The Comforts of Darkness


This is my second novel by Amy Engel I read The Roanoke Girls last summer and loved the dark feel of that so when I found she had put out a second book I had to pick it up. This story is do not waste a word to craft a story to keep you moving from page one to the very last page. It explores the dark sides of living in a small town. It also explores the strong will of a mother. A mother who will do anything and everything to find out what happen to her little girl and bringing that person to justice.

Eve and her brother, Cal, were raised in squalor by an abusive, drug-addicted mother with a succession of unsavory boyfriends. She physically punished her children for infractions such as crying because they were hungry, telling them, "You had it coming," a phrase that came to be thought of by her children as her manta expressing her philosophy about life. Eve and Cal lean on each other to try and get through their childhood.
Evie ends up pregnant and vows that her daughter Junie will live a different life. Cal does everything she can to help her stay on an even path.


In response to motherhood, Eve changed. She quit drinking, smoking, and getting in trouble. She gave up men. Well, except for Jimmy Ray. And ultimately, she did what was required to extricate herself from that abusive relationship. She continued working as a waitress at the diner, and Junie's needs have always been her priority. Motherhood is not easy, of course, but unlike her own mother, Eve has been an affectionate, supportive, and caring mother, despite lacking the financial means to give Junie everything she wants and deserves. Junie's presence made Eve's life bearable. Eve even went as far as to cut ties with her mother from the day Junie is born.

Cal has always been a doting uncle. And to Eve's surprise, Junie developed a strong bond and tight friendship with a girl her age, Izzy Logan, the daughter of Jenny and Zach. Jenny went away to college, but opted to return with her husband, Zach, who is in line to take over her father's boat dealership, to raise their daughter in Barron Springs. The Logans' affluence was never a barrier to the girls' relationship.

Despite all her efforts, Eve has carried a sense of dread and foreboding, worry that something horrible would happen to Junie. As the story opens, Junie is expected home after spending the night at Izzy's house. Instead, Cal arrives at the diner to inform Eve that the girls' bodies have been discovered in the local park, their throats slit. That was never the horror story Eve envisioned.

After the death of Junie and Izzy we the readers watch a woman who is determined to find out what happened to the girls in a small town where no one will even look at her because of her past and her mother. The police bombard her with questions about Junie’s father and making her feel like a criminal rather then the grieving mother that she was. This was a quick and dark read that makes you angry at everyone who is suppose to be helping solve a crime.
The Familiar Dark is an absorbing look at small-town America -- it is ugliness and beauty. It is an intricate and remarkable tale about how secrets and betrayals can harm innocents. The story is peppered with details of Eve’s past and circumstances that lead to the sad deaths of the little girls. This story explores the concept of what a mother is willing to do to get justice for her daughter and the circumstances that make Eve more “comfortable in the dark.” This tale is perfect for anyone who likes a gut-wrenching dark tale that stays constantly in the dark and keeps you engrossed from page one all the way to the end. ( )

En una empobrecida zona de los montes Ozark, en Misuri, en un pueblo pequeño con grandes secretos, dos niñas de doce años aparecen asesinadas. Sin nada que perder y rota de dolor, Eve Taggert se lanza a averiguar qué le ocurrió realmente a su hija.
Eve conoce el lado oscuro de la vida. Su propia madre se encargó de enseñárselo. Una dura lección que ella ha tratado desesperadamente de evitar a su pequeña Junie. Pero, contra todos sus instintos, quizá Eve necesite recurrir a la cruel fortaleza que le inculcó su madre para afrontar la verdad sobre el crimen... y sobre su auténtica naturaleza.

Eve Taggert grew up knowing how to survive. Her alcoholic mother hit her, didn't feed her and generally made her feel unwanted. When Eve gives birth to her little girl Junie, she wants her to never feel that way.
Eve's brother, Cal, has always made sure that Eve and Junie are cared for, promising to never let their mother get to know Junie.
Junie and her girlfriend Izzy are found murdered on a snowy day at a playground that is not well-used. Their throats are slashed and Eve's world has fallen apart.
She pursues finding out what happened to her Junie and Izzy. She has to embark on talking and dealing with people that she has avoided being near.

This book has some major twists and is not predictable. ( )

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel is a 2020 Dutton Books publication.

Best friends, twelve-year-old- Izzy and Junie are murdered at an abandoned playground. The crime rocks the small rural town of Missouri Oaks.

Although the local law enforcement has opened a full-scale investigation- with her one ray of sunshine gone- Evie tosses away the veneer she’s been hiding behind for the sake of her daughter and goes full throttle in the search for her daughter’s killer. Even though her brother, Cal, is a member of law-enforcement, Evie doesn’t trust the police, for good reason.

As the urgency increases inside Evie’s mind, she becomes increasingly bold, giving herself over to the darker parts of her psyche she’s been trying to contain, as the shocking truth comes into sharper focus…

Wow. This book, which is hard to put down, is dark, really dark- gritty and intense. I’d say this is not just a mystery, but a character study as well. The rough environment Evie lives in and her less than nurturing upbringing is the exact opposite of what she wanted for her daughter-

Junie still met with a violent end, despite how desperately Evie tried to give her to have a better childhood than her own.

The story almost plays out like a Greek tragedy-

This book offers little in the way of redemption and justice is not in any way triumphant. By the time I turned the last page, I was nearly numb.

The choices made when women have limited options, is the primary theme of the book. This message might be inexorable and depressing, but it’s also powerful and sobering.

4 stars ( )

I love a dark and twisting story with complex characters. This certainly has all of that, plus it was wonderfully narrated. I highly recommend this audiobook. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author. ( )