kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day is a riveting, suspense-laden murder mystery.
Eden Wallace is still grieving the death of her beloved husband, Bix, when she discovers he planned a surprise anniversary getaway for them before his death. Eden goes on the trip which she hopes will be a turning point in coming to terms of her loss. Eden is optimistic the time away will help her turn the corner on the paralyzing fear of the dark she has experienced ever since the night he died. Upon her arrival at Dark Sky Park, she discovers she is sharing her getaway with six twenty-something strangers. Deciding to stay the night and leave in the morning, Eden is awakened in the middle of the night when one of the men is murdered. The local sheriff insists everyone remain during the early phase of the investigation and Eden tries to piece together who would have reason to murder their friend.
Eden has found it impossible to move past Bix’s death. Their life together was spent moving from base to base where her larger than life husband was always the center of attention. After his retirement from the military, they moved to Bix’s hometown of Chicago where Eden was hopeful his PTSD, nightmares and self-medicating with alcohol would improve. While Bix transitioned into civilian life with relative ease, Eden could not resist his efforts to “improve” her career choices. In the months since his shocking death, Eden has withdrawn from her family and friends and due to her sleep deprivation, she no longer works.
Although Eden is uncomfortable staying with strangers, her fear of the dark overrides this discomfort. The dynamics of the group are fascinating to her but she is quickly made to feel unwelcome by much of the group. She picks up on some tense undertones between the friends, and she is relieved to leave them to their own devices. She is of course upset by the murder, but Eden is confident the sheriff will quickly release her to return home.
However, Eden is stunned by the unexpected revelations that put her smack dab in the middle of the investigation. Unable to convince the sheriff she has no reason to kill anyone, she must remain in town while the police try to sort through the evidence and leads they uncover. When it appears someone has attempted to murder two other members of the group, the sheriff grows even more suspicious of Eden. She attempts to put her fragmented memories into some semblance of order to try to unmask the killer. At the same time, secrets about Eden’s husband are revealed and Eden is forced to confront the truth about Bix.
With unanticipated twists, shocking turns and fantastic red herrings, Under a Dark Sky is an intriguing mystery that is absolutely spellbinding. Eden becomes increasingly unreliable due to her lack of sleep and her troubling realizations about Bix. The plot is rife with clever misdirects, an atmospheric setting and plenty of suspicious characters. Lori Rader-Day keeps readers guessing the identity of the perpetrator and the reason for the murder right up until the novel’s dramatic conclusion. A brilliantly executed mystery that fans of the genre do not want to miss!
Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day is a riveting, suspense-laden murder mystery.
Eden Wallace is still grieving the death of her beloved husband, Bix, when she discovers he planned a surprise anniversary getaway for them before his death. Eden goes on the trip which she hopes will be a turning point in coming to terms of her loss. Eden is optimistic the time away will help her turn the corner on the paralyzing fear of the dark she has experienced ever since the night he died. Upon her arrival at Dark Sky Park, she discovers she is sharing her getaway with six twenty-something strangers. Deciding to stay the night and leave in the morning, Eden is awakened in the middle of the night when one of the men is murdered. The local sheriff insists everyone remain during the early phase of the investigation and Eden tries to piece together who would have reason to murder their friend.
Eden has found it impossible to move past Bix’s death. Their life together was spent moving from base to base where her larger than life husband was always the center of attention. After his retirement from the military, they moved to Bix’s hometown of Chicago where Eden was hopeful his PTSD, nightmares and self-medicating with alcohol would improve. While Bix transitioned into civilian life with relative ease, Eden could not resist his efforts to “improve” her career choices. In the months since his shocking death, Eden has withdrawn from her family and friends and due to her sleep deprivation, she no longer works.
Although Eden is uncomfortable staying with strangers, her fear of the dark overrides this discomfort. The dynamics of the group are fascinating to her but she is quickly made to feel unwelcome by much of the group. She picks up on some tense undertones between the friends, and she is relieved to leave them to their own devices. She is of course upset by the murder, but Eden is confident the sheriff will quickly release her to return home.
However, Eden is stunned by the unexpected revelations that put her smack dab in the middle of the investigation. Unable to convince the sheriff she has no reason to kill anyone, she must remain in town while the police try to sort through the evidence and leads they uncover. When it appears someone has attempted to murder two other members of the group, the sheriff grows even more suspicious of Eden. She attempts to put her fragmented memories into some semblance of order to try to unmask the killer. At the same time, secrets about Eden’s husband are revealed and Eden is forced to confront the truth about Bix.
With unanticipated twists, shocking turns and fantastic red herrings, Under a Dark Sky is an intriguing mystery that is absolutely spellbinding. Eden becomes increasingly unreliable due to her lack of sleep and her troubling realizations about Bix. The plot is rife with clever misdirects, an atmospheric setting and plenty of suspicious characters. Lori Rader-Day keeps readers guessing the identity of the perpetrator and the reason for the murder right up until the novel’s dramatic conclusion. A brilliantly executed mystery that fans of the genre do not want to miss!
cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition
5.0
A 2018 staff favorite recommended by Jo. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Sunder%20a%20dark%20sky%20rader-day__Orightresult__U?lang=eng&suite=gold
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this far more than Little Pretty Things but wasn't thrilled with any of the characters. including Eden, who acts as our window into this world and the detective. It may have been her nosiness, or her passiveness, or... whatever it was, I didn't care. The relationships between her and everyone except Cooley felt forced, even at the "happy" ending.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
granolagina's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my! Another great book by Ms. Rader-Day. I could not put it down and read long into the night to finish it. I love her writing style and I have loved each and every one of her books. Can't wait for the next one.
camboron's review against another edition
4.0
Great assembly of numerous mystery tropes that served the story and characters first. Some great developments and also exploration of loneliness and denial
jupitershallemerge's review against another edition
2.0
interesting start but the main character is so annoying and the writing is very repetitive
amandanan's review against another edition
4.0
3.5, rounded to 4. I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened, but it just seemed like the book kept getting longer and longer. War-ren seemed a little stalkerish at the beginning. He never even apologized for it or acknowledged it, and she was so broken and deliriously tired she just needed someone to cling to.
It did resolidify my want of doing a night or two at the dark sky park on the Pamlico Sound.
It did resolidify my want of doing a night or two at the dark sky park on the Pamlico Sound.
emmaleigh6692's review against another edition
4.0
I struggled to review this book. I enjoyed it and it kept me hooked from start to finish. But, it didn’t feel like a completely cohesive story. To be honest it felt like the author didn’t want to pick a narrator out of the core group of characters so she added an additional character that was completely disconnected from all the others. This on its own is not necessarily a negative thing, but this character’s background was fleshed out to the point of being distracting. Eden was a fascinating character, so much so that by about halfway through the book I couldn’t care less what was going on with everyone else. I really thought that in the end the two sides of the story were going to entwine somehow, but that never happened. Honestly it feels like somebody took 2 books and tried to make them fit into one story and they both would have been better served as separate ones.
cdubiel's review against another edition
5.0
Lori Rader-Day is one of the finest mystery writers of our time. Loved it.
soundgirl3's review against another edition
3.0
I would say 3.5. I was really interested in the story, but I didn't find the main character very likeable. It definitely kept me wanting to find out what happened, though.
Also, I listened to the audio and the narrator liked to cry-talk if the MC was scared and it was very distracting.
Also, I listened to the audio and the narrator liked to cry-talk if the MC was scared and it was very distracting.