I’m delighted to welcome you today to the first day of the blog tour for atmospheric thriller Dark Sky Island (Jennifer Dorey 2) by Lara Dearman. Thank you to Tracy Fenton and Trapeze Books for giving me the opportunity to read and review this fabulous book.
About the book:
There’s a killer on the island – and someone knows who…
When human bones are found in a remote bay in the Channel Islands, DCI Michael Gilbert is plunged into an investigation to find out who they belong to. The remains are decades old – but after another body is discovered, the police realise they could be dealing with a serial killer.
Journalist Jennifer Dorey is desperate for answers, driven by a secret of her own – but it soon becomes clear that nobody on the island is quite what they seem. Will anyone tell the truth before it’s too late? Or will the killer on the island strike again…?
A gripping thriller, perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves and Peter May.
About the author:
Lara Dearman was born and raised on the beautiful Channel Island of Guernsey. She moved to the UK to study International Relations and French at the University of Sussex, after which she endured a brief career in finance before giving it up to be a stay at home mum to her three children. A short course in Creative Writing at Richmond Adult Community College led to Lara studying for a Masters in Creative Writing at St Mary’s University, London. She graduated in 2016 with a distinction.
Having moved from Guernsey to Brighton to London to Paris to Singapore and back to London over the last fifteen years, she has now settled in Westchester, New York, with her family. The Devil’s Claw was her first novel and combines her love of Guernsey, myths and folklore with her obsession with crime fiction and serial killers…
My Review:
Dark Sky Island is the second book in Lara Dearman’s Jennifer Dorey series. I haven’t read The Devil’s Claw yet, but I enjoyed this book so much I will definitely be seeking it out as soon as my schedule allows! Although events from the previous book are referred to in this one, I don’t think that took anything away from my enjoyment of the story at all, and feel it can still be read quite well as a standalone.
This book is set in the Channel Islands, with the atmospheric and beautiful island of Sark being the primary focus in this story. Some mysterious, decades old, human bones have been found in a remote bay on the island, so DCI Michael Gilbert has been sent to investigate. Journalist Jennifer Dorey is desperate to find out more, and when another body is discovered, it soon becomes clear that everything on the island is not all as it seems.
What follows is a dark and complex story told from several different points of view. With past events from decades earlier cleverly interwoven into the narrative, long hidden secrets are slowly revealed as we move through the book. Who do the mysterious bones belong to and are they connected in any way to the present day murder? Who or what is the terrifying Beast of Sark? And was the death of Jennifer’s father two years ago really an accident, or is it linked in any way to what is happening on Sark today?
As DCI Michael Gilbert and Jennifer Dorey try to uncover the truth, there is a rising sense of menace and foreboding, with the islanders closing rank and impeding the investigation at every turn. The island of Sark is brought vividly to life, with its old fashioned ways, lack of transport and eerie foggy landscape all adding to the tension and sense of danger, until at long last the mystery is solved and the shocking truth finally revealed.
Beautifully written, Dark Sky Island is a gripping and atmospheric mystery thriller, with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing throughout. I loved the character of Jennifer Dorey from the outset, her vulnerable, determined and sometimes reckless attitude all adding up to a fascinating character I can’t wait to see more of in the future.
A highly entertaining and complex page turner of a thriller that I would recommend.
Dark Sky Island by Lara Dearman is available to buy now: Amazon UK
Check out what these other fantastic bloggers have to say about this book:
Cal Turner Reviews 
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for reading! 😊
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I have this one on ym list and I’m looking forward to it
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It’s such a good book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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😍
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