Fiona Cummins is one of my favourite crime thriller authors these days and whilst I enjoyed this book it didn’t quite hit the mark for me, especially when compared to her earlier work.

The novel is expertly plotted; the jumping around in time and place can be a little jarring but I’m in awe of her ability to weave such a complex timeline and to keep the reader on their toes with such sustained tension. There are many twists and turns and it soon becomes apparent that virtually none of the characters are reliable historians, which sets the backdrop for an intriguing read.

The vast majority of the characters had little to no redeeming features and were largely distinctly unlikeable. This in itself is not an issue in terms of reader enjoyment, but it was hard to empathise with most of the characters and the antics of several characters (especially Piper, Julieanne and DC anguish) does stretch the bounds of credibility once too often. It’s hard to believe that so many disturbed/ morally bankrupt / sociopathic characters would be tied together in this way, but I did enjoy the insight into their messed up psyches!

The book deals with complex issues including abuse, jealousy, greed and domestic oneupmanship. These are all handled deftly by Fiona Cummins- but I don’t think this one was a patch on Rattle or When I was Ten.

A family - the Holdens - disappears without explanation one morning, their house apparently just as they left it - school bags in the kitchen, cars in the driveway, a smell of toast lingering in the air. Piper, Gray and teenage twins Riva and Artie have, it seems - to Piper's friend and neighbour Julianne, and subsequently to the police - disappeared into thin air.

The plot then darts back and forth between the days leading up to the disappearance and the days after.

Into the Dark is very well written and well structured, yet somehow failed to grab me. It's chock full of horrible people doing peculiar things - at least one, probably more, is a complete monster. Indeed, the characters are, pretty much without exception, complete weirdos, not least young detective constable Saul Anguish (yes, really) and his narcoleptic forensic linguist colleague, who he nicknames "Blue" after the colour of her hair. (Her real name is Clover March, which has a definite "inspired by classic children's literature" feel about it.) These two seem well matched.

Fiona Cummins is a very good writer and this is, I think, a good book, if you can suspend your disbelief that anyone would act in some of the ways described, but perhaps I was just not in the right mood for it. Maybe I'll feel differently on a possible future reread. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

As always Cummins does not disappoint.
It's dark,and twisty in all manner of ways,that you can never be sure of the who,or the why.
Leading to a few surprises on the way.
If you've read this author before,you know what to expect,and will be pleased with the book.
If you've not read her before,you're in for a proper treat,and a back catalogue to brighten/scare you for 2022.

Very thought provoking and unexpected thriller.
Crime/ thriller is one of my favourite genre hence I read quite a lot of crime books. Normally there is a pattern the authors follow with one or more points of differentiation to other books - for this book I was very surprised - positively surprised about the design of the book, plot development as well as character building. It was very new and refreshing to me.
Nothing is as it appears in this book - starting from plot, “who done it “ through the characters and the detectives/ police involved in the investigation.
We learned more and more with every chapter but I did not feel predictability - it was easy to *guess * but then the additional details added to the story made me question my judgment.
I think the character building and development was one of the strongest part of the book. It shows us how behind the lovely and perfectly normal exterior there is much darker and scary side of the characters.

Piper and Julianne have been best friends for years - even their children are friends. They have set routines together, including their daily runs. Well, until, the day Julianne arrives at Piper’s house, to find it empty of the 4 people who live there, blood splatters and a warning written in blood on a bedroom wall….

Just what has happened to the family and who knows? That’s what new-in-town detective Saul Anguish intends to find out.

A twisty take that keeps you guessing, with almost all the characters coming under suspicion.

Thank you NetGalley for my review copy.

As always with Fiona Cummins this is a very well written book. Her skill for evocative description, particularly of settings, is brilliant.

A dark tale of greed, desire, and duplicity. I can see this as the first in a series.

It's not my favourite Cummins book, due to the plot not grabbing me as much, but it is tense and I'm sure will do well.

Into The Dark - Fiona Cummins

Ever since Fiona Cummins burst onto the scene with her debut Rattle, she has been a must read author.

Into The Dark features an unusual premise, a family has disappeared, their home stands empty, newly deserted Marie Celeste style, with coffee cups on the table and toast in the toaster. Have they been abducted, murdered or fled for other reasons?

There's an interesting cast including DS Saul Anguish (who collects insects, and souvenirs from crime scenes) and the Forensic Linguist nicknamed 'Blue'. I hope we'll see more of these characters in future books.

The narrative flits about in time, with a strand covering the investigation, and other strands covering before and after the families disappearance. There is a lot going on with all the main characters all having additional little sub-strands.

The structure together with the amount going on was the biggest issue for me, it felt a little indirect or unfocused. It takes a while before the actual main focus is revealed, it felt busy but without momentum.

It does come together nicely in time and ends well.

Sorry to say this isn't one of my favourites by this author.


Thanks Netgalley and Pan Macmillan

Certainly different and with the complex characters of Anguish and Blue slowly beginning to appear I'm intrigued to see what will be revealed in the next instalment.
Overall this is a book about greed and selfishness

This is a fascinating thriller with an unusual premise and twist upon twist as the story progressed. Is this a missing people story or a murder mystery? That’s the problem the police investigating the strange disappearance of the Holden family are facing, appearing to have just left mid breakfast leaving phones, cars and keys behind not to mention blood stains and a disturbing message. Flicking between before and after and told from several perspectives the twisted truth reveals multiple deceits and a complex storyline which manages to pull it all together. Overall this was a good thriller however I just didn’t take to any of the characters hence 6.5/10

Into The Dark by @fionacumminsauthor
Publisher - @panmacmillan
Publication date - 14th April 2022

Thanks to @netgalley and Pan Macmillan for the #gifted copy of the book.

‘Into the Dark’ is a smorgasbord of lies, deception, double and triple bluffs, misdirection and a truly opaque narrative. It’s a compelling story that gets under your skin from the start. I devoured it in one day as it allows the reader to escape into a world that pulls you deep into the pages!
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Imagine going to your best friends house and finding that they had disappeared. The kitchen smells of toast, the kid's school bags are at the door, the radio is playing and the cars are still in the driveway. But there is no one in the house, their phones are being charged and their keys are still on the worktop?! It is like someone just picked them up and off they went. It's clear something has happened but what?!
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Fiona uses the trick of a jumping timeline to great effect as it allows the narrators to drip-feed the information in such a way that the tension just ramps up nicely and hooks the reader in! I love to hate characters and I don't think there was actually one character I fully liked. Maybe ‘Blue’ is the only one with redeeming qualities. I would be very interested to read more about DI Anguish, also what a fantastic name for this ‘misunderstood’ policeman! The dynamic between Piper and Julianne was fascinating and captivating, although I did get slightly confused by their timeline. But that was probably because I was reading this with a migraine and brain fog is a bitch!
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This is definitely an engaging and enjoyable read and I will be listing it on my website! Keep your eyes peeled for this one people!

#IntoTheDark #NetGalley
Awesome read.
Seawings, a beautiful Art Deco home overlooking the sweep of the bay in Midtown-on-Sea.
: The gilded Holden family - Piper and Gray and their two teenage children, Riva and Artie - has vanished from the house without a trace.
DS Saul Anguish, brilliant but with a dark past, treads the narrow line between light and shade. One late autumn morning, Piper’s best friend arrives at Seawings to discover an eerie scene – the kettle is still warm, all the family’s phones are charging on the worktop, the cars are in the garage. But the house is deserted. In fifteen-year-old Riva Holden’s bedroom, scrawled across the mirror in blood, are three words:
I loved this book from the starting to the ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for giving me an advance copy.