Places in the Dark

“A serpentine tale of long-buried secrets
leading to murder and betrayal … Reminiscent of John Fowles’
The French Lieutenant’s Woman.”

—
The Orlando Sentinel

“A strong, suspenseful story
… Cook accomplishes what he consistently does so superbly: He sets the tone, creates characters, [and] engages the reader.”

—
The Houston Chronicle

“Mr. Cook springs his share of effective plot surprises … Maybe the greatest is the wonderfully redemptive ending.”

—
The Wall Street Journal

“Skillfully blends flashbacks with current action and his deftly-drawn characters invoke both empathy and pity. In sum,
a splendid performance by a gifted artist.”

—
San Diego Union-Tribune

“A brooding excursion into the depths of the human heart,
full of surprises and dread, with a stunning ending.”

—
Portsmouth Herald

“[The] tale rush[es] toward its climax with all the doomy energy of its opening image: a swift-moving current pulling a helpless child toward rapids, a waterfall, and a watery grave.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Complex, multi-layered, and haunting
,
Places in the Dark
is
as chilling as a freezing rain
, a novel that will get under your skin and stay there.
This is a story that will make you a fan of Cook forever.”

—
Romantic Times

“Another lyrical, whispery mystery
… Using his inimitable flashback style, Cook mesmerized this reader anyway with a tale of simple people whose fate ties them to resounding tragedy.”

—
Booked & Printed

“Cook is a master
at portraying very original heroines that will inevitably draw you into a haunting and well written story.”

—
The Purloined Letter

“A sea-swept village on the coast of Maine … provides an effective backdrop for the inner torments of Cook’s characters … Each mystery in his puzzle box of a book becomes another mystery entirely, drawing the reader into more and more complex assessments of motive and guilt until the unthinkable seems inescapable … Observing his main characters as they run amuck has the dread fascination of watching a slow-motion train wreck.”

—
Booklist
(starred review)

“Haunting
… Cook is a top-notch writer.”

—
The Sunday Oregonian

“Cook is an author who doesn’t jolt readers as much as he hypnotizes them.
Places in the Dark
is elegantly written, conveying a gentle, almost English feel for characters development.”

—
St. Petersburg Times

“[A]
once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Cook writes
powerful layered novels
with original heroes who choose to walk down paths that quietly, inexorably, lead them to ever darker places in the human heart, and ultimately to breathtaking and revelatory surprises at their journey’s ends.”

—
Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Probably no other suspense writer takes readers as deeply into the heart of darkness as Cook …
As always, Cook’s prose is precise, his storytelling slow and deliberate. This is one
powerful
story.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“Although it’s easy to miss the very real clues that Cook drops so artfully into the story, there’s no ignoring his savage imagery, or escaping the airless chambers of his disturbing imagination.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“An excellent psychological thriller …
Fans of psychological thrillers
—and especially fans of this Edgar Award—winning author—
will flock to this title.”

—
Booklist

“Starkly compelling and brilliantly written, Thomas Cook’s latest offering is
powerful reading.”

—
Rendezvous

“Cook’s last book,
The Chatham School Affair
, won the 1997 Edgar Award for best novel, and his haunting new one,
Instruments of Night
, could be a contender … The denouement took me by surprise and disturbed me for days.”

—
Los Angeles Times

“An enthralling tale
that cannily uses elements of the Gothic thriller.”

—
The Seattle Times/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Hypnotic prose and fresh scenarios set [Cook’s] suspenseful fiction apart …
If you’ve not yet been haunted by a Thomas Cook novel, now is a fine time to start.”

—
Star Tribune, Minneapolis

“A beautifully composed tale with enough plot twists to satisfy even fans who have learned to expect surprises from this talented author … [Cook] deliver[s]
another indelibly haunting tale
that once again demonstrates that
he is among the best in the business.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Cook teases readers throughout the narrative with tantalizing bits from Graves’ own past … But he also saves the best—and most shocking revelations—until practically the last page.”

—
The Orlando Sentinel

“Cook’s latest novel is, in the words of
Mystery Scene
editor, Ed Gorman, the ‘best of all’ his mysteries, a fascinating tale of murder and small-town mayhem …
A dark, literate journey
that sheds light on the past.”

—
barnesandnoble.com

“This is not a novel for the faint of heart …
Cook is a master of subtlety
as he weaves the past and present in and out of his own story.”

—
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“A seductive book.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“Cook is a master
, precise and merciless, at showing the slow-motion shattering of families and relationships …
The Chatham School Affair
ranks with his best.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“Intelligent … compassionate … surprising.”

—
The Boston Sunday Globe

“Cook uses the genre to open a window onto the human condition…. Literate, compelling … Events accelerate with increasing force, but
few readers will be prepared for the surprise that awaits at novel’s end.”

—
Publishers Weekly
(starred review)

“Powerful, engaging, and deeply moving
… highly recommended.”

—
Booklist

“A remarkable novel
of memory and buried secrets.”

—
The Armchair Detective

“Thomas Cook is an artist, a philosopher, and a magician; his story is spellbinding.”

—
The Drood Review of Mystery

“Swift, thoughtful and plausible … As in nearly all good crime fiction, the moral and practical complications … expand like ripples in a pond …
The Chatham School Affair
is the tragic, lyrically told story of a sordid scandal, the town’s revenge on the perpetrators, and one man’s long-delayed journey toward redemption.”

—
Boston Herald

“Moody, eloquent.”

—
San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle

“Cook is one of the most lyrical of today’s novelists.
His prose flows effortlessly, yet beneath its rhythm Cook’s characters perform the most shocking and deadly of deeds …
An extraordinary writer.”

—Sun, Calgary, Alberta

“Transfixing suspense.”

—
Booknews
from The Poisoned Pen

“[Cook’s] portrait of a small—and ultimately small-minded—town is a skillful one. And just when you think the puzzle is complete, Cook artfully presents yet another piece—rearranging all your expectations.”

—
The Orlando Sentinel

“In [his] previous novels … Cook has shown himself to be a writer of poetic gifts, constantly pushing against the presumed limits of crime fiction … In this fine new book,
he has gone to the edge, and survived triumphantly.”

—Charles Champlin,
Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Gripping southern drama, with its byzantine family trees, old wives’ tales, and overheated memories.”

—
Kirkus Reviews

“Haunting, lyrical …
a mesmerizing tale of love and betrayal.”

—
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

“Intense … Impossible to put down.”

—
Rendezvous

“Cook has crafted
a novel of stunning power
, with a climax that is so unexpected the reader may think he has cheated. But there is no cheating here, only excellent storytelling.”

—
Booklist

“Cook’s writing is distinguished by finely cadenced prose, superior narrative skills, and the author’s patient love for the doomed characters who are the object of his attention…. Highly recommended.”

—
Library Journal
(starred review)

“Cook builds a family portrait in which violence seems both impossible and inevitable. One of
[Mortal Memory’s]
greatest accomplishments is the way it defies expectations …
surprising and devastating.”

—
Chicago Tribune

“Haunting …
Don’t pick this up unless you’ve got time to read it through … because you will do so whether you plan to or not.”

—
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

“Cook’s night visions, seen through a lens darkly, are haunting.”

—
The New York Times Book Review

“A gifted novelist, intelligent and compassionate.”

—Joyce Carol Oates,
The New York Review of Books