This was good, dark, and creepy
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The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

This was good, dark, and creepy

Review of The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

This was good, dark, and creepy. I’m a big fan of paranormal mystery/crime books and I’ve been lucky that there have been some good ones released lately. While the stories are quite different, this had a similar vibe to The River Has Teeth. The River Has Teeth was a little better fit for my personal tastes, but if you enjoyed that story I believe you will enjoy this one too.

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I talk about readability a lot because I like books that are easy to get into and that can get their hooks right into you. This book was like that and I ended up reading it in one sitting. The pace was maybe a tad slower than I would have liked, but the book had a really nice build, and when the pace picked up, the story got much meatier and I didn’t want to put the book down. The author writes well and you can easily see vivid pictures of what is happening on the page, in your mind.

I’m more of a character-driven reader but for this book, I found I was more into the plot. I had mixed feelings about some of the characters. I thought Logan and her fathers were really well done, but I had a harder time connecting with Ashley and her family/friends. It wasn’t that Ashley was unlikable, but the people around her were, so it kind of rubbed off on her. I did like it when she got more into the paranormal aspects as it made her character more interesting for me, but it was still a mix.

It’s funny because I did find some things over the top and had to suspend disbelief a bit, but it was not the paranormal parts. It was the people and how they behaved and what they got away with, which was a bit much.

While there were some out there parts, I did like the main plot quite a bit. The mystery had some nice twists and while I had some ideas about one part, I was also surprised so I always like that. A lot of my friends have commented that this was a very scary story but I didn’t get that. There is violence and death and I would call this dark and creepy, but it was not scary for me. I guess your mileage may vary.

There was a light sapphic romance. It is slow-burn and almost enemies to lovers. Maybe Romeo and Juliet-ish is the better way to explain it. It started off rocky to me and I wasn’t feeling it. Luckily, as the book went on I started to believe in the connection and like them as a couple. I do wish Gould would have spent more time developing Ashley’s feelings. We needed to see the change and how it happened but we really don’t. In the end, it was a cute but light romance.

I would recommend this to YA paranormal crime/mystery fans. This is well written and an interesting read. To have a debut this strong makes me excited to read Gould again. If you are looking for dark and creepy, this book may just be for you.

A copy was given to me for a review.

The Dead and the Dark by Courtney Gould

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