Gathering Dark feels a little different. from Candice Fox's other novels, but is still most entertaining. Like her other novels, this book is full of dark characters and fast-paced, convoluted story lines. An engaging read.

GATHERING DARK (PolProc-Blair/Jessica-Los Angeles-Contemp) - NR
Fox, Candice - Standalone
FORGE, 2021

First Sentence: I looked up into the eye of a gun.

Blair Harbour, ex-surgeon, ex-con, is trying to regain custody of her son. Jessica Sanchez, cop, inherited the estate of a very wealthy man due to finding his daughter's killer. Two women who are outsiders, untrusted by those around them. They are thrown together in hopes of finding a missing girl.

Candice Fox can be a remarkable writer. Her Crimson Lake series, with two wonderful protagonists, is a pleasure to read. So what happened here?

Alternating POVs are a challenge; for the writer, I'm sure, but also for the reader. One is inclined to either prefer one voice over the other, or one wants to split the story up and paste it back together so as to be reading only one voice and then the other.

As for the plot, it is beyond improbably. The coincidences are overwhelming and unbelievable. One feels one should sympathize with the characters, but doing so is nearly impossible. The procedure from the very start is absurd; a cop abandons his partner jeopardizing her life and not only is he not punished, but she is blamed. And why was it set in LA rather than the author's home of Australia? One could go on, but why.

"Gathering Dark" is so disappointing. One can hope the distraction of the pandemic is to blame and that, once this is passed, Fox will return to the quality we'd come to expect from her.

Fox is one of my most favorite thriller authors, and if you haven’t read her Crimson Lake series, you need to. So when I saw she had a new book coming out, I raced to request this from Macmillian/Tor because I needed to have it. It did not disappoint.

Here we have opposing female leads, both strong women on opposite ends of the law. They are multi-dimensional characters that are down-to-earth and very relatable. Minus the multi-million dollar home, that is. But that was a fluke, clearly, and Jessica is suffering dearly for that. Blair is trying her hardest to stay on the right side of the law. But when an old cellmate comes calling, she feels the pull to help her, even if it means putting her in some sketchy situations. The thing I loved about Blair is how quirky she is. I don’t want to tell you her “addiction,” but I can say it is both amusing and endearing.

This one got tense, fast, creating a need to race through the book to find some resolution. I loved how well thought out the characters and storyline are. All the characters are diverse and feed well off each other. I love how strong and determined each of them is. This book is a must-read and too good to miss out on.

This book read differently than I expected it would. I expected a fast paced thriller but the focus of the writing seemed to center on the four female main characters which each had quite a story to tell. Blair was the most interesting to me. Such a drastic difference in her personal life, from a revered pediatric doctor who has saved so many children to an ex con working in a convenience store. Her love for children remained constant and definitely set events in motion. I had a more difficult time connecting with Jessica, a detective who solved a cold case and was rewarded beyond belief. Is that even legal? They are joined by Sneak, another ex con with incredible pick pocketing skills. Although there is action I found myself distracted by my lack of connection with the characters. Many thanks to Candice Fox, Forge Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this soon to be released book.

Thank you so much to the author and Forge Books for this review copy! If y’all haven’t read Candice yet, you need to get going! She is fantastic! This gem will be available on March 16 and I know you all will love it!

This book captured me from page one. The story, the details, the characters, just WOW! I could not put it down, the momentum of the story just wouldn’t allow me to stop, except when I had to. The good, the bad and the ugly it was truly a page turner and game changer.

Blair, newly released from prison and her friend Sneak, also from prison are on a quest to find Sneaks daughter, who has gone missing. The more they get into it, the more dangerous it becomes. Meanwhile,Detective Jessica Sanchez is dealing with her own issues and somehow gets involved. Justice is important but, so is the truth and in this mad dash to prove innocence. With so many irons in the fire, can they find out the truth and what will it cost them?

An absolute must read! Preorder if you can or request from your local library, you do not want to miss this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read!

A convicted killer. A gifted thief. A vicious ganglord. A disillusioned cop. Together they’re a missing girl’s only hope.

This book had me on the edge of my seat.
Candice fox books keeps getting better. Must read for fans of thrillers.
An intriguing and violent journey for four women who have more in common than they realize.
This has some pretty great characters in this read. The story is amazing and I'm hoping for a second one.

Gathering Dark -- features two well developed female protagonists – LAPD Detective, Jessica Sanchez, and Blair Harbor, a disgraced pediatric surgeon arrested by Jessica, tried, and then sent to jail. These two join forces to find a missing teenage girl, daughter of a friend of Blair’s who was last seen by Blair as the girl robbed her at her convenience store job. This story goes back and forth between Jessica and Blair and could have been more cohesive if their stories were more intertwined in telling. An interesting read. #GatheringDark #NetGalley

⭐⭐⭐.4 Stars
I have read a few novels by Candice Fox and liked some and some not so much! I spotted some good reviews on this story. But I also noticed that our protagonist described as a badass! Hmmm that immediately has me suspecting that I NOT am going to find a sweet lovable character that I would like ~ but I was willing to give it a try!!

This story is #1 in what appears to be the new Jessica Sanchez series. Story alternates chapters between Jessica and Blair Harbour.
Blair was once an admired pediatric surgeon; now is on parole after serving a prison sentence for killing her neighbor. She gave birth to her son while in prison. He was placed in foster care with a close friend. Jessica just happens to have inherited a home in the same neighbor as the Foster parents. Additionally, Jessica was the detective who arrested Blair all those years ago. Hmmm?

I always love reading d the author’s acknowledgements and often wonder why they are at the end of the story. In this case, I decided to read the Author’s Acknowledgements at the beginning.
I was so glad I did. Candice Fox tells us that her inspiration for this story is based on a true crime. This fact made a big difference in my enjoyment of this story!

I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this uncorrected eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for professional review purposes only.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 9, 2021

You’ll want to make sure you have a good chunk of time free before picking up this book, - from the very first pages you read, you will find it very hard to put down!

Two female protagonists, Blair - a convicted murderer and Jessica - a struggling detective, end up on a wild ride in their search for a missing person. Alternatively aided or endangered by a supporting cast of misfits, criminals and genuinely odd characters, the plot winds through Blair’s backstory as well as the current mystery, finishing with a satisfying grand finale and the strong hint of more books featuring one or both of these wonderful characters to come.

Both protagonists are totally engaging, each of them deeply flawed, struggling with shame, secrets, and trauma that they have learned to deal with in escapism through risky behaviors that somehow seem understandable as we come to feel and ache for each woman and the vulnerability hiding at her core.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Candice Fox without an introduction to another heart-warming yet strange creature-pet. The excellent Crimson Lake series (one of my very favorite faves) features tender moments with a gaggle of pet geese, and this time we welcome a very charming (and tame) gopher.

4.5 very-excited and can’t-wait-to-read-more stars!

A big thank you to NetGalley, the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and the author for an advance digital copy of this book.

We all know I love covers. I snagged this book based on the cover and the title, nothing else. I was expecting a darker, mind f*ck based on those two things. That isn't exactly what I got. And I can't say that I'm disappointed. Even though I didn't get what I assumed I'd get, I got so much more.

I haven't ever read this author before, but after reading this book, I will definitely be reading more. I am already awaiting the next book in this new series. I hope I don't have to wait too long. I want to see where the next book takes these characters.

I am over the moon over these characters. I am a sucker for an unexpected band of characters, and that is what I got with this book. We have detectives, murderers, thieves, gang members... And in some cases, they're all on the same side, until they aren't.

This book moves at such a great pace. This character-driven mystery had me engrossed, unable to stop until I got to the very end. This book has action, some funny parts, charismatic characters, and an ending that you can't be mad about. I highly recommend this one.

GATHERING DARK, Candice Fox's new stand-alone thriller, focuses on two women: Blair Harbour, the former pediatric surgeon who just got out of prison after serving 10 years for murder, and Jessica Sanchez, the LAPD detective who arrested her. As the story opens, both are in a world of trouble. Blair faces a drugged-up, armed teenage girl who robs the convenience store where she works; Jessica's own department has declared war against her after she inherited a Beverly Hills mansion from a man involved with a case she solved. Blair wants a life and gain custody of her son, Jessica hopes to remain a detective, although the men in her department aren't making it easy. And then the women's lives intersect again as Blair asks Jessica to locate a friend's missing daughter--the crazed convenience store robber. Who is the girl mixed up with, and why is she running for her life? And what about that rodent? In true Candice Fox style, there is plenty of action. Unlikely characters gain the reader's empathy. Weird pets become part of the story line. Justice is complicated. This is a fine, action=packed novel that occasionally stretches reality to its breaking point, but also gives us a good belly laugh--or two. Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan for a ARC copy of the book for review.

A good start to a new crime series set in LA. Gathering Dark introduces a new detective, Jessica Sanchez, who finds herself at the confluence of two old cases that are making her life increasingly stressful and potentially deadly. With a cast of interesting characters, a well-paced investigation, and plenty of commentary on America’s justice system, I enjoyed this.

Jessica Sanchez is not the most popular member of the LAPD. She’s impulsive, but very successful, unwilling to play by the unofficial rules that reinforce the department’s racist and sexist tendencies. Not only that, she’s paired with an extremely unpleasant, cruising-to-retirement asshole. But, when she inherits a multimillion-dollar house from the father of a victim in a decade-old homicide case, he position in the department becomes even more difficult and, perhaps, untenable. Battling jealousy, greed, and growing distrust and gossip from her fellow detectives, Sanchez has her work cut out for her. It makes her investigation even more difficult, and it was interesting to read about how she manages the obstacles that are thrown up in her way.

Even though this is the first book in the Jessica Sanchez series, as the above synopsis (from the UK edition) suggests, Dr. Blair Harbour plays a central role to the story. In fact, she gets about half of the book, I think, maybe more. Another excellent character, she’s recently come out of a ten-year prison sentence after apparently murdering her neighbour. Blair’s life as an ex-con collides frequently with her past, as she navigates visitation with her son (who happens to live behind Sanchez’s new inheritance), and her sticky-fingered former fellow ex-con’s request for help: help find her daughter.

Fearful for the many ways in which the American “justice” system is almost designed to trip up recently-released prisoners, Blair finds herself unwillingly in the company of multiple other ex-felons, in a series of increasingly dodgy and dangerous situations. All of this when all she wants to do is keep clean, distance herself from her conviction, see her son and not disappoint him, and maybe gain custody of him. Her past as a gifted and compassionate doctor, though, wars with the knowledge that she should avoid these people and situations, and she is inevitably drawn into the search for the missing young woman.

As these two characters enter each others orbit, there’s the added complication: Sanchez is the cop who arrested Blair a decade ago. I think Fox did a great job of writing these two main characters — their interactions are well done, and evolve over the course of the novel. Sanchez finds herself questioning her decisions from a decade ago, but Blair remains distrustful of the cop (and the system). Their need to get results and follow the rules conflicts with all of the obstacles that come their way. There is a lot of questionable decision-making and skirting of the rules/laws. Secondary characters are also well-drawn, mostly realistic, often endearing or amusing. You come to real feel for Blair’s predicament. Readers will also sympathize with Sanchez’s frustrations and anger at the system that’s supposed to protect and serve, but really criminalizes and persecutes a too-big slice of society.

Fox’s writing is well composed, and the plot moves along at a pretty good clip. I stayed up late into the night to finish the novel, and I can safely say that I’m really looking forward to the next book in the series.

Definitely recommended to fans of (LA-based) crime and thriller fiction, and particularly fans of authors like Rachel Howzell Hall, Steph Cha, Michael Connelly, Melissa Scrivner Love, and so forth.

Blair Harbour is not in a good place. She lives in a crummy apartment, works the overnight shift in a gas station, and is having a hard time reconnecting with her son Jamie. The son she gave birth to in prison ten years ago. Blair was a successful pediatric surgeon, but one bad decision cost her everything.
Blair is the last person to see Dayly her former cellmate's daughter. When Sneak comes to Blair asking for help finding Dayly, she knows that she will be violating the terms of her parole. If she walks away though, she will be turning her back on Sneak, a woman who helped her survive prison. Blair chooses to follow her conscience and has no idea it will lead her back to Jessica, the detective who arrested her.
Jessica's professional life is in tatters. When she inherits a mansion everyone on the police force is envious and even her partner no longer has her back. She has only one ally, Oliver “Diggy” Digbert, a forensic pathologist, and a minor character I loved. When Blair reaches out to Jessica for help, she has no idea how much these two women will wind up needing each other.
The story is told in alternating chapters by Blair and Jessica. Dayly hasn't gone on vacation, and the people she is involved with put everyone's life in danger. To me, it was the secondary characters, Sneak and Ada, women Blair knew in prison, both potentially lethal and honestly at times, downright hilarious who made this story so good.
The relationship between Blair and Jessica is shall we say strained, but by the end, I was rooting for both of them to find justice and peace. I also hoped that Sneak would be reunited with her daughter and no spoilers, but I wanted Jessica to show her coworkers how wrong they were about her.
Both narratives were compelling, but I preferred Blair's just a little bit more, mostly because of Sneak and Ada. It isn't too often that minor characters leave such a big impression on me, so kudos to the author for really making every character shine.4.5 stars.

Disclaimer: I have to admit I am a long time Candice Fox fan. From her Hades series to Crimson Lake to the Harriet Blue series she co-writes with James Patterson, I have yet to find a less than amazing read.
Gathering Dark features many unique characters brought together by circumstance and Blair Harbour, a once gifted, prosperous pediatrics surgeon whose life changed the night she shot and killed her neighbor. Convicted of murder, she is out on parole after serving 9 years of her sentence. Blair just wants to get her life back on track to petition for custody of her son. But fate laughs.......
Detective Jessica Sanchez was the arresting officer the night of Blair's crime. She never had any doubt of the young mother to be's guilt......until now.
Ms Fox has built a multi layered community in LA, from multi million dollar mansions to cock roach infested single flats, she gives life to the people and businesses around the areas. When a typically straight laced young woman goes missing....this unusual group of distinctly different personalities will join forces to find her. Once she is found, the situations change....boy do they change.
The ending leaves me room to hope that we will see more of Jessica Sanchez and Blair Harbour.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. This is the first book that I have read from Candice Fox. It was hard for me to get into the book at first and it was a little confusing with the characters. It did pick up my interest and then I really got into this story. I did like the characters and it was a good read!!

This book is about a once high-flying surgeon, who risks her parole to help an ex prison mate find her missing daughter, and an intrepid LAPD cop who is determined to uncover the truth about a previous murder case. It is a solid read if you like action-driven crime fiction (hence the three stars) but not really for me. I wish all crime fiction wasn't marketed as a 'thriller' as thrilling it was not.

This engrossing thriller is set in LA. Dr. Blair Harbour was a well respected pediatric surgeon until she was sentenced and jailed for ten years as the Neighbor Killer.

She's been released as the novel opens, works at a gas station, and wants nothing more than to keep out of trouble and win custody of her son Jamie again. But when her cellmate Sneak asks for her help to find her missing daughter, Blair reluctantly agrees.

LAPD Detective Jessica Sanchez was the one who arrested Blair for murder, early in her career. Recently, she inherited a multi-million dollar mansion, and her colleagues have it in for her. This puts her in danger, repeatedly. Feeling in over her head, Blair finally consults Jessica, whom she respects despite their history.

Gathering Dark is a gripping, action-packed read with a very satisfying resolution.

4/5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️
first book i’ve read by Candice Fox and let me just say this book is very twisted, very tense, easy to follow, and kept my attention. some dark humor mixed in here as well. the characters were what kept me going!
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meet the characters:
Blair - former pediatric surgeon now ex-con after shooting her neighbor
“Sneak” - Blair’s former cell mate. drug addict, prostitute & thief
Detective Jessica Sanchez - LAPD detective, hated by LAPD cops after inheriting a victim’s father’s mansion after solving a serial killer case.
Ada Maverick - crime boss, ex-con.
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a good quick crime thriller about finding Sneak’s missing daughter and finding out the truth in so many different scenarios. told in 2 POV’s (Blair & Jessica) i would consider a police procedural. i can’t wait to read the next book in this new series!

Bone chillingly great!! I adore this author and this book did not disappoint. I was a little worried because the last series of hers was so phenomenal this book has some awfully big shoes to fill to come close to that one. I am happy to say the shoes were filled. Candice Fox has an amazing way of bringing characters to life in a way that makes you feel like you know them. You become vested in their lives. This makes the book so much more real on such a deep level. This book kept me up all night turning page after page. I could not put it down. It had all the right plot twists and the suspense to go with it.
This book is absolutely an amazing read and should be at the top of your to read list! Stunning

Doctor turned convict Blair Harbor is just trying to get her life back on track after being released from her jail sentence. Working as a cashier at a convenience store, a girl comes in to steal money, Blair gives her what she wants, and makes up the difference herself. There is a detective, Jessica, who is disliked by her cohorts because of her dedication and the fact she was left a mansion worth a lot of money by a past client. Then a friend from jail, Sneak, appears, and it turns out the girl who robbed Blair is Sneak’s daughter, who is now missing. The story really ramps up from there, and I must say I really loved it. I especially liked how the three women worked together to solve the mystery. . Non-stop action you will love! Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this fun read.