• A Deeper Darkness

  • Sam Owens, Book 1
  • By: J. T. Ellison
  • Narrated by: Joyce Bean
  • Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,244 ratings)

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A Deeper Darkness  By  cover art

A Deeper Darkness

By: J. T. Ellison
Narrated by: Joyce Bean
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Publisher's summary

As a medical examiner, Samantha Owens knows her job is to make a certain sense of death with crisp methodology and precision instruments.

But the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, the light vanished from Sam’s life. She has been pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrate - until she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C.

On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend’s mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam’s sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car.

Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan’s old notes. It leads her to the untouchable Xander, a soldier off-grid since his return from Afghanistan, and then to a series of brutal crimes stretching from that harsh mountainous war zone to this nation’s capital.

The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody’s hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.

©2012 J.T. Ellison (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

What listeners say about A Deeper Darkness

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    527
  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    186
  • 2 Stars
    50
  • 1 Stars
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Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 3 Stars
    172
  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    21

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Sad. Weird. Sad.

I wouldn't read another in this series. The plot kept reaching, unfortunately in unconvincing ways.

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37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not Your Next Temperence Brennan

This main character is way over the top in her guilt, and the eventual explanation given for it is far from satisfactory. The overall story is interesting but there are several unanswered questions. Left me wanting to know the answers.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Forensic pathologist delves into military secrets-

Ellison starts a new series with a take-off character from another series. Dr. Samantha Owens is a Forensic Pathologist in Nashville, Tennessee. She's been devoted to her job until tragedy struck her. Her husband and two children are dead and she lives with self imposed guilt daily. When the mother of her old lover, Donovan,calls and asks for help, Samantha reluctantly agrees.

Donavan's body has been found shot in his car. The Washington,DC police are calling it a car jacking, but his mom believes there was more to his death. After the autopsy, Samantha also believes this ex-Ranger's death was a more complicated murder. Samantha investigates with a couple of interesting policeman, delving into a long held secret of friendly fire and more from the Ranger's service in Afghanistan. Tensions are taught as Samantha must also work with Donovan's wife, who knows of Samantha's and Donovan's past affair.

This book is psychological, revealing the mind set of everyone involved. It also becomes fast passed as Samantha finds answers and finds herself in great danger too. Good start to a new series. Relationships are set up to continue a few of these characters in this series, which should be exciting reading.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Couldn't put it down!

In depth characters and plot.
Fast moving plot. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have already begun the rest of the series!
Great author and narration!

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not bad at all

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, it is a nice change from my other mystery books. Killer not obvious

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The last few chapters definitely did. Good ending

Which character – as performed by Joyce Bean – was your favorite?

Sam, the main character. I am not too adventurous

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No one particular moment

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Dramatic

The story contained a lot of drama and some overkill in regards to the emotions.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

4.5 stars Incredible Book Under $10

While the story is a fantastic thriller it is also so much more. The story is loaded with incredible forensic details that all lend a realistic credibility to the story. The h (Samantha, "Sam") is a three dimensional person with rapier intelligence, guts, heart and soul. Character development in this book is incredibly rich, principals and secondary. I was glued to my Kindle and only stopped once, due to bad eye fatigue.

The story is fast paced and filled with incredible and often unexpected twists and turns. It flows beautifully and smoothly. A flood, friendly fire, PTSD, some OCD, military aspects, army Rangers dying like flies, grief, a diary written in Latin, old lovers, new romantic interests, autopsies, and illegitimate child and a mountain hermit are all tied together in one rip roaring fabulous book. The story is 4.5.

This is the first book I have listened to by J.T. Ellison, but it sure will not be the last. I have already bought the second book in this series. More over Patricia Cornwell because there is a new author in town who has what it takes!

Joyce Bean was outstanding with the delivery of the story.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

"Speak: Woof"

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

yes and this was a daily deal, so double the value! Fast pace and a full mystery, note: must use the new 1.25x speed to get the impact author intended.

What other book might you compare A Deeper Darkness to and why?

Lots of characters which reader does very well. This has a bare hint of Karin Slaughter's medical examiner without the awful horror that Karin includes in her stories.

Note to author: please add more humor to this series.

What does Joyce Bean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is a pro and has only gotten so much better in recent reads. A must is Tammy Hoag's Still Waters. J.B. is our heroine in that story. Another great read is Sandra Brown's Witness as J.B. brings that story to brilliant life.

Any additional comments?

thank audible for this great daily deal

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding suspenseful mystery novel!

Those who have read JT Ellison novels understand she writes dark thrillers. This is Book 1 in the medical examiner Samantha Owens series. Although Owens is chief medical examiner for Tennessee located in Nashville, A Deeper Darkness is set mostly in the Washington DC area. Samantha Owens is an emotionally damaged woman who earlier lost her husband and twin children in a flood. In this book she is investigating the serial murders of several Army Rangers one of whom was her lover while they were in medical school. Listening to Joyce Bean's superb narration is a real pleasure. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this novel and other written by JT Ellison for those who like dark suspenseful thrillers.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Okay Listen. Author should do research before publishing

This author has promise. The characters can use more development. The story is a bit convoluted. However, it is okay for a casual "listen."

I do feel that if an author is going to use famous locations in a story that some research should be done so that egregious factual errors are not made.

This book references ex-armed forces members being intered and inurned in Arlington National Cemetery. There are extensive and specific descriptions of the "services" performed at Arlington. While it is possible each of the deceased had received medals or honors which would qualify him for burial or columbarium use at Arlington, no such honors were specified in the story.

Every serviceman in this story was discharged before qualifying for retirement. The bottom line is that they would not qualify for a final resting place in Arlington. A five-minute internet search would have given the author this information. Such a major error makes me wonder how serious this author is about her work.

There isn't much continuity in the plot as to who might be the killer. It seemed like the various suspects were thrown in here and there without a lot of thought as how, why, and when each might be the "one."

The main character isn't very sympathetic. She is just a mess, has OCD, and seems to play the woe-is-me card by pretending to be greatly suffering from past personal events. I had no empathy for her.

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4 people found this helpful