ARC Review: The Eighth Circle By Sarah Cain

The Eighth Circle
Author: Sarah Cain
Series: A Danny Ryan Thriller (Book 1)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (January 12, 2016)

Description: A year ago, Danny Ryan lost his wife and son in a car accident. He's still reeling from the tragedy when Michael Cohen, his friend and fellow journalist, drives into the pond in front of his house with a bullet through his gut.

With Michael's death ruled a murder, Danny must work to get his name crossed off the list of suspects, and that means digging into Michael's last article, an expose of the twisted side of Philadelphia politics. But powerful people are ready to kill to protect what Michael was about to uncover, and if Danny's not careful, he'll be next.

The dark heart of the city is on display in Sarah Cain's gripping debut thriller, The 8th Circle.

My Thoughts: THE 8TH CIRCLE is a dark and twisty thriller with no heroes. Award-winning journalist Danny Ryan lost his wife and son in a car accident a year before they story begins and is still in a state of depression with complete writer's block and a medicine cabinet filled with a variety of drugs to let him medicate all the pain away.

Danny is pulled back into life when the screw-up son of Danny's mentor at the paper crashes into his duck pond and dies of a bullet wound to the stomach. Before he dies, he whispers the word "Inferno." That one word plunges Danny into an investigation into a private club with elite members from the highest ranks of society - a club where sex and drugs are just the start.

The word also links to a criminal case that helped make Danny's reputation as a reporter and that included his father and his brothers. Danny comes from an abusive home. His father, though a decorated police officer, was an angry and abusive drunk. He was also abused by his two older brothers who followed their father into the police force. Danny escaped to college and journalism school as soon as he could and never looked back.

As Danny investigates, he learns more and more about the activities of the clubs and each secret he uncovers makes him more of a target for those who will kill to keep their secrets and political ambitions alive. The book is filled with flawed characters who combine good deeds with ugly secrets.

Fans of gritty thrillers with characters all portrayed in shades of grey will enjoy this twisty thriller.

Favorite Quote:

Who wept for the lost? Weeping wasn't enough. Someone needed to give a damn. Danny didn't care who these people were. He'd expose them. He'd lied when he told Novell he had nothing left. There was the black Irish anger he'd inherited from his father. That was enough for now. 

I got this eARC at NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.