The premise of developing undeveloped film rolls and discovering the stories behind them is fascinating. Lisa Gray understands how to structure a story, and the first quarter and final chapters had me turning the pages. While I assumed a few things correctly, I was genuinely surprised by the end, which isn't easy to do.

It's a strong, propulsive mystery; well written and a delightfully quick read. What keeps this from being five stars is how the characters didn't feel real. Plot took centre stage while characterization faded into the background.

Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Leonard Blaylock loves developing discarded camera rolls but when he discovers a photo of a woman dead in a hotel room he's puzzled as the woman in question died 5 years previously. With the help of an online friend he attempts to discover the truth behind the photo with some surprises along the way.
This is a twisted tale of betrayal and revenge, with an ending that may surprise you.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for the advanced copy of which I'm under no obligation to review

Highly recommend this one! This was my first book to read by this author but definitely won't be my last. The characters will stay with you long after you finish the book and you will find yourself wishing the story would never end.

Like other books from this author, this one is well written, with excellent characters and a very good plot. The problem is all the jumping back in time, which leads to repetition and should be left out.

A mysterious title, interesting synopsis, and a bestselling author. Are these reasons sufficient to pick up a book? Well, sometimes yes, and sometimes no. But these are the reasons that tempted me to request the ARC of The Dark Room by Lisa Gray.

Sadly, I realised these reasons aren’t good enough. *Note to self-*check reviews by trusted reviewers. *

Story description
Ex–crime reporter Leonard Blaylock spends his days on an unusual hobby, developing strangers’ forgotten and discarded rolls of film. He loves the small mysteries the photographs reveal to him. Then Leonard finds something no one would ever expect, or want, to see captured on film—the murder of a young woman.
But that’s impossible because the woman is already dead. Leonard was there when it happened five years earlier.
He has never been able to shake his guilt from that terrible night. It cost Leonard everything: his career, his fiancée, his future. But if the woman didn’t really die, then what actually happened?


I loved the premise of developing undeveloped film rolls and discovering the stories behind them. But the pacing was too slow for my liking. I like fast-paced mysteries. In this book, the words were crawling even slower than ants. It took me a couple of chapters to get into the book, but I was never completely hooked on it.
Why didn’t I DNF it, you ask? Well… no reasons!

The main characters haven’t been flushed out to the core. They could have been developed further. I felt Leonard was despicable to the core. Unfortunately, I can’t recall liking any other character either, even remotely! Their miseries, anxieties, sexual tension, chase or discoveries… I couldn’t bring myself to care about whatever was happening in their lives… Nada! Zilch!

There is a lot of back and forth, and at one point I struggled to remember what had transpired a few pages ago and, much to my horror, had to go back and re-read to connect the dots.

And the narration drags unnecessarily and is repetitive. The story could have been 30 pages shorter easily.
The ending was good, quite good. It made a lot of sense and plugged the plot holes to quite an extent. But it was flat. I would have loved a dramatic finish.

Despite the intriguing premise, The Dark Room lacks excitement and fails to leave a mark.
Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, and Thomas Mercer for this ARC of The Dark Room in exchange for an honest review.

Wordsopedia Rating 2.4/5

This was actually a very interesting thriller.

Leonard Blaylock is an ex crimes reporter who develops the forgotten and discarded rolls of film. So he gets a shock when he discovers one of the film rolls contains a picture of a murdered woman. But five years ago, Leonard had seen this woman dying in front of him which cause him to lose his job and fiancee. But if the woman did not die, what really happened back then?

In my opinion, this was a good thriller. Not too fast paced but not a slow burn either. To me it got more interesting by the middle of the book and then started becoming more interesting and intriguing with shocking plot twists. There were also too many suspects as well with a motive to kill. The ending was what actually twisted me in a complete surprise and I actually did not see that ending coming at all. Neverthless, I actually enjoyed reading this book and this is one of the rare thrillers that the main protagonist was a male and a potential villain as well.

So if you like plot twists, then I recommend this book--worth four stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opionin only.

Lisa Gray writes the excellent Jessica Shaw series but The Dark Room is a stand alone thriller – something I did not immediately appreciate as I don’t read the blurb when I read Lisa’s books – I just jump straight in! It took a couple of chapters for me to realise Leonard was the star of the show in The Dark Room – mark that one down to me being a dozy reader.

Fortunately Leonard is a great character and I wanted to read more about him, particularly when he sees a murder. Well let me rephrase that slightly…particulary when he discovers a photograph of a dead body which can only have been taken by a killer. How could I (the son of a photographer) resist a crime story where cameras and photgraphs play such a pivotal role?

Leonard, you see, has a fascinating hobby. He likes to buy undeveloped film from old cameras and then, in the privacy of his dark room, discover what pictures may have been snapped on these old film spools. Family snaps, holiday vistas or perhaps even a “ruined” film – the excitement of discovery for Leonard makes his hobby a constant sequence of discoveries. But his world is going to be rocked to the core when the latest film he develops uncovers the image of a dead woman. But is it a woman Leonard knows?

Lisa Gray takes the reader on a twisty and unpredicatble journey into Leonard’s life. The discovery of the “murder” photograph brings Leonard back to face a period in his life he would rather forget. His relationship ended, his job changed and he had to make significant adjustments which left him somewhat beleagured and low spirited. But could this discovery give him a chance at a fresh start? It seems unlikely but investigating how he came into posession of the picture of a dead woman will open up some new opportunities for Leonard and possbily even the chance to correct some past wrongs.

I had great fun reading The Dark Room. Lisa Gray nails the pacing and the drama and I zipped through this book in just a couple of days. I have tried not to talk too much about Leonard’s predicament and the discoveries he makes in this story as the delight in discovering these for yourself is not something I should take away from you. Get The Dark Room pre-ordered – this is a good’un.

Lisa Gray's The Dark Room is a twisty story of lies and revenge.

Synopsis:
Leonard Blaylock is a down and out ex-crime journalist. He now spends his time pursuing an unusual hobby. Leonard buys and develops old rolls of film to find rare pictures. He is shocked when he finds a recent picture of a murdered woman. The catch, however, is huge. Leonard knows this woman and she died five years ago in a different manner. He knows because he was there when she supposedly died the first time. The guilt of her "death" destroyed his life. Something is strange about this situation. Can Leonard find the truth?

The Dark Room by Lisa Gray is a slow burn thriller with shocking plot twists. While the book held my attention, one must suspend belief to fully embrace the story. This is my first read by Lisa Gray and I look forward to exploring more of her books.

The Dark Room is available on October 25th.

Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK, for sharing this interesting book with me. I appreciate your kindness.

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope she writes more! I am totally hooked!

Leonard Blaylock's life was ruined, he lost his fiancee, his job and felt responsible for the death of a woman. Haunted daily by his guilt for walking away from a body without reporting it to the police, he loses hope for any chance of finding happiness.
His hobby is to buy undeveloped film. One day, he develops a film only to find gruesome photos of a murdered woman who happens to be the woman he thought he had killed.
He has an online friend who he meets in real life and together they investigate the images, working back in time to discover who the beautiful woman actually was, and who was responsible for her death.
Shocking twists in this story, and an even bigger shock at the end!

Really did enjoy this book, it was well thought out, and had a bit of everything, romance, intrigue, murder, blackmail, and twists and turns all the way through.
I would definitely recommend this book, and give it a solid 5 stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dark Room was a first time read for me by the author, so I didn't go in with huge expectations. The synopsis sounded super interesting; Leonard has a really great hobby of finding old, discarded films (Camera films) and developing them to see what's on there. On developing some new images on films he picked up at a flea market he finds photos of a murder scene, what's worse he knew the victim 5 years ago and thought she died then.

From the get go this book was a little back and forth, there's a lot of information thrown at you and looking back on this book having finished it I did wonder why some things happened and why we were told them. The story has a relatively decent pace although is also fairly repetitive. This is one of the first books I've read in a long time when I can honestly say I didn't like any of the characters in it. I wasn't rooting for anyone and didn't really care who was setting up Leonard. Leonard was a cheating ass and as for Martha she didn't really have any redeeming qualities in my eyes either. There are so many lies in this book with the characters and their lives. The only thing this book really had going for it was the end which had some nice twists and I didn't see them coming.

I would class The Dark Room as an 'ok' read. It wasn't great when I feel it really could be. If we had been told this just from Leonard and Martha's points of view I feel it could have been better. I finished it but barely and at times my mind did wonder. Maybe it is just the writing style of the author that didn't mesh with me or maybe my dislike for the characters - I need to like at least someone, even if they are a villain.

This book is available late October on Kindle Unlimited, so free to those who subscribe.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK, Thomas Mercer for this ARC of The Dark Room in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a slow start for me, but then it picked up and became interesting,. Lots of characters, no one innocent as a photograph of a recently murdered one falls into the hands of a man who thinks he accidentally killed her five years before. this would have worked well as a movie, particularly as a period piece.

The plot reminded me of some 70s movies and I tound it entertaining and welll plotted. it's got the right pace and the characters are interesting.
A solid thriller, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Never disappointed with this author. Suspenseful and twisty plots keep you guessing and surprised at the twists and turns. Strong characters you fall in love with.

I like Lisa Gray and her Jessica Shaw series. For those reasons, I decided to try a stand alone novel. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC and the chance to offer my thoughts.

In a way, The Dark Room, was a throw back to film noir days for me. It had a dark, dreary atmosphere inhabited by secret-keeping characters, Leonard, Martha and Caroline to name three. Each holding onto something detrimental to the other’s lives. Of course, there’s the old-fashioned reporter, doing anything to get his story, Bobby, and a gumshoe, Jackie, using whatever means to solve a murder. Do any of them get it right? Did I? You will need to read this one to find out.

This was my first read by the author and I loved the writers writing style. I loved the plot twist and there were many in this story which made it very interesting especially when the characters and their twisted ways. I really enjoyed the ending and was quite surprised at how it turned out. All in all, I can’t wait to read more from the author.

I thought the plot idea about seeing something bad on a camera film was a very good idea and makes its stand out from other thrillers, yet the characters aren’t very likeable so it is difficult to feel empathy and relate to them. There were some interesting twists and turns throughout this story, although I felt it was a little slow in some places, however the end was exciting with several more twists happening that I didn’t see coming. The story becomes more fast-paced as it plays out. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

The constant switch between the POV and the timelines makes it difficult to get into the book. Though there are some twists it didn’t come to the level of Jessica Shaw series.

The Dark Room is a great twisty revenge tale for all! Leonard Blaylock is still recovering from his fall from grace as a star reporter. Now he spends a lot of time obsessing on his hobby of developing strangers' abandoned rolls of film. When he finds a potential picture of a snuff murder, he isn't sure who to talk to or who to turn to because he recognizes the women!

Reaching out to his buddies on his hobby chat, he utilizes his research skills to track down the truth. In this case however, the truth might too much for anyone to handle! If you like quick thrillers, revenge stories and great twists, The Dark Room is for you! #LisaGray #TheDakrRoom #amazon

I so wanted to love this book as the premise sounded amazing! Firstly it is told from MULTIPLE perspectives some of which add zero value and some try to explain actions and motives that I felt would be better left for us as readers to decide for ourselves (dear auhtor you don''t need to explain every characters thoughts!) For example the detective really didnt need a voice (I can;t say more without spoilers) but I felt her chapters were just padding trying to wrap everything up with a bow tie. Ditto woth Boby and Caroline. I think it should have stuck to being told from Leonard and Martha's POV.

The plot itself undfolds way too neatly and methodically - although I understand why it was written this way. I will say I thought the ending was great plenty of twists and layers upon layers of deciet although definitely overkill with wrapping everything up with a neat bow.

Lastly, the charcters were all fundamentaly flawed and hiding numerous secrets - not one had any kind of redeeming quality that made me want to root for them so I did lack a little in the engagement. Sadly awith such a cool premise this just fell flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.