The Dead Room

Darby McCormick #3

by Chris Mooney

A mother and her son have been executed in their home and fingerprint matches show their attacker died twenty years ago. But how can dead serial killers return to haunt the present? The answers lie in the darkest shadows of The Dead Room. When CSI Darby McCormick is called to the crime scene, it's one of the most gruesome she's ever seen. But the forensic evidence is even more someone watched the murder unfold from woodland behind the house - and the killer died in a shoot-out two decades earlier. The deeper Darby digs, the more horrors come to light. Her prime suspect is revealed as a serial killer on an enormous scale, with a past that's even more shocking than his crimes, thanks to a long-held secret that could rock Boston's law enforcement to its core. Is it possible to steal an identity? Or are dead men walking in Darby's footsteps? The line between the living and the dead has never been finer.

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook, Fiction

458 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Hailed as “one of the best thriller writers working today” by Lee Child and “a wonderful writer” by Michael Connelly, Chris Mooney is the international bestselling author of twelve novels, most recently, The Snow Girls. His fourth book, The Missing, the first in the Darby McCormick series, was a main selection of the International Book of the Month Club and an instant bestseller in over thirteen countries. The Mystery Writer’s Association nominated Chris’s third book, Remembering Sarah, for an Edgar Award for Best Novel. Foreign rights to his novels have been sold to twenty-eight territories. He has sold nearly two million copies of his books.

Chris teaches writing courses at Harvard and the Harvard Extension School, and lives in the Boston area with his wife and son. His new novel, Blood World, will be released in August of 2020.

International Praise for Chris Mooney:

“Scary voice, scary talent. Mooney is one of the best thriller writers working today.”
– Lee Child

“A wonderful writer . . . Compelling, thrilling and touching.”
– Michael Connelly

“Harrowing, gripping, haunting, gut-wrenching and beautifully written.”
– Harlan Coben

“Chris Mooney has written his finest novel, and that’s saying something indeed.”
– Dennis Lehane

“It will keep you up past your bedtime.”
– Karin Slaughter

“A thriller that will chill your blood, break your heart and make your pulse race.”
– Mark Billingham

"Chris Mooney is an exceptional thriller writer, with the rare gift of being able to of balance action with compassion, and grit with humanity. I envy those who have yet to read him."
– John Connolly

“The Missing is the season’s most unrelenting thriller. It will keep readers enthralled from its gripping opening chapters to its shocking last page.”
– George Pelecanos

“Mooney writes like a man on fire.”
– Linda Fairstein

“The smart money has long been on Chris Mooney, one of crime fiction’s rising stars.”
– Laura Lippman

Reviews

[Shiela · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I was kind of wanting to know what happened, by the end, I didn't really care. This is the book that Darby transformed from regular CSI to G.I. Joe Barbie and it was too over the top and unrealistic to be believable or even enjoyable for a couple of hours. This series has gotten out of control and it is time to end it.

[Paula Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving 4 stars because it kept me gripped from start to finish, and I read it in two sittings! What's remarkable about my score is that the book contained a lot of elements that really frustrate me: too much description over unimportant details, such as house layout etc, and what roads a character takes to get to a destination (a particular pet hate!) Also, the plot heavily features a mob-related storyline, something that doesn't generally interest me. (I stopped reading Mark Billingham because of too much gang warfare stuff).

However, the plot had a lot of other things going on, most of it quite interesting and gripping. The plot has lots of twists and turns. It involves crime scene officer Darby McCormick arriving at a homicide in which a woman has been murdered and her son injured. The case soon starts turning up fingerprints of people who are supposed to be dead. Several leads trace back to the death of head Irish mobster Frankie Sullivan, who was supposed to have died in an FBI raid 26 years prior, along with several FBI agents. There's a side plot involving Jamie Russo, a woman who survived an attack, seeking revenge on those who murdered her husband.

You can tell this was written when "CSI" and "The Sopranos" were the big things on television, with the strong mob connections, and some dry descriptions of various crime scene technologies. But it still moves at a breakneck pace and delivers an exciting, if a bit far-fetched, conspiracy at the heart of things, linking all the way back to the murder of Darby's father. There is a particular plot twist that I didn't see coming, even though it's quite overused these days. It was a bit upsetting, however. Jamie's two sons, who apparently survived the attack that killed Jamie's husband, were actually dead all along. Normally, I can spot that sort of twist a mile off, but here it was handled cleverly. But I cared for the characters, so it left me sad and depressed! I may have to go read a happy-ever-after romance now!

This is turning out to be quite a good series, even if Darby is a bit too much good-at-everything (she's practically Rambo in the finale). I look forward to reading the other books.

[LucyLui · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dead Room by Chris Mooney

Title - The Dead Room
Author - Chris Mooney
First Published - February 2013
Publisher - Penguin
Pages - 464
Price on Amazon - Paperback - £7.99 Kindle - £3.99
ISBN - 1405913800

Darby McCormick is back in the third book of the series. When a mother and son are violently attacked, Darby and her team are called in to investigate.The further Darby digs, the more secrets come to the surface, with a dead man's fingerprints appearing at the crime scene, can Darby figure out the puzzle before it's too late?

I am really enjoying this series, I love following Darby and her team. This series has quickly become one of my favourite series this year. I find myself unable to put the book down once I start it. I find the plot of each book to be really interesting, a new murder mystery in each book, but with smaller more personal stories for each character continuing from each book, linking them all together. I find myself getting really involved with the characters and also getting lost in the story which to me is the sign of a great read and an excellent book. As a reader you want to be sucked into the world of the book you are reading and transported there, you want to feel like your part of the story and for me, this series does just that.

I am really enjoying these books so much I have literally just spent my last £3.99 on the next book.

Rating - five stars
Would I Read Again? - Yes
Would I Recommend? - Yes
Would I read other books by the same author? - Yes

Reviews for this book can be found on:
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[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Crime novel I thought that this was a cut above others that I have read recently for a number of reasons, and yet there was something about it that just failed to make me go crazy over it.

Darby was a strong character and yet - unlike some other long standing Detective series - she didn't dominate the novel with her theories, observations and thoughts. She was a subtle voice which led us through, and yet she was established to us as the Leading character. Very clever writing.

The constant interweaving of old and new cases and the witnesses and victims with criminals and police could have been really confusing, but for the most part, I managed to follow. Where I struggled was the amount of characters and the variations of their names. Policemen who had criminal names and then nicknames appointed to them by other characters throughout the book... I had to keep flicking back to clear their names up in my mind.
The pacing was brilliant, considering it is a substantial book, the plotline was always progressing and developing, and yet nothing felt rushed and most aspects were explained.

The only thing that I would class as a negative was the FBI/Police corruption. I felt that it was too big and therefore bordered on unbelievable. That everyone in the FBI and lots of the Boston PD were not only corrupted in the 70s and 80s but still remained in seats of power just felt a bit too much. Could there have been local Police who were corrupted? Yes. And could the criminals have originally been FBI agents? Yes. But there didn't still need to be this wide spreading corruption thirty years later.

Still, I read it in a day and would definitely read more!

[miteypen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character of this series, Darby McCormick, has come a long way in three books. But this book isn’t only about her and the bad guys. There’s another woman who is bent on revenge and she’ll do anything to protect her family. Darby and she don’t know of each other till close to the end and don’t realize that they’re after the same people.

This is the most violent book yet. It’s also more complicated. There are so many players it’s a little hard to keep track of them all. There’s a lot of action toward the end which really kept me turning the pages. All in all, a satisfying thriller. I already have the next book in the series on my nightstand.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great book in the Darby McCormick series. This one involves corruption within the Boston Police and the FBI that covers up the actions of a mob boss supposedly killed years before.

At the same time Darby is trying to figure out what is wrong with her friend Coop that he is acting so bizarre.

This one kept me guessing the whole way through and ended with a great cliffhanger as to Darby's future with the Forensic Lab. Gotta read the next one soon.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so he's not just an author, he's a friend.
Very good thriller/mystery. His best since "Remembering Sarah".
Chris'last couple have not been published in the US, and that's a damn shame for someone on the short list for the Edgar Award. If you can find it, read it. You'll stay up late.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 3 in the series. Lots of layers and twists and turns. Good action and details of the crimes and police work. I'm still struggling to imagine what the main character really looks like except for hair and eye colour. But she has a solid moral code. Easy to read and it flowed very well.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When Special Investigator Darby McCormick is summoned to search for a missing teenage boy, she has no idea the case will come to haunt every waking moment. The boy had been in the care of a man whose fingerprints reveal him to be Frank Sullivan, killed by the FBI some twenty years earlier. And yet here he is - larger than life - and a prime suspect.

Meanwhile, former cop Jamie Russo has just had a close encounter with the man who killed her husband five years earlier while she was forced to watch at gunpoint. And he bears an uncanny resemblance to Sullivan. As Darby digs deeper, she hits upon a terrifying FBI cover-up and the strong possibility her own father's death - shot in the line of duty - isn't entirely as it appeared.
Is it possible to steal an identity? Or are dead men walking in Darby's footsteps? The line between the living and the dead has never been finer.

The Dead Room has carefully sculptured characters, razor sharp dialogue, and a plot that's as smooth and rich as dark chocolate."

[Elina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book serious. I liked part 1 and 2 but this part 3 here…. I’m speechless. 😶🤯

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dead Room has been sat on my kindle for a while, a long while (around about five years) and was released earlier than that (2009).  I have to say, finally opening it up I was feeling rather guilty about having waited so long to read it and I was also rather nervous.  I had it in my head it wouldn’t be any good or I would have read it by now.  Thankfully, whilst the guilt didn’t go away, the nerves did after a few pages because this was a pretty good read.

Darby is the type of strong female character I like – determined, driven, incredibly smart and incredibly loyal to her partner (and best friend) Coop, who finds himself in the middle of her investigation and not in a good way.  This is because it takes place in the Boston suburb he was born, raised and still lives – a suburb that was once run by Irish gangs and has never quite gotten over it.  There is still a code of silence that it’s residents live by, even when the bodies of dead girls are found buried in the basement of a house, and secrets that not even Coop are willing to share.
How these bodies link to the murder of a young mother in another part of Boston and the trail of destruction being left by a mystery gunman is for Darby to figure out, whilst trying not to get killed.  She does manage it but not before heading down more than one dead end and getting into more than one dangerous situation.  Thankfully, she’s pretty handy with a gun as well as a forensic kit and can take care of herself.

Because I haven’t read the first two books of this series (this is the third) I am not sure how Darby got to be so handy with a gun or why a crime scene investigator also seems to be in charge of the investigation of a murder (people seem to defer to her at each stage).  I have to say, I feel like I have missed something as a result, some part of her past which explains who she is and how she behaves.
It wasn’t the end of the world but it did bring me up short a few times in reading the book and pull me out of it.  I did find myself wishing I had started at the beginning of the series or had a cheat sheet of characters and their backgrounds. This probably wouldn’t be the same for everyone but for me it meant it didn’t quite stand alone.  That said, it was the one downside in a well written, fast-paced, book which I had thought might feel a bit dated but wasn’t at all.  I liked it a lot and will definitely read Chris Mooney again.

[Winna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of crime drama series and movies. Despite my love for procedural drama and mysteries, I've never really read crime fiction before, except for a glimpse of Mary Higgins Clark. This is my first official crime mystery book, also my first Darby McCormick and the first glimpse of Chris Mooney book. With a title like that and a synopsis that compelling, I couldn't resist this book when BookDepository offered a 60% deal.

At first I thought the back story would be SWAT, with Darby undergoing SWAT training. And then it switched to a gruesome murder scene, reminding me of Beckett and Castle with unsolved murder mysteries and often gory scenes such as this one. The mystery went deeper as Darby encountered problem after problem, but readers got little breadcrumb clues and a different perspective.

*minor spoiler*

The pace is quick and comfortable, the mystery is complicated and keeps us guessing, the characters are kick-ass and likeable enough. I just wish Darby has a better sidekick. Her co-worker Coop is missing from important scenes, and only shows up in the scenes related to him. And then we don't know if we can trust him. It's hard to tell.

As bad guys turn to good and good guys turn out to be bad, it's a fun mystery that gets more intricate the more the story progresses. I am in awe of how crime writers work - they need to do lots of research to make the scenes feel so authentic.

That being said, I feel like the ending falls flat. We're not sure about Darby's future, we don't really get a full satisfying conclusion, there's hardly any good romance, and there's a lot of action but it's a lot more fun in the first half. It gets a bit boring after that, as soon as we're introduced to Jamie's perspective. That also means Darby gets less pages and as we lose her, we find her fading away till we get to her next scenes.

While I had fun flipping through the pages to see what would happen next, I'm thinking I might enjoy it more if it's shown in visual - as in a movie.

[Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Mooney’s The Dead Room completely blew me away. From the first chapter I was hooked, but it wasn’t just the suspense that grabbed me—it was the way he tied in the past trauma of Darby McCormick with the chilling present-day case.

The book balances psychological tension with raw emotional stakes. I loved how Darby is forced to face not only the crime in front of her but the ghosts of her own past—literally, in the form of the “dead room,” where murder victims’ remains still linger. The way Mooney uses the dead room as both a physical setting and a metaphor for memory and guilt was brilliant.

The twists were relentless. I thought I had figured out who the real killer was multiple times, but the reveal that the murders were tied to a much older case—and that the culprit had been hiding in plain sight—was devastating and satisfying at the same time. The fact that Darby was able to finally uncover the truth behind her friend’s disappearance years earlier made the ending both heartbreaking and cathartic.

The climactic scenes where Darby pieces everything together in that abandoned asylum, while literally standing among the evidence of so many forgotten victims, gave me chills. And that final confrontation—where she realizes that the man she’s been hunting all along was someone trusted, someone woven into the story of her own life—was both shocking and perfectly executed.

I’ve read a lot of thrillers, but this one stands out because it never sacrifices character for plot. Darby is tough, resourceful, but also haunted and deeply human. Mooney made me feel her grief, her fear, and her determination. By the last page, I wasn’t just satisfied—I was gutted in the best possible way.

If you like crime thrillers that combine smart plotting, emotional depth, and a protagonist you truly care about, The Dead Room is as close to perfect as it gets.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was wavering between two and three stars for this book, I opted for the higher of the two because for the most part this book I enjoyed reading it, but... there were quite a few bits that I struggled with.

The twists near the end, and there are two major ones, are very good. I never saw either of them coming (in hindsight one of them perhaps I should have been considering but the other I still think is one hell of a blindsider). Our lead character is interesting, though she did seem very good at everything she did - she rarely put a foot wrong and there wasn't that much human emotion from her. This definitely reads as one book in a series though so perhaps this entry just didn't focus on that aspect...

The problem I had with the book was that there was a lot of characters introduced, some with multiple aliases in a very short period of time and I did struggle keeping them straight in my head. I imagine re-reading this, when you know who the main players are would make keeping track of the people easier as you could ignore the superfluous people (as you would already know who they are!)

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that is was very well written, but left us with some unanswered questions. This is my first McCormick book, so maybe it is continued in book four, but I don't think so. Mooney did a wonderful job of throwing twists and turns into the usual "mystery story". I was intriguing, but not a page turner which is why I gave it four stars. It took me a bit of time to read (but this is my own fault because I am not a mystery reader in the first place). Overall I would recommend this book to anyone, mystery lover or not.

[Sharon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited by the title and the blurb, but boy it took some dedication to get through it. I really didn't enjoy it very much at all in the end. I won't be trying anything more from this author. I just found it very slow moving and the content not all that exciting. I was hoping for some great reveal but I worked out what it would be long before it happened. I feel like I wasted precious time on this book.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite in the series so far. This was a cracking read as Darby finds herself embroiled in police corruption and people coming back from the dead. There are a lot of players and a lot to keep track off but it's a compelling read. A complex plot is well executed with some good twists and the end is full of action- if slightly over the top. A series that keeps getting better and I will becoming back to more from Chris Mooney

[Stoxy001 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure why it took so long to read, but that may have something to do with finding the story a little too complicated at times. The final third of the book was a much easier to read and in the end its deserving of a 4 rating.
Moving off the Darby McCormick books , but I'm sufficiently intrigued to come to the series before too long.

[Shell Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this third book in the series is the one I've enjoyed most so far. There were some truly shocking moments that I didn't see coming, one of which made me say OMG out loud!
I'm starting the next book today and I can't wait to get stuck in.
There will be a full review on my blog https://www.shelllouise.co.uk

[M. Sprouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The strength of this book is the only reason I rated it so high. That strength is that it's an amazingly suspenseful, action packed thrill ride. I tell myself I'm not going to keep giving Chris Mooney's, Darby McCormick books 5 stars and then he tops the last one. The writing, plot and characterization are good, but it's because this is a killer of a thriller that vaults this book to the top.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darby is such a kick ass character. Love her. This time we get to her when she's just finishing swat training. Just as she's finished she gets pulled to a crime scene where a mother has been killed but the son survived. But the crime scene isn't right as she discovers a 3rd party was involved. It's a thrill ride and I loved it.

[Klara Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't felt this excitement and thrill while reading a book for years. I literally felt like crying, punching, screaming I was warm, but I was shaking. Umbelievable book. Can't wait to read more from this series!

[Sally Channing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book from Chris Mooney- couldn't put it down

[Zacharias Yiallouros · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex and gripping mystery with lots of twists and turns. There’s some violence and sadism, but nothing I haven’t read in other crime fiction novels. The pace is fairly quick, and there are many players, which some reviewers say are hard to keep track of. There is massive corruption in the FBI and the Boston PD, which occasionally made me wonder if that could really exist. I fell in love with the main character, CSI Darby McCormick; she’s highly trained, incredibly brave, hard, determined, attractive, and smart, and she does not hesitate to pull the trigger—until she makes sure the perpetrator is dead. Her separation from Jackson Cooper, her partner and friend, towards the end of the story brought me to tears.

Jamie Russo’s psychosis—what I call psychosis—about her two sons is intriguing. It’s amazing what the brain can conjure to deal with traumas and immeasurable suffering.

A passage I’d like to highlight:

Coop to Darby:

You think you know me because we’ve spent so much time together. But unless you’ve got the ability to read minds, see thoughts from moment to moment any time you want, you can never really know another person.

Chris Mooney is another writer I’ve added to my list of great writers. I’m looking forward to reading his other books.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read the first two books in this series and from what I remember about them, I liked them and found them compelling. This for me, while fairly well written, kind of veered into the 'not-like-other-girls' genre of female characters, in that she was an academic, and an Investigator, and a SWAT team member, all at the same time. Some of the fight scenes were a little ridiculous and there were a lot of unnecessary descriptions of things that in no way enhanced the plot. I think my favourite part of this book was the description of a poor community, the kind of one for all mentality combined with a 'never-talk-to-the-police' motif. You get the impression that this is definitely how these kind of places allow organised crime to flourish. Also how figures like Escobar become folk heroes while also meeting out horrendous violence to their detractors.

I have bought the next book in the series so I will continue and see where it leads.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobooks are starting to grow on me, I enjoyed this one a lot at work. This is the first book that I have read by this Author and in this series. So I went in with a completely clean slate. I didn’t feel confused at all. It did give me some background questions, but they were more on the line of I wanted to know more. I wanted to read the other in the series that I had missed. Works fine as a standalone

I really like how it started off. The start was a great introduction to who the main character is as the core of her character. A hard-working, smart kick-ass woman. I also like how the Author didn’t brush over the science of things, he went into detail and explained. It made you feel immersed in the environment.

That ending *claps* also that twist with the mother *claps*. Well done sir.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dunno. The overstuffed brain files are telling me I thought ( still do) that Darby McCormick is a cool name, but they won't give up any memory of plot and my feelings on the book. I read reviews and a smoky lil wisp o' recall arose rose up when one reviewer said Darby becomes like 'GI Barbie' and is 'practically Rambo' by the end of the book.
The reviewer of the GI Barbie comment followed this by saying they felt the series was ridiculous and needed to end. On book three? Cool your jets, hun. My wisp o' recall told me that Darby kicking ass and taking names was pretty good in a The Long Kiss Goodnight Way, and that film is proper.

[Karen Shimmin-Munk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just don't think this book was for me - it seemed like a load of different people who had all changed identities but the people who knew them from before didn't seem to realise they were the same people. Lots of murder, mayhem and confusion, me included.

A few too many coincidences like the woman whose husband had been murdered coming back and renting a house off someone who happened to be best friends with the leading criminal who had murdered the husband but who also happened to be an undercover federal agent. Then to top it off two people who you thought still had the same identities didn't exist...........nope, not for me, sorry.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooney is a good writer; knows how to keep the story moving AND interesting. I've read two titles by Mooney back-to-back, and I'm a bit confused as to why the stories take place in the States, but the writing includes European vernacular and spellings. I don't recall if the first book in the series was like this, and don't know if I maybe picked up a UK published title or not. It's a bit irritating, but not especially bad.

Another good plot, but that's two in a row that have rogue FBI agents. Is that a trend?

[Miss Jinxed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!




This might sound weird but I admit that I cried at the end. I had grown to respect Jamie's character for her struggles and how she led her life. The ending felt like I was hit by a truck.... it was so sad.

Maybe it affected me more because I was listening to the audiobook instead of reading the paperback.

All in all a very clever story ...maybe a little far fetched with Fed theory ....but hey that's why it's called fiction right?