Friday 28 August 2015

Dark Hours - Ryan David Jahn


Private Investigator Damien Lamb: a man hardened by life and seeking justice against those who have wronged society. When the vulnerable Abigail walks into his office asking Lamb to retrieve her daughter from the confines of infamous cult, the Children of God, Lamb can't help but fall for her story. And so begins a breath-taking and dangerous journey as Lamb attempts to rescue Abigail's daughter, Lily, and bring down the charming yet heinous leader of the cult, Rhett Mosley. But Abigail's motivations might not be as clear as they first seem and Lamb finds himself in more danger than he could ever have imagined . . .

What did I think?

I really enjoyed this book, although there were some parts that were a bit gruesome.  At times I was reading whilst my eyes were trying to squeeze shut so they didn't have to experience the events on the page!

It took me a little while to get into it as there are no speech marks around conversations, so I wasn't sure if my anal-brain would be able to cope with it.  I'm so glad that I persevered as I hardly noticed they were missing in the end.

Damien seemed a bit of a typical seedy PI at first, but I very soon realised that he cares enough about his client to do whatever it takes. I just never imagined to what extent he would have to go to get Lily back.  The scenes in the feed-shed will stay with me for quite some time and if this book is ever made into a film, I will have to hide behind the sofa during that part.

The female characters of Abigail and Lily were given an interesting history.  Due to her history, it wasn't surprisingly that Abigail found herself in the cult.  She was lucky to break free but I did wonder about her motivations for trying to get Lily back - was she more interested in the money or her daughter?  I felt really sorry for Lily, as all she had ever known was the cult but it was interesting that a part of her realised that the things Rhett Mosley did weren't right.

Mosley was a great character - a supposed man of God with the characteristics of a devil.  He was ultimately motivated by greed and I wondered what he planned to do with his piles of cash in the end.  Perhaps slip all of his "children" a suicide pill, then head off to Vegas for a weekend of debauchery before setting up a new cult.  To find out what does actually happen to him, you'll just have to read the book!

This a really fast-paced thriller that gets under your skin and is written so vividly that there were many grimaces and gasps of horror.

I received this book from the publisher, Pan Macmillan, in exchange for an honest review.

No comments:

Post a Comment