Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb @OrendaBooks @crimethrillgirl @annecater

Book Description:

A city in darkness. A building in lockdown. A score that can only be settled in blood…

Working off the books for FBI Special Agent Alex Monroe, Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson and her partner, JT, head to Chicago. Their mission: to entrap the head of the Cabressa crime family. The bait: a priceless chess set that Cabressa is determined to add to his collection.

An exclusive high-stakes poker game is arranged in the penthouse suite of one of the city’s tallest buildings, with Lori holding the cards in an agreed arrangement to hand over the pieces. But, as night falls and the game plays out, stakes rise and tempers flare.

When a power failure plunges the city into darkness, the building goes into lockdown. But this isn’t an ordinary blackout, and the men around the poker table aren’t all who they say they are. Hostages are taken, old scores resurface and the players start to die.

And that’s just the beginning…

My Thoughts:

Deep Dark Night is the fourth book in the crime series featuring bounty hunter Lori Anderson. With this particular story being set in Chicago, it had an almost darker vibe to it. Not sure if it was because whilst a city can be a wonderful place, they always have a very dark side to them and we really get to see the dark side in this book.

The storyline itself reminded me of some sort of spy thriller. An agent, or in this case Lori, pretending to be someone she is not, to get close to a criminal. I actually enjoyed getting to see a different side of Lori, someone who usually dresses casual due to the nature of her work, dressed up to the nines for appearances sake.

Poker is a game I have no clue about, luckily the author focuses on the players themselves. It was very intriguing finding out more about each one. Some over the course of the story I found myself liking more where as others behaviour shocked and appalled me.

The story had me by the throat as it was as i was so glued to it. When the city plunges into darkness though, that’s when the story really hits the ground running. I was literally on the edge of my seat whilst turning the pages as this felt like Lori’s most dangerous job yet.

Deep Dark Night is a gripping and adrenaline fuelled read that had me clinging on for dear life. As the body count mounts, I really had no clue whether this was literally a case to far for Lori and JT. I have to say I loved seeing JT playing a bigger part in the story and think I have ever so slightly fallen for him. I mean how can I not? Lori is one lucky lady but then she is starting to become a bit of an idol herself I am sure among readers. It’s great to see such a strong female protagonist and kudos to the author for creating such a wonderful one, bringing hours of enjoyment to her readers.

My thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of the blog tour and to Orenda Books for an advanced readers copy. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.

Deep Dark Night is available to purchase from Amazon.

Steph Broadribb was born in Birmingham and grew up in Buckinghamshire. Most of her working life has been spent between the UK and USA. As her alter- ego – Crime Thriller Girl – she indulges in her love of all things crime fiction by blogging at crimethrillergirl.com, where she interviews authors and reviews the latest releases. She is also a member of the crime-themed girl band The Splice Girls. Steph is an alumni of the MA Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and she trained as a bounty hunter in California, which inspired her Lori Anderson thrilliers, She lives in Buckinghamshire surrounded by horses, cows and chickens. Her debut thriller, Deep Down Dead, was shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader Awards in two categories, and hit number one on the UK and AU kindle charts. My Little Eye, her first novel under her pseudonym, Stephanie Marland was published by Trapeze Books in April 2018.