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That Darkness
(Gardiner and Renner #1)
by
As a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, Maggie Gardiner has seen her share of Jane Does. The latest is an unidentified female in her early teens, discovered in a local cemetery. More shocking than the girl’s injuries—for Maggie at least—is the fact that no one has reported her missing. She and the detectives assigned to the case (including her cop e
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That Darkness (Gardiner and Renner, #1) by Lisa Black is the first book in a new series featuring forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner and Homicide Detective Jack Renner, who happens to be a vigilante killer on the side. (This is not a spoiler, it is in the book description.) Just like Ms. Black’s other series, this one is also set in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio and it is very accurately portrayed.
Maggie is obsessed with every little detail of her job and has no life outside of work. When c ...more
Maggie is obsessed with every little detail of her job and has no life outside of work. When c ...more
Mixed read for me. Loved all the crime scene analysis, the details, the investigating, in which the author has much experience. Also liked the question of vigilante justice, the moral ambiguity of the question. When someone is so evil that other people are nothing to them, people to be abused, thrown away, shouldn't they be stopped no matter what the means, or who delivers the justice. Up for personal opinion. Human trafficking and all its horrendous after effects, also addressed. So many positi
...more
If you like the following, you will like this book:
- In-depth forensic descriptions. This isn't just "they took some fingerprints" or "they found some DNA". This book gets into the nitty gritty of fingerprint patterns and methods, fiber analysis, crime scene dissection, etc.
- Crime suspense thrillers
- Vengence and vigilante justice
While at times I found some of the plot points far fetched and I had to fight hard to suspend my disbelief, I did enjoy this book. I thought the characters were intere ...more
- In-depth forensic descriptions. This isn't just "they took some fingerprints" or "they found some DNA". This book gets into the nitty gritty of fingerprint patterns and methods, fiber analysis, crime scene dissection, etc.
- Crime suspense thrillers
- Vengence and vigilante justice
While at times I found some of the plot points far fetched and I had to fight hard to suspend my disbelief, I did enjoy this book. I thought the characters were intere ...more
That Darkness by Lisa Black is a 2016 Kensington publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book in the Gardiner and Renner series.
I’m not entirely sure my feelings about this book are entirely settled just yet, however, even though I have a few lingering feelings of unease, I thought this story was pretty clever.
Maggie is a fingerprint expert working in forensics and Jack is a cop working homicide. They cr ...more
This is the first book in the Gardiner and Renner series.
I’m not entirely sure my feelings about this book are entirely settled just yet, however, even though I have a few lingering feelings of unease, I thought this story was pretty clever.
Maggie is a fingerprint expert working in forensics and Jack is a cop working homicide. They cr ...more
"Is it better to do the right thing or the legal thing?"
What's a cop to do when he craves justice and there just doesn't seem to be any??? Well, he takes matters into his own hands. Jack Renner, Cleveland homicide detective just wants to make the world a safer, more 'just' place. He kills, but only the lowlifes who have escaped the traditional methods of justice - the ones that present a danger to others. He reminded me more than a little of the Dexter character created by Jeff Lindsay. Though w ...more
What's a cop to do when he craves justice and there just doesn't seem to be any??? Well, he takes matters into his own hands. Jack Renner, Cleveland homicide detective just wants to make the world a safer, more 'just' place. He kills, but only the lowlifes who have escaped the traditional methods of justice - the ones that present a danger to others. He reminded me more than a little of the Dexter character created by Jeff Lindsay. Though w ...more
Maggie's work involves collecting fiber, mineral, hair and blood samples from crime scenes. Looking through her microscope, she uncovers similarities between victims. Maggie starts thinking there is a vigilante, but that only happens on television.
Jack Renner is a detective. He picks up the pieces that the law let's slip through the cracks. Someone has to take action. Why not him?
That Darkness is a suspense novel. The two main characters we get to know very well through, primarily, narration. Th ...more
Jack Renner is a detective. He picks up the pieces that the law let's slip through the cracks. Someone has to take action. Why not him?
That Darkness is a suspense novel. The two main characters we get to know very well through, primarily, narration. Th ...more
This is my first book by this author. It is well written, fast paced, and I liked the main character, Maggie, a forensic investigator. The killer and his motives are revealed early on and brings questions of right vs wrong. Ending surprised me and the continuation of this series should be interesting. Thank you Kensington for my free copy!!!
Mar 09, 2016
Linda Strong
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
netgalley-2016,
read-in-2016
This is the beginning of a new series by this author. The reader is introduced to Maggie Gardiner, a Forensic Investigator (think CSI) with the Cleveland Police Department.
When Maggie is called in to investigate evidence, or lack of same, in several recent murders, she is surprised to find clues that seem to point to one killer of all the victims. All of the deceased have been on the wrong side of the law for various reasons ... they were all rapists, child molesters, etc. And none of them were ...more
When Maggie is called in to investigate evidence, or lack of same, in several recent murders, she is surprised to find clues that seem to point to one killer of all the victims. All of the deceased have been on the wrong side of the law for various reasons ... they were all rapists, child molesters, etc. And none of them were ...more
A special thank you to Kensington and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Nice Cover.
Lisa Black’s introduction to her first installment of Gardiner and Renner #1, THAT DARKNESS, is a psychological crime suspense of justice, morality, and evil, keeping you page-turning.
Maggie Gardiner, a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department has a new case. An unidentified white female twelve to fifteen years of page, blonde hair, and blue eyes--discovered in a local cem ...more
Lisa Black’s introduction to her first installment of Gardiner and Renner #1, THAT DARKNESS, is a psychological crime suspense of justice, morality, and evil, keeping you page-turning.
Maggie Gardiner, a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department has a new case. An unidentified white female twelve to fifteen years of page, blonde hair, and blue eyes--discovered in a local cem ...more
Does a vigilante killer justifiably protect future victims of crime by eliminating repeat offenders which the court system failed to put away? That's one of the moral questions posed in Lisa Black's new crime series "Gardiner and Renner".
Jack Renner is a homicide detective with the Cleveland PD. He is also a serial killer. He sees his job as protecting society, and if that means killing perpetrators of crime who went unpunished in order to prevent them from hurting anybody else, so be it.
Maggie ...more
Jack Renner is a homicide detective with the Cleveland PD. He is also a serial killer. He sees his job as protecting society, and if that means killing perpetrators of crime who went unpunished in order to prevent them from hurting anybody else, so be it.
Maggie ...more
When I started this book, I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it. More to the point…I wasn’t sure I was going to like that the heroine is essentially pulled over to the “dark side”. She goes from a fairly firm belief in what is right and what is wrong, to somewhere in the middle just waiting to fall one way or the other. This slip is enforced by a decision that she makes that is in total conflict with what we were lead to think that she embraces. Perhaps it’s just a different way to look at j
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This was a lil slow to start but really picked up towards the end. I think this is the perfect set up for a great series & I'm anxious to read the next one!
...more
Source: I got a copy through netgalley, I am grateful to them, the publisher and the author for this opportunity.
3.5 stars.
This book deals with the concept of vigilante justice. Is it acceptable to kill someone, after he escaped legal prosecution to save his future victims?
In the book, just like in real life we have no clear definitive answer, but exploring the idea was really interesting all the same.
We have Maggie Gardiner,a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, she is me ...more
3.5 stars.
This book deals with the concept of vigilante justice. Is it acceptable to kill someone, after he escaped legal prosecution to save his future victims?
In the book, just like in real life we have no clear definitive answer, but exploring the idea was really interesting all the same.
We have Maggie Gardiner,a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, she is me ...more
Is it ever okay to kill? To solve the issues with our justice system outside the courtroom? And what if you're so very careful, but you're still a suspect because of one determined woman? Great book dealing with a few hard subjects including what drives a man's or woman's soul to cause so much pain to others?
...more
May 09, 2016
Sandy *The world could end while I was reading and I would never notice*
rated it
liked it
'He looked at her as if he didn't know her which illustrated how closed he had arrived to the edge, jacked up, blood thirsty, but also elated. This had been his goal for a long time, and if she had tried to stop him he would kill her. She had no doubt of that.'
Forensic investigator, Maggie Gardiner has an unidentified female body in her early teens, discovered in a local cemetery. While the girl’s injuries are shocking, more so is the fact that no one has reported her missing.
Jack Renner is a c ...more
Forensic investigator, Maggie Gardiner has an unidentified female body in her early teens, discovered in a local cemetery. While the girl’s injuries are shocking, more so is the fact that no one has reported her missing.
Jack Renner is a c ...more
2.5
Mixed emotions about this one. Jack Renner is a homicide cop who works for the Cleveland Police Department. He's a vigilante cop (we know this from the start) trying to avenge something from his past. Maggie Gardiner is a Forensic Crime Scene Tech who also works for the Cleveland Police Department. She is working alongside Jack and other fellow police officers on some sketchy recent homicides that just "don't feel quite right" to her. The story started off good then seemed to stall for a bit ...more
Mixed emotions about this one. Jack Renner is a homicide cop who works for the Cleveland Police Department. He's a vigilante cop (we know this from the start) trying to avenge something from his past. Maggie Gardiner is a Forensic Crime Scene Tech who also works for the Cleveland Police Department. She is working alongside Jack and other fellow police officers on some sketchy recent homicides that just "don't feel quite right" to her. The story started off good then seemed to stall for a bit ...more
This is the first one of a series of thrillers. I’d give it 3,5 stars. It is an interesting read as there is a lot of attention to the way police works. You see that sometimes finding small leads can ask days of searching and trying.
But this detail is a bit slowing down the pace of the book, which makes it not allways an easy read.
On top of it, I had my doubts about some of the characters. The main characters are interesting, but not allways consistent and/or logical.
But this detail is a bit slowing down the pace of the book, which makes it not allways an easy read.
On top of it, I had my doubts about some of the characters. The main characters are interesting, but not allways consistent and/or logical.
Apr 25, 2016
Anne
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
drama,
mystery,
books-i-own,
thriller,
thank-you-netgalley,
crime,
series,
series-abandoned
I didn't think I'd read any of Lisa Black's books before when I requested this one - but then I glanced over her bio after I finished this book, and realized that she wrote a couple of books under the name Elizabeth Becka. I read
Trace Evidence
several years ago, and enjoyed it a lot.
That Darkness is plotted well and decently paced, for the most part. I think the explanations about forensic technique were a little over the top, though. They took up a lot of time and space and made the story ...more
That Darkness is plotted well and decently paced, for the most part. I think the explanations about forensic technique were a little over the top, though. They took up a lot of time and space and made the story ...more
3.5 stars
There's moral question at the heart of this police procedural involving the hunt for a serial killer. What if all the victims are perpetrators of horrific crimes who the justice system failed to put away?
Jack Renner has no problem with their demise. In fact, he's the killer. The tricky part is juggling his day job as one of the detectives trying to solve the cases.
It's not so clear cut for Maggie Gardiner, a forensic tech with the Cleveland PD who spends hours collecting & analyzing ...more
There's moral question at the heart of this police procedural involving the hunt for a serial killer. What if all the victims are perpetrators of horrific crimes who the justice system failed to put away?
Jack Renner has no problem with their demise. In fact, he's the killer. The tricky part is juggling his day job as one of the detectives trying to solve the cases.
It's not so clear cut for Maggie Gardiner, a forensic tech with the Cleveland PD who spends hours collecting & analyzing ...more
This is an interesting partnership. Gardiner works in coroner office working with fingerprints primarily and when needed trace evidence. Renner is a cop who deals out his own justice.
For once the female in the story doesnt go off and do stupid things on her own. Her downfall is she is too curious. When various bodies have the same trace evidence but no other connection, she comes up with a list of buildings to investigate.
Renner tracks suspects he believes is guilty of their crimes but the just ...more
For once the female in the story doesnt go off and do stupid things on her own. Her downfall is she is too curious. When various bodies have the same trace evidence but no other connection, she comes up with a list of buildings to investigate.
Renner tracks suspects he believes is guilty of their crimes but the just ...more
A cop who is a vigilante. That is a question that can be debated for years. Although I understand why one would do that type of thing.
This was a great story with lots of bad characters, bad in the sense that they were not good people. I sped through this book, wanting to know who was next on the agenda. I knew Jack had an ultimate goal, but I wasn't aware of the goal's atrocious crimes until the end of the book. That woman got off easy.
This was my first Lisa Black book and it will not be my la ...more
This was a great story with lots of bad characters, bad in the sense that they were not good people. I sped through this book, wanting to know who was next on the agenda. I knew Jack had an ultimate goal, but I wasn't aware of the goal's atrocious crimes until the end of the book. That woman got off easy.
This was my first Lisa Black book and it will not be my la ...more
4 stars
Huge thanks to Lisa Black, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoy books about crime scene investigators so am always on the look out for new books where they play a main character. This is a good read, there's no mystery about it, just science and police work, along with violence and bad guys and I really enjoyed it.
This is the first book in a series following both o these tenacious characters and I can't wait for the next instalment. ...more
Huge thanks to Lisa Black, Kensington Books and NetGalley for this copy in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoy books about crime scene investigators so am always on the look out for new books where they play a main character. This is a good read, there's no mystery about it, just science and police work, along with violence and bad guys and I really enjoyed it.
This is the first book in a series following both o these tenacious characters and I can't wait for the next instalment. ...more
New character by Lisa Black and she doesn’t disappoint. Maggie Gardiner is a forensic investigator with the Cleveland Police Department. While investigating several murders all clues point to one killer. These killings are vigilante justice and someone is killing criminals who have escaped justice. Little does she know the killer may be closer than she thinks. Great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
Interesting and thought-provoking. I am interested to see where the series heads.
A mix read for me. What I can say is that this book could have been sooo much better! You know who the killer is - right from the start of the book, even reading the jacket of the book. Which is fine. Then you have a Maggie (Gardiner) a super CSI agent who can find a cat hair- and make an entire case out of it.
It's about vigilante justice- a cop and a CSI agent- I did finish the book- for I just had to see how it ended- and most likely will read number 2 , because I just can't imagine what coul ...more
It's about vigilante justice- a cop and a CSI agent- I did finish the book- for I just had to see how it ended- and most likely will read number 2 , because I just can't imagine what coul ...more
This one started off like gangbusters. But about halfway through, my enthusiasm started to drop off, and by the end, I decided that my actual rating is 3.5 stars. The book is good enough, though, that I rounded up to 4 for the websites that don't allow half-stars; the story was well-written (if implausible in several places), and I'm sure many readers of murder mysteries/police procedurals will find lots to love about it.
In addition to an enticing description, I was intrigued because the story t ...more
In addition to an enticing description, I was intrigued because the story t ...more
I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Kensington Books.
I absolutely devoured this novel in one day. Normally I hesitate to say that about a novel because, to me, it almost makes it seem that the book was so lightweight that there wasn't much there to dig into as a reader. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be farther from the truth as it applies to this story. I was so engaged with these characters, helping them to solve these murders and yet hiding the information that would s ...more
I absolutely devoured this novel in one day. Normally I hesitate to say that about a novel because, to me, it almost makes it seem that the book was so lightweight that there wasn't much there to dig into as a reader. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be farther from the truth as it applies to this story. I was so engaged with these characters, helping them to solve these murders and yet hiding the information that would s ...more
That in times of crisis, morality is the first thing to go out the window. It becomes a luxury people just can't afford. And because of that, society will never be able to make up its mind how we feel about vigilantes. We pride ourselves on being people of action, but someone taking violent action on their own scares us because so much can go wrong. It's like a war-a war was a great idea, or at least a necessary one, when we win.
The author says much about vigilante in her dedication of her book ...more
The author says much about vigilante in her dedication of her book ...more
Thank you to Netgalley for copy of this Arc in exchange for a fair review.
So Maggie is a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, and she has seen a lot of bodies, but this young girl who was never reported missing sparks Maggie to leave no stone uncovered.
Jack is a killer, there really is only problem with that he is also a detective with the Cleveland Police Department. He is also on the hunt for the killer of the young, but for very different reasons and his uneasy alliance ...more
So Maggie is a forensic investigator for the Cleveland Police Department, and she has seen a lot of bodies, but this young girl who was never reported missing sparks Maggie to leave no stone uncovered.
Jack is a killer, there really is only problem with that he is also a detective with the Cleveland Police Department. He is also on the hunt for the killer of the young, but for very different reasons and his uneasy alliance ...more
The world is full of criminals. Some that don’t deserve to live after the crime(s) they have committed. The United States has a justice system to take care of criminals, but sometimes those that should be put away go free. What if one man has decided to take care of those that the system set free? Jack Renner, in his goal on one person, has taken it upon himself to keep society safe of some of these criminals. With a great attention to his details, he thinks no one will ever find out it’s him. N
...more
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Lisa Black spent the happiest five years of her life in a morgue. Strange, perhaps, but true. After ten years as a secretary, she went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cleveland State University. In her job as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many ot
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