This was an enjoyable book with a bit of a twisty ending. The main character, Jessie experiences a severe childhood trauma that causes PTSD later in young adulthood and causes her to do some bad things. When she becomes the focus of a murder investigation, it seems fitting that she did it. There were some very slow parts, but it was otherwise a fairly quick read. I know that the author is a psychologist, so perhaps just a bit too verbose on that part of the story.

The upside: it was set in Nashville - a very cool city!

Thank you to R.J. Jacobs, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book! This review was also published on Goodreads.

Please note this is a 4.5.

I didn't think the day would come when I would find a thriller that I could just sit there and tear through again- it has been a rather long time! I really enjoyed this read. Jessie, the protagonist, is a wonderful character, and the author did an incredible job of portraying her with all her flaws and difficulties. His portrayal of PTSD was really well done and didn't demonise or trivialise, and it was really nice to see this done properly.

The storyline itself, while initially deceptively simple, got me in hook, line, and sinker. The eventual web of intrigue that establishes itself is a thriller of a read, and it was really fantastic. There were a lot of possible ends that it could've taken, and it keeps you guessing throughout the whole of the book. The story unfolds with incredible pacing, and it will really keep you on your toes the whole way through. I really enjoyed how the whole of the novel came together.

The characters are pretty great too- I only feel like maybe the family at the centre of this could have been fleshed out just a tiiiiny bit more. It would have just brought that connection a little bit closer and made the eventual series of events all the more interesting. However, this was an incredible book, and a real page-turner. Well worth the read!

Jessie is recovering from a severely traumatic childhood, including a year when she was locked in a dark closet with nothing but a Discman and a country music CD to entertain her. She's still obsessed with those country singers, whose warm family image promises everything she hopes for, but is under court order to stay away from them after an incident at a concert. But Jessie also has to maintain her catering job, which takes her to her idols' home one night to work as a server. Jessie becomes the prime suspect when one of her idols is murdered.

This is a fascinating book. It's not really a thriller, and it's not really a mystery. It's pretty clear what is going to happen and what did happen. But it was still a page-turner for me. Jessie is a winning character. She is immediately engaging and sympathetic. The author is a psychologist, which lent detail and credibility to his description of Jessie's confinement and the effects of the confinement. The suspense lies in whether and how Jessie will be able to break free of those effects sufficiently to clear her name. I was rooting for Jessie all the way.

One nit: I didn't like the author's device of having Jessie search for words and then immediately put her finger on exactly the right one. It seemed implausible (when words are on the tip of your tongue, they tend to linger there a while), and it grew irritating.

A quick, compulsive read. Recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great big thank you to @netgalley @crookedlanebooks & @rjjacobs75 for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.
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I found it really cool that that R.J. Jacobs is also a psychologist. Probably explains why his writing style really gets you into the mind of his main character here.
Let’s talk about Jessie; foster child, locked in a closet for a year, her only escape is the sounds of Owen and Shelley James, famous Nashville country signer duo in her diskman. Naturally obsession occurs from this trauma. To her, she is a part of their lives. Once found and released from the home, she follows the band « too closely » and lands herself in jail with a terrified Shelley James. After jail time comes therapy and a struggling Jessie determined to be « good ». She finds a catering job and things are going well. All that changes when Jessie works an event with celebrities including the Owens. A family she must avoid at all costs.
Jessie does her best to keep her head down but when Shelley is found dead she quickly becomes a suspect. She knows the murder will be pinned on her unless she finds the killer...
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A really good fast paced physiological thriller. Written in short chapters had me turning the pages quickly. Many twists and turns, likable and unlikable characters. I really felt Jessie’s trauma and the judgments from others that go along with it. Which begs the question; can we overcome the mistakes and trauma’s from our past?.
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Highly recommend this engaging to thriller lovers! Look for this one coming out August 11 2020 !!!

Jessie’s horrific childhood shadows her still. Accused of stalking a famous country duo, her world shifts. She tries her best to live a normal life, but lands in an impossible situation. Written in first person, unreliable narrator style, but unlike a lot of current day thrillers, it’s not just plot-driven, Jessie is a well-fleshed character. Darkness knows her well. This is where Jacobs, a practicing physiologist, shines.

Loved the pacing, loved the characterization. Being a Nashville local, I was super excited to read this. I’m glad it didn’t disappoint! The author described Nashville culture perfectly. I could picture everything in a vivid way. I think the story could have started with more of a bang, and it definitely needs some grammatical corrections prior to publication, but I’m sure that will happen!

First of all, THAT COVER! I love it so much. I know it's trees, but it reminds me a little of dendrites (?) or nerves. So appropriate for this psychological thriller. I love the suspense and the beautiful writing, but my favorite was the damaged protagonist. The story of her childhood broke my heart. There were some great twists, and the mystery was so well done. Bravo!

3.5/5.0
This book was a quick read but still very intriguing. The only reason I rated it less than 4 stars is because some parts were a little slow and seemed a bit unnecessary. Other than that, the plot was good and it was an entertaining read.

Jess is a very quiet and reserved person due to her dark and traumatizing past. She spent over a year of her childhood in a dark closet where a strange couple would feed her and check on her occasionally. Because of this horrible phase in her life, Jess has some difficulty expressing herself since her speaking skills were not properly developed.

The only thing that would bring her a little bit of joy during this ordeal was a Discman with a CD by Shelly and Owen James in it. She would listen to it over and over and when she was finally released from the closet, she became obsessed with Shelly and Owen. She followed their concert tour all over the country until one day when she “accidently” stabbed someone at the concert and went to jail.

After completing her sentence, Jess tried her best to have a normal life. She goes to therapy and she works for a catering company where people respect her withdrawn nature. But one day, Jess finds out that her company will cater the party for some famous musician, and of course, Shelly and Owen are attending the party. Jess notices that Shelly seems really weird, acting strange and skittish. What is wrong with her?
A few days later, her company is hired to cater a party at Shelly and Owen’s house. Jess realizes she is being followed by a weird man and moments later she finds Shelly dead.
An investigation starts and since Jess has an unreliable past obsessing over Shelly, she becomes a suspect.

But there are many facts pointing to other people who are very close to Shelly.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it.

I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. Jessie's background slowly unfurls and it becomes more and more shocking. All she wants is to just live a normal life after surviving horrible neglect as a child. From her side of the story, her obsession with the Owens makes perfect sense. It just doesn't appear that way to others. I read this one quickly because the story was so compelling. Definitely recommended.

Very fast paced, not alot of dull moments. So much adventure. I couldnt put it down. Great author, cant wait to read more by them

This was a fast paced read that left me guessing until the end. I loved the backstory of Jessie although i wanted to know more. I really liked Jessie!
This book had really good twists that made me keep turning the pages!
This was my first RJ Jacobs book and I loved his writing style.
Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Title: Somewhere In The Dark
Author: R.J Jacobs
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Provided by Netgalley & r.j Jacob's. Thank you for letting me review this book.

Somewhere In The Dark was a very easy read. It wasn't hard to sitdown and read for time on end, I wanted to keep flipping the pages. R.J Jacobs did a tremendous job with the layout and how well it was written. I felt emotionally attached to jessie and the struggles she endured as a child. She bounced around in foster care and slipped through the cracks of the system with abuse. Now that she is an adult and on her own she battles her past daily just to try and live a normal life. She seems to be doing well in her own apartment in Mashville until she works an even where celebrities will be attending. Jessie has been attached to the James family since she was a little girl. How much will her obsession cost her? Mrs. James ends up dead, did Jessie do it?

4.5 Stars!

Somewhere In The Dark is a terrific book! I thoroughly enjoyed this unique, page turning story that is unlike any other thriller I've read. Jessie is a wholly sympathetic protagonist, and I found myself rooting for her time and again, even when I questioned her choices. I can't reveal more without spoilers, but I highly recommend this tale. IMHO the story would have been better without the two dream sequences, which slowed the pacing; otherwise this was an entertaining, very enjoyable read. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing an ARC for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jessie had a horrible childhood in foster care and was forced to spend a year alone in a dark room when she was 11. Now at 19, she has an apartment and a job at a catering company. Everything goes south when she has to work at event at the home of a country music star with whom she once had an unhealthy fascination, and that star ends up dead.

I really felt for Jessie in this one. She had a lousy start to life and once she got it together, she still was suffering challenges through no fault of her own. She was definitely a character I was routing for. As far as the mystery of who killed the country star goes, I didn't have it figured out and it all wrapped up well with no lose ends. This was a fairly short book and I thought it took a little long to get to the murder and then on to solving it. There was a lot of build up about Jessie's story. Overall, it was a pretty good read though and I would probably read more from this author.

This book is a must read for all psychological thriller lovers. The story Jessie kept me hooked from the first page and it’s the kind of book that keeps you guessing until the end, Definitely a great book and I’d totally recommend it. Looking forward to reading other books by this author.

#Somewhere In The Dark # R.J. Jacobs #NetGalley
Somewhere in the Dark is an intriguing story that pulls you in and keeps you interested throughout. The main character, Jesse, is a foster care child searching for a home and a family. She is an engaging and likable character who you find yourself rooting for. She is locked in a dark closet for a year, around age 11, and has disabilities that result from this time of abuse. She copes with this by telling herself stories in her head, sharping her other senses and listening to the only CD she has of Owen and Shelly James, who are famous singers. When she finally gets out, she follows them for a year through their concert series across the country. She is arrested and serves time for stalking. After she is released, Jesse tries to turn her life around by living a simple life on her own. She takes a job as a caterer, sees Ms. Parson, her counselor, has her own small apartment and for the most part, keeps to herself. She still buys memorabilia related to the James's and watches them and their adopted daughter, Finch, on occasion. Everything is going well until her catering company is hired for a party where the James' are guest. As a result of that party, the James then hire the catering company as well. A murder transpires and she is seen as the main suspect. Other enchanting characters are entwined in the mix and the further the investigation goes the more entangled it becomes. This is a fun read that engages the reader with interesting and well developed characters. I highly recommend this book!

Somewhere In the Dark
by RJ Jacobs
Pub. Date: Aug. 11, 2020

This was my first book by RJ Jacobs and I have to say I loved his writing style. The characters were well thought out, flawed, but understandably so. Jacobs writes about mental health, the behavioral health medical system as it relates to criminal behavior skillfully, which is to be expected since he is a clinical psychologist but still refreshing to the reader.

This was a quick read for me, but so gripping I read it in one night. This is perfect for a pool/beach read since it is so compelling you won’t want to put it down! Each chapter hooked me, revealing small pieces of information that would culminate in me thinking I had it figured out only to be wrong!!! Obsession, infidelity, stalking, this story has it ALL!!!

The only thing I saw as a flaw in this book was the fact that I wanted to know more about Jessie’s back story, more about her abusers, just MORE!!!

4/5 stars!

Thank you @crookedlanebooks and @netgalley for an advanced copy of the book for my honest review!!!

Oh man this one is a raw good thriller.
This story follows a girl named Jessie, whom she has a lot of trauma and psychological effects that follow her. Her family locked her a closet for over a year and all sha had with her in the closet besides the limited food was her country cd and her walkman. She listened to the music so intently she moved it into stories intertwined with the music to feel like as if she was part of the music.
This back story of telling how Jessie became what she was and how she acted this helped understand her reasonings and actions a lot more. When Jessie goes to a concert things got out of hand and she ended up getting arrensted and was basically labeled a stalker for Shelly.
After this incident she changed her life determind not to let that define her. She got counseling and started a new job and just as it seemed things were changing for her she was intermixed with Shelly once again and Shelly is found dead. Now, Jessie is doing everything she can to clear her name.
This is a fast paced thriller and on the shorter side but beside the length of the novel I can guarantee you will not be disappointed at all! The twist and the turns were amazing and kept me guessing until the very end! I definitely reccomment it to any thriller lover!

After falling in love with Jacobs's first book, And Then You Were Gone, I was leaping out of my chair in anticipation for his follow-up. I had no doubt that it would be another well-crafted mystery with captivating characters, but Somewhere in the Dark exceeded all my expectations. The plot summary by itself was enough to pull me in and not look up until I reached its thrilling conclusion.

Jessie Duval may very well be one of the most compelling protagonists I've read about in a while. At nineteen, she had bounced from one foster home to another and endured a horrific year at age twelve where she was kept in a dark, locked closet with almost nothing - except for her Discman. The Shelly James CD she listened to during that year and the years afterward in the real world kept her grounded and focused. She still had difficulties acclimating to life outside and staying out of trouble, but she was getting by. And then, boom. Shelly James was found murdered, and Jessie became an immediate suspect.

It was impossible not to root for Jessie as she faced every obstacle thrown her way. Though seen as vulnerable and obsessive by those she crossed paths with, she exhibited a quiet strength that made me cheer her on when she confronted a problem and sympathize with her when she found herself in a tricky situation. There were so many layers to her personality and backstory that kept me turning the pages well after my bedtime.

Aside from my love of all the characters (Malik and Detective Marion are my other favorites!), the plot of Somewhere in the Dark was completely absorbing. A year of childhood vanished into the confines of a dark closet. An obsession with Nashville's biggest country stars. Secrets with woeful consequences. A shocking murder that rocks news headlines - every chapter felt like another adventure. This book was packed with action from start to finish, and I'm already debating how soon is too soon for a reread.

Superb psychological thriller about a victim of abuse who goes on to become an obsessive fan of a singer and how she is pulled back into the circle that she was working hard to leave. The characters are very nicely explained and the suspense was good. It shows how we perceive the other bank to be greener and miss what we have. Finished it in one go. Don’t miss it. I would like to give more than 5 stars.