Black Spots

by Jed Kent

Alice’s life seems perfect—until she discovers a body hidden in the walls of her beautiful home. Instead of confronting her new husband, she keeps his dark secret, desperate to maintain the illusion of their flawless life. But as guilt and paranoia consume her, Alice experiences blackouts and memory loss, and her grip on reality begins to crumble. With her past resurfacing and her world spiraling into chaos, Alice must decide how far she’ll go to protect the truth—or if it will destroy her first.

Genres: Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Smut

200 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 22, 2024

About the author

Jed Kent is a masterful weaver of psychological thrillers and horror, drawing readers into the shadowy depths of the human psyche with his gripping narratives. Residing in the picturesque Pacific Northwest (PNW), Jed finds himself surrounded by the region's natural beauty and enigmatic landscapes, which serve as the perfect canvas for his dark and intricate stories.

Alongside his wife and family, Jed lives a life that balances the tranquility of the PNW with the thrill of crafting stories that challenge the boundaries between reality and the macabre. His novels are not just books but portals to worlds where the line between sanity and madness is as thin as the paper they're printed on.
Join him as he continues to explore the darkest corners of the human experience, leaving readers both haunted and eagerly anticipating what nightmares he will conjure up next.

Reviews

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absolute roller-coaster, this THIS is what thrillers are.

I love slow burns, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you want to have something that hits the ground running and you feel like you really are in the book.

I love it when I'm misled, it dosent happen often but this one had me, thinking a little bit..

For this to be Kents jump into more thriller thriller type books, I was impressed, not that I don't already enjoy his horror.

But this gave me that same thrill I get when I read Bary Lyga( one of my personal favorites)


Okay I'm ready for the next please!

[Laura Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Absolute nail biting thriller!
Trust me when I say I loved this novel and so will you!
It pulls you in at the start and doesn’t relent.
This novel is this authors magnum opus, it’s that good!

[Jenny Coyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out with a lot of promise. I was hooked from the very beginning and had many scenarios swirling through my head. Is the main female character being gaslighted ... drugged ... crazy? Then we went back in time. Those chapters were lacking in my opinion. They also took up too much of the book. I enjoy having a backstory to provide essential information, but these dragged on. I also did not enjoy having trigger warnings and directions to alternate chapters in the various points of the book. They took me out of the story. If an author absolutely feels the need to include trigger warnings, they should be at the front of the book. Not in the middle of it.

[charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Jed Kent book and what can I say? It is so dark and twisty and just wiggles into your brain and you are trying to figure it out and looking at it from all angles and nothing fits. It is such a compelling story with characters that you can’t decide if you love or hate, however I knew after reading this book that Jed Kent was going to be on my must-read list for anything he writes, and I have not been mistaken about that…..READ THIS BOOK 📖

[kimberly schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twins who are good/bad. Ending was a little vague

[Rachel Browning · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Black Spots” by Jed Kent is a twisty psychological thriller that completely messed with my head—in the best way. What starts as a mysterious discovery quickly spirals into a mind-bending journey through paranoia, guilt, and blurred reality. I couldn’t stop questioning what was real and what wasn’t. The suspense is intense, and the horror ending? Disturbing, chilling, and absolutely worth it—if you can stomach it. Highly recommend for fans of dark, unsettling stories that linger long after the last page.

[Joan Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This psychological thriller is full of suspense and mystery. There are tons of questions that begin to arise; especially the four w's When, Where, Why, and Whom.

The story centers around two sisters who were separated by a tragedy, then years later brought back together by a DNA Test. Read to find out how the mystery unfolds.

I enjoyed the mystery of the story. I am not into a lot of Habanero peppers, tho. The spacing was steady, and the characters were believable.

[Hayley Bernard-Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book completely spazzed me out, in a good way. I love books that make you think and I was playing amateur detective alongside the characters in this story trying to figure out what was going on. I wrote notes like “It could be this…or maaaybe it’s THIS…” Well, needless to say, all my notes were wrong but I did enjoy the ending. Memorable characters, great storytelling, and 100% a page-turner, I highly recommend this book! I can’t wait to read more from Jed Kent!

[Courtney Capone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the twistiest books I've ever read in the absolute best way possible. I love an author that can make me think I know what's about to happen, then take a sharp left while doing a backflip and completely shatter my grey matter all over the wall behind me. I couldn't put this book down. I couldn't find the correct words to properly describe it if I wanted to. All I can say is if you're not already reading Jed Kent, start immediately. You won't regret it.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Jed Kent book and I am NOT disappointed. What started as a blurb, Jed morphed into a novel packed full of twists and turns. My friends joke that I can always figure out plots but that was not the case here. Every idea I had about what was going on was slashed, including on the very last page. Job well done, Jed!

[Brittany Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this one to be engaging and well written. Short chapters with a quick pace to each one. At times I found myself less interested in the story line when it came to the past vs the present. I enjoyed the two different endings to the story as well both leaving you engaged and wondering . Jed Kent left it in such a creative fashion I will certainly read more from him.

[Sara Kirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this thriller! It has some serious twists. It’s erotic and just flat out amazing!
Mixed reviews on this one from others and I get that books are subjective but what’s not to love?

[Suzette Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

nice twists

Twists are always good and these were no exception! Great book with lots of psychological turns. Recommend if you enjoy thrillers

[Mandy Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!! Fast paced and great story!
BUT AHHHHH. The ending got me! I had a feeling!! 🤭

[Elaine Rainbolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

The closet.

I loved this book. The twists in it kept you waiting for more like holding the breath you didn't know you was holding. The ending left me speechless.

[Heather Chauvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the overall concept of this book. The storyline was kind of jumpy, but in a sense it needed to be. It kept me engaged and I read it quickly.

[VDKeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Spots
by Jed Kent
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Available on Kindle Unlimited

Alice’s life is perfect—until she discovers a body hidden in her walls. Instead of running for the hills (or at least calling an exterminator for whatever that smell is), she keeps quiet. After all, a perfect marriage is worth a little… inconvenience, right?

But secrets fester, just like—well, you get the idea. Alice starts losing time. One moment she’s sipping coffee, the next she’s somewhere else entirely, with no memory of how she got there. Is it stress? Guilt? Or is someone helping her unravel? As paranoia tightens its grip, Alice must figure out the truth before it buries her—literally.

Jed Kent masterfully cranks up the tension, making Black Spots a nerve-shredding, paranoia-fueled ride. With short, punchy chapters, razor-sharp pacing, and unsurpassed character development, not a word is wasted. Every sentence propels the story forward, keeping you breathless and completely hooked.

If you love psychological thrillers that mess with your mind and keep you up at night, prepare to lose some sleep. And maybe check your walls. Just in case.

https://a.co/d/hpKmWVS

[M.A. Savino · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️’s for sure. It was an entertaining read that kept me on my toes through every chapter. I chose to read the full version (there’s an alternate ending option) and reading the extra chapter was worth it but if you have triggers you may want to skip it.

[Jess Holmes]

It just wasn’t my type of book.
I wish the author much success!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m the first person to tell anybody that fairytales don’t come true, and yet three months ago that’s exactly what Alice’s life was. Winner of gold Olympic medals meets multi-millionaire bachelor, dream-dates lead to his on-one-knee proposal, which in turn leads to the wedding from paradise and the honeymoon from heaven. Why then has it all turned to hell? 
 
It wasn’t always that way, of course. There are dark secrets hidden in Alice’s past, things which she’s stamped down and concealed at the back of her memory. The decaying body hidden behind a wall in her new dream home refuses to stay hidden, making its presence known through the black spots of mold working their way through—and excavating the black spots in Alice’s memory in the process.
 
She’s pretty sure she knows who’s responsible for the presence of the corpse in the cavity wall, and—as is usual in this genre—decides to sort it herself, rather than going to the police, and not in the way you might expect. It’s not a simple matter of acting on her assumptions, however, and it’s not long before things become even darker.
 
The narrative jumps back and forth between Alice’s past and nightmare present, and all bets are off in terms of what the reader might think—not to mention enough weird-seeming occurrences to throw us off-balance. It kept me engrossed, for the most part, although I wasn’t sure about the trigger warnings and chapter choices offered me at a couple of points within the text. They were well-meant, I think, although they did break the flow. Nevertheless, a good story which maintains reader interest.

[Kristen Chagas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was pretty terrible

[SuperSheepy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story had potential but was poorly written. Very disappointing.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice has the perfect life. At least she does until one afternoon when she scrubs at black mold on a wall so hard that it leaves a hole. The hole reveals an awful secret. Alice rushes to cover over the hole before her husband gets home. However, things are not quite as they seem and Alice starts to black out and lose track of time. Is it the mold or is it what’s hiding behind the mold?

As the author takes us on a ride to get Alice’s backstory, we soon realize that there is a lot more in Alice’s closet than just the current situation. Her life becomes tangled and twisted until the end when it all comes to a crash.

I really enjoyed the style of this book. The characters were fully engaging and I wanted to know all about them. I also really liked how there were several instances of notes at the end of a chapter where you were told to skip over if smut isn’t your vibe or if you want a different ending. It’s the little things that really highlight the work put into this story.

And that ending. 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Highly recommend this one!

[Maria Tovar · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Started out illogical and boring...but the story developed and got very interesting. Towards the end I was hooked and invested. the 2 alternate ending options are interesting. The 1st one was unnecessary IMO. The bonus chapter was chilling! I recommend it. But not strongly.

[Laurel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read! Expertly crafted storytelling and spine tingling moments 😱

Black Spots very masterfully blends mystery and horror, creating a truly creepy atmosphere. This combo is ALMOST ALWAYS my jam and I’m so freaking happy I stumbled upon this book. Read it!


Those flashbacks go deep…
I was not disappointed.

[Marquee Endsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very unique

I definitely did not expect the ending. Well written and had me one way at the beginning and completely threw me off half way through. Very detailed writing style that helps set the scene. I think this was a fantastic fast paced book!!!! Couldn't put it down and read it all in one night. Fantastic book.

[Ashley Inman · Rating 1 out of 5]

The idea is good but it was so wordy that I found myself skimming a lot of the pages. You could easily read the first sentence of each paragraph and still have the whole story. Once the twin was introduced you can predict the ending.

[Kelly Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

What the actual f did I just read? 😂 This was weird, weird, WEIRD. Notice how I did not say bad, because as far as thrillers go, this was fast paced and twisty af. So if that’s your jam, this is for you. Probably check trigger warnings though.

[Stephanie Krueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book overall could have been written more in Parts and the jumping back and forth would have made more sense. I thought it was a little unorganized for the ending. But overall I enjoyed this book and the story.

[Rachel Bordeaux · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't normally write reviews because people like what they like, and who am I? But this book was just so badly written, I had to give my two cents. Now I will say the intro had me hooked. The opening was fantastic, and had me wanting to keep going. However, it quickly fizzled out into something incoherent. Without spoiling anything, the FMC's backstory seemed rushed and thrown together. It felt like the author thought "hmm how can I throw a wrench in this whole thing?", got the answer, and not another thought was thunked. The ending was predictable and very anticlimactic. It left questions unanswered . I gave the two stars because like I said, the beginning pulls you in, it just didn't follow through.