A Deeper Darkness

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.

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!

22 of 24 people found this review helpful

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.

28 of 31 people found this review helpful

"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

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Sad. Weird. Sad.

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

34 of 38 people found this review helpful

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.

32 of 36 people found this review helpful

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

18 of 22 people found this review helpful

The summary made me expect more

I feel like the summary implied that there would be much more intrigue than there was. I though the whole story was just OK. As other implied, it did reach a bit, but it wasn't too outlandish. Sometimes I liked the way the story jumped between different perspectives, but other times it was harder to follow because of the number of characters, and the real names of them vs the nick-names; it became difficult to track.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Story

This is the second book I've listened to by this author, and I enjoyed it as much as No One Knows. The narrator on A Deeper Darkness wasn't quite as good as No One Knows, but it was still good.

I am planning to read the rest of this author's books, so let me get to downloading. Ellison knows how to spin a tale that keeps you listening, with always an ending that you least expect. My favorite kind of ending. A must read!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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.

7 of 10 people found this review helpful

Good Read

Very engrossing story. Female narrator has a low voice which perhaps increased the variety of different voices she was able to perform. i enjoyed this audiobook.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful