Robbi Sommers Bryant’s ‘The
Darkness' is a good psychological thriller and horror
story filled with exciting pivotal moments. Set in Seattle and Vegas, she
has creatively explored the intensity of an evil – ‘The Darkness' – an
incorporeal creature – its devastating effects through Edward – a lawyer.
Owing to a horrible past, already
the iron had entered Edward’s soul. So, Darkness could easily conquer the
ownership for his soul.
Darkness has dangerously
turned Edward into a 'go scot-free'
serial killer … hmmm … he has killed just 50 women for fun.
And The Darkness wouldn’t
shut up. Always push-push-pushing Edward into rage ... Edward fell back onto
the couch, the kill rushing through him …
He howled like the predator he was. He was so drunk with pleasure he felt as if
he could float with the clouds, dance with autumn leaves, sleep on the sea.
Gifted with his handsome
personality, Edward can skilfully flatter women and seduce them so much
that they fall head over heels for him – as blind as a bat. They feel that his
smile itself must be a black-hole; nothing can escape it.
Cate, with a secret past, is a
strong-willed and tough-minded nurse in an intensive-care unit of a
hospital.
Unsuspecting
Cate likes Edward as he made her comfortable. They are mutually
attracted. He exuded confidence while remaining humble. A take-charge man yet respectful. She was like a spring flower and Edward,
the sun. His charisma, his non-judgmental thinking, his protectiveness, and his
edginess had caused her to bloom.
Edward treats Cate as his trophy.
He deeply
loves Cate - “I love you without
knowing how, or when, or from where. I love you simply, without problems or
pride” (― Pablo Neruda).
Edward desperately wants to
marry her. However, with a complex mindset, he is torn between his normal
good-self and his obsessions dictated by the uncontrollable Darkness. Iron hand in a velvet
glove.
Police enlist Will – a
detective - to arrest the elusive serial killer, terrifying the people in
several parts of the USA.
Will
too gets attracted to an obliging Cate during the investigation. Will lived a life
plodding through the muck of crime. Cate was a lone flower that had pushed
through the crack in his cement heart.
A serious
love conflict develops as Cate intimately likes both. Curious complications arise,
endangering the safety of each.
Who survives?
Robbi
has cohesively sewed an excellent story like an expert weaver.
She glues the reader with her smoothly structured atmosphere settings,
fast-paced storyline, unusual situations, dynamic behavioural patterns and details of the puzzling characters:
v Cate: So much compassionate that she can kill someone with her kindness - - Without her, most families would have no one to talk to, to lean on, to understand their needs when their loved one’s life was balanced on the precipice of death.
v Edward: Pitch perfect as if Robbi had interviewed him before writing! His behaviour as if he was sent back to earth from hell because the devil choked on his soul. A dreadful chameleon and a courageous liar:
o But I had a happy childhood.”
Lie. Lie. Lie. “I came into a nice inheritance, though.” Edward liked to throw
in an occasional truth.
v Ruby: a trustworthy friend of
Cate at 80+ with innate understanding of people’s real motives, to guide Cate.
v Darkness: Beware weak-hearted
readers – Heart-wrenching horror! The Darkness relished the killing, but for
Edward, it was the terror in the eyes; the fading irises; the scream unable to
push its way out the girl’s blue lips—all of it.
Disliked:
v Flat characterisation of Will.
v
Abrupt
ending
v Inappropriate
depictions
v Unexplained
sequences
Liked:
v The powerful story
v A good suspense build-up.
v Picturesque absorbing
writing style - as easy as A.B.C to read, with a balance between narratives and
natural dialogues:
o Calm down. Worrying about
what may happen is a waste of time. You lose today when your mind sits in
tomorrow.
v Smart scenes with sprinkled humour … Ruby thought as she put on enough lipstick to make up fifteen beauty queens.
All about this book - from plot to world-building, to the characterisation
– praiseworthy!
Worth the read as you will be increasingly eager when you flip
through the pages. Get awestruck with the climax of this thoroughly enjoyable
thriller-diller. Yes! Robbi has infused fresh air into the genre.
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