... flirts with the fantastical while staying grounded in the all-too-real ... Tracy introduces a lot of characters and story threads early in the going and then doesn’t stop adding them, which keeps the tension elevated ... Stretches of downtime, in which characters just try to process what’s going on, feel very real. Sam and Melody both work at a bar; the tedium of repetitive work and their parallel efforts to build new lives and avoid attention make them a sympathetic if unreliable pair. And Tracy’s dry humor and the irony of such grim crimes occurring in sunny Los Angeles lend a grittiness to the story ... The conclusion is a neatly timed, highly visual set piece that’s going to be killer in the inevitable movie adaptation. But even this feels like it has a sly wink to it, incorporating film tropes, such as the heroine with a twisted ankle, into a fight for survival in which a screenplay figures heavily. The layered storytelling and empathy offered to every character make Deep Into the Dark not just a hard-to-put-down thriller, but one that leaves the reader with much to think on, with no easy answers in sight.
... two seemingly unrelated narratives come together in a beautifully organic way ... Maggie is a very interesting character who I liked immediately ... Sam is both simple and complex, which makes him incredibly intriguing. I was fully invested in his story and wanted so much for him to overcome his PTSD (for more reasons than just his own health!) ... A hallmark of a great writer is to make us invested in their characters, and I was fully invested. Deep into the Dark is a meaty, character-driven crime thriller with a fully fleshed out cast of characters and vivid descriptions of the seedy L.A. underworld seamlessly woven into the narrative without slowing the pace ... If you have never read P.J. Tracy before, this is a terrific book to start with. If you love the Monkeewrench novels, you’ll love Deep into the Dark which has all suspense and dark twists you’ve come to expect.
... to call this book a mystery would be underselling it. This is a thriller to the very last page ... P. J. Tracy produces such stunning prose that simply reading her words is a joy. She has created a quirky, captivating cast of characters in an intriguing setting that grabs you from the unnerving prologue to the very end. I cannot wait to get my hands on future installments of this winning series.
... riveting ... The suspense rises as the plot takes some unexpected twists and turns. Readers will want to see more of Maggie, a complicated woman determined to succeed in a profession dominated by men, and the troubled Sam, who does his best to do the right thing.
