The fifth book in the Robin Lockwood series, The Darkest Place, fully lives up to its name as this exciting, engrossing mystery has more than one genuine gut punch in store for the reader as it enters some of the darkest, most painful and sordid territory that Margolin has broached in this series thus far. Arguably the most disturbing of the Robin Lockwood stories, it is also the most intriguing and certainly the hardest to put down!
For readers unfamiliar with this series, there is character growth and development that carries over from book to book, but each book has its own self-contained story of a court case with a fascinating crime hanging in the balance. I highly recommend reading the series in order, but one could certainly pick up any of the books (in any order) and still find a fascinating, well-crafted puzzle of a mystery.
In The Darkest Place, Robin accepts the request of a judge to represent a truly depraved criminal, but this decision reaps entirely unexpected and disastrous consequences that turn Robin’s life upside down. While trying to put the pieces of her life back together, she finds herself working through her own tragedy to help with a case (that happens to be centered in her own hometown) that involves surrogacy, assault, abuse, and kidnapping.
This case will take the reader to truly dark places as there are detailed and prolonged discussions about child abuse within the scope of the court case. It is an almost entirely clinical discussion in the form of expert testimony, but for those sensitive to this issue, it will be a difficult read. Much like in actual court cases, this is not a quick mention but is instead an extensive portion of the chapters dealing with the case.
The twists and the turns along the way are riveting, however, and they simply do not stop. Seeing Robin, as well as the other investigators, deal with such difficult and painful subject matter deepens the reader’s connection with these characters—through the highs and the lows. Each book in this series is excellent, but The Darkest Place is on an entirely different level and further elevates the entire Robin Lockwood series.
The Darkest Place is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Defense attorney Robin Lockwood faces an unimaginable personal disaster and her greatest professional challenge in the next New York Times bestselling Phillip Margolin’s new legal thriller, The Darkest Place.
Robin Lockwood is an increasingly prominent defense attorney in the Portland community. A Yale graduate and former MMA fighter, she’s becoming known for her string of innovative and successful defense strategies. As a favor to a judge, Robin takes on the pro bono defense of a reprehensible defendant charged with even more reprehensible crimes. But what she doesn’t know—what she can’t know—is how this one decision, this one case, will wreak complete devastation on her life and plans.
As she recovers from those consequences, Robin heads home to her small town of Elk Grove and the bosom of her family. As she tries to recuperate, a unique legal challenge presents itself—Marjorie Loman, a surrogate, is accused of kidnapping the baby she carried for another couple, and assaulting that couple in the process. There’s no question that she committed these actions but that’s not the same as being guilty of the crime. As Robin works to defend her client, she learns that Marjorie Loman has been hiding under a fake identity and is facing a warrant for her arrest for another, even more serious crime. And buried within the truth may once again be unexpected, deadly consequences.
