Review – The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Posted March 31, 2020 by Carole in 2020 New Release Challenge, Book Reviews / 15 Comments

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group – Dutton
Publication Date: March 31, 2020
Date Read: March 14, 2020
Length:  256 pages
Source: Edelweiss
★★★★★

A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.

Sometimes the answers are worse than the questions. Sometimes it’s better not to know.

Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. Eve is no stranger to the dark side of life, having been raised by a hard-edged mother whose lessons Eve tried not to pass on to her own daughter. But Eve may need her mother’s cruel brand of strength if she’s going to face the reality about her daughter’s death and about her own true nature. Her quest for justice takes her from the seedy underbelly of town to the quiet woods and, most frighteningly, back to her mother’s trailer for a final lesson.

The Familiar Dark is a story about the bonds of family–women doing the best they can for their daughters in dire circumstances–as well as a story about how even the darkest and most terrifying of places can provide the comfort of home.

My Review

This was a fantastic novel!  I read this author’s previous book, The Roanoke Girls, and fell in love with this author’s writing so I knew I wanted to read this book just as soon as I saw it.  I went into the book with rather high expectations and they were met.  This was a book that I found very hard to put down.  The story was surprising at times and emotional in others.  I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent reading this story.

The book opens with Eve receiving a visit from her brother Cal while working her shift at the local diner.  Cal is a local police officer and is there to tell Eve that her 12-year-old daughter, Junie has been murdered along with another child.  My heart broke right with Eve’s.  The descriptions of how she got through those first few days really got to me.  Eve worked hard to be a good mother to Junie and only had her brother Cal to lean on.  After Junie’s death, Eve has nothing left to lose and decides she will stop at nothing to get justice for her daughter.

I thought that the characters in this story were very well done.  There is a pretty eclectic group of characters represented in this story and they all felt very real to me.  I found that while I was pretty shocked by some of the turns the story took, the actions of the characters always felt authentic.  I really felt like I was in Eve’s head and I understood her motivation to learn what happened to her daughter. 

I love the fact that this book was able to surprise me.  And it didn’t just surprise me once because there were several times where the story took a turn that I didn’t expect.  I love that this story made me feel.  There were times that this story really got to me.  Eve was such a strong character who was put in one of the most difficult situations that I can imagine.  I honestly don’t know how someone could read this book and not feel for Eve.  I also love that the mystery in this story really kept me guessing.  I had no idea who killed those two girls but I was just as desperate as Eve to find out.  I found the mystery to be complex and very well done.

I would highly recommend this book to others.  I found this to be a wonderfully told story that was heartbreaking at times.  I cannot wait to read more from this very talented author!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Penguin Publishing Group – Dutton via Edelweiss.

About the Author

Amy Engel is the author of The Roanoke Girls and The Book of Ivy series. A former criminal defense attorney, she lives in Missouri with her family.

Author Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

15 responses to “Review – The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

  1. As morbid as it sounds, books which focus on grief actually intrigue me and it sounds like this book has a lot happening in it too which is quite surprising and exciting to read despite the heavy emotions. I hadn't heard of it before so I am going to check it out on Goodreads!

  2. Bea

    This sounds very emotional but oh so good. I like that it kept surprising you. Adding to my wish list.

  3. I heard lots of buzz around her previous novel, so I'm glad to hear this one is just as good. I'll definitely be adding both to my TBR!

  4. Great to have a book which can surprise you! I'll have to try to read this one. Fantastic review!

    Anne – Books of My Heart

  5. Always great when you anticipate highly and that is met. Wow, I already feel for Eve just from losing her kid like that and having to keep going.

  6. I thought the author's name sounded familiar! I ended up DNFing The Roanoke Girls because of the subject matter but I really liked the writing so I'll have to look for this one.

  7. I just downloaded this book from NetGalley. I can't wait to read it. I'm glad you loved it and that it surprised you. That doesn't always happen when you read a lot of books in this genre like I do.