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  • The Dark

  • The unputdownable and pulse-raising Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month
  • By: Emma Haughton
  • Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
  • Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (153 ratings)
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The Dark cover art

The Dark

By: Emma Haughton
Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
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Summary

An electrifying debut thriller for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

One dead body.
Twelve suspects.
Twenty-four-hour darkness.

In the most inhospitable environment - cut off from the rest of the world - there's a killer on the loose.

A&E doctor Kate North has been knocked out of her orbit by a personal tragedy. So when she's offered the chance to be an emergency replacement at the UN research station in Antarctica, she jumps at the chance. The previous doctor, Jean-Luc, died in a tragic accident while out on the ice.

The move seems an ideal solution for Kate: no one knows about her past; no one is checking up on her. But as total darkness descends for the winter, she begins to suspect that Jean-Luc's death wasn't accidental at all. And the more questions she asks, the more dangerous it becomes for them all....

©2021 Emma Haughton (P)2021 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

Critic reviews

"The kind of heart-pounding, sleep-stealing read that you want to recommend to everyone you meet. An absolutely thrilling book." (Cass Green)  

"Tense, thrilling and unpredictable, with one of the most unique and dangerous settings imaginable." (Allie Reynolds) 

"Tense, twisted and quite literally chilling - a locked room mystery in a unique setting where no one can be trusted." (Susi Holliday) 

"Set against the dangerous sub-zero temperatures end endless night of the Antarctic.... Brilliantly atmospheric and terrifying." (Catherine Cooper)

What listeners say about The Dark

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Great!

I am really like this audio book. nice content. excellent narration in this content.
Fantastic story

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Tips into absurdity

This has got definite strengths: an excellent recreation of a station in the Antarctic with the claustrophobic community of, initially, just 13 people confined through the dark months; atmospheric descriptions of the ice, the cold and the landscape and skyscape;. suspense maintained throughout.

But for me, it was ruined by just too many suspicious deaths enabling Kate, the medical doctor who tells the story, to switch her suspicions, and as the tensions were jacked up so was the absurdity of the plot. Would a drug-dependent young doctor really be sent on this mission? Can anyone really perform a life- saving operation in the dark without essential equipment or a working generator? Can anyone really bounce back after the severe physical trauma of a deathly attack as Kate does? I would have liked fewer thriller ingredients and more of the serious background to these people. Kate's backstory is explored effectively, but not that of the others. I think the author has some great ideas but spoiled it all by lurching into the ridiculous and losing touch with plausibility.

Kristin Atherton made a valiant effort to reproduce the drama and tensions - sometimes too exaggerated as the words themselves were sufficient. I found her accents of the group (this was an international group) too strong and loud, particularly the men's.

The book has been well reviewed so perhaps it's just me!

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Awesome listen!

Loved this a lot. Great story, good characters and fantastic atmosphere which it kept me hooked! Narration was so, so good too. I recommend this one!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book, terrible main character

Agree with the other reviewers that Kate is infuriating! Stupid decision after stupid decision, she is patronising and plain moronic in times of contemplation (omg what could he have meant by that? Well if we know so do you Kate, maybe lay off the opiates for 5 minutes and use the brain that got you through medical school) but the story keeps you interested. Be careful reading the reviews as some absolute knob has put the name of the killer in theirs trying to show us how clever they are.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping :

Bought this on a social media recommendation. Glad I did . It may be 5:39 am but I couldn’t switch off till I heard to the end . I would recommend this to all the folks out their who enjoy a good Who Done It . - Enjoy

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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Really enjoyed this

I know the reviews are mixed but I found this totally addictive. Finished it in a day. Loved the narrator’s different accents.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointing

if this book is winning awards it's a sad reflection on what's currently available. I gave up halfway through

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

This was one of the best thrillers I've read in a long time. I have to say I wasn't that keen on Kate all the way through and I was glad when I felt she got justice and what she deserved, but the story as a whole was really good, I had to force myself to stop at 1AM as I had work the next day! But I finished it in two days, couldn't put it down. It's the kind of book I could read again. Kristin Atherton does a really good job of narrating it as well, bringing the characters their own unique voices and accents. The whole novel is told from Kate's POV. There were times I could almost feel the cold. If you love isolation, locked room mysteries and tention, sprinkled with a little romance too, this is the novel you have to read next!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping and atmospheric

Great story, fantastic narration.
Must be made into a film!
Perfect escapism, and genuinely frightening at times.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pretttty pretttty prettty good

Ok so this is set in an international antarctic research station which obviously means a number of accents and the narrator’s efforts take some getting used to at first but if you can get past this the story is actually pretty good much better and well written than the Sanatorium so if you sort of liked that you’ll like this.

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