First Chapter Review: Darkness First by James Hayman

When I discovered the next thriller in James Hayman's McCabe series was out, I knew I had to read it. I've reviewed the previous titles (The Cutting, The Chill of the Night), and I didn't want to miss this one, even if my TBR pile is wild right now.

BLURB: The sadistically mutilated body of a young woman is found in the secluded seaside town of Machiasport, Maine and detective Maggie Savage is drawn home to solve the murder and restore peace. Maggie is the daughter of a sheriff, and justice is in her blood. What makes her so desperate for answers, though, is the fact that her dearest childhood was found just a few steps away from the corpse, comatose, with 150 tablets of Canadian Oxycontin in her pocket.

Maggie delves through the darkest parts of Machiasport, trying to find whichever doomed corner the murdered girl wandered into. After casing old haunts and interviewing the locals, whispers of a menacing character begin to surface: a faceless and nameless man who nobody knows but everybody fears.

In the tradition of John Sandford and William Kent Kreguer, Darkness First is a gruesome thriller about a small town rocked by a savage crime.

COVER: The covers of these thrillers have always been great, but this one is my favorite. I love the colors, the orange in the sky and the headlights against the dark street.

FIRST CHAPTER: Doctor Emily Kaplan is working late in her Machiasport, Maine office one night when she spies a young woman standing in the shadows at the end of the driveway staring into her office/house. She goes outside to help the woman, who has been severely beaten. Though she tries her best to help her, the woman remains secretive about the details of her assault.

KEEP READING: With this opening chapter, Hayman reminds me why I enjoy his work so much. In a few pages he's got me totally hooked. The Prologue, which does not include the characters from the first chapter, already had me eager to see what happens next, so this powerful opening served to cement that desire.

The series is now named McCabe and Savage, instead of just McCabe. I liked Maggie Savage in the other books, so it will be interesting to see if this book has a different feel to it with Maggie being the focus (at least it appears she's more the main character based upon the synopsis).

I'm desperate to find time to add the rest of this book into my reading schedule.

Book Details:
Genre: Thriller
Published by: Witness
Publication Date: 10/1/2013
Number of Pages: 434
ISBN: 9780062301697

Purchase at:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble

Find this book on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17851727-darkness-first

I received a free digital version of this book from the publisher. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.