Available Dark

A Crime Novel

By: Elizabeth Hand

Narrated by: Carol Monda

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning author Elizabeth Hand brings us a searing and iconoclastic crime novel, in which photographer Cass Neary, introduced in the underground classic Generation Loss, finds herself drawn into the shadowy world of crime in Scandinavia's coldest corners.

As this riveting tour-de-force opens, the police already want to talk to Cass about a mysterious death she was involved with previously, but before they can bring her in, Cass accepts a job offer from overseas and hops on a plane.

In Helsinki, she authenticates a series of disturbing but stunning images taken by a famous fashion photographer who has cut himself off from the violent Nordic music scene where he first made his reputation. Paid off by her shady employer, she buys a one-way ticket to Reykjavik, in search of a lover from her own dark past.

But when the fashion photographer's mutilated corpse is discovered back in Finland, Cass finds herself sucked into a vortex of ancient myth and betrayal, vengeance and serial murder, set against a bone-splintering soundtrack of black metal and the terrifying beauty of the sunless Icelandic wilderness. Cass Neary finds her own worst fears confirmed: it's always darkest before it turns completely black.

©2012 Elizabeth Hand (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

File Under: Volcanos Under Ice

Well, this writer is on her way to being one of my favorites. The way she weaves images and tropes through this eerie landscape is both grotesque and beautiful. I love the strung out narrator. The bleak Icelandic landscape was the perfect setting to explore light and dark, punk rock, and isolation. Creepy and well done. Great winter read.

File Under: Eerie and Wonderful

Not as interesting as her other books

I felt this story struggled a bit. Seemed like a grasp when you get to the end in the protagonist and story line. A little too much Viking lore for my taste. Hard Light is by far better than this.

Incredible follow-up novel

I know that Cass isn't the best role model, considering she's continuously popping, snorting and guzzling, but... I envy her ability to say to hell with it and do what she feels is necessary. Did she steal a grieving woman's vehicle at the scene of her siblings murder? Yes, but it lead to accomplishing her goal. I'd love to be able to act selfishly and not have overwhelming guilt. Maybe it's a side effect of the illegal drugs and booze, I'm not going to find out for myself but I will continue enjoying her story by listening to the next book in the series.
Hand is a fantastic story weaver that paints the story beautifully in your mind as you read.
Monda's voice is perfect for Cass and she easily and convincingly flows from Cass to the other characters.

Disappointing effort from a good writer

I didn't enjoy this book as much as others I have read by Liz Hand (Blacklight, Waking the Moon, some stories), partly because of some authorial sloppiness but mostly because Cass, our heroine, is so utterly depraved and soulless that the story seems to drift without meaning. Even in the previous entry in this series, Cass showed at times a glimmer of human sympathy. Here, not so much.
Cass is a dried-up husk of a New York punk snob, a drunk, a junkie, a habitual liar and thief who offers nothing to anyone and then is surprised that she has no friends. She seems to admire a serial killer because he has a cool guitar (an original 1957 Strat with the original bakelite thingies that cost thousands of dollars to replace, woo woo).
A sordid and pointless take about a bunch of total douchebags, except for the one nice girl Cass tries to seduce though she is engaged.

Wonderful

This was a great book loved her voice very enjoyable all the way throughout a must read

Nordic winterdark

I really enjoy Carol Monda’s performance for this series. She really sounds like I imagine Cass would narrating her story to you. This one is a strong follow up to Generation Loss, and takes Cass to the Nordic countries. It’s been said that you take yourself with you wherever you go, and in a sense you experience each place through your own personal filter, and in Cass’ case, that’s a dark one. In the words of one eclectic sage, “wherever you go, there you are.” Cass arrives in post-economic collapse Reykjavik, a city I happened to be in during and just after the crash. Her experience is a bleak one, haunted by the winter dark and cold, with depressive and hopeless locals. My own experience was one of admiration at the lack of pessimism and panic I would have expected, seeing instead a hardy group of people not easily perturbed by events, in a country with a solid sense of collective destiny. Its a country where there are far more murders in an average Icelandic Noir novel than actually happen in real life. However, Cass’ Iceland is certainly one of misery and murder tied to ancient lore and darkness, which of course makes for a much more engaging story, and it held my attention as she unraveled the truth behind the mayhem. Black metal, Ásatrú, viking sagas, and, of course, photography all drive the events of the story. As with Generation Loss, Hand uses a strong sense of place to create a great atmosphere for the story, one where you can almost smell the sulphur on the cold wind as you listen.

So dark!

I keep asking myself why I even started the second novel in the series, knowing what dark subject matter was covered in the first. I mean, we’re talking dark! Photos of dead people. I love Carol Monda’s narration so much that I wanted to give the second book a shot. With the new setting in Iceland, I was so hopeful that the storyline would take a different turn. Nope! Every character is dark and completely unlikeable. The drug use of the main character was very wearisome, and her fascination with the macabre was detestable. I was hoping to listen to the third, but my love for Carol Monda’s narration just cannot overcome the darkness of this series.

Entertaining Series

I have really enjoyed this whole series. It is entertaining and interesting, I like the detail about photography and art, the protagonist is a flawed person with a lot of negative aspects to her, but you can’t help but root for her. Lastly the performance is fantastic, a voice just like you would think Cass has, and I’m amazed at Carol Monda’s accents.

#abrknpoet Reviews Available Dark

Available Dark is the second novel in the Cass Neary series by Elizabeth Hand, following the underground classic Generation Loss. In this dark and gripping thriller, Cass Neary, a photographer and former punk rocker, is drawn into a web of murder, mystery and myth in the cold and bleak landscapes of Scandinavia and Iceland. Cass is a flawed but fascinating anti-heroine, who struggles with addiction, alienation and a haunted past. She is also a keen observer of the underground cultures she encounters, from the violent Nordic music scene to the ancient pagan rituals that still linger in the shadows. Hand’s prose is sharp and vivid, creating a sense of dread and suspense that keeps the reader hooked until the end. The novel also explores themes of art, identity, creativity and mortality, as Cass faces her own demons and the consequences of her actions. Available Dark is a brilliant and original crime novel that will appeal to fans of Stieg Larsson, Jo Nesbø and Tana French.


@stuartbrknjohns Twitter/Goodreads Top Reviewer

Pointless, kept waiting for the protagonist to die

Perhaps one of the worst audiobooks I have listened to. It was so bad, that I kept listening to hopefully have all of the main characters killed off in one fell swoop. I don't mind dark material but this was just gratuitous mayhem.