The Deep Dark Descending
A homicide detective hunts down his wife’s killers while struggling between his thirst for revenge and a twinge of conscience forbidding him to take the law into his own hands. Homicide Detective Max Rupert never fully accepted his wife’s death, even when he believed that a reckless hit-and-run driver was to blame. Haunted by memories both beautiful and painful, he is plagued by feelings of unfinished business. When Max learns that, in fact, Jenni was murdered, he must come to terms with this new information—and determine what to do with it.
Struggling to balance his impulses as a vengeful husband with his obligations as a law enforcement officer, Max devotes himself to relentlessly hunting down those responsible. For most of his life, he has thought of himself as a decent man. But now he’s so consumed with anguish and thoughts of retribution that he finds himself on the edge, questioning who he is and what he stands for. On a frozen lake at the US–Canadian border, he wrestles with decisions that could change his life forever, as his rage threatens to turn him into the kind of person he has spent his entire career bringing to justice.
Author’s Note
The Guise of Another, The Heavens May Fall, and The Deep Dark Descending follow the progression of Max Rupert as he goes from being a man with a strong moral code to a man fighting against his darkest nature.
Full Praise
Barry Award finalist
“Eskens infuses the old this-time-it’s-personal trope with raw urgency, righteous indignation, and enough scorching action to melt every trace of the Minnesota snow in his finest hour to date.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review (read the full review)
“Fine crime fiction that captures the chill of its setting as it explores issues of life and death.”
—Booklist (read the full review)
“…engrossing. [A] well-constructed plot and a sympathetic lead will keep readers turning the pages.”
—Publishers Weekly (read the full review)
“Thought-provoking and elegantly told, The Deep Dark Descending shows how far one man will go to avenge his wife’s death. With this smart, heartbreaking mystery, Allen Eskens keeps readers gripped until the very last page.”
—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl
“A tense, high-stakes game of chicken makes The Deep Dark Descending a can’t-put-down thriller. Superb storytelling keeps you guessing until the very end.”
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and New York Times bestselling author of My Sister’s Grave
“Award-winning Minnesotan Allen Eskens’ fourth Max Rupert novel, The Deep Dark Descending, has the thick tension of a thriller and the puzzles of a police procedural. But it’s really a fast-paced meditation on revenge and what it does to the soul, disguised as a mystery.”
—Mary Ann Grossman, St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch (read the full review)
“The Deep Dark Descending was good, like really good, in a tough guy, gritty, dark kind of way. Allen Eskens has now turned in to an author that I will be watching from here on out.”
—The Pages in Between
“Overall, if you want a thriller that you can’t put down with a uniquely told story, then you have to pick up The Deep Dark Descending by Allen Eskens. This was a story about vengeance, fighting your inner demons, moral struggles, and we get to see a grief-stricken husband pushed to his limits.”
—Jessicamap Reviews (read the full review)
“Vengeance and retribution is the name of the game here, this one kept me on the edge of my seat and flipping pages at a steady rate. If you haven’t read Eskens work you’re missing out, he’s a superbly talented author not to be missed.”
—Novel Gossip (read the full review)
“The Deep Dark Descending is an engrossing, extremely tense, fast-paced, and a well-written read here that explores the deep dark desire for vengeance as we see how our very well loved main character Max is battling with his descent into the deep dark desire for vengeance and retribution…. The Deep Dark Descending is an extremely fast-paced and thrilling novel with an ending that holds quite the punch that left us all frozen in place sending chills right through us all.”
—Two Sisters Lost in a Coulee Reading
All Books
My books are not a series, but rather character arcs that revolve around a small community.
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