Title: Dark in Different Ways

Author: J. D. Patterson

Genre: Psychological Thriller

Publisher: Spellbound Books

Publication Date: 24th January 2024

Cover:

Book Summary:

There are dark secrets beneath the Australian sun.

His troubled past behind him, Thom is happy living in Sydney with his lover, Craig and dreams of being a journalist.

When the death of a teenager causes a riot, he thinks he’s found his perfect story.

But when he starts asking questions. he soon attracts the attention of Rob Morton, a corrupt detective who will go to any lengths to stop him.

In mortal danger – and with his new life unravelling – Thom finds he can trust no-one – not even himself.

Review:

Dark in Different Ways is a fast paced and intriguing thriller that touches on some interesting topics. It has its basis in reality, focusing on a tragic event, the suspicious death of an Aboriginal teenager, that took place in Sydney in 2004. The story in Dark in Different Ways itself is fiction but this connection to a real case gives it a compelling slant. I also found the themes of discrimination and corruption particularly interesting and that is where I feel the novel is strongest.

Main character, Thom, is a young and idealistic journalism student who becomes embroiled in a dangerous situation after he writes a story about the suspicious circumstances around the teenager’s death. Things then escalate further and further, dragging in everyone in Thom’s orbit and putting Thom himself in a great deal of danger. Thom is, at times, rather naive and frustrating, however it seems as though he does want to do the right thing at the end of the day which makes him easier to root for. I think Dark in Different Ways will appeal to anyone who enjoys a propulsive and tense thriller that touches on some powerful and complex real-life issues.

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for my place on the blog tour and for the copy of the book. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.