“ONCE, SHE SAVED HIS LIFE…
NOW, HE’LL TAKE HERS.”
The fifth book in the Lacey Flint series, The Dark by Sharon Bolton sees off-duty police officer Lacey Flint witness a baby snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames. But who would want to hurt a child? DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as ‘incels’. Joesbury’s team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.
Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorise women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible danger…
Rating: 
Today is my stop on the Compulsive Readers blog tour for this book. Thank you to the publishers for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A heart-pounding detective thriller, The Dark follows a shocking and unnerving series of crimes committed by a new form of terrorism targetted at women which will evoke a lot of emotion from its readers.
Women’s safety on our streets has been at the forefront of many recent debates, with a number of events over the past few years heightening our fears. And The Dark tackles this subject exceptionally to open up the flaws in the judicial system when it comes to crimes against women.
I find crime thrillers with a focus on incels incredibly fascinating, and I learnt much more about their beliefs with this book. It was really insightful to understand their motives more, and this focus on such a relevant real-life issue adds a real sense of genuine terror, while the police procedural side of the story is brilliantly developed to help us understand the actions of these disturbing perpetrators.
Bolton manages to deceive all with her use of smoke and mirrors, so I couldn’t predict how the bigger picture would unfold, making the rollercoaster investigation all the more exhilarating. It’s dark and gritty, and exactly how I like my detective thrillers, so I look forward to reading more of Flint’s stories in the future.
As usual, I didn’t realise this book was part of a series before reading it. It seems Bolton has been focusing on her standalone thrillers recently and hasn’t had a full-length release in this series since 2016, so it’s no wonder fans are excited to see Flint return.
However, because I haven’t read the other books, I’m not sure how much this one spoils the previous ones, which is the only thing that held me back from loving it more. There’s a lot of talk about Flint’s previous case and some revelations about her past which I still have some questions about, so I assume I needed to read the other books to properly understand these aspects.
But despite that, I would still recommend that new fans of Bolton get straight into this one as it’s a very relevant and thought-provoking story that will certainly spark some discussions.
Details:
The Dark by Sharon Bolton
Release Date: 26th May 2022
Print Length: 447 pages
Genre: Detective Thriller
Publisher: Orion
Synopsis:
THE UNMISSABLE BRAND NEW THRILLER FROM RICHARD & JUDY BESTSELLER SHARON BOLTON – POLICE OFFICER LACEY FLINT FACES HER MOST DANGEROUS CASE YET
When a baby is snatched from its pram and cast into the river Thames, off-duty police officer Lacey Flint is there to prevent disaster. But who would want to hurt a child?
DCI Mark Joesbury has been expecting this. Monitoring a complex network of dark web sites, Joesbury and his team have spotted a new terrorist threat from the extremist, women-hating, group known as ‘incels’ or ‘involuntary celibates.’ Joesbury’s team are trying to infiltrate the ring of power at its core, but the dark web is built for anonymity, and the incel army is vast.
Pressure builds when the team learn the snatched child was just the first in a series of violent attacks designed to terrorise women. Worse, the leaders of the movement seem to have singled out Lacey as the embodiment of everything they hate, placing her in terrible danger…
About The Author:
Sharon J Bolton was born and brought up in Lancashire, the eldest of three daughters. As a child, she dreamed of becoming an actress and a dancer, studying ballet, tap and jazz from a young age and reading drama at Loughborough University.
She spent her early career in marketing and PR before returning to full-time education to study for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) at Warwick University, where she met her husband, Andrew. They moved to London and Sharon held a number of PR posts in the City. She left the City to work freelance, to start a family and to write.
She and Andrew now live in a village in the Chiltern Hills, not far from Oxford, with their son and the latest addition to the family: Lupe, the lop-eared lurcher. Her daily life revolves around the school run, walking the dog and those ever-looming publishing deadlines.
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