Pretty good but I thought it would be better. ( )

For a moment, I despaired every really getting into this novel: the book opens with two brief chapters that were sort of vague, kind of flash back-y, and I felt my interest drifting before I could even figure out the story's hook. Then, thankfully, Magee zeroed in on his heroine and for me, the book got interesting.

While there's not a lot that's new in this book, what is offered is solid: the mystery is dark and twisted, the characters compellingly messed up, the tension creepy, and the setting claustrophobic. In a small, football-obsessed Pennsylvania town, Risa is married to a local politician, Alan, who is running for state office. Eleven years earlier, her alcoholic husband Sean disappeared and was eventually declared dead. Their son, Kevin, is the town's football star. One night, Sean returns to town, sobered up and recovering from a traumatic brain injury, and as his amnesia fades, he claims he remembers brutally murdering their friend. Understandably, Risa is kind of flipped.

I don't read a ton of these thrillers as I'm a big stress bucket and the anxiety of getting to the book's twist can render me a twitching idiot. However, Magee's book had a slow tension that I liked mixed with a kind of emotional exploration that really worked for me. Risa struggles not only with emotional impact of her declared-dead husband's return, but the potential of violence in the people she loves: her husband's addictive tendencies, her son's passion -- and skill -- at football, the implications of her current husband's involvement in the investigation of the murder and her ex-husband's past.

I'm totally over traumatic brain injuries as a plot device, and yet when it surfaced in this novel, it worked for -- and made for a rather compelling character. I'm not a football fan, either, but found the sports/violence angle interesting. (However, a character mentions in passing that Kevin might get some attention from Paterno at Penn State and the only reason I understood this reference was due to the abuse scandal.)

This was a perfect weekend read, easy for me to dip in and out of throughout the day. Creepy enough that I waved off friends to keep reading but effortless enough that I could get back into the story were my friends persistent and successful in pulling me away. ( )

Book Title: "Darkness All Around”
Author: Doug Magee
Published By: Simon and Schuster
Age Recommended: 18+
Reviewed By: Kitty Bullard
Raven Rating: 5

Review: I love a good suspense novel that can keep you on the edge of your seat just as good as any awesome movie can. “Darkness All Around,” by Doug Magee definitely delivers. This book has so many facets it’s hard to even begin to list them all. The story not only presents you with mystery and intrigue but true thrilling moments and scares that will send chills down your spine.
Doug Magee is a true master of thrills and chills, a fast favorite for me! ( )

Darkness All Around is a thriller with a literary bent, although in all honesty it reads more like a family drama to me than a crime thriller. Yes, there's plenty of violence and twists and turns, but at the end of the day this is really the story of one woman's journey back to a life she thought she had truly lost and it is this story that kept me hooked.

The premise is pretty typical for crime fiction: There was a murder. The wrong man was sent to prison. The initial reporter on the scene of the crime becomes a raging alcoholic, disappears, and is declared dead. His wife remarries an up and coming politician and has a different life than she planned. Her son has a different father than she had planned for, as well, and this has consequences. How could it not? X number of years later the original husband has an accident causing him to get both treatment for his alcoholism and for the brain injury he suffers. In the process of his brain recovering from all of this trauma, it keeps bringing up memories. He returns home to find out what happens, the chickens come home to roost in various ways, and the whole thing is wrapped up in a neat package.

Magee rises above the formulaic by writing interesting characters, spinning a good yarn, and making you care about the outcome. Although I thought the ending was predictable, I enjoyed the book. It kept me entertained on a long day of travel from Door County, WI (by car) to the Milwaukee Airport and a flight to Las Vegas, another flight to Oakland, CA, and a taxi ride home to Berkeley. I did run out of book (I often do in these situations), but I had my Kindle so that wasn't a disaster. Long story short this was a good fun read on a long boring day. ( )

I read and reviewed Doug Magee's debut novel Never Wave Goodbye last year. He's back with his newly released second novel Darkness All Around.

Risa's husband Sean disappeared eleven years ago, leaving her to raise their son Kevin alone. Risa moved on, after having Sean declared dead, marrying Alan, a friend they both knew. Except.... Sean's not dead. He's returned to town, determined to turn himself in - for murder. Risa's best friend Carol was killed eleven years ago and Sean believes he did it...or did he?

Sean's memory is suspect - he suffers blackouts from alcohol abuse coupled with a brain injury. As Sean remembers bits and pieces, we slowly piece together what might have happened eleven years ago. But Magee is tricky, populating his novel with many possiblities, keeping us guessing until the end. Risa remembers the past as well and is torn between protecting her son and supporting her new husband but also remembering the love she once felt for Sean. Darkness All Around is a mystery but also explores of the emotions of the characters, adding another layer to the story.

A new genre heading perhaps - the thoughtful thriller ( )