Listened to it in two days so I was into it, but just thought the story was okay. There were a lot of characters to remember, and it was giving me Big Little Lies vibes... lots of characters where their stories intertwine later on to be a big plot twist reveal. And it wasn't that big of a reveal. ( )

The Darkness of Others by Cate Holahan is a recommended novel of psychological suspense.

When director Nate Walker is found dead by the cleaning lady and his wife Melissa is missing, Imani Banks is called to pick up their daughter from school and break the news to her. Meanwhile, Tonya Sayre, a waitress at the restaurant that Imani's husband, Chef Phillip owns, needs a favor. She is being kicked out of her apartment because her daughter's father has withheld support. Imani, however, isn't completely thrilled with Tonya living there and begins to suspect her of other actions.

First, this is set in NYC during the pandemic. I wouldn't have chosen to read this novel knowing this information ahead of time. There is plenty of masking fear, paranoia, and closing businesses, but at the same time the scope is limited. The afterword addresses the purposeful setting during the lock down. Setting that aside, the narrative explores the darkness that can be found in any relationship and it unfolds through the point-of-view of several characters.

While the writing is very good and the character development is also nicely done, the actual mystery isn't really much of a mystery at all as the perpetrator is easily guessed very early on in the novel. The twists aren't really that surprising and there really isn't a truly satisfying motive for any of the nefarious deeds that occurred. 3.5 rounded down

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2022/08/the-darkness-of-others.html ( )