The Darkest Glare, written by Chip Jacobs is a true crime novel, one that, as the title promises, is full of murder, blackmail, and so much more.
Set in 1979 Los Angeles, this novel dives into a very real series of crimes. It follows Richard Kasparov and Jerry Schneiderman. Two construction workers, by most appearances. But anybody who has spent time reading a crime novel, true or not, knows how deceptive looks can be.
Before I dive into my review, I want to be upfront about something. I don't typically read true crime novels. It's not my cup of tea, and in general, I have no problem with violence or gore, but when I know it really happened? Then it tends to be too much for me.
Yet there was something about The Darkest Glare that caught my attention. Maybe it was simply because I was able to actually read a sample on BookishFirst – not something I generally get to do with books outside of my preferred genres.
Whatever it was, I wanted to give The Darkest Glare a proper chance, and read it all the way through. Overall, I found it to be a fascinating (yet dark – naturally) read. It wasn't what I expected, but I consider that to be a positive thing.
One thing that impressed me (but might prove how little true crime I read) is just how much research went into this novel. You can really tell how much work Chip Jacobs put into getting it all together, and it all seems to flow pretty smoothly. There's no sense of info-dumping, for lack of a better description.
Set in 1979 Los Angeles, this novel dives into a very real series of crimes. It follows Richard Kasparov and Jerry Schneiderman. Two construction workers, by most appearances. But anybody who has spent time reading a crime novel, true or not, knows how deceptive looks can be.
Before I dive into my review, I want to be upfront about something. I don't typically read true crime novels. It's not my cup of tea, and in general, I have no problem with violence or gore, but when I know it really happened? Then it tends to be too much for me.
Yet there was something about The Darkest Glare that caught my attention. Maybe it was simply because I was able to actually read a sample on BookishFirst – not something I generally get to do with books outside of my preferred genres.
Whatever it was, I wanted to give The Darkest Glare a proper chance, and read it all the way through. Overall, I found it to be a fascinating (yet dark – naturally) read. It wasn't what I expected, but I consider that to be a positive thing.
One thing that impressed me (but might prove how little true crime I read) is just how much research went into this novel. You can really tell how much work Chip Jacobs put into getting it all together, and it all seems to flow pretty smoothly. There's no sense of info-dumping, for lack of a better description.