Daughter of Darkness [Paperback]

Ed Gorman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1998

A gripping, psychological thriller in the best tradition of film-noir, this is the story of a rich but mentally and emotionally troubled young woman, who, in an evening she can't remember, may have stabbed a man to death. It's also the tale of the former cop--now a part-time cab driver/and would-be horror writer--who is determined to prove her innocent. But the truth which his investigation eventually reveals is so shocking that it will be almost impossible to prove. For the true criminal is someone she trusts implicitly, someone who is about to wreak the ultimate revenge--someone who has tampered not only with the truth but with his innocent victim's very mind.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A beautiful young woman is found unconscious in an alley, with no memory of who she is or how she got there. When a mysterious impulse leads her to a cheap motel room containing a corpse, all the evidence points to her as the most likely suspect in the murder. The detective on the case, a sensitive recovering alcoholic named Michael Coffey, falls in love with her and sets out to prove her innocence, despite the evidence. The book bounces around between Coffey's efforts to help the amnesiac (who turns out to be named Jenny) and glimpses of a madman, Quinlan, living out his sexual fantasies by way of drugs and hypnotism. Gorman (Guilty As Charged) keeps the pace swift and navigates smoothly among the many subplots, but his characters, which he defines mostly by comparing them to various movie and TV stars, fall flat. The author drops one bombshell at the end, but?because he simply informs the reader flat out rather than revealing the surprise dramatically?the bomb fails to explode, and the novel's resolution collapses into melodrama.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: DAW (December 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886778085
• ISBN-13: 978-0886778088
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,047,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way to weird????? Classic Gorman????, January 20, 2004

By 

J. Bilby "littlebibs" (Kingston, New Hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Daughter of Darkness (Paperback)

Another excellent Gorman novel, I love it when he gets
into these moods, he is, like Joe R. Lansdale, obscenely underrated
and writes such strange compelling stories. I'm glad I found this
talented multi-genre writer, look forward to more like this!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars awful, January 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Daughter of Darkness (Paperback)

This book was way too wierd for me. If you like the very worst Dean Koontz books or the sort of thing that Stephen King wrote when he was in middle school, this book might appeal to you. The text is reminiscent of The Dukes of Hazard, a narrator providing too many details about what is going on. No subtlety. Bizarre plot. Augh!

2.0 out of 5 stars Honestly, who'd want Jenny?, July 16, 2010

By 

Evan the Dweezil (A Place-Sort Of, Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter of Darkness (Paperback)

This book is the story of two psycho psychiatrists and what they're doing to poor Jenny. Jenny, is an overly-coddled rich girl, who has no personality to speak of (unless you're dealing with Linda, her split personality), not much of a spine, and yet she still manages to have every man in the story tripping over themselves to swoon over her.

Coffey is an ex-cop cum cab driver. He too falls head over heels for cardboard Jenny. He's convinced she didn't kill the two men she's accused of murdering. Why? Because he loooooooves her after setting eyes on her once. Who cares that she's a spineless headcase, she's hot!

The pacing in this book was terrible. It lurches and jumps all over the place. Overly predictable, there are several moments in the story that are really funny, it's just that the author probably didn't intend for them to be. Though, I do have to admit, the red car with SATAN spraypainted on the door was classic. Daughter of Darkness gets a second star just for that.