SOME DAYS ARE DARK

5 stars out of 5

Well, golleee! This one sucked me in at the start

and didn't let go till the end. What's not to like about a story that begins with a wife who found her husband murdered saying she's glad someone did him in? So what if the wife is somewhat of a sorry example of a human being, and so what if I guessed the whodunit about two-thirds of the way in - none of that mattered a whit. This is a totally engrossing story I really, really didn't want to put down.

Once married to steady-as-a-rock Frank, the restless and unfulfilled Olivia leaves him for adventure-loving Dane, who used to be Frank's employee. She and Frank share custody of their young son, Jake, at least until Dane is murdered and Olivia - who's overly fond of illegal drugs and alcohol, the former provided mostly by her new husband - is believed by most to be his killer. Even when someone else is convicted of Dane's murder, she's cut no slack; her friends abandoned her, her photography business is in shambles and a local cop won't stop harassing her because he's convinced of her guilt. Even Frank, with whom she shares custody of their child, has replaced her with a new, beautiful wife.

Even in her mostly drugged-out state, though, she knows she didn't do it; but she's not convinced the guy who confessed did it, either. As the story evolves, readers get behind-the-scenes looks at Olivia's life before Dane's murder as well as what's happening to her in the present. Toward the end, her current and former life start to merge amid a flurry of exciting twists and surprises. Definitely a winner - many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Some Days are Dark by Miranda Smith (Bookouture, March 2020); 354 p.