A tangled tale that failed to get me interested or involved.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Midnight Ink for an advance copy of Path Into Darkness, the third murder mystery set in the fictional town of Lisfenora, Co. Clare, featuring DS Danny Ahern.

Danny is called out to the murder of Joseph "Elder Joe" Macy who has been stabbed in his home. Despite being a fairly unpleasant man with some unsavoury means of making money no one can think of a suspect. The closest they come is Nathan Tate, a mentally unstable man who used to lodge with Elder Joe.

Initially I was really taken with Path Into Darkness. It has a great sense of place and character and an intriguing, suspenseful start. There are also some insightful comments, my favourite being "half the battle of investigating crimes was cracking the mirrors that reflected back people's polite facades" as it seems to capture the nub of crime fiction. Unfortunately the novel did not hold my attention for long. The criminal investigation soon takes a backseat to the characters' personal problems and lives, especially Nathan's and as I guessed almost from the start what was going on there I lost interest.

The characters are fairly likeable. Danny Ahern is raising his children alone as his wife is on life support and does a good job. He is also smart and effective as a detective. Nathan, I'm not even going to try and explain as the whole raison d'être behind his mental problems could have been fixed years ago and the fact that it wasn't defies belief.

I should also point out that the copy I read has American spellings so it is extremely strange to read Irish children referring to "mom".

Path Into Darkness starts well but falls away as the novel progresses. It is an easy way to pass a few hours.

This is a dark and compelling British mystery that kept me up late, reading and thinking. DS Danny Ahern has plenty on his plate, with his wife in a coma and now the murder of a local man at the village’s annual matchmaking festival. It turns out that picturesque Lisfenora is hiding some very unsavory secrets. The two main characters, Danny and Nathaniel Tate, a man who walked out on his daughter, among other, much worse things are so troubled, that readers know this story will not have a happy ending. Tightly woven and intense