Rating: 
Summary: Good Read
Review: I thought this book was great! From the first day that I opened it, it was very hard to put it down! I look forward to reading more books from the very talented Larry Brooks.
Rating: 
Summary: Few Redeeming Features
Review: I'm actually mystified by the number of positive reviews of this book. For me it was disappointing on many levels. Since all the marketing hype presents Darkness Bound as an excursion into the dark and sexy world of bondage and fetishism I expect more than a vague and tepid kind of fumbling sensuality. The eroticism is very artificial at best. Keep in mind, bondage isn't really about sex, it's about the illusion of control and the loss of that control. While that might justify the book's inept sexuality, the dominant/submissive relationship is just as poorly portrayed. The characters are very shallow and the situations often are ridiculous enough to cause more laughter than arousal. Finally, the plot wanders, characters are poorly defined and the final effect is unsatisfying. I would suggest that the reader save his or her money and re-read Justine or the Story of O. Or find a friend and ....
Rating:
Summary: DARKNESS BOUND IS A NON-STOP JOYRIDE OF SUSPENSE!
Review: If you are a fan of suspense then order this book right now...stop reading this and proceed to checkout. Larry Brooks has succeeded in crafting a story of sheer brillance. As soon as I thought I knew what turn was coming next in this roller-coaster ride, the tracks would spin off in a new direction and my whole psyche felt the G-forces of a new plot development and twist. I just can't say enough about how much fun this book is. Once the ride starts, you will not want it to end. The characters are great, the setting believable...I just want it to be made into a movie as soon as possible! You won't regret this purchase!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent 1st effort - and hard to put down
Review: Larry Brooks delivers a terrific tale. It's dark, it's twisted, and you can't put it down. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great Author! Great Book!! Hope for more to come
Review: Larry Brooks has totally blown me away with his first novel. I was unaware that character development could be taken this far. Mr. Brooks wonderfully describes his characters and the events that they go through. You feel like you are there with them. I would say that this is the start of a wonderful career for Mr. Brooks. The story in "Darkness Bound" is captivating and keeps you reading. The suspence at the end is wonderful as you don't know who is on who's side. It is a wonderful story of Love, Lust, Murder, Trust, and Conspiracy. I hope that Larry Brooks continues to write more novels. I will be the first one in line to get them as they are published. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Be Careful: You just might get it!
Review: Larry Brooks' DARKNESS BOUND could just have easily been called DARK PASSAGE. It is a wonderfully engrossing book. The story takes place in Seattle. The protagonist Dillon Masters has it all: he is movie star handsome, has a beautiful wife, a glamorous job and is the envy of friends and coworkers alike. But all is not right in Dillon's world. Dillon's beautiful wife wants Dillon out of the house so that she can find herself. Exit a sulking Dillon who takes up what he hopes to be a temporary residence at a Residence Inn. Poor Dillon! The last thing Dillon wants to deal with is his crumbling marriage. A day or two later after a rather defining encounter with his wife Karen, Dillon is taking a walk through Nordstrom's, thinking about his marriage when someone catches his eye. ' The woman was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her. She was the Dark Lady, and she was perfect'. A fix to take away the pain of the breakup? ' This was a woman...out of his league. A woman with the promise of a very palpable and unmanageable danger...An evil woman, in a way that men have found irresistible...who acted and dressed the part...to lure the attention of her prey. The realization gave him an incredible amount of satisfaction, the private pleasure that he'd never been able to satisfactorily explain and that no woman in his life had ever understood'. Thus starts Dillon's dark passage into the nether world of sexual fantasy and deviation, murder and betrayal. You read that description of the Dark Lady and you want to say to Dillon: ' be careful of what you ask for because you just might get it'. And while he gets the Dark Lady, the unattainable woman of his darkest dreams, a woman who shares his sexual predilections, he almost doesn't get it. So much of how we see the world is in our heads. As I heard a troubled woman say once: 'My mind is like a gang infested neighborhood. I dare not go there by myself'. When Dillon finally realizes this truth he gives himself a chance agaist the minions of the Dark Lady. Dillon's roller coaster ride has enough twists and turns to keep the most casual reader of mystery fare on the edge of her seat; and, enough tension and drama to keep even the most experienced mystery buff riveted. And just when you think that Dillon is becoming a cliché, the author puts his novel into another gear; and off we go again. DARKNESS BOUND was well edited and researched and reflects the author's eclectic background. The character development of the main actors was good to excellent. The dialogue was crisp, delightful and intelligent...except at the end when folks started talking too much while holding other folks at bay with loaded pistols in their hands. I have never believed in the TV version of soliloquy when you have the drop on someone. Still it is a vehicle that authors since Shakespeare have used to tie up lose ends; and, it almost works here. Larry Brooks is an excellent writer. I am anxious to read his next outing.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, it didn't grab me
Review: Maybe I'm blase but I do not share earlier reiewers' enthusiasm for this book. It didn't grab me. It has cardboard characters and a too-twisty plot. The BDSM overlay of this novel suggested by the cover art and by the author's email plug is present but vestigial. Yes, the villainness, the "Dark Lady," Veronica Wallace, is dom and domineering. But beyond some occasionally interesting mind-game dialog, the only BDSM depicted is a form of torturous and fatal hog-tie bondage. The lady is a would-be mind-warper and actual sadistic killer. Aficionados interested in delectable BDSM short of sadistic homicide can give this book a pass. As a suspense story the book is not bad for a first-time novel. Twists do abound, but frequently in a lurching, jerky fashion. People familiar with the Seattle setting may enjoy that verisimilitude. The villainness is villainous. But the character of the protagonist's wife - betrayed but loyal and the eventual linchpin of his exploits - is rather far fetched. The Columbo-like detective, Rubin, is an engaging bloke though.
Rating:
Summary: loved it
Review: Most erotica fans were dissapointed because they thought they were gonna get an erotic story. Ok, arent erotic novels labeled? like , the title then "An Erotic Novel."? I think so usually. This is not an erotic story. it has erotic elements, yeah. But its more of a psychological and manipulating thing. I read the back of the book and knew it wasnt going to be erotic, even though it implies it is. I just knew. i dont know. Anyways...Dont judge a book by it's cover. The purpose is to decieve you and i guess it did.
Rating: 
Summary: So so.
Review: Not one of my favorites. Not too erotic, not too thrilling. The first half of the book is much better than the the rest of it as the plot grows confusing and lost in details and in police investigation's procedures.
Rating:
Summary: You'll be up all night, reading!
Review: Once in a while, when you pick up a debut novel, you get lucky! Such is the case with Darkness Bound. Larry Brooks really delivers with fully drawn characters, a few twists and turns and a story that will keep you thinking, long after the last page is read. More psychological than erotic, the suspense keeps the reader on the edge of his seat until, unfortunately, there are no more pages to turn! This man can write. I look forward to reading Sentinel, and I wonder what Brooks was doing before he decided to write? Whatever it was, I'm glad he finally figured out his calling!
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