Heather’s Bookshelf: A Dark Death
Author: Alice Fitzpatrick
Released: 06/01/25
Genre: Adult Murder Mystery
“The invitation had said to arrive at Faraday Manor promptly at nine, and Kate had done just that. All that was left of the day was a rapidly fading pink and lavender glow on the horizon. In a few minutes even that would disappear.”
“A Dark Death” is a Meredith Island Mystery, but is reviewed here as a standalone novel. The story focuses on Kate Galway, an author living on Meredith Island, Wales and hoping to work on her latest novel.
Kate expects the island to be a quiet respite, but a team of students on an archaeology dig and television psychic have other plans. The psychic, Griffin Blackstock, set up a seance at Faraday Manor. During the seance, an unexpected announcement sends shockwaves through the small community. The next morning, the students make a disturbing discovery of a dead body at their dig site. The body is revealed to be that of Mr. Blackstock.
Initially, Kate agrees to leave this investigation to the professionals. When she learns people close to her are under investigation, she feels she has no other choice.
Will Kate or the local investigators find the killer?
Trigger Warning: violence, sexual situations, adult language, murder, reference to statutory rape, assault
Overall, I enjoyed this story. This book is ultimately a who-dun-it with suspects galore. The setting is well-developed and provides a fantastic and interesting background for a murder mystery. There’s so many connections between the suspects and the murdered that the reveals just keep coming. The story’s told through multiple POVs which add details, but sometimes it pulled away from the mystery part. My biggest difficulty with the story was the absolute lack of connection that I felt to Kate. There were snippets of her background imbedded throughout the story and connections especially to her BFF, Siobhan. Unfortunately, I just did not get a clear sense of who she was- which may be a consequence of this being part of a series. I actually enjoyed the development of many of the ancillary characters much more including all of the students, Simon and Freya. The ending of the tale wraps everything up nicely. The villain is revealed and all makes sense within the context of the story.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A murder mystery who-dun-it with a great setting and many interesting ancillary characters. A lack of investment in the protagonist and too many POVs pulls a little from the intrigue.
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with Alice Fitzpatrick
Interested in checking out the book for yourself?
Find it for purchase here
Interested in submitting your book for review? Visit my review page for guidelines and submission requirements.
