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A review by novelesque_life
The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
4.0
RATING: 4.5 STARS
2020; Dutton/Penguin Group
Amy Engel, well done with The Familiar Dark. If you are a fan of Laura McHugh, Karin Slaughter or Alice Blanchard you will love Engel's writing. It is the kind of writing that gives you all the raw dark feels, and you still keep reading. Eve is a single mother working as a waitress in a diner in Missouri Ozarks, in a small town. Her daughter is her greatest love, with her older cop brother, Cal as her rock. After having her daughter at a young age, Eve wanted to give her a better life, and a more stable loving mother than she herself had. Her world is shattered when her daughter and her daughter's best friend are found dead with their throat cut. In a poor town where drugs are the main currency, why and who would murder the young girls?
If Eve was a Netflix category, she would be strong female lead. She is an everyday working mom that is trying to raise her daughter right. She has flaws that make her a very realistic and relatable character. The emotion that Engle writes when Eve sees her daughter in the morgue, will stay with me for a long time. Her persistence in speaking for her daughter and getting her justice had me invested in the story and rooting her on. There is so much to say about the great writing and characterizations, but I am going to stop here before I reveal some spoilers. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it. The book is on the shorter side and grips you quickly. I read 75% of the novel in one night as I just could not stop.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***
2020; Dutton/Penguin Group
Amy Engel, well done with The Familiar Dark. If you are a fan of Laura McHugh, Karin Slaughter or Alice Blanchard you will love Engel's writing. It is the kind of writing that gives you all the raw dark feels, and you still keep reading. Eve is a single mother working as a waitress in a diner in Missouri Ozarks, in a small town. Her daughter is her greatest love, with her older cop brother, Cal as her rock. After having her daughter at a young age, Eve wanted to give her a better life, and a more stable loving mother than she herself had. Her world is shattered when her daughter and her daughter's best friend are found dead with their throat cut. In a poor town where drugs are the main currency, why and who would murder the young girls?
If Eve was a Netflix category, she would be strong female lead. She is an everyday working mom that is trying to raise her daughter right. She has flaws that make her a very realistic and relatable character. The emotion that Engle writes when Eve sees her daughter in the morgue, will stay with me for a long time. Her persistence in speaking for her daughter and getting her justice had me invested in the story and rooting her on. There is so much to say about the great writing and characterizations, but I am going to stop here before I reveal some spoilers. If you have not read this book, I highly recommend it. The book is on the shorter side and grips you quickly. I read 75% of the novel in one night as I just could not stop.
***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***