Review by Shirley-Tome -- The Dark Web Murders

[Shirley-Tome]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Deep beneath the underbelly of the vast World Wide Web, lies the mysterious, secretive and dangerous dark web. The Dark Web Murders by Brian O’Hare is a fictional story of a series of gruesome murders that occur in Northern Ireland. It is the fourth book in a four-part series of Brian O’Hare’s mysteries books.

Kevin Lane is a young man facing a prison sentence. His demeanor, from his first day, is evident that this is his first time serving jail time. A terrible tragedy befalls him when a fellow inmate, McStravick, and his friend, attack Kevin in an attempt to sexually assault him. This incident leads to the unfortunate demise of Kevin and, thereafter, a clear lack of attempt by the prison warden to investigate the matter further, ruling the death as accidental.

The book continues to unravel a series of murders that occur afterwards. The murders are gruesome and all occur in a similar fashion. Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan leads his unit to unravel the seemingly unrelated murders and bring the killer to justice. Together with his partner, Sergeant Denise Stewart, and the other police officers, they embark on a hunt that takes them through twists and turns without any end in sight. In the midst of one murder investigation, the killer strikes again, leaving the police in utter confusion as to how the victims are connected.

During their investigation, a secret club for the elite and wealthy in society, comes to light. The club is unveiled as a highly secretive group that provides its members with opportunities to partake in illegal and inhumane activities. The initial investigation turns to the members of this club to find the assailant. However, Sergeant Stewart’s surf through the dangerous dark web lands her to a blog that perfectly narrates the killings. The writer of this blog is deemed highly intelligent, based off his writing skills. He is convinced that his actions are just and has no remorse for his victims. The blog is growing in popularity and the police are running out of time before they are to save the last victim from a dreaded fate. Who is the mysterious killer?

This book was nothing short of brilliant. During my reading, I could not come across anything negative about it. The author, so generously, provided a handy reference of a list of the principal characters in the story and abbreviations used. Although I had an initial negative judgment that the book, having many characters, may not properly develop them, I was pleased to be proved quite wrong. The reference was quite helpful to keep track of the characters in the story.

What I loved most about The Dark Web Murders was how the author left breadcrumbs of clues along the chapters as to who the killer may be, subjecting the reader to immerse themselves into the unfolding of the investigation. The entire read was quite riveting to me and I, at some point along reading the book, would find myself asking detective-like questions, trying to solve the murder. I really enjoyed the mentally stimulating process of unearthing the mystery. In one of the chapters, the killer created a puzzle that was to be solved to identify the next victim. I solved it before proceeding to read the next sentences and, akin to impatience, found myself agonizing as to when the police would solve it as well!

The author used British spelling and I found no grammatical errors. It is an honor to rate this incredible book 4 out of 4 stars. The story has references to murderous descriptions, sexual violence and trauma that may not be pleasant to all readers. However, an adult who enjoys crime, murder and detective stories cannot miss a copy of this book in their bookshelves!

******
The Dark Web Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Prisallen]

This certainly sounds like a book that I would enjoy as I enjoy thrilling crime dramas. Thanks for your wonderful review!

[Mtibza eM]

Thank you for sharing such an honest review. I enjoyed reading it.