Customer Reviews

Darkness Bound

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Larry Brooks' DARKNESS BOUND could just have easily been called DARK PASSAGE. It is a wonderfully engrossing book. The story takes place in Seattle. The protagonist Dillon Masters has it all: he is movie star handsome, has a beautiful wife, a glamorous job and is the envy of friends and coworkers alike. But all is not right in Dillon's world. Dillon's beautiful wife wants Dillon out of the house so that she can find herself. Exit a sulking Dillon who takes up what he hopes to be a temporary residence at a Residence Inn. Poor Dillon! The last thing Dillon wants to deal with is his crumbling marriage. A day or two later after a rather defining encounter with his wife Karen, Dillon is taking a walk through Nordstrom's, thinking about his marriage when someone catches his eye. ` The woman was so beautiful that it hurt to look at her. She was the Dark Lady, and she was perfect'. A fix to take away the pain of the breakup? ` This was a woman...out of his league. A woman with the promise of a very palpable and unmanageable danger...An evil woman, in a way that men have found irresistible...who acted and dressed the part...to lure the attention of her prey. The realization gave him an incredible amount of satisfaction, the private pleasure that he'd never been able to satisfactorily explain and that no woman in his life had ever understood'. Thus starts Dillon's dark passage into the nether world of sexual fantasy and deviation, murder and betrayal. You read that description of the Dark Lady and you want to say to Dillon: ` be careful of what you ask for because you just might get it'. And while he gets the Dark Lady, the unattainable woman of his darkest dreams, a woman who shares his sexual predilections, he almost doesn't get it. So much of how we see the world is in our heads. As I heard a troubled woman say once: 'My mind is like a gang infested neighborhood. I dare not go there by myself'. When Dillon finally realizes this truth he gives himself a chance agaist the minions of the Dark Lady. Dillon's roller coaster ride has enough twists and turns to keep the most casual reader of mystery fare on the edge of her seat; and, enough tension and drama to keep even the most experienced mystery buff riveted. And just when you think that Dillon is becoming a cliché, the author puts his novel into another gear; and off we go again.

DARKNESS BOUND was well edited and researched and reflects the author's eclectic background. The character development of the main actors was good to excellent. The dialogue was crisp, delightful and intelligent...except at the end when folks started talking too much while holding other folks at bay with loaded pistols in their hands. I have never believed in the TV version of soliloquy when you have the drop on someone. Still it is a vehicle that authors since Shakespeare have used to tie up lose ends; and, it almost works here. Larry Brooks is an excellent writer. I am anxious to read his next outing.

Two generations ago I would enjoy the stories of the master storyteller, Alfred Hitchcock. Be it Psycho, or Vertigo, or Rear Window, or The Birds, each story kept me on the edge of my seat. Now comes author Larry Brooks. And while, Larry, is not yet in Mr Hitchcock's class, I found myself enjoying Darkness Bound in the same way I'd enjoyed my Hitchcock thrillers, two generations ago.

As a best-selling writer of thrillers and mystery, I do understand the amount of skill required and the amount of talent that it takes to bring a great story from manuscript to print. And for those reasons I admire Larry Brooks, and what he has created in his Darkness Bound.

Darkness Bound is the tale of a man, who is caught up in a game of murder. He lured there by a fatally beautiful psycho babe . Bad turns to worse, for the man, as the people he most trusts fall into his morass of lies and deception and then turn against him.

If you are looking for an excellent psychological murder mystery/thriller, go out and buy, Darkness Bound. Read it. This story is bound to lead you from the darkness of bad fiction and into the light of good plot. I look forward to his next book, Pressure Points. Good job Larry. Norm Harris

Once in a while, when you pick up a debut novel, you get lucky! Such is the case with Darkness Bound. Larry Brooks really delivers with fully drawn characters, a few twists and turns and a story that will keep you thinking, long after the last page is read. More psychological than erotic, the suspense keeps the reader on the edge of his seat until, unfortunately, there are no more pages to turn!

This man can write. I look forward to reading Sentinel, and I wonder what Brooks was doing before he decided to write? Whatever it was, I'm glad he finally figured out his calling!

I'm actually mystified by the number of positive reviews of this book. For me it was disappointing on many levels. Since all the marketing hype presents Darkness Bound as an excursion into the dark and sexy world of bondage and fetishism I expect more than a vague and tepid kind of fumbling sensuality. The eroticism is very artificial at best. Keep in mind, bondage isn't really about sex, it's about the illusion of control and the loss of that control. While that might justify the book's inept sexuality, the dominant/submissive relationship is just as poorly portrayed. The characters are very shallow and the situations often are ridiculous enough to cause more laughter than arousal. Finally, the plot wanders, characters are poorly defined and the final effect is unsatisfying. I would suggest that the reader save his or her money and re-read Justine or the Story of O. Or find a friend and ....

When it comes to books, at times, morals can be learned. Darkness Bound is no exception. The Moral is simple: Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

Dillion Masters is going through a sepreation with his wife, and a chance encounter will change his life. In a dept. store, he meets the woman of his fantasies....then the nightmare begins. Dillion soon learns that punishment and reward goes hand in hand. Soon Dillon's life is turned up sidedown....all for the sake for "the woman of his dreams".

This is an erotic story that has a lot (and I mean a lot) of twists that keep the plot moving as a rapid pace. Brooks has a writing style that will keep the reader glued to each page. This is one of the first books that I actually lost sleep over. I just *had* to read one more chapter. Then at the end of a chapter, there was a plot twist that had me and refused to let go. You may want to get sleeping pills with this book, so you'll be forced to sleep.

You won't miss this book if yer looking for it. It's has an arrtactive woman bound by the writst in a erotic way. The book caught my eye, the I was talking about it with a friend, and she said that I *had* to buy it, I wouln't be sorry. How right she was.

One char I really liked was Detective Rubin. What a wonderful character. He adds a lot to a book that has a lot.

Okay, I said enought. Go out and get Darkness Bound. Just remember, always be careful what you wish for b/c you might just get it....

How could anyone not pick up this book just based on the cover? It is what caught my eye immediately! Fortunately the inside of the book is just as tantilizing as the outside. Larry Brooks has created a world that could just as easily happen to the average Joe, which is the really scary part. Dillon and his wife, Karen have separated. What looks like a chance meeting in a department store between Dillon and the Dark Lady is really something else, and as Dillon's obsession grows for this 'perfect' fantasy gal, the murder happens. The Dark Lady's husband is found dead and Dillon finds himself set up. You will find yourself easily caught up in the twists and turns as Dillon struggles to find a way out of the web the Dark Lady has spun.

All in all- a great read!

Thanks for reading :) **Pandora

Dillon Masters is leading a relatively typical life until a chance (or is it?) encounter in a department store introduces him to a woman who holds the key to all his most secret fantasies. Dillon then has some choices to make: wait around for his estranged wife to decide the future of their relationship or chase after his newfound mystery woman? Dillon thinks he's hit the jackpot, but then his dark lady turns dangerous, and his entire life is on the line.
It's difficult to miss this book. The very cover captures the attention with the image of a woman, eyes concealed, wrists bound. The synopsis reads like a steamy sexual obsession murder mystery. It is that, but the focus isn't on individual acts of sex so much as it is on a story of how even the simplest of choices can have an enormous impact on our lives, and how each of us has a world that's hidden away from those around us.
Feminists be warned! The female characters here play to type: the madonna, the whore, the crone, etc. Overall, I liked the book; the ending was not disappointing which is so often the case with books that I love right up until the last few pages. I think my favorite character was Detective Tim Rubin who actually plays in the background for most of the book. This is an enjoyable read and should help to add a little warmth to a cold winter night!

All I can say is WOW. Brooks weaves a tail of betrayal and seduction by design that will keep you up until you turn the last page - and keep you awake some more just thinking about it.

Intricate plot, incredible detail. I did not give this five stars, however, because characters Dillon Masters and his wife, Karen, got a bit annoying at times when they discussed or thought about their marriage and how they ended up where they are today from teh passionate lovers they were in college. I won't get into detail, as it could lead to a spoiler alert.

Darkness Bound contains edge-of-your-seat suspense that will keep you riveted until the very end.

This page turner sucks you in immediately. Darkness Bound has an intoxicating combination of sex and suspense that will keep you enthralled till the end. There are tons of twists and turns that keep you guessing, right down to the last page. I was totally bummed when I actually finished the book...simply because I wanted more. The other bummer, this is this guys first book...hurry up Larry Brooks and write another.

What were they thinking? The cover of this book promises hot sizzling stuff, but it delivers so much more than that. Let's start with the narrative style -- Brooks is a stylish new voice on the scene, part Nelson DeMille, part Ann Rice, part John Updike. His insight into the subtleties and depths of male-female relationships is illuminating, and both genders would do well to read this as an instruction manual on what makes the other tick. The story is terrifying because it comes from our deepest core as sexual beings. Want to keep your significant other forever enslaved to you? Then read this one. Let's hope they make a movie of it, and soon. If Brooks can keep this up, we have a much-needed new addition to the front ranks of American novelists, ... if you ask me. Sign me, Blown Away in LA.