The Familiar Dark

Amy Engel

Mar 2020 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2020 (Mystery/Thriller)

"From its gripping beginning to its sobering finale, Amy Engel's The Familiar Dark never fails to enthrall with surprising twists."–Associated Press

A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.

Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it's better not to know.

Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother's cruel brand of strength if she's going to face the reality about her daughter's death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother's trailer for a final lesson.

The Familiar Dark is a story about the bonds of family—women doing the best they can for their daughters in dire circumstances—as well as a story about how even the darkest and most terrifying of places can provide the comfort of home.

Ratings and reviews

4.5 stars. The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel is a gritty and completely enthralling mystery set in a poverty-stricken town in the Missouri Ozarks. In hopes of making a better life for her daughter, Junie, single mother Eve Taggert and her brother Cal have managed to escape their dysfunctional and abusive childhood. Eve works as a waitress at a local diner and Cal is a deputy in the Sheriff’s office. They helped one another survive their horrific childhood and Eve has completely cut their meth-addicted, hard as nails mother out of both her and Junie’s lives. Eve has worked hard to give Junie a good life and she has successfully suppressed the darker aspects of her personality. But after twelve year old Junie and her best friend Izzie Logan are brutally murdered, Eve’s grief turns to rage as she begins searching for their killer. After Junie’s death, Eve’s more civilized veneer is stripped away as she begins her hunt for her killer. Despite her hope the murderer comes from Izzy’s life, she begins her investigation into her own past. After reluctantly asking her estranged mother for help, Eve seeks answers from her former boyfriend, Jimmy Ray Fulton, who runs the local drug business and owns a strip club. Cautiously approaching the man who abused her throughout their relationship years earlier, Eve is surprised and slightly puzzled by the advice he offers her. Eve also relies on Cal to provide her with answers since the sheriff’s office is in charge of the investigation. Cal has long been the rock she relies on and he has taken his niece’s death extremely hard. Cal’s attempts to rein in her investigation are futile as Eve plows headlong into danger in order to find justice for Junie. The Familiar Dark is an intense, atmospheric mystery that is somewhat dark and disturbing. The storyline is engrossing and touches on many sensitive issues such as drug addiction, domestic abuse, child neglect and abuse of power by men in authoritative roles. The poverty, small town setting and surrounding hollers are vividly brought to life and add to the story’s overall feeling of bleakness and despair. Amy Engel brings this mesmerizing mystery to a twist-filled conclusion that is shocking yet astonishingly satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed and HIGHLY recommend this tension-filled mystery. I received a complimentary copy for review.

Two 12-year-old girls are murdered at the town playground. Two little girls who were best friends. Two little girls that never got to live out their lives. Two little girls .. one from the poor side of town with only a single mother.... a mother who loved her daughter unconditionally ... the mom who would do anything to have her back. The other ... not rich, but well off, with two parents who loved their daughter with everything they had. Eve Taggart may have been raised on the wrong side of the tracks, but her daughter was everything to her. Junie was a smart, happy kid. Who on earth wanted her dead? Izzy, maybe not as smart as Junie, but a sweet innocent child. Who on earth wanted her dead. Eve learned one thing from her own abusive mother ... nobody messes with family and you never let anyone take anything from you. Eve is desperate with grief and decides to find out the truth ... who killed her child and why. But small towns have big secrets. Eve looks around ... the man who works at the tire store and watches young girls a little too closely .... the man she had an affair with who loves his alcohol and easily becomes mean and unpredictable at times ... the woman whose boyfriend she stole while in high school ... the killer could be any of these ... or none of these. Other than WHO, the one constant thought is WHY? And Eve wants nothing more than to dish out her own brand of justice for her daughter. This is a complex, emotional journey of women who do the best they can do for their daughters in dire circumstances. It's a love story. It's an emotional roller coaster as the reader follows Eve, with her memories of growing up, with her thoughts of the choices she has made over the years. There are secrets and lies and twists and turns that lead to an unpredictable ending. Tissues may be required for this reading. Many thanks to the author / Penguin Group - Dutton / Netgalley for the digital copy of this riveting crime fiction thriller. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Jamie I have not read the book But Iam quite sure there are views and other viewers are reading the book list of this ebook. I only ordered 4 books recently because my time limit on books are classified some are not most are romantic grow strong in learning other materials before saving on others epics and reviews❤️

About the author

Amy Engel is the author of The Familiar Dark, The Roanoke Girls and the Book of Ivy series. A former criminal defense attorney, she lives in Missouri with her family.