Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea – **TOP PICK**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – 5 stars

Well, he’s done it again folks. This book!! 😃 I didn’t think he’d be able to top his last hit, Don’t Believe It, but this one certainly measured up. Charlie Donlea is quickly becoming my favorite suspense writer. I’ve read and loved all four of his books. They are page turners. I won’t attempt to summarize Some Choose Darkness for fear I might accidentally disclose spoilers, so here’s the description from Goodreads…

The truth is easy to miss, even when it’s right in front of us. As a forensic reconstructionist, Rory Moore sheds light on cold-case homicides by piecing together crime scene details others fail to see. Cleaning out her late father’s law office a week after his burial, she receives a call that plunges her into a decades-old case come to life once more.

In the summer of 1979, five Chicago women went missing. The predator, nicknamed The Thief, left no bodies and no clues behind—until police received a package from a mysterious woman named Angela Mitchell, whose unorthodox investigation skills appear to have led to his identity. But before police could question her, Angela disappeared. Forty years later, The Thief is about to be paroled for Angela’s murder—the only crime the DA could pin on him. As a former client of her father’s, Rory becomes reluctantly involved with the killer—though he continues to insist he didn’t murder Angela. Now he wants Rory to do what her father once promised: prove that Angela is, in fact, still alive.

As Rory begins reconstructing Angela’s last days, another killer emerges from the shadows, replicating those long-ago murders. With every startling discovery she makes, Rory becomes more deeply entangled in the enigma of Angela Mitchell—and in The Thief’s tormented mind. Drawing connections between past and present is the only way to stop the nightmare, but even Rory can’t be prepared for the full, terrifying truth that is emerging . .

The suspense is incredible in this thriller! There’s a dual timeline and both plots kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. I wasn’t intrigued by one part and bored with the other, as is sometimes the case when authors write parallel plots.

Charlie Donlea is a master of twists. Each time one is revealed it leaves you wide-eyed, with mouth agape wondering how he pulled it off so effortlessly without your catching on to it. The twists in his books never cease to amaze me. His writing style is ultra-appealing—fluent, crisp, and without extremes. You won’t find excessive, unnecessary foul language and sex scenes in this book. Just great writing. The amount of research that goes into his books is evident, and I love his use of flawed characters which make his stories more realistic and relatable. I’ll be waiting patiently for his novels to be made into movies. 😌 They’re just that good. Period. Very highly recommended.

Thank you, Kensington Books and Netgalley, for a complimentary e-book copy of Some Choose Darkness. All opinions stated in this review are my own.