Places in the Dark [Import] [Paperback]

Thomas H Cook (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Orion (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752843540
• ISBN-13: 978-0752843544
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)

More About the Author

THOMAS H. COOK was born in Fort Payne, Alabama, in 1947. He has been nominated for the Edgar Award seven times in five different categories. He received the best novel Edgar for The Chatham School Affair, the Martin Beck Award, the Herodotus Prize for best historical short story, and the Barry for best novel for Red Leaves, and has been nominated for numerous other awards.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Powerful, Gripping Novel, July 6, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Places in the Dark (Hardcover)

In the fall of 1937, a mysterious woman, Dora March, steps off the bus in the small seaside town of Port Alma, Maine and enters the lives of two brothers: Cal, who always leads with his head and William, who always leads with his heart. Though she stays in town only a year, her presence changes their lives forever, leaving one dead and the other almost crazy with guilt. Places in the Dark is a suspenseful, compelling page turner that keeps you off balance throughout the entire book. Everytime you think you have a handle on the plot and mystery, Thomas Cook turns you in a different direction, convincing you, you're mistaken and on the wrong track. Though there is not a spare word in this story, the real strength of this novel is the powerful, eloquent, vivid writing. Each character is beautifully drawn and developed and given a strong voice to move the story forward to its unexpected, climactic ending. Places in the Dark explores the tragedy of loss, guilt and betrayal and how easily love can both delight and destroy those we care about. One of the best new books this year, it's a story that shouldn't be missed.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like dropping petals along the way., June 5, 2001

By 

Denise Bentley "Kelsana" (The California Redwoods) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Places in the Dark (Mass Market Paperback)

This story is an ingenious trip through the lives, both past and present, of two brothers and a woman who is questionable in demeanor and deed. As the novel opens, the author allows us a glimpse at an appalling act of violence that the rest of his story is literally wrapped around. So cleverly written he drops bits and pieces along the way like so many petals from a flower. I will not give one inkling of the story away because it is to be prized as a whole, but I will say the ending was a total surprise.

While I love the intricacies of Cooks writing, his florid prose distinguishes him as more than your ordinary mystery writer. Not simply a who-dun-it, this book allows you to see evil from a completely different perspective. Cook is the author of 15 novels and can certainly count me among his many fans. Kelsana 6/05/01

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A style that never gets stale, May 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Places in the Dark (Hardcover)

Thomas Cook is unquestionably one of the best fiction writers since Agatha Christie. His prose is beautiful and compelling and his characters lives are believable. His plots are terse with minimal embellishment and no fluff to weaken the plot. He is one of the few modern fictional writers whose succeeding books never get stale or repetitive. Some of his paragraphs are written so beautifully that I have to reread them. "Places in the Dark" has a Maine coastal location that fits the plot beautifully and his small town characters remind those of us who grew up in small towns of people that we knew. Mr. Cook leaves no loose ends and I almost always finish his books in one days reading.