Have You Read…

DARK HORIZONS by Dan Smith

“An angel. An earth-bound angel, or a heaven-bound one, I wasn’t sure, but an angel nonetheless…”

Alex cared for his mother in the final days of her life, and now he needs a fresh start, so he heads off round the world in search of adventure. But he’s got no further than Indonesia when he’s involved in a horrific bus crash. As he lies injured in the road, his possessions are stolen and it seems his adventure is over before it’s even begun. His last memory before he loses consciousness is of someone offering him water. Is it an angel, or a human being?

Later, when he wakes in hospital, she returns. She’s human after all – a fellow traveller named Domino – and after getting him out of the hospital and away from the suspicious local police, she takes him to her remote community near the spectacular Lake Toba. At first, Alex thinks he’s discovered exactly the sort of off-the-beaten track experience he was hoping for, but he soon discovers that the community is haunted by secrets. Why is there so much tension between its inhabitants and the locals? What’s behind Domino’s uneasy relationship with the community’s leader, Kurt? And why will no-one talk about Sully, who left in mysterious circumstances some time before?

The truth is darker than anything Alex can imagine…

When the author was growing up, his family had a home in Sumatra for seven years, and this experience shines through in the writing. Everything about DARK HORIZONS – the setting, the descriptions of the culture and the sights, smells and sounds – feels utterly authentic. The plot is fast-paced but complex enough to be really satisfying, and the writing is so vivid I could see everything that was happening unfolding in my head like a movie.

My favourite thing about DARK HORIZONS, though, is the charismatic and unpredictable Domino. I love strong female characters, I love unusual names, and with this book, you get both. But with her magnetic attraction to danger, is she the best thing that could happen to Alex, or the worst? You’ll have to read the book and find out!

So what are you waiting for? Grab a copy now and discover the deadly secrets that lie at the heart of paradise. And why not check out Dan Smith’s equally gripping first novel, DRY SEASON, too?

Many thanks to Dan for agreeing to let the brilliant DARK HORIZONS be my first ever Book of the Month!