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Dark
When four-year-old Blu Carter drowned in the canal behind his home, the residents of the rural farming town, Longview, were devastated. They held a funeral, mourned, and tried to move on. But Longview changed after the boy’s death. Some residents noticed an unusual bird lurking around. Now the crops are failing, and the townsfolk are seeing things - strange things. And it’s only getting worse. It seems a dark presence has found its way to the countryside. The question is, what does it want? Better yet, can the people of Longview figure it out before they succumb to the darkness surrounding them?
251 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2021
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 16, 2022
Dark made me think about a quote by H.P Lovecraft.
"the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown"
Jones creates an unnerving atmosphere aiming to pull you in and leave you to intrepet the story for yourself. There are no gruesome monstrosities just an eerie sense of dread that will hold you into the darkness. By using the technique 'show not tell' Jones allows you to experience the characters emotions and it feels like being there right there besides them in a small town where the supernatural events are occuring. However, sometimes it felt like the descriptions took away some of the excitement from the building tension.
I usually tend to prefer a fast-paced story but I really enjoyed this slow eerie read. The slow pacing of the story really contributed to the ominous feeling. Even if you are expecting the story to end in a certain way due to the clues throughout the book, you are still not really expecting it.
This is definitely a well-written read that keeps you wondering until the very end, which by the way, came together in an satisfying way.
"the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown"
Jones creates an unnerving atmosphere aiming to pull you in and leave you to intrepet the story for yourself. There are no gruesome monstrosities just an eerie sense of dread that will hold you into the darkness. By using the technique 'show not tell' Jones allows you to experience the characters emotions and it feels like being there right there besides them in a small town where the supernatural events are occuring. However, sometimes it felt like the descriptions took away some of the excitement from the building tension.
I usually tend to prefer a fast-paced story but I really enjoyed this slow eerie read. The slow pacing of the story really contributed to the ominous feeling. Even if you are expecting the story to end in a certain way due to the clues throughout the book, you are still not really expecting it.
This is definitely a well-written read that keeps you wondering until the very end, which by the way, came together in an satisfying way.
January 28, 2022
(4.5 out of 5 Stars) Rounded Up.
"An emotional, nostalgic, and cryptic journey into Darkness."
Dark tells the story of several supernatural events taking place, and resulting in tragedy, in a small town.
Though many people are impacted by these disturbing and unusual tragedies the story focuses primarily on one woman and her daughter's experience.
I will not spoil and reveal any more of the story. But I will say that I really enjoyed this novel for many reasons.
Dark reminded me of countless horror movies, novels, and TV shows from the 90s and 80s era. There are plenty of scares, but most of them are not as in your face or trying to be as over-the-top as some modern horror.
Dark relies on the readers interpretation of the events, what is show, not show, and what unfolds, to build the novels ominous and unnerving atmosphere.
The novel follows several other characters, and their experiences with "The Darkness" that invades Long View. And their backstories and personal histories help build the backbone of Long View's believability.
My only criticism was that I occasionally found the author getting so lost in the details of people, and places, that the big events in the novel, and pacing leading up to them were hurt slightly by the amount of information building to the suspense.
Though, despite a few minor flaws, I deeply enjoyed Dark and absolutely recommend it to any horror enthusiast. Jones uses a lot of familiar themes and puts a unique small-town twist on them, emphasizing cerebral horror over gratuitous violence, and powerful character building as well.
I would honestly like to read more about the lore in "Dark" more in other of Jones novels. And will certainly reread this one again in the future.
"An emotional, nostalgic, and cryptic journey into Darkness."
Dark tells the story of several supernatural events taking place, and resulting in tragedy, in a small town.
Though many people are impacted by these disturbing and unusual tragedies the story focuses primarily on one woman and her daughter's experience.
I will not spoil and reveal any more of the story. But I will say that I really enjoyed this novel for many reasons.
Dark reminded me of countless horror movies, novels, and TV shows from the 90s and 80s era. There are plenty of scares, but most of them are not as in your face or trying to be as over-the-top as some modern horror.
Dark relies on the readers interpretation of the events, what is show, not show, and what unfolds, to build the novels ominous and unnerving atmosphere.
The novel follows several other characters, and their experiences with "The Darkness" that invades Long View. And their backstories and personal histories help build the backbone of Long View's believability.
My only criticism was that I occasionally found the author getting so lost in the details of people, and places, that the big events in the novel, and pacing leading up to them were hurt slightly by the amount of information building to the suspense.
Though, despite a few minor flaws, I deeply enjoyed Dark and absolutely recommend it to any horror enthusiast. Jones uses a lot of familiar themes and puts a unique small-town twist on them, emphasizing cerebral horror over gratuitous violence, and powerful character building as well.
I would honestly like to read more about the lore in "Dark" more in other of Jones novels. And will certainly reread this one again in the future.
November 3, 2021
Something is turning the crops black, and it's got Max worried. Could it be related to the death of a young boy named Blu? A boy who people still see and play with? A death that seems cut and dried to the townsfolk... but is there more to it, because Blu's father sure seems like he has a guilty conscience. Or could the crops turning black have something to do with Dark, a mysterious bird who has been hanging around? Maribelle, a child who sees Blu, also sees what others cannot, a blackness surrounding the bird. Or perhaps it's something in the water. Things get really spooky when even outsiders start seeing Blu. With all the mystery and build up, the pay off can't possibly be that great, can it? Well, I'm telling you, yes it can. If you see this ending coming, well you're far more clever than me!
As with her Essence series, Jones doesn't lack on the descriptions, making the characters' feelings tangible to the reader. Guilt, regret, fear, grief, doubt, and suffering being a few that these imaginative characters are experiencing as ghosts from their past torment them. This is 100% a haunting tale of intrigue.
As with her Essence series, Jones doesn't lack on the descriptions, making the characters' feelings tangible to the reader. Guilt, regret, fear, grief, doubt, and suffering being a few that these imaginative characters are experiencing as ghosts from their past torment them. This is 100% a haunting tale of intrigue.
January 4, 2022
If you like books to be fast-paced, this may not be for you. Dark is a slow, eery read. It pulls you in just like the darkness is pulling in the people of the town, more and more.
There's a set of characters that are each experiencing their own hardships and suffering that can't be explained. A mysterious and creepy crow, loitering. A little girl who befriends said crow and is seeing a dead boy.
What's not creepy about that?! 🤣
Dark keeps you guessing, wondering what's happening and waiting for answers as to what paranormal entity is affecting the town.
I did not see the reveal coming (I won't spoil) but don't expect to have all your questions answered at the end.
I had a South American accent running through my head when I was reading this (probably a bad one). It's a clean read but has some triggers (death, animal cruelty, suicide ideation). It's got a great bunch of authentic characters and if you like unravelling creepy mysteries, this is for you.
There's a set of characters that are each experiencing their own hardships and suffering that can't be explained. A mysterious and creepy crow, loitering. A little girl who befriends said crow and is seeing a dead boy.
What's not creepy about that?! 🤣
Dark keeps you guessing, wondering what's happening and waiting for answers as to what paranormal entity is affecting the town.
I did not see the reveal coming (I won't spoil) but don't expect to have all your questions answered at the end.
I had a South American accent running through my head when I was reading this (probably a bad one). It's a clean read but has some triggers (death, animal cruelty, suicide ideation). It's got a great bunch of authentic characters and if you like unravelling creepy mysteries, this is for you.
March 1, 2022
Oh. My. Heck. This book started out slow, but I literally could not put it down today. I mean… I literally did put it down, many times, but I was reading like crazy at stoplights and between sessions with clients. I needed to know what was going to happen next, how the book was going to end.
I wasn’t entirely surprised by the reveal at the end, because the entire book had been building up to it, but part of me was still shocked.
Spoiler paragraph: I wasn’t surprised because there had been many indications throughout the book that Maribelle had sociopathic tendencies, but I’m a social worker. I work with kids every day who are in crisis. I had one who was the same age as Maribelle and would often threaten to kill his classmates, but he was secretly a sweetheart that just needed help regulating his emotions. I’m literally trained to see the good in kiddos like this, so I felt personally betrayed when it was revealed that she was the one that killed Blu.
This book was extremely well written. It did have the slow build, but the way things came together at the end made it all worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2022
Unputdownable! You'll be certain you know the answers, but you won't. It took a holiday to pull me out of my reading slump and this book was first on my tbr.
A stand alone about the death of a little boy whose story is surrounded by darkness and psychological torment. What *did happen that day? Set in the tones and ambience of West America with the characters bringing that home to the reader. Well written and set at a good pace.
Oh, and the little girl and her 'pet'? Dang it, you'll be chasing those two all the way to the end!
A stand alone about the death of a little boy whose story is surrounded by darkness and psychological torment. What *did happen that day? Set in the tones and ambience of West America with the characters bringing that home to the reader. Well written and set at a good pace.
Oh, and the little girl and her 'pet'? Dang it, you'll be chasing those two all the way to the end!
February 2, 2025
This is my second indie author book this year and oh boy, what a book! Small-town settings are a particular favorite and the author keeps this limited to one rural farm town with a couple of households that push the drama. The tension is palpable, with a parent grieving for the death of his child but also holding a sinister secret, two farmers concerned about the blight affecting their land, a single mom trying to understand just what is wrong with her daughter’s behavior while also navigating the pain in her own life, and the general cloud of misery that has taken over their lives. All symbolized by the presence of a mysterious black bird like a spectre over the denizens of Longview.
The pacing here is slow, but that is by design as the story moves less by its plot and more by the gamut of human emotions each character faces. The author brilliantly captures so many complex feelings as the characters struggle through their lives, making it more of a character story that hooks the reader to keep reading more. I found myself taking my time as I wanted to fully absorb what was going on in their lives, not wanting to miss a single beat as they navigate through depression, loneliness, despair, anger, terror, and even thoughts of suicide (definite TW there). Everyone is fully fleshed out with so many personality traits that it’s as if the reader is there with them watching their lives and—instead of trying to tell them to do things differently—wanting to see what happens next. One chapter in particular was the absolute highlight for me, and I had goosebumps all the way through it.
The suspense is constant throughout the book as the author kept me guessing about what’s responsible for everyone’s suffering, and why. Even toward the end, the author kept the big reveal(s) tightly wrapped and made it both satisfying and horrifying to learn.
The real highlight is the writing: Dark has superb prose and narrative style that perfectly encapsulates a neo-gothic/western/country setting. It’s a wonderful throwback to shows like Twin Peaks that captures the small-town aesthetic with a blend of the supernatural.
I am so glad I read Dark and I know you will definitely love it too. Can’t wait to read more from the author.
The pacing here is slow, but that is by design as the story moves less by its plot and more by the gamut of human emotions each character faces. The author brilliantly captures so many complex feelings as the characters struggle through their lives, making it more of a character story that hooks the reader to keep reading more. I found myself taking my time as I wanted to fully absorb what was going on in their lives, not wanting to miss a single beat as they navigate through depression, loneliness, despair, anger, terror, and even thoughts of suicide (definite TW there). Everyone is fully fleshed out with so many personality traits that it’s as if the reader is there with them watching their lives and—instead of trying to tell them to do things differently—wanting to see what happens next. One chapter in particular was the absolute highlight for me, and I had goosebumps all the way through it.
The suspense is constant throughout the book as the author kept me guessing about what’s responsible for everyone’s suffering, and why. Even toward the end, the author kept the big reveal(s) tightly wrapped and made it both satisfying and horrifying to learn.
The real highlight is the writing: Dark has superb prose and narrative style that perfectly encapsulates a neo-gothic/western/country setting. It’s a wonderful throwback to shows like Twin Peaks that captures the small-town aesthetic with a blend of the supernatural.
I am so glad I read Dark and I know you will definitely love it too. Can’t wait to read more from the author.
October 15, 2022
A beautifully impactful and heartbreaking story of loss, strength, and hope.
Truly dark, yet comforting to this twisted heart of mine.
A book worth visiting multiple times. This needs to grace the shelves of those who appreciate grit and depth in their stories.
I can’t sing the praises of Natalie Jones enough!
Truly dark, yet comforting to this twisted heart of mine.
A book worth visiting multiple times. This needs to grace the shelves of those who appreciate grit and depth in their stories.
I can’t sing the praises of Natalie Jones enough!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews