Review: The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan

 

The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan

Publication Date: January 28th 2025 by MIRA & Harlequin Audio

Pages: 320

Audio Book Length: 10hrs 18min

Narrator: Flora Montgomery

Source: Publishers

Rating: ★★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Librofm | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Retired Detective Inspector Julia Harte reluctantly agrees to consult on a new murder case that seems like a copy of a horrific set of murders committed thirty years earlier, in Cork, Ireland, when she was just a Garda. Those events haunt her even now and changed the course of her life and career.

 

Both mysteries, the 1994 case and the new connected 2024 case were riveting! Loved Julia, as a Garda back in 1994, and as the seasoned, retired Detective Inspector in 2024 trying for a life of anonymity. 

As a new Garda she was eager to become a detective, but also desperate to find the cruel killer that struck at her personally. Back then, she rushed, a little reckless, but was smart and a quick learner. Julia in 2024 is comfortable in her own skin, trusts her instincts and doesn’t take unnecessary chances. I loved the relationship with her old boss and mentor, Des Riordan, a man who treated her opinions with respect even before she made detective. Something that wasn’t always the case with her being a woman on the job.

 

Sometimes a story will stall out in places when there’s a dual timeline, but this was a tightly woven narrative, and I was on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next! The story wrapped up in an exciting and satisfying conclusion!

 

This is my first time reading Amy Jordan. I’ll be on the lookout for whatever she comes up with next!

 

I alternately listened to and read an audio and e-copy. Flora Montgomery’s narration was excellent, bringing the character’s emotions and urgency of the story to life! I loved her Irish accent!

5 Stars

Book Description:

For fans of Tana French and Jane Harper, this debut crime thriller follows a retired police detective who must face down a vicious killer and the memories that haunt her—thirty years after bringing down one of Ireland’s most prolific serial killers.

Julia Harte has found the perfect place to disappear: Cuan Beag, a secluded coastal village on the east coast of Ireland. Home to less than one thousand residents, a popular daytrip for tourists, it has proven to be a scenic corner in which to erase a life. This corner of the world is so peaceful, at times it feels uninhabited; that’s why she chose to disappear here. But Julia knows anything is possible in the dark hours.

Thirty years ago, Julia helped to bring down the most prolific serial killer Ireland had ever seen, and while that case spurred a successful career and a bestselling book, it's also the reason she's in hiding now, all alone and haunted by the things tha happened all those years ago, without the husband she had depended upon. When a copycat killer strikes, Julia is called back to active duty, but this time, she's not the young, naive officer she was then. She knows killers like this one, who hunt for sport, and she's determined to put a stop to his plans--or die trying.