City Dark: A Thriller

I was captivated from beginning to end . Lots of little twists and I wish there was a sequel even though this book tied the story up perfectly

In 1977, a woman had packed her belongings and her two sons, Joe,10, and Robbie,15, into the family automobile, desperately seeking a fresh start in life. Their destination was her brother's apartment, where they had arranged to crash temporarily. With the worst possible timing, they approached New York City at the time of the infamous 1977 blackout. To make matters worse, their car ran out of gas. Lois, the mom, exited the car, telling the boys to stay put and she would be right back. However, she never returned or contacted the boys ever again. Fast forward to 2017. Joe is now a functioning alcoholic attorney, whose binges result in blackouts of another kind. One day he is notified that a homeless person has been murdered on the beach, and authorities believe the woman is none other than his mother, Lois DeSantos. Joe shows little emotion as he feels nothing but bitterness and resentment toward the woman who left him in the care of a 15-year-old to find their way from the outskirts of the city to their uncle's house in Staten Island. Uncle Mike was a good man, who had cared for Joe but died of AIDS when Joe was only 18. Brother Robbie was alienated from his uncle and brother. Joe rarely saw Robbie but was able to give police a number to use for the death notification of their mother. When asked of his whereabouts when Lois was killed, Joe could not provide details, as he had been drunk out of his mind. Oddly, evidence begins to pile up indicating that Joe may have been involved in her death. Soon, Joe's ex-girlfriend is also killed, with additional suspicion falling on Joe, the alcoholic with no memory of recent events. Only Joe's attorney Aideen believes in his innocence, but realizes she is facing an uphill battle due to Joe's blackouts and connection to both victims, who were killed in the exact same manner by a broken neck. DNA evidence from both scenes is the last nail in his coffin. Joe and his attorney suspect that a criminal mastermind named Aaron Hathorne, a convicted child molester, was somehow pulling strings from the mental hospital to which Joe, in his role as an attorney, had Hathorne confined rather than released when his prison sentence was over. But that had to be so complicated as to be impossible, didn't it? Switching in time from 1977 to 2017 throughout the book, Author Roger Canaff provides a complex tale of terror from the past and in the present, including the emergence of a character which left me in shock and awe. The book's themes are as dark as the blackout itself, but it was an entertaining read because of its intricate details and twists. (Trigger alert: If frequent foul language bothers you, this might not be a good choice.)

CITY DARK is an intense thriller. There is not a slow spot in this fast paced novel. It is also appropriatly named. It is a very dark story dealing with a whole host of things that sensitive readers are going to be upset by. These dark topics run the gambit from AIDS, domestic abuse, mental illness, institutional abuse, manipulation, paedophilia, prostitution, rape, childhood abandonment, alcoholism, homelessness, and inevitably murder. What saves this book from being a completely dark story, is the kindness shown by the important characters towards each other, and often to complete strangers. The character development is excellent and good enough to make the reader feel empathy for the main character's extremely debilitating choices. In fact, Joe Desantos is a character that, despite being a frequent total blackout drunk, is a really good guy, much loved and respected by people that know him and even those that just meet him. The plot itself is complicated, but not confusing. The bad guy is a little too unrealistically powerful, but the rest of the plot is believable. That is probably the single flaw in this story, because overall it doesn't require much suspension of disbelief. I read the the bio of author, Roger A Canaffbefore selecting CITY DARK. I will be reading his other books, because it seems they have received high praise from readers. With CITY DARK, Canaff seems to have proved, once again, he is a very good writer who knows how to tell a story.

I read this book in less than 24 hours bc it was a compelling. I was drawn in right away and was intrigued by the story. I think how the author pulled together all the threads of the novel was well-done.

What a wild ride this quick read was! New York City’s darker side was brought out in this story which is told in non chronological order. Beginning in 1977 during New York City’s most infamous blackout, mom Lois’ car runs out of gas. She leaves her two boys aged 15 and 10 alone in the car while she steps into the inky black night to go for gas. The boys never saw her again. Robbie, the oldest, didn’t make much of himself. He was always a victim looking to get even. Younger brother Joe, who lived with mom’s brother Mike after she abandoned them, became an attorney and eventually an Assistant DA with the state Department of Justice. He was also a functioning alcoholic. But when the blackouts started, Joe remembers nothing. Forty years later, mom turns up murdered on the beach. When the second murder happens, Joe is suspect number one and soon arrested and sent to Rikers. Behind the scenes is a master-manipulating-over-the-top psychopath who is yanking everyone’s chain. He was an unbelievable character to me in that he managed to get and use computers, software, and burner phones plus distribute these items to outsiders all while being a patient in a lock down psych ward. He was also able to write code for apps he used on these devices. A little far fetched for me. This book is aptly named. The story is dark and the underbelly of NYC is exposed in the sex crime unit, the mental illness, the homeless, pedophilia, murder, revenge, death, and the seedy side of life the book portrays. Triggers for some readers. There are many characters to keep straight in this short novel. The book takes a little over four hours to read on the Kindle App yet the number of characters continue to multiply. I question the attorney for Joe who allowed her 14 year old daughter to be involved and in the know about Joe’s case. Fourteen year old’s aren’t known for keeping confidential material secret. The story is not all dark, for Joe has people in his life who believe in him and will pull for him, even when he doesn’t think the fight is worth fighting. Three stars for me.

This book was such a fascinating read. It also kept me wanting to finish it. The twist and turns all the way to the last chapter was Brilliant.

The hate in some people runs so deep that even they can't see beyond it, and the trail of devastation their actions leave in its wake is almost always irreparable.

A very interesting thriller that starts in the 1977 New York blackout. For those who weren't alive during that event it was days of disruption trauma and chaos.. so a really good setting for a suspense novel. This novel a pair of young brothers are abandoned by their mother or lost during the chaos of the blackout and 40 years later are asked to identify her body and then realize there are so many events they can't remember. The untangling of the mystery makes for a very exciting if a bit confusing mystery thriller. Unusual plot, highly recommended.