The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“I always assumed that the doubt would destroy me. But know I wonder if it's the opposite of doubt that's the dangerous thing - if instead, it's the things we're so sure of that have the power to undo us.”- The Darkest Corners, Kara Thomas

The Darkest Corners is a psychological thriller about the lies little girls tell, and the deadly truths those lies become.

There are ghosts around every corner in Fayette, Pennsylvania. Tessa left when she was nine and has been trying ever since not to think about it after what happened there that last summer. Memories of things so dark will burn themselves into your mind if you let them.

Callie never left. She moved to another house, so she doesn’t have to walk those same halls, but then Callie always was the stronger one. She can handle staring into the faces of her demons—and if she parties hard enough, maybe one day they’ll disappear for good.

Tessa and Callie have never talked about what they saw that night. After the trial, Callie drifted and Tessa moved, and childhood friends just have a way of losing touch.

But ever since she left, Tessa has had questions. Things have never quite added up. And now she has to go back to Fayette—to Wyatt Stokes, sitting on death row; to Lori Cawley, Callie’s dead cousin; and to the one other person who may be hiding the truth.

Only the closer Tessa gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer—and this time, it won’t be so easy to run away.

After reading Little Monsters, I was impressed by Kara Thomas' talent, even though it was only her second novel. She wrote a realistic-seeming (by realistic I mean no super-amazing kid detectives) YA mystery novel that kept me on my toes and took risks that ultimately paid off. And even though it was fairly obvious who one of the people involved was, it was fun to try and figure out who the other person was. So I was excited to read The Darkest Corners and see if Kara Thomas would become a new favorite author.

An aside: I wouldn't really call this book a psychological thriller. Or really any of the stuff in that first part. Those are minor aspects if anything.

And, well, I'm conflicted now. Because this book wasn't as good as Little Monsters. It felt much more like a typical YA mystery novel with typical YA mystery features- the tough and intrepid young detective (her tough, "bitchy" front felt tired and put on), the redneck and almost abandoned small town- though it was cool it was set near Pittsburgh and focused around mill towns (Pittsburgh's a really cool little city, by the way, it's a great place to stop for a couple days on a road trip- the Andy Warhol museum is a must see), the innocent man in jail because the cops fucked up his case, etc. 

Another aside: I always wonder how all these teenagers always get so involved in solving cases of serial killers and the like, personally, even if my best friend dies I probably wouldn't get too wrapped up in actively trying to solve the case. I'd follow it, yes, but I'd be in wayyy over my head if I tried to get involved in the investigation. At some parts Tessa is literately talking about suspects and gathering clues and putting together patterns that even the FBI couldn't like she's Nancy fucking Drew. It's like those armchair detectives on true crime internet forums who have way too much time on their hands. I don't get it. 

I sound like I really hate this book and I don't. It's just not really anything special. In fact, it reminded me a lot of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places, strangely enough, and does have that same messy quality, like Thomas is trying to do too much with the book. She should have picked one thing to focus on, the murder of Lori Cawley instead of both trying to find out the real Ohio River Monster and the person who really did kill Lori Cawley. As it was now, it was way too convenient, that she happened to be in town when the Ohio River Monster happened to strike again- after what, 8 years?- and killed the girl who happened to be an old childhood friend. Come on now. That's not even factoring in the fact that she happened to solve both crimes.

It was hard for me to stick with this book all the way until the end, but I admit, the ending paid off and made me wish Thomas had just focused on one case. It was fun and action-packed and interesting, even if I did have to suspend my disbelief. That seems to be the main thing about enjoying this particular novel- don't expect anything realistic, because this book is very far from reality. I mean, as much as I liked the ending, it kind of came out of nowhere and seemed awfully, again, convenient. 

So, as much as I found this book to be okay, I still thought it was fairly well written, and that Thomas does have some grip on how to write a mystery. And it was her debut, and I already know she can do great things. Hopefully Little Monsters wasn't just a fluke thing and Kara Thomas continues to be the answer to my YA mystery prayers.

7 out of 10