Heather’s Bookshelf: Darkness There But Something More
Author: Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar
Released: 03/01/24
Genre: Dark Thriller/Mystery
“I didn’t like talking to those detectives, but if there was some morsel I could scrounge from her writing, some tidbit that could provide a clue, I would make it my mission to find and deliver it to them.”
“Darkness There But Something More” introduces Marissa Owens, an Edgar Allan Poe scholar and English professor who decides to take a new job at her alma mater, Blackthorn University.
Marissa is excited about a fresh start, but when one of her students goes missing, she’s dragged into an investigation. The disappearance triggers memories from her past that have long been buried.
There are too many parallels between Marissa’s past and present for everything to be a coincidence. The same university, the sorority connection, a missing girl… Marissa can’t help but delve into the investigation. When the parents of her missing student ask to meet, she gets dragged in even deeper.
Will Marissa figure out the truth? Will her past actions come back to haunt her? And is there really a connection between Marissa’s past and present?
Trigger Warning: miscarriage, murder, death, adult language, alcohol use, abortion
Overall, I enjoyed this story. It’s told through one POV, but dual timelines- Marissa’s present and past. The past timeline covers events that occurred when Marissa was in college attending Blackthorn University- the same university she is teaching in during the present timeline. The dual timelines do well in pushing the book forward. I was especially compelled to find out what happened during the past timeline and it pushed me to keep reading. It also helped with the overall pacing and development of Marissa’s backstory. Unfortunately, there was very little development of any ancillary characters in the present timeline and this lack of connection resulted in less of a shock factor than there could have been when the truth is revealed. The reveal in the past timeline had much more impact and was quite sad overall. There are some pretty terrible things that happen throughout the story. The ending of the story wraps everything up with no unanswered questions. I found the connection to Edgar Allen Poe to be an interesting one, but something that seemed more like an afterthought. I wish this could have been incorporated more- especially considering the title and cover design.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A page-turner dual timeline dark thriller with not 1 but two built-in mysteries.
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Check out my interview with Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar
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