The Darker Side: A Thriller
by Cody McFadyen
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Book Summary Information
Author: Cody McFadyenEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-09-29
ISBN: 0553591339
Number of pages: 512
Publisher: Bantam
Book Reviews of The Darker Side: A Thriller
Book Review: A McFadyen Fan...
Summary: 4 Stars
Cody McFadyen has been a favorite writer of mine since the second Smoky Barrett book. To be honest, I liked the second book better than this one, and I have not yet read the first one, but intend to.
One of the things I like about the Smoky books is the tone and point of view of the stories. We get to read things from behind the eyes of a tough but still feminine female FBI agent, who has seen and personally experienced horrific things in her life but who still manages to keep a grasp on sanity and find love in her heart for animals, a child and a boyfriend. The fact a man is writing her actually works, because it gives her that slight masculine edge she needs in the male-dominated criminal justice world, and yet, McFadyen definitely keeps her all woman too.
I like the peripheral characters as well, her classy best friend, the crazy ex-CIA agent (supposedly), the gay computer geek with super intelligence (Loved the twist on his sexuality-it was good to finally see something human and real about him!), the tough black bull of a man who is all cop... I could go on, but the cast of characters is well done, and I love or love to hate them all for various reasons.
In this story, there is more religious symbolism than in the past stories, given the lead villain (or villains in this case), calls himself The Preacher. In the end, we learn he's not working alone, and that he has his own demons he doesn't even realize.
The inner turmoil that Smoky goes through dealing with her own religious upbringing, Catholicism, and her belief in God feels real to me. Especially in light of the horrific things that have happened to her--losing both her husband and her daughter in tortuous ways and feeling responsible for their deaths--it make sense that Smoky would be questioning the existence of God, the humanity of God, and her own faith now versus all she had been taught as a child. I like the interplay between The Preachers words and how they punch at Smoky in a very personal way, but she manages to mostly keep that to herself while still working through it. I love the minister she sees at the small church. I get the impression she'll be talking to him in the future -- he handled things exactly the way with Smoky that I would hope ministers deal with those in crises of the faith.
BUT that all said, this is not a religious book. Far from it, in fact. It's light horror, full suspense, and written well. If you haven't read the first two novel in the Smoky series of books, I highly recommend you do. However, while reading the first books in the series before reading this one will give you greater insight and understanding into Smoky and the other characters and their motivations and pasts, McFadyen does a superb job of making sure the reader understands their actions even if they haven't read the previous books and he does so without being repetitious to those who have read them. That takes a skillful writer when writing a series like this.
Summary of The Darker Side: A Thriller
A lie, a long-ago affair, a dark desire?everyone has secrets they take to the grave. No one knows that better than FBI special agent Smoky Barrett. But what secret was a very private young woman keeping that led to her very public murder? That?s the question Smoky and her handpicked team of experienced manhunters are summoned to answer by the FBI director himself.
As a mother, Smoky knows the pain of losing a child. As a cop with her own twisted past, she takes every murder personally. Brilliant, merciless, righteous, the killer Smoky is hunting this time is on his own personal mission. For in his eyes no one is innocent; everyone harbors a secret sin. Soon Smoky will have to face the secret she?s carefully hidden even from her own team?and confront a relentless killer who knows her flaws with murderous intimacy.
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