Title: Pitch Dark
Author(s): Alex Grayson & A.M. Wilson
Genre: Suspense
Publisher: Self Published
Publication Date: September 15th

Synopsis:

One girl disappeared. After fifteen years, her cold lifeless body was found on the damp forest floor. Not an inch of her was unmarked by the horrors she endured. Alone, malnourished, abused in horrific ways; this was how she died.

One girl was found walking the streets, covered in dirt and scars. She had no memory of who she was, where she came from, or what happened to her. Even though the marks on her body attested to years of heinous abuse, her strength shone through at every turn.

Revenge and justice were sworn.

Years of searching brought up nothing but dead ends. Detective Niko James was too late to save his childhood friend, but he vows not to let down another.

The clock is ticking and the trail is pitch dark.

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮

ARC received through L. Woods PR

***SPOILER FREE REVIEW***

First off I’d like to thank A.M. Wilson and Alex Grayson for the many f*cked up dreams this novel gave me. I’m not a baby, I’m far from it. I love horror movies, I love being scared, I love the fear induced adrenaline that sends my heart racing. However, I tend to stay away from novels with thrilling type themes and the reason behind that is, I have an overactive imagination. I pick up on little details and they completely stick with me. This novel stuck with me throughout the night and into my dreams making for some hellacious nightmares.

So in a strange way I have to give kudos to A.M. Wilson and Alex Grayson for completely controlling my brain and setting into motion some pretty messed up dreams.

There is not much I can say about this novel without given major spoilers away. Every detail is specific and leads to a huge turn of events. So in this review I’ll try my damnedest to make this as spoiler free as possible.

Let me start off with the story line.

Niko is a detective who has spent the last fifteen years searching for his best friend/ sweetheart. After getting nothing but dead ends he is told to give up but something in his bones tells him not to give up. When a heartbreaking discovery is planted in front of him he has no choice but to move on. A few weeks later he finds himself facing a very similar case that digs up old wounds. He is hell-bent on cracking this case though, no matter what the outcome may be.

This is honestly the darkest story line I have read in a very long time. This novel also happens to be extremely long, in a sense this was great due to the copious amounts of detail but on the other hand it was a little tedious. Pitch Dark has a mysterious ‘who did it’ vibe and at twenty percent I was beyond frustrated and wanted to freaking know ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON.’

This novel is told in two point of views.

Niko, who I described is a detective looking to crack a case that has gone cold many years ago. I felt Niko’s frustrations, his emotions where strong but sometimes where an overkill. I would have liked to see more of his soft side and his heartbreak and less of his frustrations and agitation. Overall I really loved his character in this novel.

Then we have the mysterious Lelu chapters. These chapters are beyond gruesome. No details are left untouched. If you have a week stomach I highly suggest you skim through these chapters or skip them all together. There are also some major trigger warnings that come with these chapters. Be prepared they are gruesome. Obviously I can’t tell you more about these chapters without giving the story line away.

My heart was ripped out while reading Pitch Dark. I couldn’t believe the immediate darkness and extreme grit that came with the very beginning of this novel. I’m talking some Stephen King type shit! You will be disturbed!

Overall, I thought this was a kick ass novel. It was intriguing, kept my attention, and literally had me second guessing every move the characters made.

Peace Love and Happy Reading,