Murder in the Dark is the sixth novel in the Ishmael Jones series written by Simon R. Green. It was published in 2018 and I have read the previous installments of the series. Of note, the previous novel was exceptionally poor and I had not decided to continue with the series until much later when I realize I already owned this novel. Murder in the Dark is a step up from the previous novel (Into the Thinnest of Air), but not that large of a step. The elements that were enjoyable and recommended the series in the early books are nearly absent in these latest books. There are (in print) at least five novels beyond Murder in the Dark, but at this point, I really cannot see myself reading them. This is sad to say, because for about six Decembers this series has been a relatively easy-reading end of the year during the fireworks and the weather and whatever else.
In this novel, the “situation” is a hole that has opened into/onto the countryside. A bunch of scientists are there studying it as per the request (demand) of the evasive and mysterious secret organizations. Ishmael and Penny are dispatched to the scene as well to be “security.” What does security mean? And how does it even matter when, truthfully, Penny and Ishmael do not save or secure anything anymore. Basically, they always survive and to heck with the rest of the characters.
The repetitiveness found in some of the other books is also present here. The problem with this plot, really, is that it is supposed to involve a small group of very smart, very educated scientists. So why is everyone so blessed illogical and senseless? The whole lot seems ruled by emotion and utterly flummoxed by one day of working with the phenomena. A lot [most] of the dialogue is repetitive. The actions of the characters are very repetitive. Finally, once everything has whittled down to almost nothing, there is an attempt to do “something not repetitive,” but that fails and we return once again to the start.
Now, the last chapter or so DOES reveal, it seems, some background and insight to Ishmael’s being. However, it really only seems like it. At the end of the novel, if the reader really considers what was given, he has not learned a lot at all about the main character.
I did appreciate the horror – the eldritch and void-like horror – that the hole represented. Some of this was written about nicely – like when the characters send a camera into the hole. But for the most part, the writing does not capture the potential of true, deep psychological horror that it could have – and maybe that readers would have enjoyed. Such horror would have raised the stakes and kept the plot intense. Instead, the reader has no involvement – the characters seem very shallow and irrelevant.
So, lazy effort, again, by this author. I am glad I did not stop reading the series after the last book – this one was worth a read, more or less. However, I think I am done with this series now. It has lost all of the good writing that enticed me in the beginning. At this point, the only thing good about this was that I could finish it in a day while waiting for a chicken to roast.
2 stars
AQ's Reviews 