Smoky Barrett, FBI agent/surviving victim, is personally called to a morgue outside her jurisdiction. Upon her arrival, the murdered victim's body creates more questions than answers. It proves to be a unique murder and evidence suggests that it is by no means the only one. It also reveals the victim's secret, which leads Smoky and her team to hunt for a killer that collects unspoken truths.

HOORAY (and not surprised), I have my first Best Read of 2009! Cody did not let me down in the latest Smoky Barrett thriller. Holding to his word, this edition explores Smoky in a more personal manner, which tones the book down (in comparison to the first two) maybe a notch - maybe. He has not eliminated his trademark suspense, shock, gore and grave descriptions. Nope - they're still prominent.

Aside from all the thrill and suspense, there is a continuing story that flows within the main characters. The story and the chase are both very compelling and made it difficult to put the book down. I did - many times, because I know I have a long time before the next one comes out. What could Cody possibly come up with next? I can't wait to find out. (4.5/5)

Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..." ( )

Cody McFadyen’s new mystery/thriller The Darker Side was a good quick read that I enjoyed. While a little on the grandiose side (the first known victim is actually number 143), the story managed to avoid all my pet peeve clichés that infest so much of crime fiction. The all-important question: would I read more McFadyen? Yup. Though I’d definitely pick up library copies or the mass market paperback editions.

(Full review at my blog) ( )

Smoky Barrett is no stranger to violent crime. She sees it every day in her job as an FBI Special Agent, but she has also experienced it firsthand. Three years ago, her husband and daughter were killed by a serial killer Smoky was chasing. The same man brutalized Smoky, leaving her face horribly disfigured. Her personal tragedies give Smoky a unique insight into both the mind of a killer and the sorrow of a victim.

When the transsexual son of a prominent United States Congressman is killed on a on a passenger plane – in mid-flight – the President himself wants Smoky and her talented investigative team on the case.

The investigation leads them to a twisted and prolific serial killer who calls himself the Preacher. Serial killers are collectors and the Preacher is no exception. However, precisely what he collects sets him apart. The Preacher is collecting the darkest secrets of his victims, forcing them to confess their sins before he murders them. He’s also taunting Smoky and her team, telling them that “time is life” and they must catch him before he kills again.

In The Darker Side, Cody McFadyen has created a compelling, gritty crime procedural. I frequently found myself re-reading passages, not to deepen my understanding of the story, but to savor McFadyen’s writing style. This is not a bare bones thriller with little prose or character development. The descriptions and characters are rich and well-formed, and the plot never stalls. I was truly sad to finish this book, and I can’t wait to see where Mr. McFadyen takes Smoky Barrett next. ( )

On a commercial airline flight to Washington, DC a young woman is murdered in her seat and covered with a blanket. She is found at the end of the flight and FBI Agent Smoky Barrett and her talented team are called in and assigned the case. They must be circumspect, the victim has ties to a political powerhouse and presidential candidate. Before long a second body is found in Los Angeles, seemingly unrelated to the first, and they find themselves on the trail of a serial killer.

When video clips of the victims start showing up on the Internet the pressure in on to catch the nutcase committing the murders before a media firestorm erupts. Turns out the killer knows a very deep secret about each victim and feels that he must make them confess their "sin" before he kills them. How does he select his targets? How does he know their most intimate secrets? And how are they going to track him down before he strikes again?

The plot of this thriller is fast paced and smart, the characters are intriguing and likable. Smoky Barrett has been through the ringer on previous cases and her personal losses have been high. Despite all she has been through, she is a survivor and is excellent at her job. She is complex and interesting and I can't wait to read the first two books in this series, Shadow Man and The Face of Death. ( )

In his third in the series, following The Face of Death and Shadowman, Cody McFadyen has once again given us excellent, solid FBI procedural. With The Darker Side returns Agent Smoky Barrett, a character with her own tragic, horrific past. She and her family, her husband and young daughter, were taken hostage in their home. Barrett was raped and tortured, her husband and child both died. When we first met her in Shadowman, she was recovering from her injuries, her terribly scarred face and body nothing in comparison to the scars she carried within her. She spent her days alone in her house, trying to decide whether to end her life. So she is a police officer that understands the pain of both the victims of crime and their families.

When she and her team of investigators are called by the FBI Director himself to delve into the murder of a beautiful young woman on an airplane flight to Virginia, it seems at first that her fame is the reason they are given the case. The victim is the daughter of a powerful U.S Senator and she has been requested especially, partially because of her previous skill in solving some high profile cases but also because the victim's mother knows that Smoky understands their pain and will stop at nothing to find the killer. And she is right...

What first appears to be one of those 'locked-door' mysteries, a murder on a plane in the air with the possible murderers all lock in, turns out to something else, a very small part of a much more horrible reality. And not everything is as it seems at first. Everyone has their secrets it seems and this book is all about secrets; not just those of the criminals or the victims of the crimes but those that have dedicated their lives to bringing justice to the victims.

I will not lie to you my dear readers. Mr. McFadyen books are not cozy, superficial mysteries. Some may find then rather gory and all three of them present some difficult situations for the reader to consider, a lot of grays rather than black and whites. But I can assure you that you will be rewarded in each of his books with a taut, compelling story, with wonderful, complex characters that each have their own demons to wrestle with.

As I mentioned, this is the third book in the series and while the author gives us a brief synopsis or the relative background of Smoky and the others from the previous books, this is one case where I really think it is best to start with the first. The first book, Shadowman is such a powerful story that you deserve to read the whole thing from the beginning...and start to understand Smoky's own secrets...because it is all about the secrets after all. ( )