Title: The Darker Side of Love
Author: J. Shannell Evans
Publisher: PageTurner Press and Media, LLC
ISBN: 978-8886222753
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 192
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert
Hollywood Book Reviews
A mystery-based offering of a loving Christian family confronting the unthinkable, among their own, author J. Shannell Evans’ thrilling The Darker Side of Love, presents a work which peers deeply into the murky confines of lost souls.
This story exposes a fantastically frightening side of love, and dark human nature. In the beginning, the story starts out innocently enough with grandmama Virginia and her granddaughter, they are tending to the garden which once belonged to her mother which sparks Virginia’s memory. While Virginia’s memories flow, and the curiosity becomes immediately piqued with the visage of her thoughts going back to a time 15 years prior, revisiting the sad history of her mother’s unfortunate demise.
Meanwhile, intrigue immediately builds as it is revealed that the family matriarch died abruptly leaving more questions than answers with Virginia and her siblings. With hearts broken, the adult children prepare to say goodbye to their mother but are also simultaneously spurred to action when it becomes apparent their mother’s death turns out to be a possible case of murder, and strongly indicates the father as the number one suspect. Additionally, there is a great under-tow of a mystery within a mystery, as the family dynamic shows signs of strain when the siblings come together and a rift in the relationship between father and son is revealed. The story continues as a webbed mystery that grows and becomes unraveled as the adult children band together to uncover the dark truth of their mother’s death. The totality of the story presents an entanglement that develops as a mystery of deeply disturbing proportions, sending the family reeling into the darker side of love brewed in their own father’s heart.
Altogether, The Darker Side of Love, by author J. Shannell Evans turned out to be an essentially, riveting read that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters were interesting, even down to the evil, selfish father, and their interactions proved both realistic and collectively relatable. I also enjoyed the skilled mystery building of the story immensely, it was well-plotted, intriguing, and kept me rapt in this entirely riveting narrative. This is a great story, spiritual, heartwarming, and mysterious and made for a great read which I do highly recommend.