The Darker Side (Thorndike Crime Scene) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Cody McFadyen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2009 | Series: Thorndike Crime Scene

A lie, a long-ago affair, a dark desire—everyone has secrets they take to the grave. No one knows that better than FBI special agent Smoky Barrett. But what secret was a very private young woman keeping that led to her very public murder? That’s the question Smoky and her handpicked team of experienced manhunters are summoned to answer by the FBI director himself.

As a mother, Smoky knows the pain of losing a child. As a cop with her own twisted past, she takes every murder personally. Brilliant, merciless, righteous, the killer Smoky is hunting this time is on his own personal mission. For in his eyes no one is innocent; everyone harbors a secret sin. Soon Smoky will have to face the secret she’s carefully hidden even from her own team—and confront a relentless killer who knows her flaws with murderous intimacy.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Full of horrific violence, this solid third thriller to feature scarred FBI agent Smoky Barrett (after The Face of Death) shows that McFadyen knows how to shock. When the FBI director calls Smoky to Washington, D.C., to inspect the body of a beautiful young woman stabbed to death aboard an airplane, Smoky can't figure out why she's been assigned a case so far outside her L.A. jurisdiction. But when Smoky learns that not only was the victim, Lisa Reid, the child of a powerful Democratic senator but also that she was a pre-op transsexual, Smoky realizes that this is more than a bizarre homicide. Smoky and her team soon get on the trail of the man they dub the Preacher, a sin collector who murders people to obtain their darkest secrets. Harboring secrets of her own, Smoky must stay one step ahead of the killer if she's to bring him down. The forays into the victims' minds to expose their secrets are unnecessary, but the formidable Smoky makes up for the occasional plot tangent. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The third time—that is, the third Smoky-Barrett-tracking-a-serial-killer novel—may well be the charm. This time the diminutive Barrett and her team of manhunters are searching for a brilliant religious zealot who is explaining his killings—and his beliefs—on viral video Web sites. Because one of the killer’s featured victims is the transgender son of a very prominent congressman and potential presidential candidate, Smoky finds herself under the additional scrutiny of the director of the FBI, the president, and possibly even the pope. McFadyen has worked every angle and blended several subgenres with tremendous assurance. The killer, who calls himself The Preacher, makes some fascinating arguments about truth, sin, and the path to absolution. The police-procedural elements of the story seem knowing. The tension builds with each page. Continuing characters in the series continue to grow in complexity, especially Smoky, who must confront whether she is ready to love again after losing her husband and daughter to another serial killer. And, above all, McFadyen is a supremely gifted storyteller. The Darker Side is an utterly compelling thriller. --Thomas Gaughan --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 597 pages
• Publisher: Thorndike Press; Lrg edition (March 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410413888
• ISBN-13: 978-1410413888
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,843,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cody McFadyen lives in California. He is the author of The Darker Side, The Face of Death, and Shadow Man, which was an international bestseller.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review, September 30, 2008

By 

Cheryl Koch (CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Darker Side (Hardcover)

Someone has taken it upon themselves to deal out justice. A woman is murdered and the killer leaves behind a clue. It has to do with penitence and the victim paying for her sins. What sins could a nice, quiet woman who had no enemies be keeping? That's what Smokey Barrett had her team are in charge of finding out. It seems this psychopathic killer actually wants Smoky to find him. He will do anything to get her attention, no matter how many people he has to kill. Smoky is ready to follow the path the killer has laid out for her and her team. Can Smoky deliver the final blow to this psychopath or will this killer make Smoky confess her sins before she meets her maker?

The more I get to know Smoky Barrett; the more I just fall in love with her determination to a job well done. I pity anyone who crosses Smoky's bad side as she will make you wish you were dead. Smokey has matched wits with some of the sickest, ruthless psychopaths around. I have to say that The Darker Side is a long awaited release for me. Ever since I first discovered Mr. McFadyen a couple of years ago and read his first book Shadow Man, I was hooked! Mr. McFadyen makes you say "He can't do that, can he." The next thing you know he does and your left wondering what else will this author come up with next? I will tell you Mr. McFadyen will rip your heart out and leaves you breathless for more. You can bet whenever I see a Cody McFadyen book I will be buying it. Kudos to you Mr. McFadyen.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The series gets better and better, if that's possible!, October 3, 2008

By 

ellen "ellen in atlanta" (Atlanta, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Darker Side (Hardcover)

Cody McFayden has created an amazingly complex character, Smoky Barrett.

She is an FBI agent who has gone through hell and back - a serial killer traps her and her family in her home, tortures her husband, kills him, then goes after her daughter - Smoky has been tortured herself - her face looks like a roadmap - when she gets a weapon and tried to kill the madman, he moves her daughter in the line of fire and the child is killed.

Smoky fights her demons and can get in the minds of killers, because she has been up close and personal with them. Her co-workers are an amazing group of people with passion and grit who help Smoky get as many of the bad guys off the street as possible.

In The Darker Side, Smoky is called to Washington DC from Califoria - a prominent person has requested her specifically - her 'daughter' has been murdered in an airplane - turns out her child is a transexual and she asks Smoky to help her find the killer - turns out this killer is sicker than many she has encountered.

McFayden uses the Internet in this outing - a YouTube type site where the killer posts the murders and all the world is his audience -

The book again shows us the amazing range of McFayden's writing - the darkness against the light. An amazing group of good guys who themselves are shades of light and dark.

If you haven't read this series, start from book one - Shadow Man - this is a great series and I look forward to the next book of this amazing series.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 Stars -- McFadyen Once Again Shows He Has Few Equals Among Thriller Writers!, November 15, 2008

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Darker Side (Hardcover)

With just his third book, The Darker Side proves that Cody McFadyen is right at the top of the list of today's best thriller writers. Once again, McFadyen delivers a big-time plot -- involving a religious psychopath on a perverse crusade of murder -- that is filled with suspense, characters that are extremely believable and descriptive passages that "come alive" on the page. The Darker Side will make you want to turn the pages as fast as you can to find out what happens next. His books aren't just good, they are memorable. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy of The Darker Side. With that said, I felt The Darker Side was not quite as good as McFadyen's first two books in the series -- Shadow Man and The Face Of Death, which are "must reads." The basic, yet minor, difference is that while The Darker Side often had me gasping, Shadow Man and The Face Of Death were so intensely thrilling that from beginning to end I was holding the book in one hand and biting my nails on the other hand. Enjoy!