Enjoyed this very much. Jesse is a very compelling and sympathetic hero so I was rooting for her from the very start. I do not have first-hand experience but it seemed like her disability was written very realistically. I will certainly be looking for more from this author.

Many thanks to the publisher for a free digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating 3.5 stars

I really liked the main character, Jessie. She’s been through A LOT in her 19 years of life. Because of severe childhood trauma, Jessie is developmentally disabled. While she was growing up she became attached to a country singing duo, Shelly and Owen James.

This book was really frustrating, but really good. It was awful seeing people take advantage of Jessie, especially when it took her a little longer to catch on to what was happening. Everyone under estimates Jessie, though. She’s smart and stronger than people give her credit for.

I definitely recommend Somewhere in the Dark.

Trigger warnings: child abuse, child neglect, child sexual abuse suggestion (non explicit), pedophilia (non explicit).

I loved this story's premise, the writing style made for an easy read, and Jessie's character broke my heart.

But. Yes, I'm sorry, there's a but here. I'm going to divide this book in two halves. The first half is slow moving, spending a little too much time on mundane, repetitive content. I'd have liked to see more of Jessie's early life so I could better connect on an emotional level. I wanted to know how she'd gotten from where she'd been in the past to where she was in the present.

The truly unfortunate thing is that the current synopsis gives away a major plot point, which doesn't actually happen until midway in the book. So we spend the entire first half knowing where the story is leading us, anticipating exactly what's about to happen to Jessie, taking away any sort of suspense.

The second half is more intriguing, with a quicker pace and more action and suspense. I loved watching Jessie's growth. And I admit to having tears in my eyes at the end.

Solid dark story with a few good twists, but just not incredibly memorable for me. I look for things that really take me by surprise or shock value and I did not find it with this one.

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stamperlady50
Somewhere in the Dark
By: R.J Jacobs
4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jesse Duval grew up in foster homes and her last one had her locked in a dark closet with music as her only escape. The CD she had was by famous Nashville Star Shelly James.
🎶
At 19 she gets a job working for a caterer. She is seeing a therapist to help her with what she endured as a child and her obsession with Shelly, so much so there is a restraining order out on Jessie.
🎶
When Shelly turns up murdered she becomes a prime suspect because of her past. Is she guilty? Who else has a motive to murder this beloved country star?

I'm not really sure how to describe my feelings on this book. It wasn't like "this is the best book I've ever read" but it wasn't awful either. I figured out pretty early on who the murderer was, though not for the exact reason. I actually really liked Jessie, the main character and I felt really sorry for her. All in all I feel like the book could have been fleshed out a bit more. There just wasn't enough detail about anything to make me fully invested in the characters or their stories.

This thriller is set in Nashville and deals with the main character, Jessie, who had an awful childhood being accused of murdering a famous country singer.
That sentence is only a broad picture of the story so I want to go over a few points in the story before I review.
1- Jessie was kept in a closet of one of her foster families for over a year as a child. This caused her physical and language development to be severely hindered. In the closet, she had a CD player and only one CD of The James Family which was her comfort during this terrible ordeal.
2- Jessie felt a connection to the James family so she began traveling to all their concerts and their was an incident that caused her to be jailed.
3- Jessie was getting her life back together and had a job with a catering company.
Unfortunately, Jessie was manipulated and ended up going on the run accused of murdering Shelly James.
Now for the review..this was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars for me.
I felt empathy for Jessie but loved her determination to do the right thing. I also loved the parts in the book where Jessie couldn’t quite remember the correct word so she would say the definition to herself to arrive at the word she wanted.
I appreciate that Jessie was able to use tools that during unfortunate circumstances she had gained which helped her figure out the truth of who killed Shelly James. Jessie is actually one of my favorite characters this year and for her alone not even counting the mystery part of the story this one is a must read. Finally, I appreciate the fact that Jessie did have people that supported her and were on her side. As you can tell, for me this one was more than just a thriller! It had a great story and memorable characters that I’m still thinking about. Thank you NetGally , RJ Jacobs and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and review.

Jacobs missed the mark for me on this, a bit too much pscyhological exploration of the characters rather than thriller.

Jessie Duval's life is finally coming together: she works a full-time catering job, is in therapy, and lives in her own apartment in Nashville. While Jessie seems like a typical young adult, she is anything but. Jessie experienced extreme neglect and abuse as a child, including an entire year where she was locked in a dark closet only to be given little food and a disc player with one CD by Shelly and Owen James. In Jessie's mind, Shelly and Owen are her family. In the years following Jessie's escape from the abuse, she becomes enamored with the James' and follows them on a country-wide tour. After an incident which makes Jessie look like a violent, crazed fan, she is arrested and given a restraining order to stay away from Shelly and Owen. When Shelly is found murdered over a year later, Jessie is an immediate suspect. Jessie quickly realizes that she is being framed, but will she find the real killer before she's arrested again?


Somewhere is the Dark is a unique thriller, but I don't think it was worth reading. While the premise of the book is fascinating, it didn't capture me. Throughout the book, I kept waiting for the moment where I would feel invested in finding out who really murdered Shelly, but, honestly, I was just ready for the book to end because it felt slow and congested. A majority of my distaste comes from the lack of character development. Jessie is an interesting character, but she wasn't given a lot of development that meaningfully contributed to the plot - the reader gets small glimpses into Jessie's life prior to the incident and murder, but nothing substantive which was really frustrating for me. Additionally, the author threw in a couple other "main" characters, but they weren't given much development either which just made the book drag on more. Although I don't love Somewhere in the Dark, I would read another book by R.J. Jacobs because I did enjoy his writing style.


Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for an advanced copy of Somewhere in the Dark in exchange for an honest review.


2/5

Jessie is a great character. The story was good but she makes the book. I pictured characters from Nashville the show while reading. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the depths of Nicole’s Book Cellar (Instagram.com/nicoles_bookcellar):

Book: Somewhere in the Dark (Release Date: August 11, 2020)

Author: R.J. Jacobs

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Rating: 3.5⭐⭐⭐!!!!!!!!!

Trigger ⚠️ Mention of child abuse, Stalking

Plot: Jessie had a horrible childhood that caused her to break from reality. She sought out the one thing that kept her going, Shelly James, a country singer. After stalking her and being caught she spent time in a facility and seemed to be trying to get her life on track.

Suddenly, one day Shelly somehow comes back in Jessie’s life. Jessie was trying to avoid falling down the wrong path but Shelly is found dead and all evidence points to her. Did she really break or was she setup?

Thoughts: I felt so bad for Jessie from beginning to the end. As a reader I would get frustrated with some of her decisions but then I would have to remember her mental illness based off what happened in her childhood.
Final drinking thoughts: I did figure out what really happened (partially) early on but still enjoyed it. I would recommend this book. Jessie will have you rooting for her, even when you are unsure if she killed Shelly or not.
Thank you to @NetGalley @CrookedLaneBooks and @rjjacobs75 for an advanced copy of @SomewhereInTheDark

#Somwhereinthedark #crookedlanebooks #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #AmazonReads #thriller #mystery #Books #Wine #Fiction #BookReview #ILikeBigBooksAndICannotLie #Bookstigator #GoodReads #WinerRead #wineandread #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic

When I started reading this ARC it was creepy, and started telling us Jessie's past through Jessie's head. It's also a slow narrative but the main characters voice jumping from here to there has you hooked to the book and you think you have the culprit figure out and who actually did it but it surprises you at every few pages. What stands apart from the suspense is the emotional turmoil a person can go through and effect the way they function and can't differentiate between what's real and what's not. It was also sad to read the neglect a child can go through and how it can totally change them as a person yet if someone has a trusting person beside them it can work for them. Still the book couldn't leave a great impact on me. The slow narration kind of put me off. It could have been faster and more engaging. The characters were talked about on a very superficial level. The book could have been talked about in the second person narrative to make it an interesting read. Still the above elements keeps the book momentum going and you like where the story ends.

I absolutely loved the characterization of Jessie in this book, and I related to all her flaws and her experiences with PTSD. I was also drawn in by the story from the very first page, but what genuinely kept me glued to the novel was the way Jessie reacted to everything going on. I would absolutely recommend this book, and I want to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC!

Imagine being trapped in a place of near-complete sensory deprivation and isolation for over a year, and being thrown scraps from time to time by foster parents. Jessie Duval had to suffer through this and more at the tender age of 12 and as a result, suffered from language deficit and developmental delay. Through this year, the country music of Owen and Shelley James was her only solace, which she listened to on repeat. After being rescued, Owen and Shelley become a fixation in her imagination, to the point of stalking them, and an ugly incident leads to a restraining order.

After many years, just when she gets back on her feet, circumstances make her cross paths with them again and eventually Shelley James is discovered dead. As each revelation comes to the fore, the plot thickens and, the most unsuspecting person comes out as a devious personality.
I pitied Jessie, her difficulties seemed to have no end, but despite her traumatic childhood and disability, she tried very hard to get to the bottom of matters and get herself in the clear. She was so strong. Alone, with not a person whom she could call her own, she didn’t have anyone to turn to except for her mental therapist.

I loved the style of writing, especially the depiction of Jessie's speaking disability where she cannot grasp the right word for something she is trying to explain. For eg - "the word for very, very sad - pathetic".

This was a perfect whodunnit for a rainy day ensconced within blankets with a hot cuppa, guessing who the killer could be.

While this book started off great, I quickly lost interest and struggled to finish it. It has an interesting premise, but I think I got lost in the internal dialogue, and the characters felt flat. I can see why others enjoyed it. It wasn't for me.

Somewhere in the Dark has a lot of surprises. It starts out giving us Jesse's story of being locked in a closet while in foster care when she was about 12 years old. That left many physiological scars into adulthood. During the time she was locked in the closet she had a small listening device that she listened to country music specifically Owen and Shelley Peterson. She became obsessed with them and their family. She went to their concerts and their was an incident there that caused the singers to file a restraining order. She became a caterer and somehow ended up in their house with the company she worked for. She tried to get out of working their but to no avail. There was a murder that night and all the evidence pointed toward Jesse. It was a page turner. The Author did a fantastic job writing this book and I look forward to reading more of his books.

Actual Star Review - 3.5 stars

This is my first book by R.J. Jacobs and unfortunately, it did not hit the mark for me. For the most part it was enjoyable, but it it didn't grasp me the way that normal mystery/thriller novels do. I had a very hard time connecting with the characters and wasn't invested in the story line or how the plot would end.

I would have preferred if Jacobs spent a bit more time on character development when Jessie was younger ... I think knowing more about her past would have made her a more relatable character. She was very troubled and suffered a lot as a young child, but it was hard to connect with her in present day.

Thank you very much, Netgalley, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I appreciate the opportunity to try a new book and author - I would be interested in reading more by RJ in the future!

This is a single white female kind of book. And I really wanted to like the main character but I just didn't. So for most of this book I found myself wondering about if I really cared what happened to Jessie. I totally liked the basic premise and found it completely reasonably written with no major plot holes. So that in and of itself is a reason to try this book out.

Read this book in one sitting. Don't think about it, just do it. Trust me. Somewhere in the Dark by R. J. Jacobs is one of the most stressful books I have ever read. I mean that in the best way possible. If you're an anxious person, this book reads like your worst nightmare.

Set in Nashville, we meet Jessie Duval, an unreliable narrator that has a troubled past. Working her way through the foster care system as a child, by the time she is eleven, Jessie finds herself with a family who keeps her locked in a closet for nearly a year. In the dark of the closet, Jessie has a discman and an album by Shelly and Owen James, two of the biggest country music stars in Nashville, an album that she plays on repeat. The James's music quickly becomes the only anchor that Jessie has. has in the dark. Years later after Jessie is able to leave the foster care system, she sells what possessions she has, and follows Shelly and James on their tour across the U.S. She becomes their biggest fan. Until one night when something goes horribly wrong at one of the shows. Jessie is arrested and sent to prison for a year for stalking.

The bulk of this story take place over the span of a few days with flashbacks of Jessie's life throughout the narrative. The pacing is quick, but Jessie's narration is slow and deliberate. It's executed beautifully since Jessie is an unreliable and unstable narrator. Through a series of truly unfortunate and unavoidable circumstances, Jessie finds herself entrapped in a web of deceit and murder.

To say that Somewhere in the Dark is a great summer thriller isn't giving it enough credit. I will be honest, at about the halfway point my attention began to wain slightly because the murder had been committed and the fallout seemed slightly unbelievable. But if you've ever seen Psycho then you know to stick around until the end. Somewhere in the Dark *is* a great summer thriller, but aspects of this story will stick with you long after the pools close and your sunburn has paled,

4 STARS

After a childhood marred by neglect, Jessie Duval's finally got it together. But all that changes when Jessie works an event where celebrities will be in attendance—including the one person from her past she must avoid at all costs: singer Shelly James.

Jessie keeps her head down, but when Shelly is found dead, Jessie's troubled past comes tumbling out and she quickly becomes a suspect in the high-profile murder. As the police close in on her, ignoring other credible leads, Jessie realizes Shelly's murder will be pinned on her—the perfect scapegoat—unless she finds the real killer. And no one knows Shelly's life and inner circle better than her. But she will have to go deeper into the dark—if ever she wants to find her way out.

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SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK was a fast paced, quick read. I was sucked into Jessie's story from the first page and was so enthralled I finished it in one sitting! Jessie was such an interesting character and I wish that the author had fleshed her backstory out a bit more. We only learn bits and pieces about her past and I know that the story is supposed to centre on who she is now - not who she was - but I felt that her difficulties could have been explored in more detail.

I thoroughly enjoyed the reading about Jessie's search for the real culprit in Shelley's murder (although I had to suspend my disbelief a little bit. She seemed a bit too good at it!) I did guess the culprit pretty early on but this didn't hinder my enjoyment in the least. I actually wasn't super confident in my guess until the very end!

Recommended for anyone looking for a quick "beach read" thriller that won't let you go until the very last page. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC! SOMEWHERE IN THE DARK is out now.