Excellent Thriller from Charlie Donlea. I enjoy all his books and this one does not disappoint. 5stars

Not my very favorite, but definitely not the worst book I have read. While it had some great aspects and a fun premise, with the cold case, I felt it was a bit slower paced than I enjoy. I think it’s a good read though, just not mind blowing for me.

This was one thrilling breath holding book. This author never fail to keep me glued to the pages and the ending was very good!

Donlea delivers again with a brilliant crime novel. I've loved his books since "The Girl Who Was Taken" and this one did not disappoint. I'm a bit late in sending my review for this and as a result I can say that I have been hand selling this and have had a lot of customers come back and thank me for it and look for more recommendations. 5 stars.

Kensington Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Some Choose Darkness. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Rory Moore is a forensic reconstructionist who specializes in solving cases for which the police have exhausted all avenues. When her lawyer father's unexpected death thrusts Rory into his professional world, forcing her to become the attorney of record for a parolee convicted of murder, will her natural ability allow the woman to see a pattern that others did not? Will Rory be able to reconcile the disappearances of five women decades before, solving what was before unsolvable?

Rory has issues dealing with people, but can solve complicated puzzles that have been long since abandoned by law enforcement. I liked how the author shows her processing strengths via the reconstruction of the porcelain dolls. Rory is able to fit seemingly unrelated pieces together, coming up with a complete picture. When she comes face to face with her own past, the woman makes a decision that is not entirely in keeping with her character. Some of the plot points are so transparent, which ruins the suspense for me. I am not really a fan of the dual perspective format of Some Choose Darkness, mainly because the author spends too much time keeping the plot lines separate. Overall, I did like the character of Rory Moore and think she is interesting enough to read more about if the author writes another novel featuring her. The novel was good, but Some Choose Darkness was missing the essential spark to make it great.

A serial killer tempted by the ultimate ecstasy even if it costs him his life and a lawyer suffering from stress. They are connected in some way and the answer will help put someone in prison for their crimes.
Rory is a forensic reconstructionist with a love for restoring China dolls and a strong aversion to people. After the death of her lawyer father she is forced to take on one of his clients due for release after long term incarceration. She searches his office for information as to why he would have taken on such high profile case.
Angela is a woman with an incredible ability to link large amounts of information. After five young woman are murdered she becomes fixated on finding the connections missed by everyone else. The results are far worse than she imagined and may even cost her her life. Neither of these women fit into mainstream stereotypes and share similarities including an aversion to people.
Rory was my favourite character and that was due to her being a little different to the usual female in police mystery thrillers. It was unusual she wasn't given any love interest but it made a welcome change from the usual. If I can have another favourite it would be Angela as I admired how she pulled herself from the brink to find happiness and fought hard to stay there. Despite her problems she manages to uncover a killer and place her own life at risk.
One will die and the other unlock answers to her past in a gripping hunt for a twisted murder thriller.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

Roy Moore, a forensic Reconstructionist investigator and solves cold cases,
She has OCD. She's definitely not always likable. Now she's been given a Cold Case dealing with a man being released from prison after 40 years, was only convicted of one murder suspected of being a serial killer..... this book pulled me in from the very first page and I wasn't able to put it down it took me a minute to pick it up but once I did I could not stop reading I would definitely read more books from this author thank you so much for this I recommend it to everyone.

First of all i love cold cases, which is what got my attention straight away. I was emotionally connected with the characters straight away. I was so caught up in the book and couldnt wait to read more at any opportunity. It has a time travel theme in the book as well. You wont be disappointed with this one. I cant wait to read the other books written by Charlie. This book has changed the title in Australia it is called The woman in Darkness.

3.75 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Publication was May 28, 2019.

This book was definitely character driven. Which as I understated it, is a habit of Charlie Donlea. This being my first book by him, I am sure it will not be my last.

Going back to a serial murderer called The Thief, this book takes place in 1979 and also in current day. As is so popular, this story is made up of alternating chapters.

One of our main protagonists is Rory, a forensic reconstructionalist, who works on cold cases for the Chicago PD. Soon after her attorney fathers' death she finds out that he has been a substantial partner of the incarcerated serial murderer. What is the connection? And why has her father kept this a secret?

Our other main protagonist is Angela, an autistic woman leading the 1979 story line, who had come close to solving the crimes of the The Thief, however no one wanted to believe her. The question now is whether she is still alive. The Thief was imprisoned for her murder - the only one that they could prove - however her body was never found.

The tension in this story is riveting making it so easy to turn pages. And the ending!! Nothing that I saw coming. Great all around mystery thriller - with another book coming - that also highlights Rory, the forensic reconstructionalist.

Rory Moore is a forensic reconstructionist. In addition to restoring old china dolls to their original perfection, she also has a unique ability to see crimes, patterns and offenders in ways that others cannot, which makes her a valuable asset to Detective Ron Davidson, who frequently utilizes her abilities. After a six-month hiatus, he’s tossed another case her way, in the form of a broken Kessler doll – who’s young owner was murdered. Shortly thereafter, she receives a call from her father’s assistant, informing her of his death that morning, at home.

As Rory struggles to come to terms with her attorney father’s death, she has to reassign all of his casework to other area attorneys. While doing so, she finds records of a client that her father has done over 30 years of work for – and his parole board meeting is coming up quickly – leaving Rory no time to reassign the case. A lawyer herself, she must assume her father’s role in the proceedings. In researching his case, Rory learns of a young woman, Angela Mitchell, who 40 years ago, diligently worked to gather evidence against a suspect known only as The Thief, submitting it to law enforcement, before she too, became a victim. Rory feels a strange kinship with the woman, who is the only victim that The Thief (and her present client) was convicted of killing. But no trace of her body was ever found.

As Rory works to secure her client’s release, she begins to explore the mystery of Angela Mitchell, The Thief, and the missing victims he’s believed to have killed, and in doing so, unwittingly opens the door to a past that was best left buried…

Told in excerpts from Angela’s life in 1979, the killers life and Rory’s investigation in the present, the storylines converge with wild twists and turns as Rory attempts to put the pieces together, and all lines converge in a surprising (or not so surprising, but no less thrilling) climax that will keep you turning pages well into the night! I very much enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery. Hoping that we’ll be seeing more of Rory Moore in the near future as well!! Great read!!

I was fortunate to receive this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

I didn’t totally connect with this one. The writing style was a bit different and not my favorite. There are multiple points of view and timeframes. The transitions between these were well handled. This took me time to get into as not much happens for quite some time.

I liked the idea of Rory but the actual character itself didn’t always come across as the super sleuth I was led to believe she’d be. Other than that aspect, I enjoyed the character. It was refreshing to see a strong, capable individual actually living life even when they reside on the spectrum.

I figured out some things pretty easily but not everything. I thought things were going to go one way and on that I wasn’t even close. The conclusion was alright, not entirely believable and with a few holes but it’s fiction! Pls give it a shot though because so many reviewers that I follow and trust really like it, it just may have come at me at a bad time...

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Kensington Books for a copy in exchange for a review.

Would I be taking it too far when I say this book made me a little obsessive-compulsive? I don't know how I stumbled upon Charlie Donlea, but I am so glad that I did. Every free second I had, I had this book in my hands. There is something so comforting about this author and the stories he's able to bring to life. I honestly wouldn't mind this turning into a series because how Rory's brain works is super intriguing.

"The trust is easy to miss, even when it's right in front of us."

As a person who has always been fascinated with serial killers and their own certain *rituals* or *marks*, this book really fit into my wheelhouse of thrillers to read. What's especially special about this book is Donlea's two main female characters being on the Autism Spectrum. While I don't have a ton of knowledge about this, I do know that in the past autism would be diagnosed as something else and would be a detriment to the person afflicted. Donlea definitely manages to showcase this in a very respectful but harrowing way.

Both Rory and Angela are extremely fascinating characters. I love that both are strong women that deal with their own secrets and share the commonality of extraordinary minds that give them that something special in seeing things others may not. This works well especially for Rory in her line of work in solving old cases.

This book is a bit darker than the only other book I've read by Donlea, but not so much as to deter any reader. The opening and ending are sandwiching the amazing filling that never wastes words in the telling of the story. What I love about Donlea is his way of smoothly revealing any of the little twists we find throughout. There's no big slap in the face but rather a "gooooootcha, there it is... wow" type of feel. Some things I think were fairly obvious but others I wasn't expecting.

This was a little bit of a slower pace than I typically like. However, I was help captivated about what where the story was going. I did feel like the ending did leave room for a potential sequel but to be honest, I hope not as I think this book stands alone strongly and to be honest, there are enough sequels in my life that I'd be remiss to have to promise myself to another (though if this did move on into a series read, then it wouldn't be hateful and OF COURSE I'd read it!).

"Some choose darkness, others are chosen by it."

I liked this book a lot. I was a bit let down with the ending but it still had a fast-paced solid storyline throughout.

<i>Some choose darkness, others are chosen by it."</i>

"The Thief" is a serial killer suspected of killing six women in 1979. He would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for Angela Mitchell. It is her unique way of puzzling together the evidence of his crimes that leads to his arrest. Now 40 years later Inmate Four-Six is up for parole. The case falls in Rory Moore's lap after the death of her father. She is immediately drawn to Angela Mitchell's story and she can't help but wonder what her father true intentions were when he took on this case. <b>Some Choose Darkness</b> is my first Charlie Donlea novel. It has just the right mixture of twists and turns to keep you in suspense and enough character development to get you invested in the storyline. I particularly liked how he used what some might see as weakness in his two protagonists their strength.

<i>Special thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Charlie Donlea for access to this work.</i>

I am one of many that count myself as a fan of Charlie Donlea after having read several of his previous novels so it wasn’t a question that I wanted to read Some Choose Darkness. This one is a thriller that again has multiple points of view and also alternates timelines.

The one thing standing out the most to me with Some Choose Darkness was immediately noticing the quirkiness to the characters and finding what we have here is a novel with not one but two high functioning females with autism. I seriously applaud the author for tackling their distinct personalities and bringing them to life realistically in this book.

Rory Moore is our lead in the story in the present timeline who is a forensic reconstructionist by choice but also holds a law degree although she chose not to practice. Rory finds herself brought into her father’s firm to clean up his cases when he suddenly passes away.

Rory found most of the work was easy to delegate and clear up but did find one particular case to be a problem. A decades old file on a criminal known as The Thief who was thought to have murdered multiple women only to end up charged with the murder of one, but was that one still alive?

As usual with Charlie Donlea’s stories readers will find wonderful writing that just sucks readers right into the mystery and suspense and doesn’t let go until the end. As mentioned the characters are brilliantly done and certainly nothing cookie cutter to them or to the story overall. Definitely an engaging thriller leaving me to rate this one at 4 1/2 stars.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

I’ve not read this author before so I started the book not really knowing what to expect. Other than seeing rave reviews everywhere. I would consider this book a ‘slow burn’ type. I really liked how the book would alternate between past and present. It really built up the story well. I find that I really enjoy books that do this. Especially if it’s not limited to one character. The little clues each chapter brings really pushed me to continue reading because I just had to know what happened next. Because of these clues, I kind of figured out what was going to happen. Even with that, the ending was good. There a few things I didn’t expect. The only reason it’s 4 stars instead of 5, is because I felt like part of the storyline was just left hanging.

Be sure to add this to your summer reading list! This is a new to me author and I'm so glad I was introduced to his writing! Rory assists the Chicago PD with reconstruction services when heinous crimes occur. Angela was a young married woman who lived through the year of heinous crimes committed against women by "The Thief". With the recent death of Rory's father, she uncovers her father's long hidden truth regarding his representation and investigation into "The Thief's" past crimes and his last special request, made while serving time for past crimes. Now up for parole, "The Thief" is soon to be reintroduced into the real world, with unfinished business to complete.

This story is navigated in such a way to keep the reader hooked, through creative writing, characters you connect with, and an original storyline that will have you quickly turning the pages until the very last word. I'm so excited to catch up on other books this author has written as he has quickly entered into the category as an author to watch! I am truly hoping Rory decides to come back as a character in future reads!

Charlie Donlea’s latest thriller Some Choose Darkness is the type of book that builds so much suspense, that I felt on the edge of my seat every page! This is a masterful book, weaving the past and present together in a way that enhanced the tension and left me unable to put the book down. Be warned—you will need to cancel all plans after you start this! Dark, twisty, and not to be missed!

About the Book

During the summer of 1979, women are disappearing in Chicago. The press nicknames the faceless predator The Thief, because he leaves nothing behind. No bodies, no clues, no suspects. Angela Mitchell is fixated on the disappearances. A high-functioning autistic woman with obsessive compulsive disorder, Angela often sees patterns that others do not. And Angela starts piecing together clues about The Thief with a shocking conclusion. Her biggest challenge is getting others to believe it, before it is too late.

In 2019, Rory Moore is asked to reconstruct a porcelain doll and a murder—both of which are areas she has unique expertise in. Rory works as a forensic reconstructionist, piecing crimes back together with a specialty for cold cases. When Rory’s father passes away unexpectedly, Rory finds herself in the middle of the case notes, trial, and conviction of The Thief from all of those years ago. Angela Mitchell’s evidence was enough to get the police to focus on The Thief, but before she could follow up with them, she disappeared herself. The last victim of The Thief that summer and the only one the prosecution was able to pin on him.

Now, The Thief is being paroled 20 years early, and Rory finds herself in the awkward position filling in as his attorney after her father’s sudden death. How is it possible Rory never knew about her father’s connection to this case? And what is tugging at Rory’s mind, prompting her to find the connection between the past and the present?

Reflection

The way Charlie Donlea used past, present, and different narrators to build suspense made each twist and reveal have a huge impact! The structure of this book and the writing were both executed so carefully—it really made this a stand out thriller for me, and one I won’t soon forget!

I really loved the way Angela and Rory’s unique personalities and shortcomings were often the very things that made them special. For Angela, autism and obsessive compulsive disorder hit at a time when neither were well-understood. Her treatment and diagnoses, as well as the way she is described during the trial, were a sad portrayal of how mental health—and particularly women’s mental health—were treated in the 1970s. We were on the cusp of understanding these disorders, but we also didn’t realize the strengths that come along with the challenges.

Angela is brilliant, but she is also obsessive, compulsive, and a bit “off” to most. She struggles with some aspects of social interaction, and she seems like she is unable to function. At the same time, Angela is able to piece together data in miraculous ways. The parallels to Rory were fascinating, because although Rory suffers from some of the same challenges, Rory has learned strong coping skills to manage her disease, and therefore she is much more accepted by those around her.

There were also the parallels between the murders in 1979 and the murder in 2019. Rory finds herself working on both, and she has trouble separating the two. Something is tugging at her, begging that she find the connection. Watching Rory unravel the cases was fascinating.

At the same time as all of this, we get these amazing insights into others. We hear from The Thief, and from Rory’s father at different times. We hear from Angela in 1979 before she disappeared, and discover how she put the clues together. And we hear from Rory in the present, struggling to see what her brain is trying to tell her about the cases.

I can’t say much more without spoiling anything, but this book has twists and reveals throughout and each one is a total bombshell. It is written so the reveal impacts multiple storylines at the same time, and that made the build up to each twist suspenseful and heart-pounding. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Kensington Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.