The Better Part of Darkness
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Product Description
When the doorways to two alternate dimensions, dimensions that mankind has come to know as "heaven" and "hell" for lack of better names, become permanently open in the city of Atlanta, the Atlanta Police Department finds itself needing to restructure. Creating a separate division, the Integration Task Force, to deal with the new element of chaos introduced into the city Charlie Madigan is one of these new cops. She's a complicated woman, a single mom, a cop and a demon hunter. She's also recently died and risen from the dead, something that nobody seems to be able to explain to her. To make her life more complicated, her ex-husband, who inadvertently caused her death, is back in her life and she's not entirely sure she wants him to go away again. When Atlanta falls under the terrifying shadow of Afterglow, a drug of otherworldly origins, Charlie takes it upon herself to find its source and a possible antidote stop it in its track even as heaven and hell itself stand in her way.
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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
In this urban fantasy the scientists have discovered two alternate dimensions. These dimensions contain the planets Charbydon (earth's mythical demons) and Elysia (land of the angels). They've been among us since the beginning of mankind, but we just didn't know it. Now we do and immigration has changed.
Charlie Madigan, our heroine, is a cop. She is part of Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force (ITF). Her partner is Hank, from Elysia. She is one of the funnest heroines I've had the pleasure to read about. In some ways she is completely messed up. She isn't able to ask for help at all and tends to jump into situations without thinking first. But she also has one part of her life that gives her purpose and strength, and that is her daughter Emma.
Eight months ago Charlie died for two hours. When she came back something had changed about herself. She is able to do things she couldn't before. Her strength has increased and she has developed psychic abilities. Along with all of this she has terrible nightmares that might be about the time she was dead.
In addition a new drug seems to have hit the market, Ash. It's victims go into coma immediately. If they come out of it they die within a short time. Charlie's job is to find out where Ash comes from. She also has to figure out what is happening to her. The two seem connected.
Most of the other characters are fairly two-dimensional, but that doesn't really matter. The book jumps from one action scene to the other. This is a first instalment, and the ending does show that. As a first novel, the book is extremely well-written. The world Kelly Gay has written is believable. I want to get to know Charlie Madigan better.
Charlie Madigan, our heroine, is a cop. She is part of Atlanta P.D.'s Integration Task Force (ITF). Her partner is Hank, from Elysia. She is one of the funnest heroines I've had the pleasure to read about. In some ways she is completely messed up. She isn't able to ask for help at all and tends to jump into situations without thinking first. But she also has one part of her life that gives her purpose and strength, and that is her daughter Emma.
Eight months ago Charlie died for two hours. When she came back something had changed about herself. She is able to do things she couldn't before. Her strength has increased and she has developed psychic abilities. Along with all of this she has terrible nightmares that might be about the time she was dead.
In addition a new drug seems to have hit the market, Ash. It's victims go into coma immediately. If they come out of it they die within a short time. Charlie's job is to find out where Ash comes from. She also has to figure out what is happening to her. The two seem connected.
Most of the other characters are fairly two-dimensional, but that doesn't really matter. The book jumps from one action scene to the other. This is a first instalment, and the ending does show that. As a first novel, the book is extremely well-written. The world Kelly Gay has written is believable. I want to get to know Charlie Madigan better.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the first book in the Charlie Madigan series. I've had this book on my shelf for a while having heard about it and thought it sounded interesting. But it's only now I've gotten around to reading it and I'm kind of sorry I waited so long. Charlie is a tough cop, a devoted mom, and fairly screwed up by having died a few months previously and having had some very creepy nightmares (and other strange side effect) ever since. When a strange 'off-world' drug, ash, hits too close to home she becomes more determined than ever to find the source and stop it. But the deeper they get in to it, the bigger the mountain they face. They're up against some very powerful opponents and some how Charlie knows it ties back in to her brief death. She's in serious trouble and her skills as a cop are probably not enough to save her, and she's not sure her allies are any more capable. But she'll try anyway.
I really liked this book. Charlie is someone who's dedicated to her job, but also a very loving, devoted mother. It doesn't take long to see that Charlie's world revolves around her daughter, Emma, and that she'd do anything for her. I really like when books show parental type relationships (may just be a child/teen the protagonist finds themselves responsible for) and familial relationships. Sometimes they can really make a book, whether it's a child/teen in an adult book or an adult in a major role in a YA book. It can be a really nice change to read, that level of realness, that extra drive it can give a protagonist that can't come from anything else. For it to work well though, there has to be the right balance, and that does exist here. Emma gets enough page time with her mom and there is enough of Charlie talking/thinking about her as well.
Doesn't stop Charlie from having other issues though. She's got some long buried ones that need dealing with, as well as her recent ones, such as the case she's working on. She's a fairly typical tough cop as well, and I love how she and her partner, Hank, play off each other. They have a clear bond/relationship established and I like getting to see more of it, the deeper in to the book you get. I really liked Hank from the start, although it takes a while to really get to know him.
I liked the world building. The supernaturals being from one of two different worlds/dimensions, both of which have their own tendencies, rules and needs. Not all the information is given at once, but there are some points where some extra back story is needed, and they do drag a little.
There are some good twists and there are a lot of sub plots all tied up together, though you can't see them all to start with. I really felt for Charlie as she had to make some hard decisions and face some hard home truths. But, I didn't like her all the time. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was bothering me, but there were times when I found myself getting pretty annoyed with her. Not often, but it did happen.
Overall I did really enjoy this book. It was easy to get in to, pretty hard to put down and plenty going on. There were some slow moments, and I didn't always like the characters, I felt some of them were a little flat. But on the whole, it was a really good read with some very interesting aspects and plenty to make me want to read more. Book 2, The Darkest Edge of Dawn, just released and I'm looking forward to getting and reading it!
I really liked this book. Charlie is someone who's dedicated to her job, but also a very loving, devoted mother. It doesn't take long to see that Charlie's world revolves around her daughter, Emma, and that she'd do anything for her. I really like when books show parental type relationships (may just be a child/teen the protagonist finds themselves responsible for) and familial relationships. Sometimes they can really make a book, whether it's a child/teen in an adult book or an adult in a major role in a YA book. It can be a really nice change to read, that level of realness, that extra drive it can give a protagonist that can't come from anything else. For it to work well though, there has to be the right balance, and that does exist here. Emma gets enough page time with her mom and there is enough of Charlie talking/thinking about her as well.
Doesn't stop Charlie from having other issues though. She's got some long buried ones that need dealing with, as well as her recent ones, such as the case she's working on. She's a fairly typical tough cop as well, and I love how she and her partner, Hank, play off each other. They have a clear bond/relationship established and I like getting to see more of it, the deeper in to the book you get. I really liked Hank from the start, although it takes a while to really get to know him.
I liked the world building. The supernaturals being from one of two different worlds/dimensions, both of which have their own tendencies, rules and needs. Not all the information is given at once, but there are some points where some extra back story is needed, and they do drag a little.
There are some good twists and there are a lot of sub plots all tied up together, though you can't see them all to start with. I really felt for Charlie as she had to make some hard decisions and face some hard home truths. But, I didn't like her all the time. I can't put my finger on exactly what it was bothering me, but there were times when I found myself getting pretty annoyed with her. Not often, but it did happen.
Overall I did really enjoy this book. It was easy to get in to, pretty hard to put down and plenty going on. There were some slow moments, and I didn't always like the characters, I felt some of them were a little flat. But on the whole, it was a really good read with some very interesting aspects and plenty to make me want to read more. Book 2, The Darkest Edge of Dawn, just released and I'm looking forward to getting and reading it!
Format:Mass Market Paperback
i kept putting this down and must have read the first chapter at least three times as it didnt grab me instantly but i kept reading and am so pleased i did.
i am not sure if i really connected with charlie as at times she seemed[to this reader] almost too
keen to kick ass! but her strong maternal feelings saved her and made her a more rounded character. i wont give story away as others have but its an intriging beginning to what seems to be a very good series
lots of action and just a little bit sexy, definately not aimed as a romance but that made it grittier than others in this genre. clearly the author feels she does not need to titilate as her world and story stand out without extra fluff which some readers might object to.
if you like a good book that keeps you guessing and isnt predictable than this is the book for you!
i would give 4.5 stars
i am not sure if i really connected with charlie as at times she seemed[to this reader] almost too
keen to kick ass! but her strong maternal feelings saved her and made her a more rounded character. i wont give story away as others have but its an intriging beginning to what seems to be a very good series
lots of action and just a little bit sexy, definately not aimed as a romance but that made it grittier than others in this genre. clearly the author feels she does not need to titilate as her world and story stand out without extra fluff which some readers might object to.
if you like a good book that keeps you guessing and isnt predictable than this is the book for you!
i would give 4.5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Harmless entertainment for fans of urban fantasy
The events in The Better Part of Darkness take place in Atlanta. Atlanta is a place for off-worlders, who are foreigners from alternate dimensions called Elysia (a heaven-like... Read more
Published 11 months ago by "Seregil of Rhiminee"
WOW!
Excellent book this, pushed all the right buttons for me. Well done to first time author Kelly Gay and I look forward to reading the second in the series. Read more
Published 12 months ago by John Ringo
Loved it
There seems no need to go over the storyline again as the previous reviewers have covered it nicely - but it's worth saying that this is a great read, and before I was even halfway... Read more
Published 16 months ago by ImReallyAnElf
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