a sharp and clever book that had me invested even from the blurb. i really got the emotional charge behind this book. the silence and whisper that follow our main character. not being believed. not knowing who to trust. to know when to stop digging or just where to dig. but when you KNOW you are innocent and the injustice of the belief around you gathers it can send you spiraling. and our main characters has to hold her nerve for a career and her life to find out the truth.
we get to see Leslie at both home and work and this endears her to us and her story. you are then caring about how the book and the character will end up even more than you were going in. i really got how she was fighting for those she loves and what she new was right. and the hardness that comes with finding out or knowing that often those around you wont be fighting your side and actively far too often are the ones revolving around what's harming you. the setting of this book was also a really clever choice. ive known those dynamics. ive seen far too many of those icky flaws. and wish i was big enough, strong enough, able enough to stop, change eradicate them.
a great and absorbing read.

wanted to love this book. The plot had all the themes I usually love : a queer woman, an adorable dog-baby, workplace corruption, and a protagonist who won’t back down from the truth. It should have been everything.

But the writing style just wasn’t for me. There were whole sections that felt kind of pointless or like they were trying too hard to be deep when I just wanted to get to the actual story. I kept waiting for it to pick up, but it never fully did.

I did love how it showed the main character battling her own demons and her past

There were moments where the tension built great , especially once a worker from the clinic dies and our main character starts digging into the corruption swirling around her workplace

It was still a good read and I’d still recommend to someone who enjoys a slower burn

Tangled Darkness by M.M. Desch is a gripping psychological thriller that plunges readers into a chilling world of secrets, suspicion, and personal peril. When Dr. Leslie Schoen is implicated in the suspicious death of a clinical assistant, her life and career teeter on the edge. Refusing to be a passive suspect, Leslie launches her own investigation, uncovering a trail of deceit, opioid theft, and deeply buried secrets. As the web tightens around her, every discovery raises new dangers, and no one—including those closest to her—can be fully trusted.

Desch masterfully maintains a tense and suspenseful atmosphere, layering Leslie’s personal struggles with a high-stakes criminal mystery. The stakes become even more personal as Leslie wrestles with whether to shield her pregnant wife, Izzy, from the threats closing in, all while confronting trauma from her own past. With twists that keep the reader guessing and a protagonist whose resolve is as fragile as it is fierce, Tangled Darkness delivers a compelling and emotional ride.

Tangled Darkness is rigid, emotionally charged, and full of sharp turns, this thriller is perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn and Tana French. Smart, suspenseful, and impossible to put down.

This book was addictive! Excellent plot, fast paced, lots of shady dealings.
An honest and real look at addiction - the impact on those around watching their loved one struggle. The talons reach far and wide - carried for the rest of life, long and devastating impact.
Dr. Leslie Schoen realizes something very suspicious and likely illegal is going on at the office she rents space. Combined with her own struggle with addiction and long time recovery, Leslie passionately investigates the death of her coworker and friend, to the detriment of her marriage.
Excellent look at consequences, the swirl of addiction and life.