Rating: 
Summary: Why isn't this book #1 on every best sellers' list?
Review: This is my first Thomas H. Cook novel, but it won't be my last. He has a real gift for getting to the heart of what matters and for telling a story in such a way as to pull the reader right into the middle of his beautiful tales! In PLACES IN THE DARK, green-eyed Dora March arrives in a small town in Maine in the autumn of 1937, bringing with her a host of secrets and the air of seduction. She works as a live-in caregiver for the town's richest man, and contrary to gossip, turns down the entire estate after the man dies. She then begins to work for the town newspaper, entrancing the romantic young editor and confusing his older brother. While the mystery of Dora and her past is central to the story, the book is actually about the two brothers and their different destinies. The story is reminiscent of 'A River Runs Through It' because, try as he might, the older brother cannot save his beloved sibling from his destiny. I read this book in one sitting, and was completely blown away by the ending. It's that good. What puzzles me is why the title isn't on every best seller list in the country. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: I have read all of Cook's fiction books except for "Elena" and I would rate all of his books that I have read at least 4 stars. This one is right at the top of the list next to "Mortal Memory" as one of my favorites. "Places in the Dark" is a great book. You wouldn't be able to figure out the truth until the end. Cook, to my opinion, is a great mystery writer which is why he's one of my favorite authors up to date. To mystery or suspense fans, Cook is highly recommended. I agreed with other's review about why Cook wasn't on the bestseller's list. He should have been on the list. I'm looking forward to read Cook's next book, "The Interrogation".
Rating:
Summary: A Powerful, Gripping Novel
Review: In the fall of 1937, a mysterious woman, Dora March, steps off the bus in the small seaside town of Port Alma, Maine and enters the lives of two brothers: Cal, who always leads with his head and William, who always leads with his heart. Though she stays in town only a year, her presence changes their lives forever, leaving one dead and the other almost crazy with guilt. Places in the Dark is a suspenseful, compelling page turner that keeps you off balance throughout the entire book. Everytime you think you have a handle on the plot and mystery, Thomas Cook turns you in a different direction, convincing you, you're mistaken and on the wrong track. Though there is not a spare word in this story, the real strength of this novel is the powerful, eloquent, vivid writing. Each character is beautifully drawn and developed and given a strong voice to move the story forward to its unexpected, climactic ending. Places in the Dark explores the tragedy of loss, guilt and betrayal and how easily love can both delight and destroy those we care about. One of the best new books this year, it's a story that shouldn't be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: A Real Snorer
Review: Many of Thomas Cooks novels are beautifully written and include captivating and fully drawn characters. Unfortunately, Cook seems capable of writing only one kind of book--a story told in flashbacks. His books never proceed in a linear fashion. Read one or two of his books and you've basically read them all.
It's a shame that Cook doesn't deviate from his flashback formula because he is truly an excellent writer. In addition to the formulaic plot device, *Places in the Dark* also suffers from cardboard characters whose motives and lives are never fully examined.
Rating:
Summary: The story sneaks up on you.
Review: My flight was pulling into the gate as I hit the last pages of this book, and, while everyone around me unbuckled, stetched, exercised care in opening the overhead bins as items may have shifted during flight, I stay anchored to my seat finishing this book, not quite believing how everything was finally unfolding. Not that the ending was inplausible. It was just so unexpected and skillfully wrought. I won't recap the plot, since you can see it in the other notes, except to say that what really struck me about this book was how effectively the viewpoint and time switched back and forth--sometimes within the same paragraph. The momentum of the story builds steadily, almost without your noticing it -- and certainly without the feeling of manipulation you get with weaker material. Much more emotionally powerful and complex than your average mystery, with thought-provoking insights into what holds families together and why people fall in love.
Rating:
Summary: A reader's reward
Review: Reading books is a wonderful and, at times, a boring process. It seems that one must read so many books that fail to move, that are well thought out, excellently written but at the last page you are left with perhaps a smile, ocassionaly a mild comment, "oh, that was a good book". But, just every so often one happens upon a book that reaches deep down beyond the surface of the maundane and leaves you with the feeling that the few hours you have just spent were some of the more meaningful hours of your life. That's what "Places in the Dark" has done for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Cook is a wonderful writer...always enjoy his stories
Review: This author is superb. I would call his books melodramas, as opposed to thrillers. They are passionate love/hate stories, with, yes, murder and mayhem, but they read like soap opera/potboilers. The thing is, there are so many soap opera/potboilers that are as boring as...well...soap, and his aren't. I loved this particular tortured tale except for one thing: the character of Billy seemed a bit lacking. He was too much "one-way," too "good" and actually a little dim, not just as a character but in personality as well. It's obviously a Cain and Able story (read: Cal and Bill). And Dora, the mystery woman, is well fleshed-out (for a mystery woman). But I couldn't care that much about Billy. He just - well - bored me. Also, the ending, while it came as something of a surprise, was something of a let-down. My thought was, "And so the point of all this was.....?????" Still, Cook is a masterful writer; vivid. For all the flaws, he's among our best popular novelists.
Rating:
Summary: This is some powerful stuff
Review: This book opens, as do all good murder stories, WITH A MURDER. Cal is an Attorney and his brother Billy has inherited the town newspaper. When Dora comes to town both brothers are smitten by her and both vibe for her attention. Money goes missing and Billy truns up dead, and Dora is missing. The whole town is convinced that she was the one "who done it". Cal tracks Dora accross the country dredging up this women's mysterous past and also a bite of his own. My impression-This is a great book, with a satisfying conclusion. The first two chapters are a bite difficult to work through and the annoying habit of switiching in between past and present annoyed me somewhat
Rating:
Summary: Even in the darkest place there is salvation.........
Review: This is by far Cook's best novel. You can not help yourself feel the intense pain, anguish, and pity for the characters he has created that come together in a small coastal town in Maine during the great depression. Cook as usual, reveals the truth in small dark pieces as the characters inevitably meet their fate. This time the surprise ending is both memorable and uplifting.
Rating:
Summary: Like dropping petals along the way.
Review: This story is an ingenious trip through the lives, both past and present, of two brothers and a woman who is questionable in demeanor and deed. As the novel opens, the author allows us a glimpse at an appalling act of violence that the rest of his story is literally wrapped around. So cleverly written he drops bits and pieces along the way like so many petals from a flower. I will not give one inkling of the story away because it is to be prized as a whole, but I will say the ending was a total surprise. While I love the intricacies of Cooks writing, his florid prose distinguishes him as more than your ordinary mystery writer. Not simply a who-dun-it, this book allows you to see evil from a completely different perspective. Cook is the author of 15 novels and can certainly count me among his many fans. Kelsana 6/05/01
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