Darkness Falls

Fast paced and chilling, "Darkness Falls" is a thriller that will definitely please even the most fastidious of readers. I certainly was hooked by the time I had finished the first chapter. And even though I (again) suffered from a lack of a proper night's sleep, it was well worth it. It's Pippa Pascal's birthday, and the nine year old wants her mother, high-flying lawyer, Clara, to take her to school. And so, even though she shouldn't, Clara makes the time in order to take Pippa to school on this important day. But outside the school gates, things go terribly wrong, when a masked man jumps out of a nondescript van and grabs Clara, bundling her into the van and driving away. Within minutes the police are on the scene; unfortunately, even though Pippa was a witness to her mother's kidnapping, the traumatized little girl is of little help. As the police try to figure out if Clara was kidnapped for ransom, or if she was snatched because of her involvement in the very high profile prosecution of a crime boss, the once totally in control Clara Pascal, imprisoned in a cellar and chained to a wall, battles for her life and sanity as she tries to figure out who kidnapped and her and why. But the more she learns, the more she realizes just how precarious her position is and how much she has to fear from this very determined man who seems to have some very firm ideas about what Clara should experience... "Darkness Falls in a very superbly crafted thriller that centers wholly on the character of Clara Pascal -- who she was, what she did, and her reactions to being imprisoned and controlled by her masked jailer. Slowly we get to know Clara -- to admire her tenacity and courage, even as we dislike her (past) single-minded dedication to her profession. And even though the book focuses equally on the police investigation and the killer's sick fantasies (there is a subplot involving the serial killer), reading of Clara's attempts to connect with her kidnapper is what made "Darkness Falls" riveting. Swiftly and tautly paced and with mounting levels of tension, "watching" how Margaret Murphy brings both these subplots together is a stunning and unexpected twist, made reading "Darkness Falls" a pleasure and well worth not having slept enough the previous night.

Nine year old Pippa Pascal persuades her ultra-busy mom Clara to take her to school today since it is her birthday. Though the barrister is working on a major case with early appointments, still Clara is conned into dropping her daughter off to the amusement of her spouse Hugo. However, at the school following the mandatory cautionary motherly pitch to stay safe, Clara turns towards her vehicle only to have a red ski masked male abduct her.While Clara is chained to a wall in a clammy cellar with no food, water, or a toilet, the culprit remains silent behind his mask. Clara ponders who and why, but comes up empty. Meanwhile Detective Inspector Steve Lawson investigates the kidnapping with two prime suspects in mind: the spouse and a mobster she is prosecuting. Though held prisoner with Bastille-like conditions, Clara refuses to break or beg. Instead she fascinates her host when with élan she psychological assaults him though that track fails to move the culprit. As time moves on, Clara's chance of survival geometrically diminishes.DARKNESS FALLS is an exhilarating thriller due to the prime two characters. Clara will fascinate readers as she has her "host" with her courage. The abductee is also intriguing as ironically the audience learns his plans for his victim before he applies them to Clara. This enables the audience to feel for the barrister yet also sees what went right and what failed. Though a final turn of the screw seems too easy, fans will value this dark psychological thriller that does not let go until the final ante is raised.Harriet Klausner

This is the first Margaret Murphy book that I've read but it certainly won't be the last.Defence barrister, Clara Pascal, is kidnapped and held captive in a dark, cold cellar for 6 days, expecting that every next minute would be her last. Can't go into detail as it would give away the plot but suffice to say that there is suspense, tension and the expectation of iminent violence. M/s Murphy describes her scenes in the police Special Operation room in as much detail as if she were writing a script for a tv cop show which is a very effective way of writing in this genre. I gave it 5 stars (unusual for me) for good plotting, tight writing and her ability to hold the readers attention to the end without missing a beat.