Review by funmilayo_h -- The Dark Web Murders

[funmilayo_h]

[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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Have you ever wondered what goes in the mind of infamous serial killers like Bundy, Ed Wayne Gacy, Jeffrey Dahmer, or their female counterparts; Aileen Wournos, Nannie Doss and Amelia Dyer?. Do you ever think you are capable of murder whether provoked or perhaps you were born one? Brian O'Hare tells the story of "Nemein"-the Greek word for " to give what is due" in his chilling, thought-provoking, and edge-of-the-seat mystery novel, The Dark Web Murders.

Set in Northern Ireland, Chief inspector of police, Jim Sheehan, his partner Stewart and other team-members are overwhelmed by a series of killings, the first being that of Judge Trevor Neeson, a well known public officer who operates in the trial court and is very harsh in sentencing, rumor also has it he has a predilection for young boys. Victims are found with their head brutally crushed with a final significant act of penetrating their rectums invasively- the murder weapon- a police truncheon. The team is led into "The Dark Web"- a network that supplies all sorts of off-the-work information, criminal service, support, and access. Deep into this network is a group called the " Fulfilment of the enlightened " Members are usually the elites; millionaire businessmen, actors, professors, doctors, royalties, government officials from all over the world who have extreme and depraved sexual taste thereby engaging in some form of sadomasochistic behaviors like torture, cruel games, snuff movies. Young men and women are also kidnapped from their homes and kept in dungeons where unimaginable acts are carried out on them.

After the first murder, clues start to unveil from a blog found on the deep web. The blogger who calls himself Nemein starts to write about carrying out each murder. For each of Nemein's acts, he writes about justice, vengeance, justification, hate, and satisfaction in relation to the murders he carries out sometimes comparing some quotes from notable people like Plato, Aristotle, Edgar Allan Poe, R.L Stevenson. A clue he leaves in one of his blogs leads the team to believe Inspector Sheehan may be the next victim thereby leading to the unraveling of the mystery of the dark web murders.

I love this book because it is thought-provoking, at some point, you start to question some of your beliefs. On Nemein's take on justice, you start to wonder "Who gave anyone the right to choose the punishment meted out to culprits in a court of law?" "Who decides what is fair?" "Is what is meted out truly justice"?.Although Nemein was later discovered to have narcissistic personality disorder and some psychopathic tendencies, I believe he revealed some truths on the poor justice system. On his writing on vengeance, he talks about the distinction between the biblical " An eye for an eye" and the " turn the other cheek" phrase. If a loved one is murdered in cold blood, should one wait for the poor and questionable justice system to meet out the punishment for the culprit or seek vengeance.

His third blog release describes the concept of justification based on the miscarriage of justice and its distinctiveness from justice and vengeance, and how it can only be found in the belief and the psyche of the doer. The penultimate blog release talks about Hate, he talks about how hate driven by seeking justice, revenge, and satisfaction is noble while that which drives one to act with blinding passion, without purpose and control is a hate that has reduced one to irrational savagery.

The last blog he released talks on satisfaction, "What is satisfaction? ", it has a lot of synonyms; contentedness, security, achievement, and gratification but none of them truly describe the concept." Does satisfaction come from having everything one wants in life"?

Although I love this book, I do not like that it has too many characters, with many names and you have to refer back to the beginning and this tends to get you lost while reading; McStravick was a character from the start and emerged towards the middle but I completely forgot about him, but I will let this pass since the author stated this fact at the beginning, I wouldn't also recommend this book for the younger audience due to its large volume of profanity.

I will be rating this book a 4 out of 4 stars regardless of the shortcomings I mentioned above due to it been well written, perfectly edited- there was no error whatsoever, I also didn't know until the end that it was the fourth volume of the Inspector Sheehan murder mystery series, and so it can be read as a stand-alone. I recommend this book for crime and mystery lovers.

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The Dark Web Murders
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[kdstrack]

O'Hare does write intriguing stories. Your questions in the opening paragraph had me intrigued. I like stories that make you think and that keep you guessing about the protagonist until the end. This looks good. I enjoyed your review!

[Usma Khann]

Though this book sounds promising based on your rating, I will have to skip this one because of the underlying sensitive themes. Appreciate the review though.

[BookBoyP]

The meaning of Nemein already makes me interested in this book. This sounds like a fantastic mystery novel.

[Prachi Randeria]

The book has got an interesting premise. I am sure I am gonna love reading this one. Thanks for the review.

[funmilayo_h]

O'Hare does write intriguing stories. Your questions in the opening paragraph had me intrigued. I like stories that make you think and that keep you guessing about the protagonist until the end. This looks good. I enjoyed your review!

Thank you very much!

[funmilayo_h]

Though this book sounds promising based on your rating, I will have to skip this one because of the underlying sensitive themes. Appreciate the review though.

Awwn! Thanks for reading and commenting

[funmilayo_h]

The book has got an interesting premise. I am sure I am gonna love reading this one. Thanks for the review.

You'll definitely love it

[funmilayo_h]

The meaning of Nemein already makes me interested in this book. This sounds like a fantastic mystery novel.

It is fantastic..you should get your hands on it