking for her stalker and a murderer. The plot is tied personally to Megan and they are targeting her specifically. She seems to have a history of people trying to kill her. But I can see why as her background is definitely questionable!

Dark Falls is a bit of a disturbing story when you look at the main character with her issues and flaws. The story is engaging and really would have been more interesting had I read other books prior. Twisted characters and strange plot twists made this an exciting yet mildly suspenseful read.

This is my first book by Gregg Olsen but the third in the Megan Carpenter’s series.
Although I feel like I would have enjoyed the book more if I read the first novels, I still managed to follow the plot.

What I really loved about the book is that you get the point of view of the killer as well as the detective. 

My favourite character was Ronnie and she really kept me interested in this book.
The plot was interesting and fast paced. I thought the book wouldn’t be so interesting because I knew who the killer was, it was really interesting to follow how Megan was going to catch the culprit. 

I felt like Megan had a lot of baggage and I didn’t entirely engage with her as a main character but I loved to see the duo between her and Ronnie and their relationship.

I really enjoyed the twists as well as the ending of the book and I am really curious to see what other adventures will come  the detective’s way. 

Overall I really enjoyed this book and am quite curious to read previous books by the author. 

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

I'm  a big fan of this series and characters. I don't recommend reading it as a standalone. There is a lot that is being revealed as Megan develops. Her past is a big part of her character. I highly recommend also reading the books about her from when she was a girl named Rylee. Things will make a lot more sense and enhance this series for the reader. Megan is a complex character that is sometimes hard to like but you can't help but root for her. I really enjoy Ronnie. She is also coming into her own and their partnership is fun to read. 
Once again Detective Carpenter is facing the ghosts of the past. I enjoyed the cat and mouse game but felt like the reveal was underwhelming and not very clear. This one is more about the characters than the case. I am excited there will be three more books. I can't wait to see where the author goes from here.

Thank you to Bookouture for the privilege of reading an advanced copy of this outstanding book!  The opening scenes grab you, pull you into the mystery of who could possibly have committed such a heinous crime.  There is an anonymous stalker leaving Megan Carpenter to wonder who could possibly be leaving pictures of her from her past at the crime scene.  The book moves quickly with action and tension.  I found myself reading at any free moment I had!  I had to figure out what was going to happen.  I enjoyed the book immensely and thought the ending left it open for another book in this outstanding series.

Detective Megan Carpenter is back with a vengeance. Oh, maybe I should not say this but I love Megan. She lies through her teeth, she is not very good in obeying orders, she is cold blooded, but she has a heart of gold even if she would deny it if you would say it in her face. Her only goal is to protect and bring justice, but in her own way.
It seems though she has found her equal in her partner. She is not as easily deceived as you would think at first sight and maybe that’s just what Megan needs.
I also admire Sheriff Tony for all the trust he puts in his detectives. I really like him too. 
To make a long story short, it’s a great series that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up constantly and I love it.
I can’t wait for the next book to be published. 5 stars

Thank you, Gregg Olsen and Bookouture