D.H. Schleicher's Reviews > The Familiar Dark

Amy Engel’s The Familiar Dark is a dark, dark murder mystery about people trying to rise up out of the twisted backwoods of Missouri only to be dragged back down.

It features a strong first-person narration in the character of Eve, plenty of vivid imagery, and solid twists. Like many murder mysteries, it drags a bit in the middle as it goes through the necessary plot mechanizations, but it leads to a dynamite and thrilling conclusion.

I could see this one playing out well as a limited streaming series…where the side characters and pasts are expanded upon for more depth and drama.

But as a novel under 250 pages to read at night for a thrill before bed, it hits all the right marks.