The Familiar Dark

A Novel

By: Amy Engel

Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan

Length: 6 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

One of Publishers Weekly’s Best Mystery/Thriller Books of 2020

"From its gripping beginning to its sobering finale, Amy Engel's The Familiar Dark never fails to enthrall with surprising twists." (Associated Press)

A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.

Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother's cruel brand of strength if she's going to face the reality about her daughter's death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother's trailer for a final lesson.

The Familiar Dark is a story about the bonds of family - women doing the best they can for their daughters in dire circumstances - as well as a story about how even the darkest and most terrifying of places can provide the comfort of home.

©2020 Amy Engel (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"The Familiar Dark is a blistering rural noir brimming with dark secrets and the harsh realities of survival in a hardscrabble town. As Eve Taggert seeks vengeance for her daughter’s murder and descends into the depths of her own jagged past, we are reminded that a mother’s love is a fearsome thing. A powerful, gripping, heart-stopping read." (Laura McHugh, award-winning author of The Wolf Wants In)

Housework

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Great Book

My last review was for a book that almost made me cancel my membership. This book brought back my faith in Audible. Narration and story are excellent and the ending was not like other books. I’m excited to read more from this author!

Perfect Thriller

Great narration, nice twists, solid character development.
Truly enjoyable listen.
Dark subject matter handled well without gratuitous violence or explicit sex.

Great

What an awesome book. Great from beginning to end. I felt like I was there with Eve. Will look for more books by this author. Wonderful performance.

Gritty and dark but deep

Something about this story gets under your skin. The character that is so unlovable you love her. The constant swells of emotions and never knowing where it was going was amazing.

Wonderful writing , wonderful narration !

I've been burned by some of my choices recently so I've had my faith restored . Amy Engel is a writer a strong writer and it was a pleasure to read a good book. The narration is excellent it really adds to the character development. If you like smart books that give you something to think about and entertain you this book will do that .It is dark and twisty too, and sad . Worth the credit. Get it now

decent, if boring, story. excellent narration

slow-moving story all along, decent but not great. narrator was excellent, saving thus story a bit.

Whiny and boring

The main character was very whiny. The storyline is good and interesting, but towards the end, it’s very predictable. It would be so much better if there were more detail about the bad things that happened to them when they were children or as they were growing up. The info was included, but the detail needed more. It wasn’t dark enough.

MY MAMMA should have been the title

I lost track of how many times "my mamma" was said. It became comical. I couldn't focus on the narrative because the constant use of "my mamma" kept interrupting the storyline.

Loved it! Read like an Ozark subplot!

The narration was OUTSTANDING! She turned this author's voice into mental cinematography!
Very strong female characters! It reminded me so much of the characters in the Netflix show, Ozark. Totally recommend!!