Some Choose Darkness by Charlie Donlea

It’s no secret to just how much The Traveling Sister’s love Charlie Donlea and we have been reading his books in our groups since reading The Girl Who Was Taken. We have been introducing him to our members and everyone has become a fan for sure!

We read Some Choose Darkness with a few of our Traveling Sisters and we all loved it. I highly recommend if you haven’t read any of his books to give this one a go. Now we all have our different favourite books and mine is Don’t Believe It. I do suggest reading The Girl Who Was Taken first because Don’t Believe It has a recurring character from The Girl Who Was Taken and it added a little more interest to the story.

Deadly secrets hiding in plain sight, a forensic reconstructionist, a cold case and the search to reconstruct the crime.

Some Choose Darkness is a gripping, suspenseful fascinating character study and compelling thriller with interesting strong characters. I loved the fierce, intelligent and determined characters of Rory and Angela. The dynamics created here between them that was done so differently with one from the past storyline and the other character in the present.

Charlie Donlea boldly writes another entertaining, well layered story with those red herrings and carefully laid clues that only he can write and he has become a master at. We were drawn into uncovering the dark truth that connects the past to the present with some of us making those connections before others. Of course I didn’t make too many and that heart pounding ending left me once again tongue-tied after reading it and then shouting I can’t believe you did that to us again Charlie Donlea. I should of seen that coming. There are some unanswered questions that left me thinking and needing to discuss them in the group and in the end we all agree we really didn’t care. I highly recommend!

Gripping, suspenseful, & fabulous characterizations!

Well the absolute perfect hook for enticing me to read this book was being invited to read her story from none other than our protagonist herself, Rory Moore in a very clever letter. It was just enough to pique my interest and get me excited to dive into this story!

SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS by CHARLIE DONLEA is an entertaining, dark, disturbing, suspenseful, and engaging psychological suspense novel that I must admit didn’t immediately grab my attention. I did have a little bit of problem with the repetitive nature of the story in the beginning, although I quickly learned its purpose though. Once I ignored that little niggling voice in my head I was able to sit back and enjoy this story and fly through those pages. 

CHARLIE DONLEA delivers a compelling, intriguing, and well-written read here with absolutely fantastic characters that totally captivated and fascinated me. The strength of this novel handsdown is the author’s fabulous characterizations. CHARLIE DONLEA definitely shines when it comes to how interesting and fleshed out his characters are. 

The story is told in alternate timelines and perspectives which I absolutely loved. There is a pivotal point in the story that happens around the halfway mark which I thought was quite the brilliant way to add tension and suspense to the storyline.

So I played at being an armchair detective and I’m not playing that game anymore as I pretty much had the whole ending figured out and it definitely ruined it for me. I really need to learn to just read the story and try not to piece things together so much. I felt the ending was a play by play of what I already had figured out. I definitely felt a little letdown and was not all that impressed with myself. LOL Although I will say I absolutely loved one aspect to the ending and so look forward to reading more about Rory Moore in the future. Hint…hint! 

Another outstanding fast-paced, gripping thriller by Charlie Donela! I loved everything about this book!

Rory Moore is a quirky forensic reconstructionist who investigates cold murder cases. She insists on working alone and has an unexplained ability to pick up hidden details that have been overlooked by the police force, making her a valuable asset to local detectives. Rory’s father passes away, leaving her to close down his law practice. Through this process, Rory is introduced to a case that she can’t shake. A convicted murderer who has been in prison for the last forty years is set to be released on parole and her father was his attorney. While she dreads having to face the courtroom and public eye on such an infamous case, she is deeply drawn into the clients’ history and solving the many unanswered questions.

I have read and loved all of Charlie Donlea’s books and this is no exception! He has the magical writing formula that makes his novels undeniably captivating, addictively suspenseful and heart-poundingly unforgettable. He creates vivid and fascinating characters that engross and wrap you up in the story from page one. He consistently provides an absolutely fantastic read leaving me itching to read his next work!

I absolutely adored the main characters in this book! They were strong, flawed, unique females who I was fully invested in from start to finish. Donlea included characters on the autism spectrum within the story, leaving an impactful impression. I truly felt for these characters, immersed in their world, getting a serious glimpse into their minds and struggles. It was eye-opening, engrossing and heart wrenching.

Warning: the crimes involved within the plot are very dark, creepy and disturbing. Though they made me uncomfortable while reading them, it heightened the suspense and fueled my fascination to find out how things would come together in the end.

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: I’m kind of neutral when it comes to this cover design. 
Title: Appealing, suspenseful, intriguing and absolutely loved how it played so fittingly into the storyline. 
Writing/Prose: Well-written, readable, fluent, appealing, straightforward, engaging, and captivating. 
Plot: Disturbing, dark, chilling, edgy, memorable, fascinating, suspenseful, fast-paced, absorbing, enjoyable and entertaining. 
Ending: I was a little bummed in the end as I didn’t find it all that surprising or twisty. 
Overall: Rory was such a fabulous, refreshing & quirky character! I absolutely loved her and kind of wanted to join her in drinking a Dark Lord stout with her! Would recommend

Thank you so much to Kensington Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley

Have you read any of Charlie Donlea’s book? Have a favourite? Want to read any of his book? Drop us a comment! We would love to hear from you!