Review by ShamamaK -- The Dark Web Murders by Brian O'Hare

[ShamamaK]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Dark Web Murders" by Brian O'Hare.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Brian O'Hare's The Dark Web Murders is the fourth installment of his murder-mystery series, The Inspector Sheehan Mysteries. After the gruesome murder of universally hated Judge Neeson, Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team of detectives quickly find themselves on the chase for a ruthless killer. Hellbent on a quest for perverse justice, this cold, calculated murderer is always just a few steps ahead of the team. Sheehan's manhunt inevitably leads to revealing dark and disturbing secrets of Judge Neeson's elite associates, each one with their own motive to kill him.

I rate this novel 4 out 4 . I am certain that the intended audience, i.e. murder-mystery fans, would enjoy this book. I do not believe it is necessary to have read the first three novels of this series to enjoy this instalment. O'Hare manages to flesh out enough details about his varied characters for new readers to catch on, and he does this in a succinct manner, in order to avoid repetition for longtime fans of the series. Furthermore, the author makes minor references to events that transpired in the previous novels, which definitely has made me curious enough to explore the rest of the series.

I found The Dark Web Murders to be quite the page turner, with many twists and turns throughout the story, keeping the reader engaged and curious about the next sequence of events. The author excels in character development. I found the characters to be both lifelike and likable. The author is masterful in getting the reader to delve into each character's point of view, tailoring their dialogue so you can practically hear them speak in your head. Additionally, the author brilliantly illustrates each character's quirks and backstory through well crafted dialogue.

The story flows quite well, phasing smoothly from one scene to the next. It is exceptionally well edited. I particularly like how the author abruptly changes the overall mood of each scene, from characters engaging in playful banter to stoically poring over a grisly crime scene. This makes for each reveal to be more shocking, than if he had simply dived right into the macabre parts of the story. Overall, I was immediately drawn into the world the author had created. This mystery is riddled with clever misdirects and a healthy buildup of suspense.

My only minor gripe with this novel is that the descriptions of the technology used during crime scene investigations were a little excessive. It took me out of the story as it read more like an equipment manual for forensics students. Moreover, without listing any spoilers, I found the actions of one of the characters in one critical part of the story to be at odds with their previously established methods. Apart from this, I truly enjoyed this novel, and am interested in reading the rest of The Inspector Sheehan Mystery series

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The Dark Web Murders
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