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Darkness on the Edge of Town (Laura Cardinal Series Book 1) by [J. Carson Black]

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J. Carson Black

Darkness on the Edge of Town (Laura Cardinal Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by J. Carson Black (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

217 ratings

Book 1 of 5: Laura Cardinal Series

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Laura Cardinal: Packs a SIG Sauer P226 9mm. Investigates homicides in small towns that have limited resources. Brings justice to murder victims--and to their killers. Laura’s job description: Criminal Investigator with the Arizona Department of Public Safety. But maybe it should just say “Troubleshooter.”

Used to be kids played outdoors until time for dinner, now social media’s the new game in town. These days, they play on their smartphones. But with more freedom comes greater danger. Mobile devices are a conduit into a child’s life, not just for friends but for those who intend harm. This is the message of J. Carson Black’s Daphne du Maurier Award-nominated thriller, DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN.

When Laura investigates the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl found in a town’s park bandshell, she knows immediately what she’s up against: a cunning sexual predator. But why is she plagued by the abduction of a schoolmate eighteen years earlier?

In a runaway case that propels Laura from a lavish Tucson estate to the secretive heart of a northern Florida town, she must confront the ghosts of her own past. Then another child goes missing—and Laura must race the clock to find her.

“A superb debut…Welcome to a strong new voice in American Crime Fiction”
— T. Jefferson Parker, Edgar Award winner and author of California Girl

“A complex, multi-layered, nail-biting Superthriller”
— Michael Prescott, New York Times and Amazon bestselling author of Dangerous Games

Print length

437 pages
Language

English
Publication date

December 8, 2013
File size

3071 KB
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hailed by bestselling author T. Jefferson Parker as "a strong new voice in American crime fiction," J. Carson Black has written fifteen novels. Her thriller, THE SHOP, reached #1 on the Kindle Bestseller list, and her crime thriller series featuring homicide detective Laura Cardinal became a New York Times and USA Today bestseller. Although Black earned a master's degree in operatic voice, she was inspired to write a horror novel after reading The Shining. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003TFETK0
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Breakaway Media (December 8, 2013)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 8, 2013
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3071 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 437 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #355,617 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #6,507 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
- #8,099 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- #10,662 in Police Procedurals (Books)

Customer Reviews:
217 ratings

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J. Carson Black

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Top reviews from the United States

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Slow, sometimes hard to follow

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2015

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This was a difficult novel for me to get into. There's a supernatural/ghost angle that never gets fully developed, a prickly lead detective who is hard to root for (she's doesn't have the essential "great detective quality" that allows a reader to spend a book with a less pleasant main, she just seems to stumble through the investigation), and a plot that basically involves bad guys pouring out of the woodwork (and in some cases revealing themselves as serial killers despite seeming normal for the vast majority of the story).

Laura Cardinal is a Tucson-based detective investigating the murder of a teenage girl. Laura has a lot going on in her life and, unfortunately, the author doesn't always do the best job of making it clear what exactly is going on. I am not a reader who usually needs a lot of handholding, but I spent far too long in this book wondering exactly what was going on or trying to remember who certain characters were.

The plot develops slowly -- Laura's investigation involves a lot of waiting. When things do begin to move faster, it's hard to take it seriously because it's so far-fetched.

One person found this helpful

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AmazonFanatic

A good deal at .99 cents, I enjoyed it.

Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2011

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I am not normally a thriller-detective reader, I'm more of a Stephanie Plum / Evanovich reader. I did, however, enjoy Darkness On The Edge Of Town. It was just the right length, not a lot of fluff added to draw the story out lengthwise. The characters were well-written, especially Laura Cardinal. I was relieved that there was not too much blood/guts/violence especially because this storyline dealt with sexual predators and children. It also gave a good amount of 'heads up' to parents who think that leaving a computer in their child's room or anywhere else unattended is a bad idea, especially with girls even at eleven or so.

The only things I didn't love about the book were that there were a lot of extra characters and I had trouble keeping up with all of them, but that may be just me. Also, the constant use of the term 'mesquite tree' was distracting. Perhaps because I've never lived anywhere that had them as far as I've been aware, but every time they were mentioned, and that was quite a bit, it jumped out at me. Also, there were random spots all over the book where the font changed to italics for no apparent reason. As a published author on Amazon, I know that can be an issue, weird font things, but hopefully it can get corrected.

Darkness on The Edge Of Town was a good character study, not only of the 'bad guy(s)" but also of Laura Cardinal. She's well written for a main character...she is strong rather than the typical "gritty" we see so many times in detective novels. I like her. She also has side issues in her life, but doesn't get side-tracked. She knows when to back off, when to press out on her own, when to say 'the heck with it' and go it alone. I can see a bright future for her.

I enjoyed this book enough to give another one of J Carson Black's other books a try at just .99 cents.

4 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Excellent Book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2011

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For anyone who loves detective books this is a book for you. It is well written and a very good story. If you don't like reading about children being murdered or serial killers then maybe you should skip this book. Very little sex and I don't recall any swearing.

It was a book that you just didn't want to put down. The main character, Laura, was smart, gutsy and a great detective. You also were fed bits of what was going on in the killer(s) head. There were times when I was pretty sure who was in on the killings and I was right BUT it was not obvious at all and I am sure many of you won't know until the end of the story. Not because I am so smart I just have something in my brain that I just pick up on who it is. Keep in mind that there are enough characters that you can suspect and you probably will suspect them for various reasons.

I also loved the way this author described things - you felt like you were really there with Laura. I am not too crazy when some authors do this but this was really really well done. It didn't feel like a bunch of filler or ridiculous descriptions like some authors just throw in.

I love books that make you think and are written in a way that doesn't make you feel it is written for people who really just want a light read and don't want to think. I don't mean this in a bad way because sometimes I want to read something light that I don't have to think too much about. However, most of the times I want to read a book like this.

All in all I can't imagine anyone who loves detective mystery thrillers that would not like this book. It was not too short nor too long it was just perfect. I didn't feel like there was anything left out and you were satisfied with everything at the end.

I look forward to reading other books by this author!

4 people found this helpful

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Terri Carol Davis

Darkness on the Edge of town is a dark story

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2017

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This is the first book in the Detective Laura Cardinal Series. The story primarily takes place in Tucson Arizona where Cardinal is a detective for the police dept. As the lead investigator in a kidnap, rape, and murder of a twelve year old girl who as the story progresses is one of several past abductions of similar young women. Detective Cardinal finds a pattern in the other cases of similar cases and finds the victims were perused on the internet by a ring of evil pedophiles.
I found the read interesting. I have read all the Cyril Landry books and want to read more and so I thought I would try this author's other books. My favorites are the Cyril Landry books though.

8-31-17. Terri Davis. Oklahoma City, Ok

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Louise Bradford

Frankly superb

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2011

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I'm always looking to find new authors to read but, because I read so often, I can be difficult to please. This is the first book I have read by J. Carson Black, but it will not be the last. I was swept away from the first page after an introduction that left me intrigued and amused. There were twists and turns throughout the whole book that kept things interesting without losing me. The character development was excellent. I originally chose the book because I had some time to do some light reading - I didn't put it down.

Loved it. Highly recommended reading.

5 people found this helpful

Sibel Hodge

A gripping thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 20, 2012

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Straight away, I could easily relate to the main character, Laura Cardinal: A DPS investigator in a world full of men (some with hidden agendas!). As Laura looks into the death of a young girl, a frightening reality is brought to our attention - the fact that there are dangers and predators lurking on the Internet, grooming young children to play out their twisted fantasies. The skillful writing pulls you in immediately, and the plot will keep you guessing on a rollercoaster ride of twists and turns. An incredibly gripping thriller - can't wait to read the rest in the series!

Benjurs

Great book, good thriller which keeps you guessing to the end!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2012

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First time I've read this author and I was pleasantly pleased with their work! Good pace throughout and nice police procedural story.

Just a little disappointed with the predictable ending (once you've been told whodunit...) which left me a bit disappointed...

Well worth the sale price at present...

A good little read!

jillywoo

great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2015

Verified Purchase

another beauty keeps you on the edge of your seat very well written