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The Glennison Darkisle Cases #4
Falls the Darkness
Following a traumatic end to 1922, Jack Glennison’s private detective business settles down to several months of thankfully mundane work. But he and Josine both know it can’t last and, sure enough, the day comes when a familiar face arrives in their Manchester office, offering a case that will once more send them to Darkisle.The fourth book in the Glennison Darkisle Cases series sees Jack travel to the far north of the island to investigate a disappearance from a unique scientific expedition. Soon he must use all his skill and experience to untangle the truth from a web of jealousy and lies. And on top of that there is something going on among the locals, whose enigmatic hostility is unusual even by Darkisle standards.‘Falls the Darkness’ extends the series’ exploration of Lovecraftian horror in 1920s Britain, building on the unique atmosphere of Darkisle and transporting the reader to a world where few can be trusted and where unearthly monstrosities lurk in the shadows.
279 pages, Paperback
Published January 29, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 19, 2024
Falls the Darkness opens with Private Detective Jack Glennison and his assistant, Josine, keeping busy in their Manchester office with routine cases after the horrors they witnessed on Darkisle at the end of 1922.
Their uneasy calm is soon disturbed when friend and Darkisle native, Lord Charles Deverby, requests their help to find missing man William Short, whom Deverby had hired to oversee land excavation to the north of the island in the hope of discovering more of the rare meteorites, known as “thunderstones”.
Back to Darkisle it is for Glennison who soon realizes that Short’s disappearance is far from straightforward, especially as the animosity and volatility from the indigenous seem extreme even by Darkisle’s hostile standards…
What an exceptional series this is, and Book 4 consolidates that opinion in abundance. The plot is the most accomplished and gripping yet, twisting and layered, it turns and puzzles with cleverly creative tangents and unexpected yet credible revelations. There is also a stronger sense of self-assurance not only in Glennison but in Drake’s writing.
This subtle but unmistakable upswing in confidence yields a sharper, more single-minded narrative sprinkled with nicely understated gallows humor. Jack drives the investigation, he is more focused and secure in his abilities, yet shrewdly aware of Darkisle’s unearthly possibilities.
Indeed, the series has reached the seasoned stage where certain characters, settings, and contexts are known quantities but Drake is anything but complacent. The period, once again, is expertly mined for complementary detail and the dank, mythical air and topography of Darkisle grows ever more sinister; Glennison reawakened to its antediluvian power by Drake’s sinuously malevolent description of Deverby’s Katlu carving in Chapter 3.
Similarly, Thunstan Heath, where the otherworldly thunstanberry plants grow and the excavation is taking place, is a fantastic Lovecraftian/Wells mash-up albeit with what are now becoming Drake hallmarks. The gloss of science fiction, the atmospheric turmoil, and the unnerving sense of the plants undulating with eerie synchronicity are realized with creeping dread and horror.
His characters, even those that appear to be on the periphery of the story, are brilliantly authentic and nuanced creations. Using distinguishing quirks and concrete observations that often suggest deeper complexities, Drake brings them all richly to life.
Likewise, he always manages to ensure the Darkisle natives are convincing; pleasingly rustic yet sullenly suspicious without becoming caricatures. In Falls the Darkness they are even more baleful than those encountered previously, especially the two women, Feena Gorram and Emell Batty, who ooze with menace.
He gives us the new character of Beatrice Armitage, an Assistant at Oxford University. She is fairly central to Short’s disappearance and, as such, Drake plays a little with the reader’s presumption of her reliability. Notwithstanding, she is a breath of fresh air, and an intriguing dynamic springs up between her, Jack, and Josine which enables Drake to deftly sidestep a conundrum.
Josine does not feature quite so much, but when she does, her one-liners are snappier and shot through with weary cynicism. Although still able to find events amusing, she has lost that sheen of girlish jauntiness from the earlier novels, which given her experiences, especially in Book 3, is an apt trajectory.
Throughout, Drake controls the plot superbly, introducing several side strands that blossom out, yet eventually have pertinence to Short’s disappearance. In places, Drake toys with Glennison, throwing him a couple of red herrings while giving the reader blink-and-you-’ll-miss-them hints that he might be heading in the wrong direction, although the final reveal wrongfoots pretty much everyone.
Another mesmerizingly good addition to the Darkisle canon. Superbly written, plotted, and imagined, Falls the Darkness proves impossible to put down. Highly recommended.
Their uneasy calm is soon disturbed when friend and Darkisle native, Lord Charles Deverby, requests their help to find missing man William Short, whom Deverby had hired to oversee land excavation to the north of the island in the hope of discovering more of the rare meteorites, known as “thunderstones”.
Back to Darkisle it is for Glennison who soon realizes that Short’s disappearance is far from straightforward, especially as the animosity and volatility from the indigenous seem extreme even by Darkisle’s hostile standards…
What an exceptional series this is, and Book 4 consolidates that opinion in abundance. The plot is the most accomplished and gripping yet, twisting and layered, it turns and puzzles with cleverly creative tangents and unexpected yet credible revelations. There is also a stronger sense of self-assurance not only in Glennison but in Drake’s writing.
This subtle but unmistakable upswing in confidence yields a sharper, more single-minded narrative sprinkled with nicely understated gallows humor. Jack drives the investigation, he is more focused and secure in his abilities, yet shrewdly aware of Darkisle’s unearthly possibilities.
Indeed, the series has reached the seasoned stage where certain characters, settings, and contexts are known quantities but Drake is anything but complacent. The period, once again, is expertly mined for complementary detail and the dank, mythical air and topography of Darkisle grows ever more sinister; Glennison reawakened to its antediluvian power by Drake’s sinuously malevolent description of Deverby’s Katlu carving in Chapter 3.
Similarly, Thunstan Heath, where the otherworldly thunstanberry plants grow and the excavation is taking place, is a fantastic Lovecraftian/Wells mash-up albeit with what are now becoming Drake hallmarks. The gloss of science fiction, the atmospheric turmoil, and the unnerving sense of the plants undulating with eerie synchronicity are realized with creeping dread and horror.
His characters, even those that appear to be on the periphery of the story, are brilliantly authentic and nuanced creations. Using distinguishing quirks and concrete observations that often suggest deeper complexities, Drake brings them all richly to life.
Likewise, he always manages to ensure the Darkisle natives are convincing; pleasingly rustic yet sullenly suspicious without becoming caricatures. In Falls the Darkness they are even more baleful than those encountered previously, especially the two women, Feena Gorram and Emell Batty, who ooze with menace.
He gives us the new character of Beatrice Armitage, an Assistant at Oxford University. She is fairly central to Short’s disappearance and, as such, Drake plays a little with the reader’s presumption of her reliability. Notwithstanding, she is a breath of fresh air, and an intriguing dynamic springs up between her, Jack, and Josine which enables Drake to deftly sidestep a conundrum.
Josine does not feature quite so much, but when she does, her one-liners are snappier and shot through with weary cynicism. Although still able to find events amusing, she has lost that sheen of girlish jauntiness from the earlier novels, which given her experiences, especially in Book 3, is an apt trajectory.
Throughout, Drake controls the plot superbly, introducing several side strands that blossom out, yet eventually have pertinence to Short’s disappearance. In places, Drake toys with Glennison, throwing him a couple of red herrings while giving the reader blink-and-you-’ll-miss-them hints that he might be heading in the wrong direction, although the final reveal wrongfoots pretty much everyone.
Another mesmerizingly good addition to the Darkisle canon. Superbly written, plotted, and imagined, Falls the Darkness proves impossible to put down. Highly recommended.
February 2, 2024
Josine and Jack are still working as investigators a year after their shattering losses. Charles Deverby hires the two to find an employee that went missing on Darkisle in the middle of a dig for thunderstones. The locals were unhappy with the job, and Jack is afraid there's more to the disappearance than anyone is willing to admit.
Falls the Darkness is the fourth of the Darkisle novels, following The Gathering of Shadows, Those Under Hill, and What Festers Within. The small island of Darkisle is home to cosmic horrors and creatures beyond human understanding. Jack Glennison and Josine Young had featured in prior novels, working to stem the tide against the creatures and save humanity. The Prologue is a summary of major events from prior novels and sets up this one, so you can dive right in if you missed the earlier books. Any necessary details are explained along the way as Jack begins his investigation and we're introduced to the people involved on Darkisle. We follow what seems to be a straightforward missing persons case, though the plant life in the area is odd and the Darkisle people hate outsiders.
The oddities of Darkisle crept in slowly, and once it did, it became very clear why it's a Darkisle story. The mystery is solved by the end, with the ending coming in a literal bang. It kept me engrossed, and even if you don't know anything about cosmic horror or the prior Darkisle novels, this would be an excellent entry point into the series.
Falls the Darkness is the fourth of the Darkisle novels, following The Gathering of Shadows, Those Under Hill, and What Festers Within. The small island of Darkisle is home to cosmic horrors and creatures beyond human understanding. Jack Glennison and Josine Young had featured in prior novels, working to stem the tide against the creatures and save humanity. The Prologue is a summary of major events from prior novels and sets up this one, so you can dive right in if you missed the earlier books. Any necessary details are explained along the way as Jack begins his investigation and we're introduced to the people involved on Darkisle. We follow what seems to be a straightforward missing persons case, though the plant life in the area is odd and the Darkisle people hate outsiders.
The oddities of Darkisle crept in slowly, and once it did, it became very clear why it's a Darkisle story. The mystery is solved by the end, with the ending coming in a literal bang. It kept me engrossed, and even if you don't know anything about cosmic horror or the prior Darkisle novels, this would be an excellent entry point into the series.
February 1, 2024
A little noir, a little mystery, and a whole lot of creepy. Another trip back to Darkisle - another mystery, and dark forces moving about in the shadows. I've absolutely fallen in love with the creepy island known as Darkisle - and despite the residents dislike of outsiders, it would be hard to not want to take a trip there, just to experience the darkness first hand. Although, Drake does an amazing job of bringing it all to life, and drawing the reader into the puzzle of the disappearance of a key person in the middle of it all. It's easy to get wrapped up following Jack around as he digs in, trying to find answers. If you enjoy noir PI books and a little helping of Cthulhu-esque horror, then you'll want to grab this!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews