Instruments of Night

By Thomas H. Cook

Thomas Cook is one of today's most acclaimed writers of psychological thrillers, penning hypnotic tales of forbidden love and devastating secrets. Now he has written an unforgettable novel that weaves one man's tortured life with a deadly mystery that spans five decades....

Riverwood is an artists' community in the Hudson River valley, a serene place where writers can perfect their craft. But for all its beauty and isolation, it was once touched by a terrible crime--the murder of a teenage girl who lived on the estate fifty years ago.  Faye Harrison's killer was never caught--and now her dying mother is desperate to learn the truth about her daughter's murder.

Enter Paul Graves, a writer who draws upon the pain of his own tragic past to write haunting tales of mystery. Graves has been summoned to Riverwood for an unusual assignment: to apply the art of fiction to a crime that was real, and then write a story that will answer the questions that keep Faye's mother from a peaceful death. Just a story. It doesn't have to be true. Or does it?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Dec 30, 2009
• ISBN: 9780307573551

Thomas H. Cook

THOMAS H. COOK was born in Fort Payne, Alabama. He has been nominated for Edgar Awards seven times in five different categories. He received the Best Novel Edgar, the Barry for Best Novel, and has been nominated for numerous other awards.

Reviews for Instruments of Night

[adithyajones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent psychological thriller in the beautiful writing of Cook.

[intplibrarian_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book so much, I went out and got another by the same author the day after finishing it.Having read some other reviews, I agree that it IS graphically violent in parts, though that violence is a large part of why everything else happens the way it does and how the characters become the people they are. There are (at least) two big twists in the plot. One could have been predictable if I'd put the book down long enough to really think about it, but the other is just completely out of left field. Wait... I really shouldn't use sports analogies. lol. It's completely unexpected but it doesn't seem contrived. (Although I guess everything in a novel actually *is* contrived.) It's part mystery, part horror/thriller, and I got tears in my eyes at the end. I'm so glad I picked up this book randomly and that the author has written enough other books to keep me going for a little while.