Darkside: A Novel

I can relate to a lot that is in Darkside as I am a US Navy Retired Chief Petty Officer. Granted I never attended the Naval Acadamy but I did walk the grounds several years ago. P.T. Deuterman, also Retired Navy, has a way with words and puts them to great use. I highly recommend this book to all

"Darkside" is an interesting story, with likeable characters, a few surprising plot twists, a good measure of tension, and the attractive setting of the United States Naval Academy. Unfortunately, while the story gets off to a good start, it's weighed down by a long middle section in which little progress seems to be made in solving the murder mystery, which is, of course, the point of the story. Instead, this central part (about half the book, in fact) is full of character development (not in itself bad) and a lot of discussion of the hothouse environment of Academy life. For people like me who are interested in questions of military education, this section has certain rewards. However, for people who are mainly interested in a murder mystery regardless of setting, these 200 pages would probably be somewhat of a drag.About page 300, though, the plot picks up its pace, and keeps charging ahead with action and revelation right up to the very last page. Readers interested in a fast-moving, dramatic showdown might even find it worthwhile to skim the book until chapter 12, and then dive in there in earnest. You'd miss some of the plot threads that get tied up in the end, but you'd skip all the slow parts too.It's hard to tell whether the author is trying to make a political point about some of the people who are being admitted to the Academy these days. Without giving away much of the plot, I'll note that questions like "How could someone like this make it into Annapolis?" are raised, by the characters themselves, throughout the story. By intention or oversight, Deutermann seems to leave this question largely unanswered -- and indeed, makes it more pressing than ever given some of the final plot twists.But that issue is no doubt secondary to the quality of the story itself. I did like several of the characters here, and thought the setting believable, the story plausible, and the action, tension, and pacing (at least in the final section) brisk. General mystery fans could probably enjoy this as much if it were 100 pages shorter, but those of us who like reading about military academies will find the whole thing worth the read.

Pete Deutermann is one of the few authors that I'll buy in hardback without even reading the dust jacket first - he's that good. His latest, Darkside, is one of his most gripping to date. I don't want to give away any of the story line so let's just say that one of the plot developments was wholly unexpected. It's a nice change to read a military who-done-it by someone who actually served in uniform and knows the environment, the slang, etc., although Deutermann has made his mark in writing great mysteries in non-military settings as well.

Several years ago I picked up an book on a remainder table called SCORPION OF THE SEA by an unknown author named P T Deutermann. By the time I was finished with that book I was wishing he'd write more! He has and every book just keeps getting better.Deutermann writes around a military theme, but not necessarily all military stories. He has stayed away from the improbable scenarios and whizzo-high tech that other writers of like minded fiction have fallen into. His stories always feature solid characters, believable dialogue and compelling action. He has an uncanny ear for dialogue and excellant characterizations.With DARDSIDE, he has surpassed himself, crafting a story that is multi-layered with the Naval Academy as a backdrop. The life of a midshipman comes to life on these pages, as well as a whole host of other characters.Deutermann assumes his readers have enough working knowledge of the subject matter that he doesn't litter the narrative with asides to define and explain every military term or bit of jargon he uses, yet he doesn't overwhelm with it. If you never knew what a "bitter end" was, the story wouldn't suffer because of it. Until this book, I thought EDGE OF HONOR was his masterpiece, now I would say it's a dead even tie, although he revisits a lot of the themes about Honor and Duty in this story. Highly recommended, the best book of 2002 by far!

P T DEUTERMANN has now est. himself as one of the best fictionwriters, in not only this country, but in the world today. Hisnew book DARKSIDE,will keep you up all night. I thought he couldnot surpass HUNTING SEASON, but he has proved us all wrong.Itsnot as if he has written only one or two good books,all his novels, are 5+, this author is the best kept secret in America.but the word is getting out,as his last book HUNTING SEASON,wasa big seller.please tell your friends,if its mystery,thrills,and suspense,and great writing,with solid characters,and superbplotting, DARKSIDE, is one of a kind for this Christmas season.i'm so sold i'm buying, a number of them for christmas gifts.You can read the review from publishers weekly,if you want to know more about the story, i'm not giving away anything. thanks P T DEUTERMANN!!! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!