Some Choose Darkness

"Some choose darkness, others are chosen by it."

What the heck did I just read?! Some Choose Darkness was my first book by Charlie Donlea and all I can say is ... 'What took me so long to find this author?!'

Some Choose Darkness is the first book in a series and is a delightfully twisty psychological thriller that pulled me in from the first page. It's definitely got a darker edge to it but its strengths are in its fantastic pacing, intricate plot and, in particular, the well-drawn characters which include two characters on the Autism spectrum. I thought the addition of characters with ASD was handled well and with sensitivity and I appreciated how Donlea shows his readers the strengths and differences between people on the Spectrum.

The story is told using dual time lines and multiple POVs which were woven together well and were equally riveting (which doesn't always happen). The main characters are a duo of unique and brilliant women from two eras, 40 years apart (we get brief input from two menfolk but these women shoulder most of the story). Rory Moore is a much sought after Forensic Reconstructionist in 2019 who insists on working alone as she helps the Chicago P.D on their coldest of cases. She soon finds herself handling a case involving the parole of The Thief, a notorious convicted murderer and learns of a connection to her recently deceased father. The second POV is from Angela Miller, a housewife four decades earlier who is an amateur detective of sorts. After a series of murders occur in Chicago in 1979, she begins to put clues together that lead her to a shocking conclusion.

I don't want to say too much about the plot but just know that this was an awesome read. It's a compelling story with well-developed characters and an engrossing, intricate-without-being-confusing plot with a darker feel that isn't too graphic. Charlie Donlea is a new-to-me author and I'm glad that I read Some Choose Darkness before jumping into my advanced copy of the second book in this series, The Suicide House (pub date: July 28, 2020).  I cannot wait to jump back into Rory's world. 

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Charlie Donlea

Genre: Suspense
Series: #1 in the Rory Moore and Lane Phillips series 

Type and Source: eBook from Public Library

Publisher: Kensington

First Published: May 28, 2019

Opening Line: The noose tightened around his neck, and 
the oxygen deprivation spun his head into a splendid mix 
of euphoria and panic.

Book Description from GoodReads: A modern master of suspense, critically acclaimed author Charlie Donlea returns with a taut, gripping novel about the deadly secrets hiding in plain sight . . .  
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
 
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.