Try Darkness

James Scott Bell
Center Street (2008)
ISBN 9781599956855
Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (8/08)

 

“Try Darkness” is a true thriller.  I picked up this book and could not put it down until I was done.  It starts by introducing us to Ty Buchanan, a former hotshot attorney with a major firm who now lives in a religious enclave and practices law from a rented chair in a local coffee shop.  While trying to pick up the pieces of his life, while dealing with the death of his fiancé, as well as being falsely accused of murder, Ty is happy playing basketball with his favorite nun and having philosophical conversations with the resident priest, Father Bob.

When Father Bob brings him a new client, it seems to be a relatively easy case.  Reatta, a single mother, lives in a bottom-of-the-barrel motel in a seedy part of town with her six-year-old daughter, Kylie.  The motel utilized an illegal practice of shoving residents out after a few weeks and making them wait a week to check in again. This prevents the residents being protected by resident laws.  Reatta decides to fight since this practice will put her and Kylie on the street.  Ty takes the case, and things pick up speed very quickly. As the bodies pile up, Ty is in for the case of his life in every sense of the word.

In the midst of the danger, we see another side of Ty.  Snarky and sarcastic, he is also loving and caring.  He still visits his late fiancée’s mother, finds himself forming an unwanted bond to this abandoned girl and is struggling with feelings for a woman he should not be thinking about.

“Try Darkness” by James Scott Bell is a thriller at its best.  It was full of action, wonderful and realistic dialog and characters that rang true.  Once you pick this up, be prepared to be in for quite a ride!

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