The Essence of Darkness

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 18 Apr 2020 | Archive Date 15 Sep 2020

Talking about this book? Use #ThrillerMysteryHorrorSuspenseFantastiqueDarkRomanceTomClearlake #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


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... 





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...


A Note From the Publisher

You can actually pre order the book on Amazon :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085S8V4WC

You can actually pre order the book on Amazon :

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085S8V4WC


Marketing Plan

This thriller is the first translation of one of my novels. I write in crime, mystery, suspense, horror and fantastique genres.

I'm actually french author, but i undertake to translate all my books in US English. 

https://buff.ly/2IH4sk5

If you like this story, it would be a great help for me to share, talk about it with others reviewers and on the web. 

Here's a link to my author page on Amazon in France, mabe it will be useful for you, at least to see the evaluations of my books by French readers :

https://buff.ly/2IH4sk5

This thriller is the first translation of one of my novels. I write in crime, mystery, suspense, horror and fantastique genres.

I'm actually french author, but i undertake to translate all my books in...


Available Editions

EDITION Ebook
ISBN 9782956131649
PRICE US$4.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)

Average rating from 173 members


Featured Reviews

A new author for me and what a sick mind. A mystery thriller well sprinkled with horror. Something has awakened and has designs on the human race. It all starts with abducted children. I literally devoured this book in one sitting. It got my heart racing and gave me goosebumps on my goosebumps. Reminds me of the Necroscope series which I devoured when I was younger. This author has a very furtile and twisted imagination which had me gripped. As the author himself says this is the first of his books to be translated and I can't wait to read more. Please!!!! An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended. A MUST READ for all readers of this genre.
Thanks to Moonlight and Netgalley for the ARC.

Was this review helpful?

The Essence of Darkness by French author Tom Clearlake was quite an adventure. It begins with an FBI investigation in the small town of St. Mary's, Pennsylvania. Special Agent Eliott Cooper is on a case involving the strange disappearance of 5 children between the ages of 3 and 5. In the course of his investigation, he finds a hidden evil in the surrounding woods. What has he found in the woods and what does it mean for him, the missing children, and ultimately life as we know it on Earth? Agent Cooper witnesses an event that will be the catalyst to great change in life as he knows it. After this moment be prepared for a wild ride that is a hybrid of mystery, thriller, suspense, supernatural, religion, and secret organizations. I really want to say more, but I can't because I don't want to spoil anything for readers. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes any of the above genres or who enjoy the talents of authors like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, or HP Lovecraft.

Was this review helpful?

Oh wow this book! Edge of my seat thriller that had my heart racing! I couldn't put it down! I binge read this all day!
If you're looking for a good thriller to read I highly suggest this one!

Was this review helpful?

The Essence of Darkness by Tom Clearlake
I really am kind of at a loss of words to describe this book, it is so different than what I was thinking....it is a mystery, it is sci-fi'ish, a touch of horror and a hint of romance, interesting premise with interesting characters, I know I know I am not really telling you what this book is about...I can tell you if you want a different read this may be the one for you, give it a try. This is my first from this author and I will be reading more. Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for allowing me to read this ARC and giving you my opinion. 3.5 stars if it were possible

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?

I have really enjoyed reading this book. In places it was a little difficult because it didn’t exactly format to the Kindle correctly. The storyline was just...Wow!

Was this review helpful?

Chilling, dark and intriguing; The Essence of Darkness manages to capture the reader and bring them in a dark world where the most innocent is not safe. Attention grabbing and mysterious, the author manages to hold the reader's attention until the very end to find out what is really going on.
I really enjoyed reading this at night to give myself a little fright. A good story will usually keep you up at night.

Was this review helpful?

This book is not my typical read. It was very long in describing procedural situations and a lot of gore. Which is great for those who like to read that type of horror. I was able to finish the book. I would recommend this book to those who like crime mixed with supernatural.

Was this review helpful?

While this is not a genre that I would usually read - this book held me from the first line! During the current events, the pandemic was almost too real but the ending was just what I had hoped for.

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?

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!

Was this review helpful?

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.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank NetGalley, MOONLIGHT, and author Tom Clearlake for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

I received an email from NetGalley about this book being available to download for a limited time, and I’m so glad I jumped on it! A sick mind is hard to find in novels, but this one did not disappoint. St. Mary’s, PA is maybe an hour away from me? So this story really hit home. This is a wild ride that involves facets of mystery, thriller, religion, suspense.. You name it! I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through, and didn’t want to put it down. If you enjoy Stephen King and the likes, I think you’ll enjoy this novel.

Thank you again to those mentioned above for the chance to read and review this ARC!

Was this review helpful?

The Essence of Darkness by Tom Clearlake is a great read! A real engrossing page-turner and worth the time of a read!!

Was this review helpful?

It started with a standard FBI investigation into the disappearance of children and then became much, much more. Not your usual, run of the mill, story of the Apocalypse. Well written, carefully translated and very enjoyable.

Was this review helpful?

FBI agent Eliott Cooper is tasked with finding 5 children who have disappeared in similar circumstances in a dark and mysterious wooded location. What starts out as a simple detective story explodes in the most unexpected way introducing elements of horror, science fiction and ancient rituals culminating in a human crisis…”a secret that has remained hidden for thousands of years”…A very enjoyable first novel, with an excellent translation from the original French, and boasting some stand out snappy dialogue….”The scent of the woods that filled his lungs was intoxicating and he relished it”…..”Evil took root and spread in the night. The moon rose majestically” ……”All life seemed to be missing from the woods as if death itself held these places in the palm of its hand and was blowing macabre silence from its withered mouth”……..

Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Was this review helpful?

Simply could not put this material down. Gripping characters and situations. It did take me a little while to get into the story but once I did, I was HOOKED!

Was this review helpful?

Full disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for possibly writing a review.

This book is a translation from the original French version. I usually try to read a book in its original form but since I don't speak French, I can only hope the translation matches up to the original.

I thought this would be sort of a standard FBI procedural about some missing children. Boy, was I wrong! Maybe the title or the cover should have given it away, but I was not expecting the occult angle. I'm not considering that a spoiler because it is revealed pretty early on. What happens after that was an adventure I would not have predicted. There were also some very steamy bits that you usually don't encounter in this type of book. Chock full of surprises!

Bonus points for the cat love!

Was this review helpful?

It didn’t take long to be drawn into this story. FBI Special Agent Elliot Cooper has been assigned to track down and find five children who have been abducted in a rural community in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania. It doesn’t take him long to find a satanic ritual being played out in the mountains. During the confrontation, Cooper is possessed by a monster.
Cooper’s love interest, Special Agent Lauren Chambers rushes to help him and together they attempt to try to find out more about this cult, what they are planning and a way to free Cooper from this demon.
This story grabs you by the throat and shakes you like an attacking dog. The horror is excellent, and the suspense is terrific, but then it morphs from a horror story to something entirely different. I will not say what it transforms into as it would mean releasing spoilers. It was a wild ride, but I would have preferred to see the story unfold within two or three books rather than told much of the end story, especially because the first 2/3 of the book was fantastically written.
Have said that I would still recommend this book.

Was this review helpful?

so this book is a different kind of animal. Starts off with an FBI agent who seems a little unorthodox. Maybe with strange talents.. His job is to seek out, arrest or kill the person or persons responsible for children that have been abducted.....then it descends into a sci-fi horror story that involves beings that intend to take over our world using humans as their food source.
It is a good read in that the plot is there. The writing is enjoyable to read.....story is a little too far for me.

Was this review helpful?

I found this book to be very suspenseful and the story to be pretty unique. My only issues with it were some characters, including the main male character, that I didn't really find appealing and some inaccuracies on the subject of Wicca. The author could perhaps have done a bit better research in this area. As long as I was able to set aside those things, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others looking for a good supernatural suspense read.

Was this review helpful?

First off, i want to thank the publisher and the author, Tom Clearlake and Netgalley for advancing me this opportunity with the digital ARC to review.

As this being a novel that is translated from an originally French publishing, it tends to get lost in translation at times, with that said let me tell you this was definitely what i was expecting, and this is a good thing.

FBI agent Elliott Cooper takes on a case of 5 missing small children, ages 3 to 5 in the small town of St. Mary's in Pennsylvania. What you think is going to start out as a lot of detective and police procedural thrills, takes a slow turn into something almost like an Aphganistan war drama, but hold on; it changes. It took me almost 80 pages to get into the story line and I almost put the book down. What pursues is quite a very different book of demonic possessions, the supernatural, romance and witchcraft!! Yes, stick with it but the gore can get gory which i liked, however if that is not up your alley, you might not like it. I had never heard of this author, and i look forward to reading more from him. Hopefully the next wont be as hard to 'translate to understand it' which is why this does not get a 5 star rating from me.

Was this review helpful?

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It had a bit of everything. From horror to romance. It was edge of your seat and gripping. A very good book from a new to me author. I look forward to reading more from him.

Was this review helpful?

The Essence of Darkness by Tom Clearlake started off with a story good enough to keep me reading. Then, bam! It became a great story, FBI heros, romance, kidnapping, and so…in a normal world….... Then, I had to re-read a few pages, while I slapped my hand on my forhead. It took a leap, no, a DIVE!! into crazy. And then, a few pages later, it grabbed hold of me and took me on a very exciting ride... One that I couldn't put down! I believe that this is a translation of a French book...I didn't realize that until the end...so, I'm pretty sure that nothing was lost in translation.

Was this review helpful?

The world as we know it is going to hell in a handbasket. It all started with the abduction of five children from the town of St. Mary's. They disappeared without a trace. The FBI has been called in. The agent investigating the kidnappings is one of the best. As he tries to track what may have happened, he discovers that there is more going on then kidnappings. There is a dark evil surrounding the area. There are no bird or animal sounds. There are strange rock formations. Then one night he sees the most frightening thing he could ever have imagined.
But, that is only the tip of the iceberg. Forces that are dark and deadly and dangerous are trying to overtake him. He most get the information out to someone before he succumbs to the darkness.
A thriller that will take you on a horror ride. Scary good!

Was this review helpful?

A unique story line with so many surprises, it's hard to say exactly what genre this book would fit into. I'm with other reviewers who thought this would be an FBI procedural type story, not so. It is a very dark, almost spell binding story of how the investigation of missing children turns into an FBI investigator's discovery of another community of beings that takes him into a unforgettable search. This is clearly the first of many books I will read by this author.

Was this review helpful?

This was beyond chilling and having it be a new author for me I wasn't sure what to expect but this was fantastic! Dark, twisted, and mysterious I couldn't stop reading, it got me scared and I'm sure I was sitting at the edge of my seat for a good portion of it. LOVE IT

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: