2.5/5⭐

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy of This Little Dark Place, out the 10th of October!

I found this book pretty unusual in lots of aspects.

To start with, there were just 3 chapters on it. I thought about them as 3 parts, really. Each part was quite long and with a lot of information and it made it a bit hard to get through.

The first chapter/part was narrated by Dan. It reminded me a bit to "The Notebook" as it's a kind of letter that it's been read by the writer to Lucy.

Now, who is Lucy? She is not an active character in the book. She actually doesn't appear once. She is just talked about and I liked the mystery involving her.

The narrated story takes place in 2015 but the current year It's actually 2033. When I saw the date, I thought the book would be very modern and with advanced technology, and blah blah blah. To my surprise, if I hadn't seen the year, I would have though that the story took place in the 80's or the 90's because of the way it was written.

Although I liked some bits and pieces about the book, I found it too slow. I wouldn't say it was boring but there weren't many things happening.

Once we got to the second part I lost the interest in the plot, the characters and whatever was happening to them. I thought the book was describing in details things not important at all like the food he bought or how he slept or what he had for breakfast.

I didn't dislike the writing style but I think i would have liked it more if there had been some more chapters. They felt too long and there were not many breaks in between.

Character-wise, I couldn't stop feeling a kind of tenderness for Dan, the narrator of the story and the letters. He seems such a nice guy and goes through a few difficult situations never giving up.

Victoria, his girlfriend, however... Well, she also struggles with those situations. They are very delicate and I guess that every person face them differently but I disagreed in a few things she did.

I liked Ruby, the main character of part two. She reminded me to any mum, so caring, so sweet and nice. However, I don't really get why Dan questioned everything she did. I found that a bit odd, to be honest.

Overall, I think the plot had a great potential as once I got to the end, I understood better the way the book was written and why, but, unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it very much

Compulsive reading, this is an addictive suspenseful psychological thriller like no other.

The plot is unpredictable with lots of twists and turns along with solid engaging characters.
There is also a sense of dread as the story deals with the deep and dark corners of the human psych.

I very much enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone!

If i'd had a spare few hours this would definitely have been consumed in one sitting. I'm glad life got in the way however and prolonged it for me. I completely loved this book.
The language was truly beautiful and often poetic. It was a such a pleasure to read and thoroughly captivating despite the dark, and often uncomfortable, subject matter and flawed characters.
So raw and real and full of suspense, it truly is difficult to decide when to stop if you don't have the time to read in one sitting. I am almost certain there isn't a person out there that could predict this novel's twist.
It is astonishing that this is a debut novel - I can't wait to see how this author's career progresses.

First off BRAVO A.S.Hatch for creating this captivating page turning debut novel. This book, literally, had me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out just who is Lucy, and why is Daniel writing to her.
**
This Little Dark Place starts with the main character Daniel, writing a letter to Lucy in the year 2033. In this letter, he is writing to Lucy about his past with Ruby. Ruby was a pen pal inmate Dan first contacted one New Years Eve after his mother's funeral. He was distraught over his mother's death, and problems arising with his long-time girlfriend Victoria. You see Victoria and Daniel were trying to have a baby; and things kept going from bad to worse. The writing was clearly on the walls that Vic was leaving, but Daniel didn't see it. Even Ruby, in prison mind you, knew what was happening in his relationship.
After Daniel's mother passed, he was left a cabin on Lane's End.
Lane's End is both the beginning and end for Daniel.
**
Such an amazing read, and was glad this one ending I was not able to figure out on my own. Can't wait to see what other tricks A.S. Hatch has up his sleeve.

Firstly Thank You to netgalley and Serpents Tail for the ARC.

I must be honest and say a quarter of the way through I was ready to just put it down and give up BUT I carried on (after reading the many reviews) and I am SO glad I did!

I must admit in places I found the jumping around of characters and stories confusing, trying to figure out who was actually narrating and having to back track a few times but WOW once you get your head around it, its unputdownable.

A totally thrilling, suspense packed book with twists and turns a plenty.
Unique to anything I have read before and I cannot wait for what A.S Hatch delivers next!

4.5 stars from me.

One of the best books I have read in years. The dynamic writing and plot twists had me reading instead of eating on my lunch break! A must own for libraries looking to add material that will circulate like crazy.

Thank you to net galley for sending me this book in exchange for a honest review.

I did enjoy this one. It’s my favourite type of genre and it didn’t disappoint. It was full of suspense and I loved the ending. Definitely one I’d recommend to my friends.

I had a tough time getting through this book... even though it was relatively short it totally dragged for me. I couldn’t relate to any of the main characters and thought they were super boring. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

1.5/5 stars

I highly enjoyed this book. The plot twists are good and well thought out. The main character is well written and you can almost feel his paranoia building throughout the book.

Hats off to A.S. Hatch! This book is a true winner! I was drawn in from the first page until the last.

A thrilling suspense story about Dan, who had had a difficult life; both in childhood and as an adult. His stepfather was abusive to his mother. Also his partner, Victoria, had been obsessive about becoming pregnant and then cheats on Dan with her Personal Trainer, Scott.

We find Dan writing to someone named Lucy at the start about his past. During his recent past, after Victoria, Dan becomes involved (via email) with Ruby, a prison inmate. Dan moves to an isolated cottage that he had inherited and that's when his life becomes very intriguing. Taking a turn for the worse? Or better?

This is a MUST for any mystery/thriller/suspense reader!!!

I give the book 5+ stars !

Many Thanks to Serpent's Tail / Profile Books and NetGalley for a roller coaster ride

I really enjoyed this book. I adored the story line and loved the main characters. I read this book in one sitting and would highly recommend this book.

This was a little gem of a book. I really, really loved it Twisty little turns throughout the book to the very end. Not a book you can put down, thats for sure. Just an absolute fabulous mystery. An easy five stars.
A.S. Hatch better come out with another book soon. I can't wait long for the next one. Damn, this was good.

A unique thriller that had me hooked from the first page. It's one of the best stories I've read in a while.

The story is told by a man named Daniel in the form of a letter to Lucy. The story is about his girlfriend Victoria and a pen pal Ruby, he had been writing through a pen pal program for prisoners. Throughout various twist and turns that will keep you spinning. The story was just so well written.

A brilliant Debut from A.S. Hatch.
Thank you Serpent's tail and Net galley for the advanced copy for an honest review.
This is a 5 star read. #thislittledarkplace #netgalley
Expected release date October 3, 2019

Well..... where to begin......

For the first 80% of the book, VERY little of excitement happened. It was the longest character development I’d read in a while! So, while I feel that I got to know the characters well, I didn’t care a fig for any of them!! The plot twist in the last 20% was good, but even that wasn’t all that exciting. Sadly, I would not recommend this book, as it just didn’t capture enough of my interest and left me quite disappointed. 2 stars.

Wow I loved this book... it was fast paced but took some thought... there weren’t any chapters but I always found somewhere I could stop.

Dan was a very dark character though I did see cracks of light and pictured him completely. Loved the twists and turns throughout and never guessed who Lucy was or what he had done until the last few pages. Would recommend highly and will read this author again.

This is the first time I have read a book by this author and they did not disappoint. Its quite a quick read but is very enjoyable and gripping. I think I was definitely lulled into a false sense of simplicity at the outset, but as the plot is slowly revealed (I am trying not to give anything away!) I started to realise the extent of the web of deceit! Recommended to people wanting a thrilling psychological read, that is easy to start and stop and short overall, with a solid gripping plot line.

This book is very good if you like a slow burner. If you can handle not much happening and a long road to finding the end game. I predicted a lot of this on the way to the conclusion. And because of that, I was not shocked or excited to find out what happened. I feel that witha story lines like this it could have been a lot more gripping and more twists around the corner. But they didn't appear.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.


WHOA. what an unique book. I honestly have never read a book with this storyline/concept... who do you trust? the person you've been living with and trying to have a baby with? OR the prisoner penpal you've been writing all your secrets to?

Man, I plan on rereading this and sharing it with my book club.. immediately. check this book out.

This is a good book with lots of quirks and twists and turns. It kept me guessing till the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

A great novel, beautiful depiction of the characters with some tense moments thrown into the mix. Will definitely pick more books by this talented author.