I really enjoyed this book! It was suspenseful and creepy from page one. Just when I thought I had the plot figured out, the author threw me for a loop! I would recommend this book.

This line hit really hard:
"I used to want the world for Julie. Now I just want something to bury."

Oh my goodness. This book had me hooked from the very start. It also made me so anxious... Whether it was from how terrible I thought the main character was at first, to how we began learning about each character, and then finally when things began to all come together... I was a wreck! I will admit, at the beginning I was nervous. I really disliked the main character. I thought she was winey, pathetic, and super annoying. But I thought that maybe this book was going to be a bit like Gone Girl (I couldn't stand the characters in that book), so I kept an open mind while also recognizing the fact that I may hate the main character for the duration of the story. I loved the story line though. I thought one character was the "bad guy" for certain, but I was absolutely NOT expecting how the ending turned out (reason for the 4 stars). There is one chapter in particular where I thought I may have figured it out, but I was only guessing half of it.... Would I read this book again? No, probably not...But it is definitely worth reading!!

This book was absolutely incredible. I loved that Jack was the narrator because seeing the storyline through his POV was very powerful. I would have read this in one sitting, but I started it late in the day and had to force myself to stop so I could go to sleep. I highly recommend it.

Phew, now this is the type of YA that I need to read more of! I enjoyed this book so much.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas was a bit slow to start. When I had gotten 100 pages in, I was a bit confused as to why it was labeled a mystery. But closer to halfway through the book, the action really picked up and I had a hard time putting it down!

I have to say that while I am normally annoyed at books with slow starts, this time I really appreciated the pacing. The slow start here let us really get to know the characters, the town, and the history of the Ohio River Monster before diving into the faster paced second half.

Right from the beginning, I was drawn to many of the characters. I related to so many things that the main character, Tessa, said or thought.
For example:
“Um, hi." I've forgotten how to speak, as I often do when I have to use the phone.

I also really liked Callie, after she lightened up a bit of course. I was so worried about her drinking (teen drinking is not a feature of books I enjoy at all), so I’m glad that part of the story didn’t take a really horrible turn.

Decker was my favorite, even though his role wasn’t very big. He truly seemed like a great kid. I think Tessa being friends with Decker really helped her both from the storyline's standpoint and also emotionally. She was so high strung around everyone, so i thought it was nice to see her relax a little around Decker.

I thought that this book was the perfect mix of mystery and thriller, and the author really balanced the two out perfectly. I thought the ending was so powerful because we we’re given small hints and clues along the way, but there wasn’t anything super obvious. There was just one factor that I guessed pretty early on, but the rest totally caught me off guard, which was very refreshing. I absolutely love when I can’t figure out the mystery until it begins to unfold right in front of me and things finally start clicking!

My only complaints are that 1) there was a bit of repetition and 2) the ending seemed a little bit rushed. But with the ending, I think I felt that way just because the majority of the action happens and then the book is over a few pages later. However, I did really appreciate that after all of the action, Tessa finally got some closure on the things she had been trying to figure out on her own.

I would definitely recommend this book for someone looking for a really good YA mystery/thriller.



My favorite passages:

There are worse things in this world than monsters, and somehow, they always manage to find me.

I feel bad for Decker; it must be hard to have a spirit in this town. Everywhere you turn, there's someone who wants to kill it.

I figure there's only so much we can beat ourselves up about, things we wished we'd done differently, before we're broken beyond repair.

Sometimes all you have to do is look at the roots to see if the rest of the tree is poisoned.

Melissa Laurence is, if you're polite, what you'd call a "woman who can handle herself." I'm not polite, so I'm thinking that Melissa Lawrence is the type of woman who will break your nose for looking at her the wrong way.

No one stole my life from me. It’s always been mine. I just have to figure out what to do with it next.




**SPOILERS**
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OH MY GOD THE LAST PAGE. OH MY GOD. I LOVE when books add that final twist that makes you sit there with your mouth hanging open. Bravo, Kara Thomas!

Here and Gone is a suspense novel that is sure to get your heart pounding! I thought that the premise was incredibly spooky because it’s so realistic.

As with any great thriller, my review will be rather short to avoid giving too much away. Even so, please still proceed with caution!

Phew, this book doesn't hold back at all! The main action starts in just the first ten pages and doesn't let up until the very end. Between all of the action and the wonderful writing style, I couldn't put this book down!

The characters were developed so well! While I absolutely loved many of them, I totally despised others, but in a great way. The bad/creepy characters were incredibly unsettling. I got chills so many times when they would just repeat themselves before I really understood what was going on. One character really surprised me with her role, but it was a very welcomed twist at that point in the book!

What really added to the depth of this book was the organization. Most of the book was centered around Audra or Sean and Louise, but some chapters focused on a few of the other characters to really draw everyone together and show the reader the full scope of what was going on. All of this was also supported by eerie emails from the dark net users.

Pick this one up on your day off; you won’t be able to put it down!

You'll Never Know, Dear is a great mystery with lots of very tense suspense! I cruised right through this one because I needed to know how things turned out!

The writing was so easy to read and I enjoyed the overall storyline. I also really liked each of the characters! I thought they were developed fairly well and I enjoyed learning more about each of them as the story progressed. My favorite part about each of the main female characters was how strong they all were. At any point, many of them could have played the victim card or cowered off in a corner, but they never did. They stood strong and fought to get things figured out, not relying on anyone else.

From strictly a mystery perspective, I thought it was quite predictable. Though the action when things started to be laid out for the readers was still very enjoyable and thrilling!

While a bit predictable, this book still totally captivated me right from the beginning and kept me hooked throughout. I would highly recommend this one to any reader that enjoys quick mysteries and/or character driven stories. Four stars!

My favorite passages:
Lis learned a hard lesson: look away for a moment and the thing you cherish most in this world could be... would be... snatched away from you.

The principle was simple. If you could control a dream, bend it at your will, then you could rob nightmares and the memories that sparked them of their power to terrorize you.

"It's no sin," Evelyn said, "to accept a little help."

"Just one more question. How certain are the results?"
"If you provide usable DNA samples, results will be conclusive."
A chill went down Lis's spine as she hung up. How many things in life could you say that about?

"But many people find writing it down helps. Like taking it out of your head and putting it on a shelf where it can't hurt you again."

What a great book to kick of my October 2016 reading! It was certainly a creepy read, though I wish there had been more horror involved because a few scenes seemed a bit cheesy to me. When I read that this book was, "Writing in the tradition of Stephen King” I was really looking forward to being scared; But there wasn’t anything about this book that actually scared me. I guess that’s why my library labeled it “Mystery” rather than horror…

There is a love story thrown in as well, but the love factor was very meh for me. Some parts were cute, but I got bored with it pretty quickly. Possibly because I just didn’t care about the characters?

The organization of the story was really neat! It was from the point of view of someone watching a security feed. So the “scene changes" were very abrupt- one paragraph you were watching the camera feed of one character, and in the next paragraph you’ve swapped over to another camera feed and character. There were also instances of “split screen” that I absolutely loved, where the page was split into 2-6 columns showing different camera feeds.

For awhile there, I was getting annoyed at some repetition. But then I figured out that the author was repeating some things to make it clear which character you were “watching.”

The plot was semi-weak. The major question of the book never gets resolved, but I tried to just appreciate the story for what it was.

Overall, a good read! I would recommend it, but I wouldn’t say it was scary or even that it’s a book that is going to stick with me for very long.

Favorite lines:

Vivica, on the fifteenth floor, is telling the stain in Spanish that it is no match for her, and she is right.

Only the sound of the ocean can be heard. It's a beautiful sound. It's the sound of life.