Cover Image: When Darkness Falls

When Darkness Falls

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Member Reviews

was wavering between one and two stars for most of the book, and the DID wrap up at the end is what made me go with a one star.

Let’s stop using mental Illnesses that are completely not well understood and actually super rare as cheap plot devices, ok? It sucks. I get that DID is all “trendy” to use right now but come on it’s a cheap device and we don’t know enough about the illness medically to respectfully portray it. I thought it was annoying as hell that the Lauren alter could experience everything Tracy did, but that Tracy had no clue about Lauren.

The book is a quick and easy read. Moderately entertaining at times. Mostly tedious. The best friends are vicious and cruel to each other which is played off as a sort of loving mockery? I don’t know but I hated it.

The details of the deaths and blood got tedious. We get it. Lauren likes the drip drip drip of blood and gets off on it. She likes having dogs or cats walk through blood. Got it. Understood.

The book read like the murder scenes were supposed to be titillating but there was no tension in the book.

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When Darkness Falls is the story of Lauren and Tracy. The story is told from a mystery person we later discover to be Lauren, who does not like Tracy and wants her gone. Lauren 's personality is dark, calculating and gruesome.

Tracy on the other hand appears to be quiet and unassuming. She works in the makeup department of a store in York. She has had a traumatic childhood but appears to have overcome it. But has she really. Tracy becomes a suspect of a horrific murder.

Inside the mind of a psychopathic killer was interesting but very dark. I found it hard to read in spite of the fact I like mysteries, it was just to much for me. I think I would have preferred for the story to be told from Tracy's point of view as she struggles with what is going on around her.

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Tracy Bennett is a quiet, lovely woman who thrives helping others. She has had a traumatic childhood but now has good friends with her. Tracy is also hiding a secret - a dangerous one.

So, good parts! This was a fantastic book that went right into the mind of a serial killer. It was gruesome and incredible. I could have just continued reading it!

My only negative is that the copy sent from NetGalley had words in the wrong places. This was pretty annoying, but the book itself was brilliant!

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Trigger Warnings: Sexual Abuse, Sexual Abuse of a Child, Gore, Murder, Forced Suicide, Mental Health Related Illness/Diagnosis.

When I picked up When Darkness Falls by Kathleen Harryman through NetGalley, I wasn’t expecting that the book had already come out in 2017 and had a sequel. While I haven’t yet read the sequel, I am going to give my thoughts on the first book.

Our story is being narrated in the first person by a mysterious character whose name we will later learn is Lauren. Lauren has it out for Tracy and wants her gone. Pretty quickly into the book I deduced what was going on with Lauren and Tracy – which I will not be spoiling for you – although I had to wait until the end of the book to find out that I’d been correct the entire time.

The characters are interesting enough – I felt Lauren was the most interesting of the bunch, with the others there merely as window dressing to help the story along. Even Tracy wasn’t much more than window dressing to me, but I feel as though that was to help convey part of the reason Lauren hated her so much.

I did find the book to have some unbelievable characteristics – for example, someone suspected of murder who was still working at their job. Most employers, even if a formal accusation had not been made, wouldn’t permit a suspect to remain employed by their establishment. However, the book does appear to be set in the UK, so perhaps that is why.

I felt the ending to be somewhat lacking. Yes, it gave us the “big reveal” but to me, the epilogue basically ruined it. I felt the information we gleaned in the epilogue would have made a better prologue to the second book, allowing us to think all was well until we started the second book. However, I didn’t feel it was a big enough issue to detract from the book. I flew through the book once I started reading it. It was a fast paced book with enough action to keep you wondering who was going to be the next person found dead.

I’d recommend this book for those who are looking to get into psychological thrillers.

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The idea of serial killers being mad or evil really got me into this book.

This was an engaging thriller, narrated by a psychopathic killer who gets a rush by creating art from the blood of her victims. The narrator’s voice is both sarcastic and sadistic while their actions are pure savagery.

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This book questions whether psychopathic killers are born or bred/mad or evil. The story takes the perspective of the serial killer as she justifies and takes pleasure in killing various people, as well as her knowledge about the police and forensic science.

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Psychological thriller Imagine the person behind the counters in a department store being a sociopathic murderer? I never thought of that but this book tells about someone who fits that bill. I love this book. It’s an unusual topic for me and I couldn’t put it down thank you to the publisher and to Nead Galli for providing this book to me

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Firstly, I’m not sure if it’s just this ARC copy, but the formatting is messy with letters missing from words, and then popping up randomly further along the page.

Despite this, what an intriguing tale of murder & mayhem! A woman with a traumatizing past literally leads two lives: one, a psychopathic killer, the other, a woman who has no idea she’s a murderer.

My favourite part is the killer spouting true crime & serial killer facts throughout their narration. Comparing their own expertise to that of others, and how they try to evade being caught.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathleen Harryman, & BooksGoSocial for a copy.

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Are serial killers mad or evil?
Follow the amazing journey of Tracy Bennett, an average, middle of the road woman working in a make-up counter in a York department store.But Tracy is not who she wants you to believe....
Kathleen Harryman's portrayal of a mind warped horribly out of shape is a compelling plunge into the abyss."Kathleen Harryman's When Darkness Falls is a gripping account of a psychopathic killer. Written from the killer's perspective, the story's intent is perfectly compelling and holds the reader enthralled. Make assumptions, draw your own conclusions and then find your theories debunked as the story unfolds. When Darkness Falls is a book that you will not be able to put down until the last page is turned. A testament to the human fascination with the criminal mind.

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

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This is my first time reading something by this author so I didn't know what to expect. This is a breathtaking, suspenseful novel that is quite the page-turner and had me on the edge of my seat. It is fast paced and kept my interest till the end. I was pulled in from the very start, actually, right from the synopsis and couldn't wait to see how it ended. The storyline was well crafted and flowed smoothly and the twists and turns within the plot kept me guessing till the end. The unique plot made this a very suspenseful and interesting read. How chilling to see everything from a murderer's point of view! The author did a good job of crafting an entertaining and compelling psychological thriller. She did a nice job of describing the scenes and making them come to life, as if you are experiencing them yourself. The characters are so realistic and believable, I had chills going up and down my spine while reading. It's an utterly gripping tale you won't be able to put down. I would love to read more by this author in the future. A must read for anyone who loves psychological thrillers!
I received a complimentary copy from Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

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This book was great, the characters were well developed. The plot was interesting. Highly recommend it.

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4.5 rounded up
First read with this author but won't be the last. Great story, couldn't put it down. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

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Out of the ordinary tale of a psychopath and her friends who obviously don't know about the psychopath. The almost stream of consciousness thoughts of the psychopath are highly entertaining as are the interactions of her rather self-centered and somewhat clueless friends. It all makes for a rather entertaining and quick read - great for the weekend or vacation.

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Im one of those people that likes reading a very specific writing style, and this is not it. I love the premise and recommend it to anyone looking for a quick read, but I feel like the writing is pretty jumbled up and hard to make sense of at times.

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I could not stop reading this book, I was completely hooked. It really made me think while I was readuing it about the people who serve behind counters in shops and how they could be anybody with dark secrets but we just take them at face value without seeing a darker side. It was twisty and unpredictable as well as being dark and chilling. I loved it.

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