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

[Bhaskins]

[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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The Dark Web Murders by Brian O’Hare is a must read for mystery lovers. This is the fourth book in a series that follows an Inspector, Jim Sheehan, in Northern Ireland. This book was easy to follow as a stand alone book and I did not feel like I had to read the others to comprehend the flow or history from previous stories. The Dark Web Murders showcased a large cast of characters that each had their own backgrounds. The backstory for each person was incredibly helpful and contributed a great deal of detail and importance to the book.

Inspector Sheehan and his officers started off by investigating the murder of a local judge. He was a prominent member of society and his murder was quite violent. The team starts to put together pieces from the judges past to try and help determine who would want to kill him. During this time another affluent member of the town is murdered and posed in the same graphic way. As the investigation continues two more murders happen. Connections are formed and lead to larger conspiracy, but for Inspector Sheehan something just doesn’t quite add up. Two of the victims seemed to not fit in with the crowd connected a larger group of powerful people. Sheehan knows that each victim was targeted for a reason, he just needed to find out what that reason was. This is a powerful story of the lengths people will go to in order to seek justice.

What I liked most about this book was that it kept me guessing. I find that I usually can figure out mysteries about half way through. If you read mysteries often enough they can become predictable; not The Dark Web Murders! I wasn’t able to be sure of the killer until the very end and I never even put together his motive. I loved the shifts in perspectives and the way things flowed between the chapters. The writing changed to match the voice of each character and is incredibly well thought out.

What I liked least was the length of the sections from the murderer. The murderer was highly intellectual and would write blog posts on why he was killing. I found them hard to follow and very heady. I understand that was the point and the author did a good job illustrating the difference in the killer, but for me it was dry.

I give The Dark Web Murders a score of 4 out of 4 stars. I loved that it kept me guessing until the very end. I appreciate the writing and how expertly edited this book was. I also found it very helpful that the author provided a list of characters and helpful terms in the beginning of the book for folks that aren’t familiar with the chain of command in Ireland’s law enforcement system. This book is great for anyone who enjoys a good mystery, however, is does have some mention of sexual assault and abuse. Those that have a hard time reading about sexual assault might want to skip it, but it was not overtly graphic.

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The Dark Web Murders
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[Erin Painter Baker]

I think it's great when a mystery novel can keep the reader guessing until the very end.

[Jezebelle84]

This book sounds very interesting. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it.

[Bhaskins]

I think it's great when a mystery novel can keep the reader guessing until the very end.

I agree. I feel like it is rare these days for me. I’m glad it kept me guessing. It was such a nice change, although I felt like an idiot I didn’t see that coming!