By Erica Wiggins
Content warning: explicit descriptions of violent death, murder
Dark Truths is the first book in the Will Traynor Forensic Mystery series. I always like to learn a little bit about new-to-me authors. I find it can give a little insight into the story. This one is written by A.J. Cross, a forensic psychologist who acts as an expert witness in the court system. This is apparent throughout the story.
Dark Truths is about the death of a woman on a jogging trail. She has been attacked, killed and her head is missing. Detective Inspector Watts and his team must work to find out who murdered this young woman. Assigned to help the team in their investigation is criminologist Will Traynor. Traynor has a difficult past, and DI Watts wonders how or if Traynor will be able to help to solve this crime.
We begin the story with the victim’s death. We only get a quick overview before moving into the discovery of her body and launch into the investigation. As you can guess with the author’s background, the detail is fascinating. As someone who has been interested in this field my whole life, I loved the thoroughness of it all. You feel like you are sitting beside DI Watts and experiencing the investigation. The story unfolds with little tidbits of information being revealed as the chapters progress.
This is one of my favourite ways to tell a story. I am getting a lot of information but can’t tell where the story is headed. I stopped reading at 200 pages to write down some impressions before I got to the end. I can honestly say I had no idea where the story was going. It takes a real talent with words to write a story in this way—one where you get a lot of details but don’t feel overwhelmed by that information, only curious as to what happens next.
It wasn’t until the last thirty pages that the story begins to unravel, and we start to get some answers. What happens in these pages are some twists and a culmination of the information weaved through the first three hundred pages. Plus, the ending; let’s just say book number two is already on its way.
I loved this book and would recommend it to those who love a mystery with a slow build-up and even to those who don’t. I typically prefer shocks and twists during the story, but the author has a way of bringing you in a little at a time. The details and process of the investigation feel true to life and gets you invested in the story and characters. I look forward to seeing how the characters develop throughout this series.
This was a FIVE STAR read for me!
Thank you, Publishers Group Canada, for the complimentary in exchange for an honest review!