Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
![[5 stars]](../images/spots/1_splat_50.gif)
Darkness Falls
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Margaret Murphy
Class/Genre: Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller
St. Martin’s Jun 2004, $24.95, 368 pp.
Nine year old Pippa Pascal persuades her ultra-busy mom Clara to take her to school today since it is her birthday. Though the barrister is working on a major case with early appointments, still Clara is conned into dropping her daughter off to the amusement of her spouse Hugo. However, at the school following the mandatory cautionary motherly pitch to stay safe, Clara turns towards her vehicle only to have a red ski masked male abduct her.
While Clara is chained to a wall in a clammy cellar with no food, water, or a toilet, the culprit remains silent behind his mask. Clara ponders who and why, but comes up empty. Meanwhile Detective Inspector Steve Lawson investigates the kidnapping with two prime suspects in mind: the spouse and a mobster she is prosecuting. Though held prisoner with Bastille-like conditions, Clara refuses to break or beg. Instead she fascinates her host when with élan she psychological assaults him though that track fails to move the culprit. As time moves on, Clara’s chance of survival geometrically diminishes.
DARKNESS FALLS is an exhilarating thriller due to the prime two characters. Clara will fascinate readers as she has her “host” with her courage. The abductee is also intriguing as ironically the audience learns his plans for his victim before he applies them to Clara. This enables the audience to feel for the barrister yet also sees what went right and what failed. Though a final turn of the screw seems too easy, fans will value this dark psychological thriller that does not let go until the final ante is raised.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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