Book Review: Gathering Dark

GATHERING DARK | Candice Fox
(Jessica Sanchez #1)
03.16.2021 | Forge Books
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

A convicted killer. A gifted thief. A vicious ganglord. A disillusioned cop. What do they all have in common? They might just be the only hope for one missing girl. Dr. Blair Harbour was once a wealthy, respected pediatric surgeon before her acts one night landed her in jail. The ex-con is trying to keep herself out of trouble in order to regain custody of her son when her former cellmate shows up on her doorstep needing her help to find her missing daughter. Detective Jessica Sanchez has never quite found her place within the LAPD and now on the heels of an inheritance linked to a case she worked, she has never felt more alone. It’s been ten years since Jessica arrested Blair and the last thing she ever expects is for her to reach out to her for help. 

When I first read the tagline for this one I instantly was drawn in by the motley crew joining forces. I love reading stories where unlikely characters are forced to team up in order to accomplish things. Candice Fox took that premise within GATHERING DARK and executed a fascinating story.

From the start I was intrigued by our main characters, Blair and Jessica. I love that Fox chose to alternate narratives between the two in order to give the reader a viewpoint from both of them and then lead their paths to cross. The reader is able to get to know them both individually, feel for their situations, and learn what makes them tick. The cast of secondary characters in this story were well detailed and truly helped to drive the story forward.

The pacing of GATHERING DARK is on the slower side for the majority of the story, which is common in the police procedural sub-genre. The pacing is very methodical and well detailed in order to reveal small hits for the characters and the reader on the search for this missing girl. 

I’m excited that this is the first in a series and look forward to finding out what Jessica Sanchez gets into next!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

A huge thank you to Forge Books for my gifted copy!

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.