Darkness Bound

by Larry Brooks

Overview

A twisting thriller that taps into a deep well of erotic obsession, sexual betrayal, madness, and murder, Darkness Bound goes to fearless extremes to become an authentic and shocking suspense novel.
In Darkness . . . Two strangers meet. A woman without inhibitions . . . a man without limits . . . for a private game between two consenting adults.

In Darkness . . . They indulge in every secret fantasy, cross every boundary of sexual deviation. But one of them has a secret yet to be shared, a desire yet to be explored . . .

In Darkness . . . Fear will become the ultimate pleasure. Revenge, the ultimate reward—and reality, the deadliest fantasy of all. Now the real games are about to begin.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781630263096
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/05/2013
Pages:	486
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Larry Brooks is the author of five critically praised novels and the bestselling writing book Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing. Brooks teaches writers’ conferences throughout the nation and is the creator of Storyfix.com, named two years running to the Writer's Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers” list. He lives in Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

She sat very still in her husband’s favorite chair, sipping an exquisite Pinot Noir as she watched him die. That there could be pleasure in the taking of a life was something she hadn’t considered. For all her meticulous planning and diabolical patience, the notion of experiencing some dark shiver of satisfaction had never entered her mind. But here on the threshold of commitment, fully invested and completely immersed in the moment, she understood it instinctively. Whether it was death or power or simply the sweet venom of revenge made no difference, really. Perhaps it was just the intoxicating whiff of impending freedom. For her these things had become a sum in excess of their parts, melting and melding, changing everything.

At first it felt comfortable, like slipping into an expensive designer gown before a full mirror, the moment encasing you and making you understand your feminine power. It didn’t take her long to realize, however, that this, like so many fantasies spun into flesh, wasn’t the enduring entertainment it had started out to be.

The idea had been born four months earlier while she was scanning a travel magazine at her hair salon. It was a pictorial on the island of Capri in Italy, a place she’d always wanted to see, a place her husband said they’d never go. He’d been there in another life, and he took some ridiculous masculine pride in never covering the same ground twice. She could go herself, he informed her quite seriously, when he was dead and buried. He’d said it with that mean little smile of his, and in that instant the dark idea became an intention that breathed. From that point on, every thought, every agenda, had related to this moment.

Editorial Reviews

Teasingly erotic, Brooks's first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. Unfortunately, the book's erotic cover may cause horror/thriller fans to overlook this title on the bookshelf. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few--including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the "Dark Lady"), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters--but the many extremes each takes to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Full of surprises, Darkness Bound is one sneaky read.” —Leslie Glass, New York Times bestselling author of Stealing Time

From Publishers Weekly
Teasingly erotic, Brooks' first novel is that rarest of sexual thrillers, in which the sex isn't gratuitous but a convincing means to an end. What begins as a way for Seattle stockbroker Dillon Masters to live out his sexual fetishes turns into a high-stakes game of strategy and deceit, in which the prize is life. The players in this game are few, including Masters, his wife, his mysterious lover (whom he calls the "Dark Lady"), her husband, a detective, a psychiatrist and a lawyer friend of Masters, but the many extremes each takes to destroy the others are shocking. Midnight phone calls, secret dalliances and dangerous play-acting ensue until Masters realizes he's caught in a complex scam and could be pegged for murder. The novel's final scenes burst with the intensity of a first-rate horror film, and it's difficult to detect a loophole in the intricate plot.

"An absolute must read, Deadly Faux is guaranteed entertainment. In Wolfgang Schmitt, Larry Brooks has created a wise-cracking protagonist who is witty, resourceful, intelligent, and, most surprisingly, vulnerable. Brooks plunges Wolf into a seemingly unwinnable caldron involving Las Vegas casinos, the mob, and femme fatales, then turns the heat up high. I finished Deadly Faux in one sitting, couldn’t put it down, and can’t wait to read the next book. Step aside Nelson DeMille and Stuart Woods—Schmitt happens!" —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of The Jury Master, for Deadly Faux

“Crime novelist Raymond Chandler was widely acknowledged in his day as the Poet Laureate of The Dark Side (he looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food cake). He died in 1959 and ever since there have been many pretenders to his throne. Among the best are James M. Cain, Elmore Leonard, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke—all masters of the craft, all wordsmiths of the first order, but none of them had Chandler’s gifts. After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a voice that rivals Chandler’s, one has finally appeared, quietly chugging his way up the bestseller lists with Darkness Bound, Whisper of the Seventh Thunder, Serpent’s Dance, and Bait and Switch. His name is Larry Brooks. The guy has a slick tone and a crackling, cynical wit with lots of vivid descriptions (of both interior and exterior landscapes), and the sparkling figures of speech dance off the page and explode in your inner ear. Though as modern as an iPad 5S, he is truly and remarkably Chandleresque. He’s dazzling. Check out his new one, Deadly Faux—it’s sexy, complex, intelligent; a truly delightful novel with more plot twists than a plate of linguine swimming in olive oil.” —James N. Frey, author of How to Write a Damn Good Novel, for Deadly Faux

From the Publisher