Review: Daddy Darkest by Ellery Kane

Title: Daddy Darkest 

Author:  Ellery Kane
Publisher: Ellery Kane Publishing

Publishing Date:  June 1st, 2017

Pages: 358
Genre: Adult Psychological Thriller 

Series:  Doctors of Darkness #1
Source:  Audio

 

BURY YOUR SECRETS. BURY THEM DEEP.
A month after her high school graduation, small-town-girl Samantha "Sam" Bronwyn boards a plane with her best friend, Ginny. Destination: San Francisco. But when Ginny disappears inside an airport bathroom wearing Sam's letterman jacket, it doesn't take her long to figure out she was the intended target. Alone in a strange city, Sam's on a run for her life--drawn into a dark past she never knew existed. A past where secrets aren't all that's buried and where revenge comes at the highest price.
Who is Sam really--and who can she trust? The mysterious stranger in 4A who secreted a gun in his backpack? The guilty ex-con? The disarming FBI agent? Her own mother?
Only one thing is certain. Someone is after her. Someone who knows more about her than she does. Someone who wants to teach her a hard lesson: There are worse things than murder.
Daddy Darkest is a standalone and the first in the Doctors of Darkness series by forensic psychologist and author, Ellery Kane. Betrayal, lust, revenge, murder...These doctors earned their degrees from the dark side.

I found this book on Netgalley and thought it sounded pretty creepy so I grabbed it. I ended up listening to it on audio though since I have more time for audio in my life. I really enjoyed this book. It was creepy and it was dark. It was what I was looking for. I did feel it was a little long and had some pacing issues in the middle. But all in all, it was a really good read. 

Sam just turned 18 and has graduated high school. Her and her best friend, Jenny, decide to take a trip to San Fransisco before they start off to college. Starting from when the plane lands, trouble starts up. In the airport, Jenny disappears and on her phone are some strange messages left for Sam's mom, Claire. Speaking of Sam's mom, she didn't want Sam to take this trip. She wouldn't give a reason, but it was on the can't do it list. Sam didn't listen because she didn't know her mother had a good reason. When Sam goes looking for Jenny with a friend from the plane, Levi, she learns her mother has secrets. Lots of them and are they doozies, secrets that have a connection to a killer and one that has recently escaped from prison in San Fransisco. 

I really don't know where to start with this review. This book was creepy and freaky and really dark. I love books that have to do with the mind, and killers and everything dark. I love it when the lines are crossed or blurred. This book is that. Lines are blurred and definitely crossed, there are lots of crazies in this book. I didn't know how to feel for most of the book. In a good way though. It was just bad in a good way. 

The story, the plot, it was good. It was well written and really well done. Everything flowed nicely and left nothing to question. It was easy to follow and even though it was easy to see where the story was going there were things that were still up in the air until the entire story unfolded.

The story was told in present told from Sam's POV and the past from Claires POV,  both sides coming together to spill the entire story. As I have said before, I love these kind of stories. They just keep me invested when little bits are told at a time. I also think it gives me lots of time and space to get a feel for the characters and connect. 

I can say that I connected with Claire much easier than I did with Sam. I think Claire's POV was much more interesting and I was so into her story. Claire was so broken and lost. It was easy to see why she was making the choices she was making and it was easy to want to yell at her for making those choices. She had me so torn. I was rooting for her but I was also feeling the crazy from her. 

Sam was a pretty stable character. I think this is why I didn't connect with her as easily. She didn't need sympathy or encouragement. She didn't see herself as strong, independent, bold, or courageous, but she was. This entire event of her best friend missing really brought it out in her. She was exactly who she needed to be when she needed to be her.  

Levi was a great character. I just fell in love with him. He had ulterior motives the entire time but he also cared about Jenny and Sam. He knew what he was getting himself into and even though it started off with something he needed to do for him, he really felt for the girls and wanted to help where he could. He was a little rebellious and so charming. Loved him! 

There was romance in the book but I didn't feel like it was the focus of the story. Well, at least the present wasn't. The romance between Sam and Levi was okay, but really they didn't have time to really build that romance. They were running for lives and chasing down bad guys, and searching for Jenny most of the time. So it was on the sidelines. 

The other romance was in the past and it was a focus but I didn't care for it. It was needed for the story and was central to the story but I didn't like it. I think that was the point though, where the dark and twisted comes into the story. 

The only real issue I had with this book, the pacing, it was a little off for more and the book seemed to of dragged a bit in the middle. I was able to stay interested but I do think it was a little slow at times. 

The ending was just really good and I was so happy with the ending. I did have some feels in this book and I was torn in what I felt by the end. I look forward to more from this author. 

Really creepy and entertaining read.

Forensic psychologist by day, novelist by night, Ellery Kane has been writing--professionally and creatively--for as long as she can remember. Just like many of her main characters, Ellery loves to ask why, which is the reason she became a psychologist in the first place. Real life really is stranger than fiction, and Ellery's writing is often inspired by her day job. Evaluating violent criminals and treating trauma victims, she has gained a unique perspective on the past and its indelible influence on the individual. And she's heard her fair share of real life thrillers. An avid short story writer as a teenager, Ellery recently began writing for enjoyment again, and she hasn't stopped since.

Ellery's debut novel, Legacy, has received several awards, including winning the Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards, young adult, e-book category, and the Gold Medal in the 2017 Wishing Shelf Independent Book Awards, teenage category. In 2016, Ellery was selected as one of ten semifinalists in the MasterClass James Patterson Co-Author Competition.