Kindle Edition Amazon Amazon.com chrindajones.com Amazon Kindle Books Category:  Crime Type: Fiction Pages: 297 Price: $0.99 (eBook) Deep Ellum-Dallas Texas has a ritualistic killer on the loose. How quickly Detective Olivia Gates and friend, Dr. Will Green can stop him will depend on how quickly they can figure out the rules to the game they've unwittingly entered against their unsub.  Richard McMann hangs by his arms from the rafters of Red Curtain Club- naked. His ankles are bound together and his throat is cut in what appears to be a gruesome still-life tribute to Christ’s crucifixion. There is no blood in spite of the gaping wound to his throat and his entire body is covered by what looks like a fine white powder. The salt granules scattered on the dance floor beneath his feet and the fact that his body faces due east, make his murder different yet similar to the death days earlier in a club a few blocks away. South Dallas police detective, Olivia Gates and criminal psychologist, Dr. Will Green, engage in a game of wits with a serial killer who haunts the nightclubs of Deep Ellum, leaving behind ritualistic sacrifices of those people he believes deserving of the act. Is he a raging psychopath, killing just to kill, or is there method behind his madness? Excerpt Chapter One To: Subject: It’s not easy you know - the killing. It’s not something I would choose as my life’s work. But as with most things of this particular bent, I believe they choose you, you don’t choose them, at least not at first. You probably wonder why I chose to carry out this work. Isn’t it obvious? I understand the need for forgiveness and the significance of the sacrifice, which makes reconciliation possible. Sacrifice clears the way for forgiveness and bridges the gap between Father and child. It forges the relationship with our Creator we so desperately seek. I am the one to facilitate this reconciliation, not that I am the only one who knows or who can see, but because I understand the sin that brings us to the point of separation from the one who made us. Do you? He pushed save and then anxiously he re-read the email he just finished writing. With his hand outstretched, his forefinger searched each line of text as he drew it back and forth across the monitor. Worrying his way through each sentence, he skimmed for the obnoxious color lines that usually dotted page after page of his writings. He wouldn’t send this email just yet. Not until it was as close to perfect as he could make it without obsessing to the point of paralysis. “God doesn’t like sin. And obsession is sin if it’s not focused on Him.” Isn’t that what mama always said? Isn’t it? He pressed his knuckles deep into the tender flesh of his temples in an attempt to force himself to remember. “Isn’t it?”

A Good and Unusual Mystery
This readable and entertaining book has many of the key ingredients of a classic and comfortable American mystery. First is an appealing protagonist: police detective Olivia Gates, a single mom who is raising her young son in Dallas with help from her good-hearted and opinionated dad, a retired district attorney. She is also supported and sometimes challenged by a cast of appealing co-workers and friends such as the Medical Examiner, Dr. Verna Benton, an outspoken woman who complains about uniforms that "aren't made for the full-figured woman," loves a good time, and freely admits that she has a crush on Olivia's dad. A series of murders at the center of the novel suggest a killer who is not only fanatically religious, but profoundly disturbed. Olivia is helped in her investigation of the case by Dr. Will Green, a psychologist she describes as her "best friend, at least." The relationship between the two is problematical. They care deeply for each other, but Will has serious problems related to traumatic incidents in his past, and he is unable to share his story with her. Religion provides an interesting and unusual dimension to this mystery. Olivia is a committed Christian, while Will is a secular academic who is wary of the entire subject - yet envious of the comfort and certainty that she feels because of her faith. As for the killer, the bizarre, twisted version of Christianity practiced by his family had made a hell of his childhood. The subject of religious faith is rarely found in mystery novels, and is thus worth noting. I recommend this book, and look forward to Olivia's and Will's further adventures and evolving relationship in the next book in this new series.

Great Read!
Chrinda Jones absolutely nails it with Darkness Knows Me! Not only does she keep you hanging on the edge of your seat with suspense, but her knowledge of criminal justice truly brings her characters to life. You can tell from the beginning that she's done her research and knows what she's talking about, and with that creates the perfect murder...story that is! From the fist page I was unable to put this book down and the ending left me longing for the next book in the series to make its a debut quickly! For anyone that enjoys mystery and suspense that makes think, this book is for you.

Something New in an Old World
There are so many crime novels out in the book world, and Chrinda Jones gives this tired genre a new twist in her authorial debut into fiction. The novel gives readers a masterfully written glimpse into the world of law enforcement, especially in true to life Dallas, TX. There is a gripping realism to this story; it has crime, religious suspense, romance, comedy and plenty of nail-biting, leave-the lights-on drama.

The novel focuses on a budding ritualistic killer whom readers will simultaneously hate and sympathize with. The main players, Will and Olivia will have readers rooting for a happy ending. Other personalities, like Verna, will evoke laughter and all these characters will remain in readers' minds long after the last page is read.

All that said, be prepared to wait (impatiently so) for the next novel in this potential series.