Darkside

by P.T. Deutermann

When a midshipman plunges six stories to his death, the U.S. Naval Academy begins investigating an apparent suicide. But there's a bizarre the young man's body is found wearing undergarments belonging to Midshipman Julie Markham, a senior at the academy. Julie's father Ev, an Annapolis graduate who is now a professor there, fears his daughter will be blamed by the "Darkside" - the bureaucracy that wants to protect the academy at all costs from scandal. Then there's another death, and the beautiful grounds and impregnable traditions of Annapolis are revealed as the hiding place for a relentless predator who can no longer control an impulse to kill.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery, Historical Fiction

544 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 2, 2002

About the author

P. T. Deutermann is a retired Navy captain and has served in the joint Chiefs of Staff as an arms control specialist. He is the author of eighteen novels, and lives in North Carolina. His World War II adventure novel Pacific Glory won the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, administered by the American Library Association; his other World War II novels are Ghosts of Bungo Suido and Sentinels of Fire. His most recent novel is Cold Frame, a contemporary thriller set in Washington, D.C.

Reviews

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Deutermann is a new author to me. Having finished all of the Michael Connelly books, I was looking for a new audio book and went with something that was read by Dick Hill, who has done so many of the Connelly books. This was a good choice.

The story starts with a plebe taking a dive off the 8th floor of one of the dormitories of the Naval Academy at Annapolis. What seems on the surface to be an accident, or (worse for Academy image) a suicide, starts becoming suspicious when Midshipman First Class Julie Markham, whose father is a professor at the Academy, is implicated in some way, because the dead student was wearing her underwear when he took his plunge.

NCIS gets involved in the death investigation and at the same time academy security chief Jim Hall discovers strange doings in the academy's underground tunnels, which may or may not involve pseudo-vampire activity, and a character who calls himself "The Shark." Could the two events be connected? (Well, of course they are, silly!)

There is budding romance between Julie's widowed father and Liz deWinter, the high-powered attorney he hires for her, as well as between Jim and NCIS Special Agent Branner (whose first name apparently nobody knows--and she wants to keep it that way). There are terrifying chases through the tunnels that seem to go on endlessly--but somehow never bore--and an ending I felt was predictable...and then wasn't.

This was the best book to listen to on the 10 hour drive I was making by myself. The miles flew by, as did the hours.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this novel had was suspenseful and keep me listening. I enjoy the view into the military academy as well as the mystery. The twist at the end still sticks with me. If I were to have a complaint as I was listening to the audiobook was the father and female Lawyer and the campus cop and the female NCIS agent a few time got confusing as to which pair were locked in conversation and other activities. That could just be me so I am going to round my 3.5 to 4 and plan to check out another book by this author.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found, "Darkside", a compelling suspense thriller set at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Published in 2002, "Darkside", refers to what the midshipmen call the Academy's administration. NCIS and local Annapolis police are called to the Naval Academy when a student either jumped or was pushed off a roof. The initial guess is that Midshipman fourth class William Dell committed suicide. The fourth class student known as a Plebe was doing poorly as his first year in Academy was coming to a close. Quickly it is discovered that Dell was wearing women's panties when he died. The panties belonged to Midshipman first class Julie Markham. Markham a star on the women's swim team is just weeks from becoming an Ensign. Julie is the daughter of Academy Professor Everett Markam who is also a graduate of the Naval Academy. Before long Julie is facing the intense questioning of NCIS agents Banner, and Walter Thompson. Acting as a liaison between NCIS and the Academy is Academy security chief Jim Hall. Hall is not a cop and has no powers of police is more of a face around than anything. Hall a former graduate and Marine lost his career early on in a snafu while on deployment. Hall and Banner are pretty sure Julie had nothing to do with Dell's suicide/ murder but know she's obviously hiding important facts about Dell's life at the Academy. Meanwhile the administration wants this affair to be classified as an accident and quickly swept under the rug. With so little time until graduation the brass doesn't want a suicide scandal let alone a possible murder to give the Academy a black eye. However the detectives soon figure out there are dark elements that attached to the Academy at play that cross over into the town of Annapolis. Underneath the city of Annapolis as well as under the Academy are miles of 200 year old tunnels. These dangerous tunnels which are always a threat to collapse have attracted a group of young people who use the tunnels for some type ritualistic behavior associated with the "Goth" lifestyle. Above ground Professor Markam defies his administration when he hires local hired gun defense lawyer Liz DeWinter. Both the NCIS and administration want to bury Julie since she hired Liz. Jim Hall has to act as a go between DeWinter and Banner to keep this case moving forward. Hall has definite eyes for Special Agent Banner. Banner knows how to use her female attributes to her advantage during investigations. When NCIS Special Agent Thompson gets hurt during the investigation the pressure to sweep this case under the rug intensifies. Eventually it becomes pretty obvious in time that Plebe William Dell did not go willingly off that roof. In a somewhat slow moving plot that certainly takes it's time developing, "Darkside", is another yarn by author P.T. Duetermann that is extremely wordy. Duetermann loves to spin words at a blistering pace to create some marathon reading books. At just over 520 pages paperback, "Darkside", is a really good story but is sincerely way too long. Although I really like the story it took me some long reads to get through this one. Four stars out of a possible five stars for, "Darkside". I found the budding relationship between Jim Hall and Special Agent Banner to be one of the sub plots I really got a kick out of. Jim has to work very hard for Banner to allow him to know her first name. So if you have a lot of free time to really get lost for a long period time, "Darkside", is for you. Check it out.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2*****Taking place at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, DARKSIDE (the folks who make the Academy run) is a mystery thriller that continues for 508 pages in the paperback edition I had. Usually a book that long, with small print, I do not choose to read; however, I am glad I read the entire book, because it is, indeed, a thriller.
With the death of a student in a fall from an 8 story dorm, to another death of a student in underground pipes that run under the buildings throughout the Academy. We have a professor whose daughter will graduate in a few days, yet is a suspect in the death of the student who fell or dove off the dorm. He was wearing her underpants during his plunge.. Her Dad along with a gal friend gets involved in the investigation. Also 2 officials of the academy begin an investigation. Much of the story takes place in the underground pipes (large enough to allow humans to crawl through them) It is within those pipes that weird and crazy things happen. It is where the killer in this novel spends a lot of time terrorizing the academy officials who enter those ducts looking for the killer.
The story is extremely frightening, and P.T. Deutermann offers the reader page after page of deadly investigation of the student who jumped to his death (or was he pushed by the crazy that spends so much time in the ductwork beneath the Academy. Add to that the fact that a 4th year male student becomes the main suspect, especially to those that think he was a murderer. Those folks run into a major obstacle, when the folks in charge of the Academy want to end it all and call the death of the man who may have jumped off roof a suicide.
DARKSIDE is one spooky, absorbing, exciting read that deserves 5 ***** except for the length.

[Chuck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story takes place, for the most part, on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland from which Mr. Deutermann earned his degree and naval commission. It begins with the description of a young man's descent from the roof of an academy building onto a plaza of polished granite several floors below. Of course an investigation follows as we must determine whether
this tragedy was an accident, suicide or murder. The investigation is primarily conducted by the academy's Security Officer and an NCIS Special Agent and takes a circuitous and tedious path. These protagonists have several layers of supervisory bureaucracy that must be consulted and reported to and the story, although it is a good story line, gets bogged down with the reporting and endless
thought processes and repetitive dialog. This book will be a good read for experienced skim readers.

[Don Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I normally love books by P.T. Deutermann, but this was an exception. The story grabbed my attention when I downloaded the novel. However, it was exceptionally long, and it did not have to be that extensive. It just went on and on and on. And there were so many "good guys" that it was very hard to keep track of who was who and where they fit in the story. It also did not help that the "bad guy" morphed into various different characters that was extremely difficult to understand, much less follow. And finally, at the end of the book, within the last few pages in fact, after everything had been "solved" and everything was back to normal, the whole "solution" changed yet again, to make the novel even more confusing. The novel was simply too over the top for me. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this book.

[J.L. Bowers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldn't get into this one. I have read this author before, so I am familiar with his writing style, but this one just didn't grab me. The chapters were really long with backstory that sometimes had me skimming. It just didn't hold to the kind of pacing I like. If the pacing of a book isn't good, I can still like it if the writing style is creative enough, but that wasn't the case here. Anyway, I skimmed a lot and then read the last chapter. Didn't love the ending, and like someone else said, the whole book was a little creepier than I normally like. But I did give an extra star for him adding the twist.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book a while ago but did not feel very interested.
But my nephew is going to USNA this summer….I want to get myself familiar with new enveronment.
Dark Side is slow for a thriller but it is interesting (well, I know nothing about navy or naval academy) enough that I did not mind the pace much. The plot is not groundbreaking but with the setting and the characters, the circumstances are a bit different. Anyway P.T Deuterman is a good writer and his twist at the end…ok not surprising but damn he did tricked me to forget my suspicious. 3.99 stars

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked listening to this book well enough. I did think it was interesting that what I thought was the end wasn’t. Then there was a bit of a predictable twist that seemed to be the end. Then there was the real twist and the actual end.

[David D'Arcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great old fashioned detective yarn!

There were at least three story tracks. The characters were well developed. I disliked the final twist. You’ll never see or guess the ending. Looks like the Academy does commission unprincipled and morally corrupt individuals. Read to the end.

[Bob Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic read. Hard to put down until it's finished!

[BRUCE LYON]

Excellent story. Very complex ending - I'll have to read it again.....

[Steve Deweese · Rating 5 out of 5]

PT really knows his stuff. A scary ride thru Canoe U.

[Phyllis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - what a story! Just when you think you have it figured out, you don't. Deutermann is a good writer and this is an interesting look at the life inside a military academy.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally Published on The Founding Fields (www.thefoundingfields.com)
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/06/...

Larry reviews the book and audiobook of Darkside by PT Deutermann, read by Dick Hill. Published on St Martin’s Press. Originally published on December 1st, 2002

A dark grim thriller about a murder at Annapolis, a smashing good read – The Founding Fields


A dark thriller set at Annapolis, the United States Naval Academy. A Midshipman plebe lands in a plaza from six stories up. At first ruled an accident, things get really weird when they find the Midshipman is wearing the panties of Midshipman first class Julie Markham. Suicide? Murder? That’s what the NCIS and the security team have to figure out. Her father, Ev Markham an Annapolis graduate himself, fears that the Academy’s administration, referred to as the ‘Darkside’ by the Midshipman, will try to scapegoat his daughter to avoid a scandal. Julie’s reputation, athletic achievements, and high academic standings make her an unlikely suspect but Ev is taking no chances and hires high-powered attorney, Liz DeWinter to defend her from the Naval Crime Investigative Service or NCIS as they complete their investigation in the matter.

This was the first book of PT Deutermann’s that I read, but his 6th published. I remember picking it up off of a bookshelf jammed full of free books sent to us in Iraq from supporters. The title and cover had me intrigue and I decided to give it a chance, at the time I really was not into mystery or thriller books. I was glad that I did as Dark Side really introduced me to a whole new genre of books as well as the author that I have grown to admire, PT Deutermann. Dark Side really starts off with a bang, literally as the Midshipman smashes into the ground. He does a good job introducing you to the various characters as they come up, giving you enough background to really understand them. The book does get slightly draggy towards the middle, but never enough to make me want to put it down, or stop listening to it. The ending is what sealed the deal for me, it really was top notch as the various plot twists are revealed and flow together. He writes from shifting points of view, mainly in 3rd person, but he does the arch-nemesis in 1st person in the few parts that he is in. Some people can find this overwhelming but to me it kept the story interesting. The one main down point is he uses a lot of military jargon in this book, which is daunting for non-military folks to understand, but can be cleared up with a quick Google search if you find yourself stumped.

I recently signed up for Audiobooks.com and they have all of his books available so I decided to give them a relisten for old time sake.
The audiobook is narrated by Dick Hill who does an exceptional job on this book. He is able to change his voice enough to give all the various characters a unique personality. You know who he is speaking as, even when he does not mention their name. He is definitely a voice actor that given good material can read a story and make it better then just reading it.

Relistening to this was a blast from the past for me, I honestly enjoyed it the second time more then the first. Having the truly talented Dick Hill read a great book by PT Deutermann was a treat to say the least. I give the book itself an 8/10, and narration a 9/10. If you are a fan of military books, mysteries, thrillers or just need a good book then this would be one for you.

Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press; 1st edition (December 1, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 031228120X
ISBN-13: 978-0312281205

[Tom Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A midshipman falls onto a plaza from six stories up at the Naval
Academy. It's initially classified as an accident. The Academy's
administration call the Dark Side by the midshipmen attempts to
cover this up. A bizarre twist complicates this and pulls midshipman
first class Julie Markham into the incident in an embarrassing way
even though Julie has a flawless reputation, high academic standing
and athletic achievement. Her father Ev is a professor there and
knows the extremes the Dark Side will go to protect the Academy.
Fearing Julie is to be sacrificed to the Academy he hires Liz
DeWinter to defend her. Meanwhile Jim Hall the Academy's security
officer is investigating some violent pranks in tunnels that run
under the Academy.The investigation leads Jim to an unsolved murder
and Jim finds himself the quarry instead of the hunter.He is being
pursued by an ingenious predator whose dark secrets are hidden deep
beneath the Academy. This book is from 2002 and written by P T
Deutermann who is a graduate of the Academy and he knows all of the
things that they put you through to graduate from here.

[Carl Alves · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel takes place in the US Naval Academy, following the death of one of the students after being thrown off the sixth floor of a building. Midshipman First Class Julie Markham is under suspicion of the death. Her father Ev, who teaches history at the Naval Academy is trying to put together a defense for her and figure out who actually killed the student. Meanwhile, security chief Jim Hall is trying to make sure there isn’t a killer on the loose at the Academy. Fighting against this is a group of people hell bent in protecting the institution from scandal, which feels true to life when considering what happened at Penn State.

The writing in this novel felt subpar. Also the story line suffered from a severe lack of believability. It was clear that the author had done his research on the Naval Academy, and that added color to the novel, but the rest of the story was not up to par. Overall, I felt this novel was less than mediocre and I would recommend skipping it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street

[Stephanie Moglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, this book was creepy. I read the first chapter of this book at the end of another Deutermann book and knew instantly I would have to finish it. Similar to his other book I read, you "knew" who the killer/bad guy was throughout the story, though in this one you didn't explicitly know the person's name until later on, but heard from them throughout. I had no trouble blazing through this one, as the suspense kept me hooked, staying up late to finish. Characters were well developed, I definitely found myself rooting for specific people/relationships. The "villain" was absolutely psychotic and as they became more heavily featured, the real creepiness and insanity came out. I thought I had everything figured out and then something I anticipated didn't happen...but then the last two pages changed my entire perspective of the book. Definitely an awesome read, will be adding this author to my favorites list.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone gave me a beaten-up copy of this book, so I thought it would be a good airplane read to pass on to someone else when I finished. Bingo! This is not a book or author I would have chosen on my own, but the fast-paced thriller kept me reading not only from Boston to Tucson, but the same day I arrived in Tucson, I stayed up late to finish the book. A psycho lose at the Naval Academy? An unjustly accused Midshipman? I entered a world of which I knew nothing and thoroughly inhabited it for 500 pages. Even better, a young Marine I know was home from Iraq on leave, so I gave the book to him to enjoy next.

[Booklady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deutermann is one of my favorite authors. In this story the daughter is connected to a pleb's death at the Annapolis Naval Academy and her father (a professor there) is in a race to prove her innocence between the authorities (the Darkside) make her the scapegoat. In his usual style, Deutermann puts in his twists and plots that has the reader guessing until the very end.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just didn't get into all the Academy lingo used in this book. I liked the characters, but the constant referencing to "inside" language just slowed the book down for me. And I completely skipped the "voice" of the bad guy. Another maniac. Who cares. The ending, too, was just silly.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deutermann is one of my favorite writers, and this is a great mystery. Good characters. Fun to have five main characters to follow and see interact until they come together in the drama and action. Book takes place at the Navel Academy which may be the sixth character in the book.

[JoDee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heard this in audio, and at first wasn't sure I would like the villian's first person chapters that revealed his activities as the story built. However you come to learn the purpose of this ploy and it does enhance the experience.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome Read! I would read this more than once. It has action, suspense, great plot, characters and leaves you breahtless!

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Mblaineeichin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A basic thriller, but written well for a fun, light read. It takes place at the Naval Acadamy, a place I visisted once, so that made it more fun for me, I think.

[Laurie (Kwiltreader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder at the Naval Academy. Good mystery, lots of intrigue, just enough detail, some history, moved at fast pace and exciting.

[Hrn1947 · Rating 4 out of 5]

great ending. more books could follow.jim hall is worth keeping.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Kept me very interested.

[Fred]

Interesting plot revels some of the pitfalls of the military colleges.