Murder in the Dark: A paranormal mystery

By Simon R. Green

The sudden appearance of a sinister black hole in the English countryside leads to a baffling murder investigation for Ishmael Jones.

“The past is England’s dreaming, and not all of it sleeps soundly …”

Ishmael Jones and his partner Penny have been despatched to assist a group of scientists who are investigating a mysterious black hole which has appeared on a Somerset hillside. Could it really be a doorway to another dimension, an opening into another world?

When one of the scientists disappears into the hole – with fatal consequences – Ishmael must prove whether it was an accident – or murder. But with no clues, no witnesses and no apparent motive, he has little to go on. Is there an alien predator at large, or is an all-too-human killer responsible? Only one thing is certain: if Ishmael does not uncover the truth in time, more deaths will follow …

• Language: English
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers
• Release date: Dec 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781448301584

Simon R. Green

Simon R. Green is a New York Times bestselling author whose works include Drinking Midnight Wine, Beyond the Blue Moon, Blue Moon Rising, The Adventures of Hawk & Fisher, and the Deathstalker series. He lives in Bradford-on-Avon in England.

Reviews for Murder in the Dark

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Strange holes that seem to defy all the laws of physics have been appearing and disappearing in the English countryside. During a scientific investigation of the most recent appearance, an archaeologist disappears into the hole and doesn't return. Now Ismael, alien (as in not of this world alien) investigator and his partner and girlfriend, Penny have been sent by his boss at The Organization to investigate while protecting the rest of the scientific team. Ismael had thought it would be easy to keep a bunch of nerdy scientists safe. Turns out, though, scientists are a competitive, not to mention unruly and rebellious bunch who don't follow instructions well. Then another scientist leaps into the hole seemingly deliberately only to have his lifeless body dragged out - there are no signs of violence but his face is 'contorted into an expression of utter terror'. On top of that, someone or something seems to be stalking the camp in the dark. And, if all this isn't enough, all links to the outside world seem to be severed. Ismael realizes that if anyone is to survive, he must solve the mystery of the hole quickly. As he delves deeper into the mystery (literally), he begins to suspect that his presence at the hole may not be an accident - it may be linked in some way to his alien origin.Murder in the Dark by Simon R. Green is the sixth book in his Ismael Jones Mystery series but only the second one I have read. There are plenty of interesting plot twists and a nice touch of humour and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Green is able to meld different genres and make them work well together - in this case, although it is called a paranormal mystery, it is more scifi and murder mystery. Overall, a fun read with some pretty dark overtones and I recommend it to fans of this or his other series.Thanks to Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Murder in the Dark is the sixth book in the Ishmael Jones mystery series. I'd checked out book seven, Till Sudden Death Do Us Part, as soon as I spotted it on my library's new books shelves. Chapter two of that book made reference to a couple of incidents I didn't remember, so I checked the series list. This means I was spoiled for those incidents when I checked out and read this one, but they didn't give away the killer or the main plot.Poor Ishmael has been a mystery to himself since his spaceship crashed in England in 1963. He and series readers know that the ship made him look as if he were human. He's thought that the loss of his previous memories meant something went wrong in the transformation process. What we learn about his past in this book makes me suspect the memory wipe was intentional.Ishmael has been called to a real-life site named Brassknocker Hill, near that city of Bath so familiar to readers of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer. This series appears to be a homage to the late William Hope Hodgson's Carnacki the Ghost Finder, though, so we can't expect an examination of society or a Regency Romance. Mr. Green does emulate the late Ms. Heyer in providing some wickedly diverting dialogue, which is sorely lacking in Carnacki stories. He also provides an intelligent and intrepid heroine in Ishmael's lover, Penny Belcourt. I can think of only one Carnacki story with a female character who was more than a damsel in or potentially in distress, and she was Carnacki's mother.The Beast of Brassknocker Hill is a real legend (see chapter one), but the mysterious hole is not. Protecting the investigators of that hole is Ishmael and Penny's assignment. The archaeologists who first found the suddenly-appearing hole were yanked off the case and replaced by scientists after one of the archaeologists disappeared into the hole. The more we learn about the hole, the more frightening it becomes. Ishmael and Penny have worked on cases where they were the only two to survive. Will this turn out to be one of those?

[kurt.rocourt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There are few things that bring a good mystery to the imagination. This book reminds me of some of those things. I had no idea where this book was going with all its twists and turns until the end. That it did not drag itself down into pointless plot twists was a relief. This is the kind of book that keeps the mystery to a mystery protagonist going. If you thought the characters were getting stale or just not moving forward this is the book that brings you back to why you read these books in the first place.

I read this book via NetGalley. I thank them for this book. #MurderInTheDark #NetGalley