I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

In general, I have a difficult time reading books or consuming any type of fictional media that takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic. I took a risk on this one and it started strong but was ultimately disappointing and I struggled to finish. It was difficult to keep up with who each character was and how they were connected, and ultimately once I finally figured it all out, it was entirely too predictable and I recognized what was going on very quickly. It made it difficult to finish and I was almost embarrassed that I recommend this to others before I finished - because it absolutely wasn't worth it!

My distaste for this novel was entirely personal preference but I can't imagine that many others will enjoy this one either. It's honestly surprising that I finished it and I'm not sure I'd pick up anything by this author (or anything else written that's set during the pandemic). Disappointing, depressing, and just unorganized!

This was a good one. a fast paced thriller was just what i needed and this gave me that. A total Binge worth book

DNF @ 30%. I LOVED the opening chapters of this, so fascinating. But I quickly figured out what was going on, and that drained the book of all excitement to me. Add in a bunch of COVID references, which I'm not quite ready to enjoy, and I didn't find this worth finishing.

Act I of THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS begins with the scene of the crime. A dead celebrity. A bottle and a glass. A cleaning woman who takes his picture with her cellphone. You might expect this to be followed by a flurry of police, CSI in bunny suits, yellow police tape and markers. You would be wrong. The following chapters introduce the cast of characters who seem disparate enough to seem unlikely as suspects… And two police detectives. The dead man's celebrity wife is missing. Oh, and by the way, New York City is in the throes of the corona virus pandemic.

In Act II, subtle connections are made. The two couples where the wives are best friends. A single mom who works for the still-alive husband. The financially insolvent restaurant plagued by the pandemic and two shady characters. Things seem to clarify until the very end of Act II.

In Act III, all slowly becomes clear. It is here that the pulse-pounding thriller takes shape. The mystery resolves, and life goes on… perhaps better than before.

Slow burn is a term often applied to romance novels. I would call THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS a slow burn crime novel. It's character driven plot brings human foibles to the fore while slowly building a case for murder. Pitting the characters against the COVID pandemic adds a surreal sense of reality with which all readers can connect.

As whodunnits go… this one is first rate.

This one was a tad bit hard for me to get into because there was way too much regarding the pandemic.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Just getting through my backlog of ARC’s and I really enjoyed this book! There were well developed characters and an interesting plot revolving around a murdered husband and missing wife. I loved all the twists and turns and couldn’t predict what would happen at the end! The only thing that kept it from being a 5 star read for me was that it was difficult to tell what was past/present when a new chapter started and took me a few pages to reorient myself with who was speaking and if it had happened previously. I would totally recommend to readers if mystery and thrillers!

I truly loved this one so much just an amazing thriller. .Thank you to Grand Central for the advanced copy

I like books that acknowledge the ongoing pandemic but this almost did too much! I did like how it made for sort of a closed room mystery--everyone was masked and limited in contact. It was a very quick read but I wish they had spent more time differentiating between the character's voices. It was hard to tell them apart for a long time. Too long in the book.

Thank you, NetGalley, for approving this advanced copy for me to read! This book kept my interest throughout as I had to get just one more page to see what might happen. I thought I knew what was next, but I was wrong each and every time.

I kept recommending it to my peers and even the library as a book to be read. I mean, how well do we really know the people we think we know?

3.5/5 rounded up

If there was one thing that Cate Holahan really nailed in The Darkness of Others, it is how she brought the pandemic to life. This book is set back when everyone was still wearing masks and restaurants were closing up because everyone was stuck at home. Normally, I don't really like reading about the pandemic and how things were when it first took off, but it was really fitting for the story here and ended up not bothering me in the slightest. I also really appreciated Holahan's acknowledgments section where she talks about why she made the decision to have the story be set this way. I loved the way the book began, and it immediately had my interest, but it did tend to drag a bit for me, and I thought it could have been a touch shorter.

Another thing I loved about The Darkness of Others was the constant viewpoint changes and the fact that it wasn't hard to follow. I was able to keep the different characters separated in my head, so even though there are a decent amount I wasn't confused about who was who. I do think Holahan didn't need all of them, but I enjoyed them, nevertheless. I was also really happy with the audiobook which is narrated by Chanté McCormick & Jennifer Jill Araya. It would have been nice to have a full cast, but I thought they did an excellent job and since there are 2 viewpoints that really stand out, it was still a good choice.

I did catch onto the whodunnit before it was revealed but that didn't really bug me. The only thing that was really weird for me was the use of the word "it" to describe the perp. I understand Holahan didn't want to give anything away, but it really grated on me, and I wish she would have done something different. There was also something about the end that is seemingly left hanging, and I would have loved full closure. Maybe one day there will be a second book, but I believe this is a standalone. Overall, The Darkness of Others would be a good one for someone just starting out with thrillers and those who want to play detective a bit.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the third book I've read by Cate Holahan and I think she's getting better with each new one.
When Nate is found dead of a gunshot wound the immediate suspicion falls to his missing wife, Melissa. But Melissa isn't missing, she's been abducted. Everyone appears to be a suspect and there are a few false leads that kept it interesting.

Holahan’s newest book missed the suspense needed to make it great. It was quite easy to figure out where the book was headed early on, making it just an OK read. Hopping aboard the #MeToo movement, it lacked the conviction to make it believable. A quick read, but one that won’t be remembered for long. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Unfortunately, The Darkness of Others is not my favorite Cate Holahan novel. Although, it had all of the elements that I enjoy in her writing, such as diverse characters and biting social commentary, the story felt a bit disjointed, the pacing too slow, and the characters flat. Perhaps, I am worn out from Covid-novels. Overall a solid effort, just not my favorite from Holahan.

The Darkness of Others takes place in New York City near the end of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic with all its fear, chaos and confusion which plays into this story. I'll confess it's the first book I've read that incorporates events from those dark days into a story and while I was intrigued, I was also a bit skeptical. Still, I took the plunge and dived in.

Psychiatrist Imani Banks and her husband Philip who runs a successful restaurant seem to have it all, but as we all know from living through the pandemic, restaurants were one of the most adversely affected businesses and had to scale back or close their doors completely during the mandatory isolation of the pandemic. Phillip’s managed to keep their dire situation quiet from his wife, but in an effort to supplement their family income Philip rents a spare room to one of his employees Tonya and her young daughter who are struggling. Right away, Imani gets bad vibes around Tonya and tension grows between them when Tonya misses rent payments. Meantime, Imani's friend's husband is murdered and her friend who's a suspect goes missing. Somehow, someway, Imani suspects Tonya of being involved. She can't evict her because it's prohibited during the pandemic. Is a killer residing in their home? Or is Imani paranoid and completely missing the mark?

The Darkness of Others unfolds through the perspectives of five different characters none of which are reliable, giving readers a chance to play amateur detective and pass judgment on each character's version of the truth. The story is highly visual as evidenced with the grisly discovery of a body in the opening scene. Tension is high throughout, and just when you think you have things figured out, just read on because I promise you, you most likely don't. The twists and shockers just keep coming like storm waves. I was a bit leery in the beginning as to how the pandemic would play into this story - would it be dramatized and over-the-top? I'm happy to say it plays perfectly as a catalyst that set a series of events into motion, and it works beautifully for setting the backdrop for this story.

The Darkness of Others has a lot going on with multiple plot lines and threads. Characters are well-developed and ring true. One small fly in the ointment for me is that I felt a couple of the numerous threads were left dangling in the end and presumably this is a standalone. Nothing glaring or major, but I'm a stickler for closure unless a book is part of an ongoing series. Otherwise, I found The Darkness of Others to be a compelling, intriguing read - a tense, fast-paced story that's sure to entertain. Fans of suspense thrillers will enjoy this one!

The premise of this psychological thriller was captivating. You have a murdered man, a missing wife, a single mother trying to make ends meet and a family who ties all of these people together. The big downfall of this storyline, is that it is set during the pandemic. The pandemic itself is not the issue so much as the redundancy of the terms used throughout. Terms such as covid, mask, virus, cough, unmasked, face cover, pandemic, etc. At one point, I lost sight of the story due to the constant descriptions of those with or without a mask. It was overkill IMO. Maybe these descriptors will be helpful in 20 years but it was just too much for me as a reader right now.

🎊 𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑷𝒀 𝑷𝑼𝑩 𝑴𝑶𝑵𝑻𝑯 / 𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑲 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 🎉
———
🔖 𝙏𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 ||
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ —— • by Cate Holahan • ——
🔢 Length: 352 pages
🎭 Genre: Fiction, Suspense/Thriller
⏰ Pub Date: *𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐖!!* August 23, 2022

📝 Summary: “𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 – 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪'𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 – 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢, 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘯.”
—— ❦

🪩 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲…. Puzzle-piece mysteries; domestic suspense (set during the pandemic + specifically the restaurant industry); multiple POVs; twists & turns that make for a quick page-turner; and overall a well-written slow-burn thriller with a satisfying final act!

Imani Banks is a therapist in Brooklyn Heights during the isolating pandemic that shut down the city. She is also the wife of award-winning restaurateur Philip, mother to two private school kids, and best friend of Melissa, who is missing.

Melissa’s husband Nate was found shot in their home, with Melissa nowhere to be found. Their daughter Ava had been at school when the news broke of Nate’s death, and the school called the person Melissa had listed as an emergency contact, Imani.

It seems that the police right away are thinking that Melissa had shot her husband and disappeared, Imani knew that she would never leave Ava behind like that. She was convinced that her friend was in mortal danger, no matter what the detectives said.

Tonya Sayre is a single mother working at Philip’s restaurant. She heads home after a long shift trying to serve customers in the heated igloos that allowed customers to eat outside, at an actual restaurant, even with the cold still blowing in around them. But when Philip decides to close the restaurant to diners and switch to takeout only, Tanya is out of a job.

When she goes back to her apartment, her landlord tells her that she is two months behind in her rent. Tanya insists that there must be a problem with the bank. She hadn’t realized because the deposits were automatic, as were her rent payments. But when she checks with the bank, she finds out that her automatic deposits had not gone in for two months.

Tanya calls the attorney that handled setting up the account that was to provide a safe home for her daughter. The attorney tells her that the man’s wife had found out about the account and shut down the payments, and he was doing what he could to restore it. But that doesn’t keep Tanya’s landlord from kicking her out, despite the city’s moratorium on evictions. When she has nowhere to go, she talks to Philip to see if he can help.

Philip wants to help her out, so he offers rooms in their home for Tanya and her daughter, and he lets her pay off the first month by cleaning the restaurant. After that, her unemployment checks can help. Tanya agrees, because she has nowhere else to go. But she can tell right away that Imani wasn’t included in his decision and is wary of moving strangers in to their home.

Meanwhile, Imani is still trying to figure out what could have happened to Melissa and where she might be. She does some investigating and starts to uncover secrets about Nate that make her question how well she really knew him. But as it turns out, Nate wasn’t the only one with secrets. Tanya knows some things about the men in Imani’s life, and it turns out that Philip has kept some things from her as well. Will Imani be able to put the pieces together in time to save her best friend? And if she does, will everything she has built for her life come apart at the seams?

The Darkness of Others is a dark thriller written and set during the worst part of the pandemic. The shutdown of New York City makes this story feel claustrophobic, and the underlying anxiety of the masks and social distancing adds a level of fear to this thriller. Author Cate Holahan uses the darkness of the illness to mirror the darkness in some of the characters, and she uses the resolution of the crimes as a way for the characters to reevaluate their life choices and move into a different world as the pandemic starts to life.

I thought that The Darkness of Others was an interesting read. I struggled with it some, I think because of the pandemic as the background. Maybe I’m not as over those early days as I had thought I was, or maybe it’s the description of the murder scene, so graphic and so early in the book, that threw me off. But I stuck with it, and I was glad I did. The ending is lovely and fitting and brings it all to a better place for the characters who deserve that. It was a challenging ride to get there, but we got there. And as more time goes by, it will not only get easier to read about those pandemic days, it will be important to have books like this to remember and to teach others what those days were like (albeit without the murder, for most of us).

Egalleys for The Darkness of Others were provided by Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.

Let’s just start right off with the elephant in the book. Many of the books that are coming out now were written during the pandemic. Our lives still aren’t back to normal, and after the changes of the past two-plus years, I don’t mind that being memorialized in books.

HOWEVER, this book contained so many Covid references, it felt very forced and intentional. Every chapter mentions people’s masks, if someone got within six feet of another, if the elevator and subway are too crowded, if the sanitizer had been applied - it’s a bit much, and distracted me from the rest of the story. I couldn’t afford to be distracted, because keeping this cast of characters straight was an initial challenge. We have:

Nate and Melissa, the (very wealthy) man found dead and his (famous) missing wife

Ava, their teenage daughter

Oksana, maid who found Nate’s body

Rick and Frank, two criminals who really didn’t even need to be in the story

Philip, pandemic-struggling restaurant owner and his wife,

Imani, a therapist and Melissa’s best friend

Tonya, a waitress at Philip’s restaurant, single mom to…

Layla, Tonya’s pre-teen daughter

You’ll get to read all about them, as this book rambled on for SO LONG. These annoying and flat characters act like they are in a soap opera, and that combined with the constant Covid-19 reminders (I don’t mind it being in a book, like I said - but this was beyond) initially had me about to give the book a 2.5 … then I got to the ending, and it was the best part of the book. I’m going to go with a solid three stars. This one wasn’t for me, but I’m sure some people will love it.

(Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Cate Holahan, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

This is a murder mystery/domestic thriller told from multiple points of view. Nate Walker is a famous director found dead in his home. His missing wife is the prime suspect but is anything ever straight forward?

If you still have pandemic burnout, you might want to wait a bit to read this one. It's set in New York during the pandemic. None of the characters have COVID, but masks, the virus, and the financial fallout are mentioned often.

I enjoyed the diverse female characters and the strong friendship between Melissa and Imani. I also appreciated the dynamic between Imani and her husband, Phillip. It felt very homest.

This one will keep you guessing. There were a few things I was right about, a few I was wrong about and a couple that I never saw coming.