Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Darkness

AUTHOR: Eden Winters

PUBLISHER: Self Published

LENGTH: 442 pages

RELEASE DATE: June 1, 2024

BLURB:

Darkness follows Lieutenant Morrisey James.

As an Atlanta PD detective, Morrisey understands the worst atrocities the city has to offer—or believes he does. His recent cases present something new: a killer who unleashes unbridled terror in victims before moving in for the kill. Morrisey has an edge, though, the terrifying ability to gain flashes of insight from each victim.

Most people assume Farren Austin is a shallow, pretty boy, but he’s so much more. Agent Austin keeps secrets as part of the FBI’s Alternate Entities Task Force, a unit created to monitor travelers from another realm. Although they might look human, they’re anything but.

And they’ve taken a special interest in Morrisey.

Partnered with Farren, Morrisey finds himself in the middle of demons trying to possess his body, a succubus sidekick who wants to cook him breakfast, accusations of being a powerful destructive force, and a growing number of people calling him “Darkness.” Not to mention a sudden overwhelming attraction to his new partner.

It’s going to take the mysterious Farren’s help to keep the latest case from being Morrisey’s last.

REVIEW:

For my first foray into reading Eden Winter, I found it a wonderfully unique take on an urban fantasy/paranormal setting.

From the get-go, this story wraps you up in its slightly creepy wings and pulls you in deeper as you become more immersed in this world.  The worldbuilding and storyline are quite lengthy and very detailed.  I wasn’t sure where this story was headed at first, but as I got further into the story, I found I was so immersed in the story – I didn’t want to put it down.  I found that Eden created multiple worlds, that interacted with each other on several levels.  She creates worlds that are not only human, but worlds that are on a different plane of existence.

The characters in this story are quite varied and developed with all the intricacies of good and evil tendencies.  On the theme of good and evil, she transitions that into light and dark.  Requiring the characters to imbue one or the other to balance each other out. Morrisey is the street hardened detective and Farren is the “angelic” FAET (FBI Alternate Entities Task Force) agent. Surrounding them are a cast of side characters so unique and diverse, I hope they might be featured in another book in this universe.  No, I don’t know if there will be another story in this universe – but I thought I would throw it out there and see if it sticks.

The prose is so good in this story.  They are woven for effect and detailed descriptions of the human plane and the other planes of existence.  Intermingled is a murder mystery, that Morrisey and Farren must solve.  Not every story I read brings me to tears, but early on in the story, I was just bawling.  Takes fantastic writing skill to get me to bawl during a story.  The writing in this story definitely brings on all the feels, plus some sexy times to boot.

Slamming the door didn’t fucking relieve enough stress. Nor did the second time. Or third. Morrisey drew the line at five when busybody Mrs. Christy next door usually resorted to calling the landlord.

Not that the landlord did much, having a strong instinct for self-preservation. The bad-tempered old bastard mostly grumbled under his breath and threatened to call the law.

Morrisey was the law. Also, one hell of a lot more bad-tempered.

I can’t wait to pick up and read more books from Eden’s extensive catalog after reading this brilliant murder mystery. Find your favorite eBook purchasing site and grab this story as soon as you can.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon