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The unforgettable debut of an unforgettable character.

Meet Max Bowman, a barely-getting-by investigator thrown on the trash heap by the CIA years ago. Suddenly, he’s given a mission way above his paygrade — to uncover the truth about First Lieutenant Robert Davidson, the son of an American military legend and a war hero who died in combat during the Afghanistan conflict.

Or did he?

To find the answer, Max must take a road trip into the heart of America’s darkness as well as his own. Along the way, he encounters an exploding home, a murderous clone of a classic TV hero, a sexy heiress, and a misguided teenager desperate for a father figure. And, oh yeah, there’s also a para-military organization that’s just waiting for the right moment to kill him.

It all happens in DARK SKY, a sardonic and suspenseful mystery-thriller in which an underwhelming hero must confront an overwhelming conspiracy — not to mention himself.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 14, 2015

719 people are currently reading
2002 people want to read

About the author

Joel Canfield

11 books56 followers
A novelist, screenwriter and ghostwriter, Canfield has lived in New York, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles, California; Auckland, New Zealand; Miami Beach, Florida, and his own personal Pennsylvania trifecta, Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and his hometown of Bethlehem. He now resides in Long Beach, California with his favorite blondes, writer-editor wife Lisa and dog Betsy, but he will undoubtedly move again, because that’s just what he does.

Canfield’s books include the novels Dark Sky, Blue Fire, Red Earth and White Rain (the first four books in his Max Bowman series); What's Driving You???: How I Overcame Abuse and Learned to Lead in the NBA (co-authored with Keyon Dooling and Lisa Canfield); Pill Mill: My Years of Money, Madness, Sex and Drugs (co-authored with Christian Valdes and Lisa Canfield); 226: How I Became the First Blind Person to Kayak the Grand Canyon (co-authored with Lonnie Bedwell); and StorySelling and Mission-Driven Business (both co-authored with Nick Nanton and J.W. Dicks). Blue Fire was a 2016 Silver Honoree in the Benjamin Franklin Digital Awards as well as a semi-finalist in the Book Life Prize in Fiction competition. Red Earth was a 2017 Gold Honoree in the BFDAs. Joel also won the Creative Writing Award in 9th Grade at Nitschmann Jr. High School.

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5 stars
342 (34%)
4 stars
380 (38%)
3 stars
191 (19%)
2 stars
47 (4%)
1 star
27 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
Profile Image for Bradley West.
Author 6 books33 followers
November 9, 2016
Dark Sky has an atypical anti-hero in Max Bowman, believable as an ex-CIA officer with a lot of baggage including an ex-wife, estranged children, a penchant for the bottle and now, a client that may or may not be also trying to thwart his investigation . . . or kill him. Told with an irreverent, fresh and profane voice, Max is a good antidote to much of the formula thriller fiction we see these days. So there's a lot to like about the book, particularly with a plausible contemporary plot that takes swipes at institutions and organizations much in need of kicking. There's a fine thread of humor throughout as well.

Where the book lost that fifth star was a blend of a little far-fetched plot, some characters who were not-quite-plausible and dialog that read like it might have benefited from one more edit. An enjoyable read, and recommended for fans of non-conventional espionage stories.
6 reviews
October 14, 2015
I thought ‘Dark Sky’ was a great hard-boiled mystery. This is my first experience with author Joel Canfield but I can’t imagine it being my last. I was really impressed with what he had to offer with this story.

I loved Max Bowman as a character. He’s flawed, older, and was never near the cream of the crop at the CIA. He was a quintessential cynical guy past his prime, even with his relationships. But still he finds himself charged with an increasingly important task — uncovering what really happened to First Lieutenant Robert Davidson. As the story progresses, Bowman gets deeper into problems — namely the threat of the organization trying to kill him.

The story was really suspenseful and difficult to predict. Canfield really knows how to keep readers on their toes, and you can tell he has very diverse writing skills. The story is devoid of fluff, making each chapter very fast paced. How things turned out in the end was a well-crafted surprise.


In many ways a mystery and in some ways humorous, ‘Dark Sky’ is one of those gems of a find on Kindle. I only hope Canfield abandons ghost writing altogether and writes more stories in this genre. Definitely looking forward to ‘Blue Fire.’
Profile Image for May.
481 reviews8 followers
December 6, 2015
I received this book through a Good Reads book give away. It is more masculine than what I normally read, so I wasn't sure if I would have trouble getting into the story. I needn't have worried. Canfield's voice is smart and funny. The book itself is engaging and easy to read---the kind of book that as one chapter winds down, the reader decides to read just one more chapter. Enough real world history and fact to make this work of fiction completely believable, but with enough whimsy and sarcasm to make it more palatable than the real thing could have ever been.
4 reviews
July 27, 2016
Too liberal for me

The author did a pretty good job with the plot and the action. However I do not agree with all the America bashing. I do not recommend this book at all.
Profile Image for Mary.
2,645 reviews
February 23, 2018
Enjoyed this book very much. Read it in one day
3,970 reviews14 followers
February 28, 2020
( Format : Audiobook )
"Old men should stop wars, not start them)
Firstly, a confession. George Kuch is one a my most preferred narrators, especially when the story calls for an older man to tell the story in the first person. He has the knack of being able to talk straight to the reader as if he were right there, confidentially including them in his explanations (see also the excellent Lady Justice series). It was because he was reading this book, and it was written in a preferred genre, that I purchased this book. And I am so glad that I did. The narration was as good as expected - intimately real, with passion seeping through at appropriate places, a dogged recalling of thought and feelings as well as actions, the grouchy cynicism leaking out through the sarcasm and self loathing so expertly portrayed - and the story itself well written, different from the usual hard bitten, rather clever PIs.

In fact, Max Bowman isn't a P.I.at all. He's a nearing sixty years old, retired, not very good CIA agent, (desk duries), who'd been subsidizing his income by occasionally doing odd jobs looking fkr , mostly, missing persons, for an old but still current CIA buddy, Howard. But Howard denied sending him the latest client, a weird looking man who was paying him an huge sum of money to look for a celebrated war hero everyone knew was dead.

Great story filled with question marks and tension, rather than full action scenes, though those are there, too. Good characterisation of the leading protagonists combined with colourful characters and the ongoing mystery. And funny, sometimes laugh out loud funny. Strangely, for all of it's wierdness, it felt very plausible. Great narration, too, ofcourse-- I loved this book. Highly recommended.
74 reviews1 follower
May 18, 2021
This was definitely a different read for me. I am not quite sure it is my cup of tea. Mr. Canfield is a good author and you either like or dislike (maybe even hate) his characters. He does do a bit of a "word salad" in some areas. This didn't slow the story down too much. This book is definitely "action packed" which kept things interesting. It was a different type of suspense/mystery for me.
Profile Image for Christi M.
965 reviews25 followers
June 21, 2020
Absolutely hilariously amazing book! Tons of suspense, heaps of hilarity, and gobs of entertainment. Max Bowman is my new hero! Totally and completely fell in love with Max and PMA. Excellent PI novel!!
Profile Image for John.
291 reviews
May 15, 2021
Keep your head low, there's bullets and bombs around

The blurb gives you the general content of the story, and the author delivers it in a very interesting dark comedy way. There's a lot of action and interesting characters.
It's the first time I've read a book by this author. Seeing that this is the start of a series, and that further books are already available, I'll be looking at reading more.
A recommended read.
Profile Image for Sabina Colleran.
Author 8 books11 followers
July 19, 2018
Let me start by saying I enjoyed this read and sped through it. That said, the writing was a little too forced, especially in the beginning. The extreme noir, cynical style wasn't totally believable. But by the end I either got used to it or it eased up. I imagine the author set out to prove that a guy who makes fun of Regan and leans left can also be a bada$$. The political undertones were a little hard to get past in what is otherwise a fun quick read.
1,034 reviews14 followers
March 28, 2018
Super Max

This is a sort of comedic take on modern thrillers.Max does everything wrong and bumbles his way through with the best of intentions and his teenage sidekick. Max is an interesting character with a whole ton of baggage which hinders him as he stumbles to finish his assignment.
87 reviews
March 30, 2016
Not to bad of a story and the conclusion was unexpected. Be warned however the the most often repeated word is THE "F" word or variations of it.
Profile Image for Brandon Williford.
19 reviews3 followers
October 2, 2021
I need to preface this review with the fact that I know the author. I've been acquaintances with him for a long time. But this isn't going to stop me from giving as honest review as I can as you've seen the rating I've given DARK SKY.

This kind of genre is generally outside my wheelhouse: I'm more of a fantasy/sci-fi person, although I do dabble in fiction and, more recently, biographies and autobiographies.

Those said, I did enjoy DARK SKY. To be honest, more than I expected to. Not that I was expecting something bad by Joel Canfield, I was just honest that I'd enjoy this particular style of story and its first person account of events.

I haven't read the other three Max Bowman novels yet but given how this novel ends it came as a surprise to me that DARK SKY is an origin story. This may or may not be what Canfield & company had in mind but it's totally my take on it. We get to see Max Bowman's journey to has-been, washed-up, ex-CIA caboose from barely functioning to taking the leap choosing to get involved with things actively by becoming a private investigator. It's a job that he's suited for, and one that I'm sure will get him into enough trouble to keep us readers tagging along.

Max himself is an interesting lead character. Crass, but thoughtful, even if he's not quite thinking things through to a logical conclusion. That's okay, though. Things like that basically makes him a regular type person, even with having some extremely deep family issues.

It's not a perfect novel, but then very few are close. I do have one mild issue with it, though.

*SPOILER*

It's the chapter where the bad guys give up all the information about what's going on. It's not that it's all given away but there's not really anything to break up the speech. Or maybe that's just a me thing. Given the genre the novel fits in it might be a trope that I'm not familiar with.

*END SPOILER*

As I mentioned above I certainly enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to the next one.
Profile Image for Andrew.
185 reviews5 followers
March 5, 2018
I was racing through “Dark Sky” when I hit that wall that occasionally pops up in front of me. I just have to put all reading material aside and take a deep breath. Unfortunately this occurred at just about the 50% mark of Joel Canfield’s novel. When I resurfaced 5 days later I realized the wall wasn’t the need to live life as opposed to reading about it. The book itself was the problem or more precisely my perspective of the book. Mr. Canfield writes well enough. As I said I was racing through. This generally means I’m engrossed and do not want/can not put the story down. In this case, the hiatus showed me that I was racing in order to put it behind me.

The characters were all flat. The language had far to many f-bombs, which detracted from the thin plot. I know that people swear but this went into a realm of abuse of language.

Had I finished the book this review might have gone in a totally different direction.

As I stated, Joel Canfield can write. So put this one down as an author and a reader just not connecting.

I wish thank Joel Canfield, The Publisher, and GoodReads for my ARC in exchange for my honest revoew.
Profile Image for Alyson.
213 reviews18 followers
June 30, 2017
Totally enjoyed this book, though at times things seemed less to flow than to sort of hit you in the face. Let's just say that some of the plot developments were smoother than others.

To quote Dr. Saroyan (from Bones): "Lots of gore with a splash of social commentary."
.... except, reverse that, and add in a lot more swearing and you have the perfect description of Dark Sky (or, Max Bowman himself). Luckily for me, that social commentary fits pretty perfectly with the ongoing inner monologue inside my own head. Needless to say, I enjoyed Max's observations and indictments an awful lot. I would have preferred more of that, slightly less swearing (it just felt forced at times), and possibly smoother transitions between plot twists. But mostly, those are just personal preferences. This book was enjoyable as hell, and made me want to keep reading even AFTER I got off the train each day.

Definitely going to pick up the next in the series!
549 reviews6 followers
January 27, 2020
Max and his girlfriend aren't particularly compelling characters, but I like the fact that Max doesn't even carry a gun. His "services" are intellectual rather than physical, although he seems to drink too much to be effective intellectually. The story is suspenseful, fairly realistic and is complete with no cliffhanger ending.

George Kuch delivers a very satisfactory performance, although there were a couple of instances where I wished for a bit more distinction between character voices. He does capture the voice of Max Bowman well.

This is the first book of a series, so perhaps Max and the other main characters will become more compelling as the series develops.

Note: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Profile Image for Darren Gray.
100 reviews
January 5, 2021
Let me say I won this as a signed book from a Goodreads giveaway years ago and after receiving it never gave it another thought. While organizing and cleaning out my bookshelf I came across this book and decided to give it a read since it was relatively short. And boy can I say I was glad I did. The book read so quickly and I struggled to put it down! That’s how good it was! There is a great deal of dialogue so it reads really fast. The plot was well developed and Canfield did a fantastic job of making funny comments. Some commentators said they thought the plot was too far fetched and/or the characters were unrealistic. I would very much disagree. In my opinion there are very realistic people and plot. Great read and I will certainly be reading the sequels in the future!
49 reviews
March 11, 2021
Finished and immediately bought Blue fire.

I am generally happy to download the first free book of a series and leave it at that, but when a story is good and I have to know what comes next, I will buy. I was uncertain if I would like the story from reading the summery, but free book is free book. I was surprised the story had depth to it, the characters and their conversation believable, and the ending satisfying. When I read the summery for the next book and saw how Max's life was going in a new direction, I knew I wanted to see what he would do next. I recommend this book to everyone, not just readers who like spy/ unlikely hero genres.
Profile Image for Trish Goodgame.
516 reviews5 followers
August 26, 2020
Misadventures sometimes misfired

Although a generally interesting storyline, I felt at times that the author was trying too hard to make funny lines. It was a bit hit and miss with a lot of descriptions of 'like a ...*insert weird description here*' . I did get a little confused near the end where the person who gave him the assignment in the first place, showed up wanting him to not finish the assignment (much more complicated than that, but readers can find that for themselves).
An ok read.
Profile Image for Jeff Willis.
355 reviews5 followers
August 31, 2020
While I thought the story was just okay, the real standouts of this book are the original characters and the sense of humor the author incorporates into his writing. I found myself chuckling or smiling to myself several times each chapter, at either a clever turn of phrase or a funny moment in the book. It was well-written and kept my interest from cover to cover.

This is the first book I've read by Joel Canfield, but based on how much I enjoyed the reading experience of this one, I'll definitely consider checking out other works by this author.
526 reviews6 followers
February 23, 2021
To Hell and Back

An amazing and highly explosive story. This has all the hallmarks of a truly outstanding and thoroughly engrossing novel. Whilst Max, a veteran of some striking misfortunes, is coerced into trying to help an elderly war hero find out if his decorated army son could possibly still be alive despite reports to the contrary, he is being led into very dangerous territory by men who are running under cover covert operations, supposedly for the government. Are they truly nationalistic or maybe just egotistic. Highly devastating reading.
22 reviews
March 15, 2021
Excellent Writer

I started reading chapter one and I was hooked. The irreverent author had me laughing as the story was formed. I read several of paragraphs to my wife because she knows it must be hilarious for me to laugh out loud when reading. The plot is very captivating and the humor keeps one turning pages to see what the main character, Max Bowman, would say next. I recommend this book to all of us that can’t help enjoying an ex CIA employee doing private eye work after leaving the Federal payroll.
58 reviews2 followers
December 7, 2016
Dark sky by Canfield had me reading for more. I quite enjoyed the journey with good descriptions though the F-word in capitals was off putting though it gave the lie to Jules' character, Max's girlfriend. Max Bowman is a bumbling ex-CIA agent who has no idea where his assignment will take him. Because he is the hero I expected him to survive the murderous intent of Herman of the Dark Sky, a black ops group. Is Jeremy's uncle alive? His father hopes so.
Profile Image for Nancy Franklin.
26 reviews
March 11, 2017
Laughing with pleasure

I really enjoyed this book. I don't remember how I ended up with it on my Kindle, but I'm glad I did.

The story follows Max Bowman as he tries to track down a soldier who may, or may not be dead. Max is my kind of character; irreverent, foul-mouthed, and funny. I laughed out loud many times. The plot twists were a bit screwy and the climax a bit cliche, but not predictable.
889 reviews
June 3, 2020
If you are easily offended by language or bluntness, probably not the best for you.
If you enjoy a brash character that says what he feels and sees, then you will enjoy this story and well written mystery.
I found it refreshing.
I see there are more in the series and I will pursue them.
I received this book from Goodreads for an honest review, and I'm glad I did. I found another good author.
251 reviews1 follower
August 22, 2020
Misfit Investigator

Max was tossed in the trash heap by the CIA and is short of money and lives on Jack Daniels. Suddenly his old boss offers him a job that sounds impossible but he needs the money so why not take it. His life will never be the same and he will be surprised if he can keep his sanity. Scary and dangerous episodes start occurring and a strange adventure begins! Good read!
911 reviews15 followers
February 22, 2021
I have to say I had a little trouble getting into the book because of the language but I got past that because the main character was interesting and the plot was very good. The story was fast passes, action packed and very gritty and very solid. There was a very interesting cast of characters too. This is the first book that I have read by this author but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed it.
Profile Image for Laura.
88 reviews
March 2, 2021
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. This was my first book by Joel Canfield. His descriptive writing made me laugh and cringe many many times throughout the book. This book caught my attention in the first chapter and I couldn't put it down. Max is a retired CIA employee, with a life that can only be described as a hot mess. He is tasked with a free lance investigation that has many roadblocks in his way. There are many twists and turns that will surprise you.
Profile Image for Geoff. Lamb.
410 reviews1 follower
August 14, 2020
Welcome, Max Bowman. Former CIA analyst (as opposed to field agent). 58 as we meet Max, who is handsome in a sightly run down way, fit if not fighting fit. 3 things Max is that define his character: he is clever; he is determined; he finishes what he starts. It will be a pleasure to see where Max goes next.
74 reviews1 follower
August 15, 2020
Dark Sky

Not exactly sure why I enjoyed it? It was fast paced and kept my interest, I continued to think about the book after I stopped reading it for the day. I liked how the main character was allowed to have colorful thoughts and language. Didn’t keep him being PC, nice change.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews

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