The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
After the birth of her first and only child, a girl named Junie, Eve Taggert vows to do a better job than her own mother did.
She spends the next 12-years putting her past far behind her. She never introduces Junie to her Grandmother and tries her best to make sure Junie always feels safe and loved, a luxury she never had.
When Junie is murdered, along with her best friend, Izzy, on a snowy day at an abandoned playground, Eve is shattered with grief.
Her girl was her entire world, her entire purpose, but now she has a new purpose, getting justice for Junie and she may have to go back to her roots in order to get it.
We’re talking some real hillbilly justice.
It’s clear the police, her brother Cal included, are not getting anywhere in their investigation. At least if they are, they aren’t sharing it with her.
So, Eve decides to do a bit of investigating of her own.
One of her first stops is her Mama’s house. A warm reunion it is not, but Eve feels oddly supported for the first time.
Maybe her Mama’s lessons are going to pay off after all.
This book is aptly titled, as it got dark real quick and stayed there. The overall feeling is desperate and depressing, but it worked.
I thought Eve’s character was written so well. I could feel what she was feeling, it hurt and kept me engaged the whole way through.
Coming in at under 300-pages, it is a pretty quick read, but definitely packs a punch.
If you like gritty Crime Fiction with the perfect touch of Hillbilly Noir, you should definitely give this one a shot!
I feel like this is Engel’s wheelhouse; it definitely suits her writing style well. Atmospheric and DARK, just how I like ’em.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Dutton Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I thoroughly enjoyed it!