Book Review: In The Dark

Author: Daniel Fox

Published: April 24th 2016

Steve Lewis has just suffered a traumatic brain damage and he wakes up with no recollection of his wife, Lisa or his son, Tyler. Confused and in a daze, he only remembers his past and he is filled with trepidation of returning home from the hospital. A home he has no memories of. Lisa, his loving and strong wife is determined to remain by his side although Steve couldn’t remember her. As time goes on, other memories surface and all Steve remembers is another woman whom he loves. With that memory, things get sinister and patience are tried. Can Steve regain his memories in time?

<a href="http://<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Daniel-Fox-ebook/dp/B01EQOKU3M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3RBPIK5PVSC8K&keywords=in+the+dark+daniel+fox&qid=1687778744&sprefix=in+the+dark+danial+foc%252Caps%252C792&sr=8-1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=olivia2796-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=fc3e7272c82f1ed58d246a3b0a73dd10&camp=1789&creative=9325">in the darkIn The Dark is more of a psychological horror novel and thank goodness for me, there isn’t that much of horror in it but it certainly is grotesque and creepy at certain parts. During the time I was reading the story, I was reminded of a couple of creepy and psychological stories I thought I had buried a long time away. One of them is a Creepypasta of a Wake Up note. Anyone who is interested in reading that passage can go Google it; I don’t want to go through that experience of getting chills down my spine each time I see a scribble. It’s eerie, that much I can say and reading In the Dark gave me that very same feeling.

On another note, In the Dark reminds me of an anime I watched a few years back. It’s unusual for me to come across similarities between an anime and an English novel but this time, the familiarity is uncanny in some places especially in the grotesque and cruel situations in the book. That was what caught my attention when I started reading the book. A feeling that something wasn’t quite right and things were more than meets the eye.

At the beginning of the story, the sentence structures were a bit simple and short and since it was told from the point of view of Steve, I think it must be due to him just waking up from a coma and suffering from brain damage, the sentences reflect his chopped up thoughts and he sounds almost childlike. As the story progresses, it gets more engrossing as unusual situations arise and I must say Steve’s reactions were a little interesting but a little cowardly at times. That’s to be expected as he was entirely dependent on Lisa and he still had no idea on who he really was.

The plot of the story was a little predictable to me. I could guess what was happening when Steve has those ghostly encounters and unusual episodes. But I was taken by surprise when I learnt about the truth behind Lisa and Tyler. I wanted to know more about Lisa and what made her act the way she did but from the beginning to the end, she remains a mysterious figure apart from being a loving and unpredictable wife to Steve.

I would like to thank the author, Daniel Fox for providing me a copy of In The Dark. I look forward to his future works.