Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this one, it's a winner!
Review: "A bad one's coming...watch your back, Kiddo," said Frank X. Entwistle at three in the morning in the bedroom of Laura Cardinal. Frank was Laura's old mentor and he was dead.

So begins the gripping tale of DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN. Frank's warning alludes to a criminal case involving the death of a fourteen-year-old girl. The location of the body, the way it is dressed and posed, suggests she just might be the victim of a serial killer, an internet sexual predator, to be exact. The discovery of a dead boyfriend near the initial crime scene tells Laura the killer is bold and will stop at nothing to get what he desires.

Laura is a DPS criminal investigator and the lead investigator on the case (a female in a man's world of testosterone and politics). In this rustic town of Bisbee, Arizona, Laura finds herself pitted against an envious female law enforcement officer and her boss, a man who follows his own investigation. Laura consults with a wealthy quadriplegic super-hacker, and through a quick course in Internet Sexual Predator 101, she follows a lead across the country to a sleepy town on the Florida panhandle. And from that point on there is no turning back. The ending, with its final twist, will shock and amaze you.

Atmosphere is so strong in her writing that you'll feel as though you're planted smack dab in the dry sweltering heat of the desert, or the pressing humidity of the swampy seacoast--descriptions filled with the gracefulness of Spanish Moss and the spikiness of a prickly pear. She propels us through gritty, visceral elements of murder and forensics intermingled with a softer side, the tender emotions and fears of a woman who is not as tough on the inside as she tries to appear to those around her. Much of the appeal for Laura Cardinal centers on the contradictions of her character. On the job she is tough and efficient. In her personal life she is less sure of her position regarding love, a tortured past, and her ability to cope emotionally when she learns the case has deeper and more personal connections. Laura is haunted by the abduction and death of a schoolmate eighteen years ago. She could have been that girl. The past is now.

Beguiling names like: Cooger and Dark's Pandemonium Shadows Show (an homage to Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes); Musicman; and Dark Moondancer, merely hint at the evil darkness that swirls around the places and players Black has created in this wonderful, many layered debut novel. Although JC Black can complete with the best of them in the police procedural novel, she has her very own style, a style that stands out from the pack. If this novel doesn't make the New York Times bestseller list, I will be immensely surprised.


Rating:
Summary: Must read for parents!
Review: "Darkness on the Edge of Town" is an excellent read with great characters. It is also the most realistic depiction of Internet predators you will find in fiction today. J. Carson Black has captured an issue that so few adults are willing to admit is a problem and too many adults are afraid to discuss with kids and teens. Her online dialogue during the "grooming" process where the predator lures his victim to meet face-to-face could not be done better if it were plagiarized from an actual chat room. And of course, once they do meet, the exploration of the predator's psyche and "logic" used to justify his lie and reason with the victim makes you think J. Carson Black has crossed over to the darkside herself before! If you, or someone you know, has children and a computer I recommend you take a look at "Darkness" to see what can be found on the Internet 24 hours a day 7 days a week. To say the least, "Darkness" is enlightening. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Keeps you up all night!
Review: As a fan of Georges Simenon, I like a book that can take me to a different place and that is filled with the human stories rather than just being constant action. J. Carson Black has done this beautifully. Both with the setting (the author's website has pictures of the locations mentioned in the book so you can get an idea of what everything looks like) and the characters. "Darkness" starts out with a murder in small-town Arizona and all the complications, social intricacies, and subtexts of a case being handled by both state and local forces. Others here have mentioned the gripping plot, but the book is also rich in human social interaction and memories, and runs the emotional gamut from guilt, denial, fear, and evil to love, courage, and sacrifice. I'm looking forward to Black's next book in what promises to be a great series!

Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for more from J. Carson Black
Review: Darkness on the Edge of Town is a very impressive debut novel. The character development is excellent, the plot moves along quickly with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and plenty of suspense. I would think that fans of Sue Grafton's series would enjoy this book, as I found it to be somewhat similar, but the plot is a little bit darker and the villains a little (or a lot) more sinister. I already can't wait for the next novel in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Well-written, great plot, great suspense
Review: I started reading it on Friday night and could not put it down. I finished at 2:30 a.m. The writing is crisp and clear. The story is compelling and the twists and turns held my attention. Phenomenal plot. Gritty story. This is one of the best books I have read in the past year. Please add this to your list. You will not regret it.

Rating:
Summary: dark brilliantly plotted police procedural
Review: In Bisbee, Arizona, teen Jessica Parker was abducted near her home and killed. The perpetrator dressed in a little girl's outfit was posed in City Park's band shell. Needing help, the police chief asks the Arizona Department of Public-Safety to send an investigator. When Laura Cardinal starts investigating, she is shocked that the girl looks like her childhood friend who was also abducted and killed. Laura finds a matchbook cover with the name Crazygirl12 is on it.

Laura thinks that Jessica met her killer over the internet even though local officer Buddy Hudson believes it was a local man. Two twelve years old girls are raped and killed by a perpetrator using the sane MO as Jessica's murderer. A tip sends Laura to a small Florida town where she finds out the identity of the sexual killer. When Buddy's daughter is abducted, Laura rushes back to Bisbee; he thinks the same perpetrator took his child. Besides the kidnapper, a sexual sadist who tortures, rapes, and kills young girls has plans for the girl and is always one step ahead of the police almost as if he has inside information.

DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN is a dark brilliantly plotted police procedural that is told mostly in the third person. The author uses the first person to hone in on the perpetrator's thoughts and feelings so that readers will feel a great antipathy towards him. This is J. Cooper Black's debut novel and it reminiscent of the works of Boris Starling and Michael Slade who show the audience the darkest side of human monsters with the skill to make people afraid that their next day neighbor could be such a person.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Darkness on the Edge of Town
Review: Really strong characters, a hall of fame (or shame)of personalities that are so real. If you root for the underdog, Laura is your heroine. Her struggle with the law enforcement bureaucracy and incompetent cops, some real plot twists, plus the epic chase for the bad guy all add up to a real page turner. I felt the same sense of forboding reading this book as I got from David Lynch movies like Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, there's something rotten going on under the surface of the towns where it takes place, and Laura ferrets out the bad guys despite the screw-ups by other cops. Can't wait for the next book! Check out Black's web site, jcarsonblack.com