The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Is this thing still on? Hey friends. It's been a minute because, life.

I finished this a couple of weeks ago, but DO NOT interpret the amount of time it took me to finally jot down my thoughts on it as a lack of enthusiasm for this book by Amy Engel.

Because the truth is  I loved it so very much.There are parts of this book that were so vivid that they will stick with me for a very long time to come.

After reading a fair number of thrillers lately that feature wealthy millennials living the high life while  sipping craft cocktails  in NYC (not really my thing), it was refreshing to read a gritty, real story about a tough-as-nails woman trying to scrape by in poor, small town America (my thing).

Eve grew up with a drug-addicted mother who was unstable and  frequently cruel. The only thing that saves her from emulating her mother is the birth of her daughter after an accidental pregnancy at a young age. But twelve years later, while Eve  is just trying to eke out a meager existence by working at a local diner, her daughter is murdered. Eve vows to find out who took her girl’s life and get justice, no matter what it takes. Even if it means tapping into those dangerous parts of herself that she tucked away when her daughter was born.

The setting of this book is harsh and dark and desolate. The same could be said for many of the characters.  The main character, Eve, is so flawed yet strong and likable. I especially love the relationship between Eve and her meth-addicted mother.  This is an unflinching look at what life is like for people who are born without means and become trapped in the small town where they grew up, saddled with a lack of opportunity and no promise of a better life.

This book reads a bit like a Coen brothers movie to me. There’s brilliance in it, and some good truths, but it’s dark and bleak and hard and definitely NOT for the faint of heart.

So, of course, I flippin’ LOVED it!!

I recommend this for thriller or mystery lovers who like grit, vigilante justice, tough themes and rough women. 

Book description:
Set in the poorest part of the Missouri Ozarks, in a small town with big secrets, The Familiar Dark opens with a murder. Eve Taggert, desperate with grief over losing her daughter, takes it upon herself to find out the truth about what happened. 

Thank you #netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the ARC of #thefamiliardark