The Darkness Within by Graeme Hampton

You can run... but death will always find you

A man is discovered on a leafy North London street, fighting for life after a brutal beating. DI Matthew Denning and his team are quickly called in to to track down the monster responsible.

Except the victim is hiding secrets of his own. His name shows that he was reported missing two decades ago - but it’s clear that the missing person is not the same man lying broken in a hospital bed.

A visit to a squalid East London flat unearths a victim with his throat slit, his body left to decompose. A sad end to any life - but when it is identified as former DCI Frank Buckfield, star of the Met police, the case takes on a new significance.

Two seemingly unrelated cases - but as Denning, along with DS Molly Fisher, investigates further, they uncover links between the two victims that lead back to a ring of silence cloaking the blackest of crimes.

But as Denning and Fisher try to track down a killer with revenge on their mind, they find themselves pitted against a psychopath who will kill to keep their secrets hidden. Can they uncover the truth, before they end up the latest victims?

The latest in the gripping London crime series featuring DI Matthew Denning and DS Molly Fisher, The Darkness Within is a must-read if you like Angela Marsons, L.J. Ross or Joy Ellis.

Author Bio:

Graeme Hampton was born in Paisley, and grew up in Stirling. After leaving school,
he trained as a stage manager and worked in London for a number of years. He
returned to Scotland in his late twenties to study for a BA in English Literature at
Stirling University. His first novel, Know No Evil – featuring Met detectives DI Matt
Denning and DS Molly Fisher – was published in 2019 by Hera Books. This was
followed by Blood Family in January 2020. The Darkness Within is the third novel in
the series.
Graeme lives in Hastings, East Sussex.

Twitter: @GHam001

Instagram: graeme_hampton
Website: www.graemehampton.com

Review

‘The Darkness Within’ was a great police procedural that looks at the underbelly of London’s serious crime. It tackled dark subjects with a empathetic and gentle touch. Graeme manages to get the writing spot on when it comes to characters like Colin and was so engaging I devoured this in one sitting. This is the third book in the series but you can definitely read this as a stand-alone as I have and thoroughly enjoyed it.

DI Denning is called in to investigate the murder of an old drunk but it turns out he is an ex DCI Buckfield which makes it a more complicated case - was it someone who he put behind bars exacting their revenge. The team are also dealing with a violent attack on a local resident who was left for dead. When Denning looks into the case he soon discovers that the victim has been impersonating a Dr Cairns for the last 20 years. Are the two cases intertwined?

I really enjoyed this book. I especially loved the character of DS Molly and I hope we get to see more of her in the series. She showed a lot of compassion in this book, both in her personal and professional lives. To me she was the star of the team! DI Denning was a great character as well don’t get me wrong but it’s Molly for me! I think it was because she just comes across as human and normal. She gets the bus to work, eats takeaway pizza and just is down to earth! I loved that.

The pacing of the storyline is brilliant at keeping your attention. It drops hints as we go in the first half of the book but it really kicks up a gear as we head towards the resolution. I really did not want to put this down as I needed to know how it ended. As I said above this tackles some heavy issues so just be warned there might be trigger warnings for sexual abuse. However, it is done with a caring touch and it is more an overview of events rather than descriptions of acts. Graeme handles this important topic sensitively and with compassion.

I’m excited to be able to tell you that today is publication day for ‘The Darkness Within’ 🍾🍾🍾🍾. Congratulations Graeme! Lang may yer lum reek 😀

I definitely recommend this book - let me know if you read it and what your thoughts are on it?!