I don’t usually like books whose main character is a lawyer or police officer but this one is really good. It starts out with the murder which means you spend the entire time trying to figure out whodunnit! You won’t believe who it was!!

This was a new author again for me. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was interesting and kept me listening, but I wasn't "glued" to it. It starts with Jay Bradley being found dead the morning after his 40th birthday by his wife Molly who has a hidden past that is only known by very close family or so she thinks. The detective on the case, Rita, is very strong and leads the investigation and story well.

I didn't guess who the killer was until then end so it does keep up the suspense and guessing. It is a good read by a promising author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC audiobook.

I did not finish All the Dark Places, but it was entirely due to personal preferences. The writing style was good and the two narratives had well-written and distinct voices. I do like the occasional dark thriller, but I normally prefer thrillers without a police / professional detective narrative. I think others will really enjoy this read, but it just wasn't for me - I should've paid more attention to the synopsis.

DNF at 20%

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato.

Molly and Jay are having a small, cozy gathering, celebrating Jay's fortieth birthday. The wine is flowing, and everyone is having a wonderful time, Molly is so grateful at how well it's going. But when she wakes the next morning, she is horrified to find Jay dead on the floor. What on earth happened? And who could possibly want this beloved psychologist dead?

Rita is a Boston detective that is no stranger to heinous crimes. But this one in particular stinks. She deeply suspects that something went on at that dinner party, but what? How could such a light hearted evening end in murder? But Rita will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of it.

Have I read this book a million times already? Yes. Do I still love reading them? Also yes. Look, if you love crime thrillers, this one will not stick out in any way. It's not going to blow your mind with it's fresh new take or anything like that. BUT, it does offer a good cast of characters, a gripping mystery, and a well fleshed out plot. It's definitely worth the listen if cop dramas are your thing.

Thanks NetGalley for an advanced audio copy of this book. This was an extremely likable book. Rita, the detective, is trying to solve Jay Bradley’s murder. Of course his wife, Molly, is the chief suspect. Molly has a secret of her own. When she was 6 years old, she and her friend India were kidnapped and held in a cellar. India did not live. Molly has changed her name and is trying to get on with her life. It seems that Jay was writing a book about aberrant psychology and he wanted to interview her abductor. When the body of a dead woman shows up at their mountain home, Molly doesn’t know who to trust. I will be reading more by this author.

Unfortunately I did not find this story intriguing and it did not keep my attention. The plot and twist of the story seem overdone and I feel I have read this story before. I had actually put this book down a few times and did not have motivation to pick it back up. It was almost instantly forgettable.

This is duel POV. One of which is an older detective, Rita. Which I don't believe added much to the story other than using to question the suspects.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audiobook for review.

I absolutely loved this thriller: the author slowly unravels this never boring story, sprinkling the plot with red herrings and minor plot twists that really leave you clueless until the end. It is definitely not easy to guess who's guilty and especially the reasons behind what happens in the story. And when you think you have everything figured out towards the end, you haven't! It's the kind of book that makes you say "ok, just one more chapter" multiple times.

The two narrators are absolutely stunning and they interpret the two protagonists wonderfully.

All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato
Narrated by Stephanie Cozart; Christina Moore

I really enjoyed this story and the audiobook narration by two narrators was great. I especially loved the narration of Boston PD Detective Rita Myers. It just seemed perfect for the character of Rita, who was so droll and generous with odds and ends asides. I would love another book featuring Rita and with this narrator. I'd follow her around all day long.

Molly's narration is good, too. Poor Molly, after a fun birthday party for her husband, Jay, Molly wakes up to a horrendous scene. Jay has been murdered and Molly's world has fallen out from under her. He had held her up and allowed her to feel safe as she continued to deal with something terrible that happened in her past. It's as if Molly is a magnet for tragedy.

I must say that I think the adult Molly seems to wave a red flag at danger as if she's saying, "come and get me". I have a long list to things that had me shaking my head when she did them. Really? You are going to do that, stay there, on and on. I guess that's why there will never be a book written about me, I'll just stay safe and sound even it that means I'm boring and nothing ever happens.

But never fear, Molly has an emotional support dog. She really does deserve one but she's not going to go through proper channels to get one. Instead she does the Insta Fake Emotional Support Dog trick of rescuing a big, sweet dog, buying a fake emotional support harness for it, and there you have it. And she'll glare at anyone who doesn't like it!

Rita really carried this book for me. I enjoyed it all but loved getting back to Rita and hearing her voice. She was such an interesting character.

Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to #NetGalley, RB Media and Terri Parlato for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of ALL THE DARK PLACES, narrated by Stephanie Cozart and Christina Moore, to be published 27 December 2022. This is a light suspense thriller in that the murder occurs early on and the story is divulged over time through alternate views of the protagonist and a detective. The protagonist has a secret which is developed through the course of the novel. Then it repeats itself. This debut author writes similar to Shari Lapena and Meagan Miranda. Readers of theirs will likely enjoy this book.

Great debut from Terri Parlato! Twisty and suspenseful, the characters were very well written. The narration was very well done. There was nothing not to like here. Many thanks to NetGalley for the arc, I’ll be looking out for more by this author! Very enjoyable.

Terri Parlato's solid debut!

It's Jay Bradley's 40th birthday and his wife of three years wants a special birthday for him. It isn't an easy task since it's right after the holidays but Jay as perfect as he is only wants it simple. Molly invites only close-knit friends. When morning arrives, the house felt different, a bit cold without the morning coffee aroma. She looks for Jay only to find him dead in his office with his throat slashed. Everyone loves Jay, who could've done this?

Boston PD Homicide Det. Rita Myers is in charge of the investigation. I like the police procedural part and her perspective. This is one strong character with depth and she moves the story forward. I think Parlato can make a new series with Rita as a lead!

I also like Molly's point of view. Her past and the people in their lives tie the mystery and keep me wondering who coulda dunnit.

"All the Dark Places" has a nice pace and the writing flows well. I had many suspects in mind, but most characters are decent and "good people". Since Jay was a handsome psychologist, he potentially have more enemies than meets the eye. This one kept me guessing.

The dual narration by Stephanie Cozart and Christina Moore was excellent and not confusing for listeners to differentiate whose POV it was.

This book started out promising with an unexpected murder and a whodunnit feel! As the book progressed I felt that there were too many new outlandish twists that led to me being confused and losing interest. I wasn’t a fan of the detective’s narrator. Her voice was very androgynous and was unpleasant to listen to.

Stop faking service animals! Completely unnecessary to the story and made me dislike the protagonist.
I found myself wishing for more of the past timeline to keep it congruent as a dual timeline. I enjoyed the faster pace at the end of the story. A good whodunit.

All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato and narrated by Stephanie Cozart and Christina Moore
QOTD- how long after Christmas do you take down the decorations? Or if you don’t do Christmas, tell me your favourite winter beverage.
I loved this addicting debut crime procedural!
I listened to the audio version of this book, and the narrators were fantastic! Both were perfect for the voices of the 2 POVS- Molly, the wife of the deceased, and Rita, the seasoned cop investigating the case.

It’s early January, Christmas decorations still up, and Molly is having a 40th birthday party for her psychologist husband. In attendance are three other couples: Kim, Molly’s best friend, and her husband Josh; Jay’s partner, Dr Elise and her husband Scott; and Jay’s hockey buddy Cal and his wife Laken.
The next day, Jay is found in his office in the garage with his throat slit and blood all over the wall, and pooled around his head. Who would kill Jay and why? Are they all in danger now?
Rita is a Boston police detective in charge of the case and soon determines the killer was someone at the party. Not only that, she finds evidence of a missing woman in Jay’s office. The woman went missing near Jay’s mountain house last summer.
There are lots of twists and turns in this debut thriller, and I loved it, including background into why Molly avoids the spotlight. But does her past connect to what’s happening now?
As an aside, I loved that Molly adopted a rescue dog to honour her late husband.
i wasn’t as invested in Rita’s character. Yes she does well questing everyone and finding evidence but I didn’t really feel I got to know Rita. If this book is a set up for a series, it would be nice to see her character fleshed out a little more.
Overall I would recommend this page turning thriller!
Release date is 27 December 2022.

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is about a married couple that have their friends over for dinner to celebrate the husband’s birthday. The next morning, the husband is dead. 👀
This was a interesting story, it was paced well, the writing was good. I think the narration is what took away from the story for me. The narrator has a nice voice, but she doesn’t change her inflection, depth and timbre when switching over to a male character. That made it difficult to follow which character was speaking.
I would definitely try this author again!

I really really wanted to love this. I think reading it would have been better as the narration I couldn’t get past. So unfortunately it was a DNF. But it wasn’t the fault of the story by any means!

Thank you to @netgalley for this advanced audio. This book will be released on December 27th!

Okay, let me start by saying that I think I would have liked this book better if I had NOT listened to it as an audiobook.

There were quite a few characters to follow and the narrator was not my favorite. I think it would have been more impactful in written form.

The scoop:
A group of friends gather for a fortieth birthday party for Jay, who turns up dead in the morning. Who did it? And why? Molly is left heartbroken and in shock. The detective, Rita, is certain this was a crime committed by someone in this couple’s inner circle. As detectives work to solve this case, Molly is trying to stop herself from becoming the next victim.

Read for:
🏠 Alternating viewpoints
🏠 Detective perspective
🏠 A group of friends with secrets
🏠 Everyone’s a suspect vibes

The first 50% of this book was pretty slow for me. Around the middle, things started picking up and then I was excited to discover the secrets and who could be trusted.

If you’ve read this, what were your thoughts?

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of All the Dark Places by Terri Parlato in exchange for an honest review. This was a really good murder mystery/life story. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and all their hidden motivations. I also really loved the ending, it makes such an impact to have a book end in just the right note.

I rarely give five stars to thrillers because there's always something that annoys me: plot home, stupid decision, unbelievable coincidence. This one, despite one or two coincidences, blew me away. I listen at work and often get distracted and lose the story. This one kept me listening, glued to it the whole time. The plot was engaging and I liked the way the different storylines came together at the end. Highly recommended for a thrilling story that twists and turns to keep you guessing.

A phenomenal debut book. I loved so much about this: the characters are complex, the switch in point of view keeps things interesting and compelling. Also, these were a lot of surprises which kept me guessing until the very end. Often times in thrillers or mysteries, I get a hunch of who the killer is before the end. However, All the Dark Places unfolds in a way that I had no idea until the end. I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.