Synopses & Reviews
As a medical examiner, Samantha Owens knows her job is to make a certain sense of death with crisp methodology and precision instruments.
But the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, the light vanished from Sam's life. She has been pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrateuntil she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C.
On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend's mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam's sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car.
Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan's old notes. It leads her to the untouchable Xander, a soldier off-grid since his return from Afghanistan, and then to a series of brutal crimes stretching from that harsh mountainous war zone to this nation's capital. The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody's hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.
Review
"A DEEPER DARKNESS is not only a compelling thriller but a multilayered meditation on grief and loss. Dr. Samantha Owens is a forensic investigator with heart and soul and this is the start of a most promising new series for rising star JT Ellison."-New York Times bestselling author Jeff Abbot
Review
"Fans of intelligently written, intricately crafted thrillers should definitely check out J.T. Ellison's latest Taylor Jackson novel, 14. Fusing gritty cop drama with dark psychological thriller, Ellison distinguishes herself with exceptional character development, consistently breakneck pacing and a sense of authenticity throughout."
-Chicago Tribune
Review
"Mystery fiction has a new name to watch."
-John Connolly
Review
"Ellison gets her Hitchcock on...just plain messing with her characters' heads until the superbly explosive end. Not to be missed!" – Lisa Gardner on Where All the Dead Lie
Review
"Combines The Silence of the Lambs with The Wire."
-January Magazine on The Cold Room
Review
"What J.T. Ellison has done with the city in her award-winning Taylor Jackson books is magnificent... Lovers of mystery and suspense fiction could not ask for more."
-Bookreporter
Review
"Outstanding... The police procedural details never get in the way of the potent characterization and clever plotting, and Ellison systematically cranks up the intensity all the way to the riveting ending."
-Publishers Weekly, starred review on The Immortals
Review
"Darkly compelling and thoroughly chilling, with rich characterization and a well-layered plot, All the Pretty Girls is everything a great crime thriller should be."
-Allison Brennan
Synopsis
Discover where it all began in book one of J.T. Ellison's heart-racing Sam Owens series...
As a medical examiner, Samantha Owens knows her job is to make sense of death. But since the day the Tennessee floods took her husband and children, she has been pulled into a suffocating grief no amount of workaholic ardor can penetrate--until she receives a peculiar call from Washington, D.C.
On the other end of the line is an old boyfriend's mother, asking Sam to do a second autopsy on her son. Eddie Donovan is officially the victim of a vicious carjacking, but under Sam's sharp eye the forensics tell a darker story. The ex-Ranger was murdered, though not for his car. Forced to confront the burning memories and feelings about yet another loved one killed brutally, Sam loses herself in the mystery contained within Donovan's old notes. The tale told between the lines makes it clear that nobody's hands are clean, and that making sense of murder sometimes means putting yourself in the crosshairs of death.
Originally published in 2012
Don't miss Her Dark Lies, the next page-turning thriller from New York Times bestselling author J.T. Ellison
About the Author
J.T. Ellison is the bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Taylor Jackson series, with novels published in 21 countries. A former White House staffer, she moved to Nashville and began research on a passion: forensics and crime. She has worked extensively with the Metro Nashville Police, the FBI and various other law enforcement organizations to research her novels. Visit www.JTEllison.com or follow her on Twitter @Thrillerchick.