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Dark Mode
Dark Mode | Ashley Kalagian Blunt
2 posts | 2 read | 2 to read
Once youre online, theres nowhere to hide Is it paranoia or is someone watching? For years, Reagan Carsen has kept her life offline. No socials. No internet presence. No photos. Safe. Until the day she stumbles on a shocking murder in a Sydney laneway. The victim looks just like her. Coincidence? As more murders shake the city and shes increasingly drawn out from hiding, Reagan is forced to confront her greatest fear. Shes been found. A riveting psychological thriller drawn from true events, Dark Mode delves into the terrifying reality of the dark web, and the price we pay for surrendering our privacy one click at a time. PRAISE for Dark Mode Thrilling and twisty get ready to be paranoid J.P. Pomare, author of The Wrong Woman Absolutely terrifying! I turned every page with my heart in my mouth, utterly hooked by this explosive thriller. Ashley Kalagian Blunt taps into the dangers we face online every day and the monsters in our midst. Dark Mode is a powerful and disturbing story which will keep you thinking long after youve finished reading. Petronella McGovern, author of The Liars With Dark Mode, Ashley Kalagian Blunt has turned her love of true crime and passion for suspense fiction into a fierce wake-up call of a thriller, one that looks unflinchingly at the horrors of the dark web and sheds light on the unimaginable. Riveting, tense and supremely chilling, this is an eye-opening must-read for crime fiction fans everywhere. Anna Downes, author of The Shadow House Wow. Page turning, chilling dread that kept me guessing until the end. Ashley Kalagian Blunt hits it out of the park, creating a dark world where your worst fears aren't the worst thing to fear not even close. R.W.R McDonald, author of Nancy Business Dark Modes greatest achievement is that, as the pieces fall into place, its not just Reagan Carsens world thats turned upside down its ours. Its stunning payoff doesnt just reverberate through the pages, but beyond the book and into the world at large, where its implications are of urgent significance there are some realities most of us would sooner pretend are impossible than acknowledge are already here. Kalagian Blunt forces our gazes upon them in this compulsive and breathless thriller. James McKenzie Watson, author of Denizen Dark and twisty, this thrilling offering from Ashley Kalagian Blunt is absolutely not to be missed. This book will keep you up at night Hayley Scrivenor, author of Dirt Town If you think that what happens on the dark web will never affect you, this book begs the question: are you sure about that? Like, sure-sure? A twisty, terrifying thriller, Dark Mode will have you buying a flip phone and moving off the grid the second you turn the final page, just so you can breathe again. I loved it. Pip Drysdale, author of The Next Girl A chilling and utterly gripping read that shines a light on misogyny and toxicity thriving in plain sight and its devastating consequences for women. Ashley Kalagian Blunt plunges the reader into the darkest corners of the internet and it could not be more terrifying! A superb thriller that will keep you riveted to the page and dial up your tech anxieties to eleven. Dinuka McKenzie, author of The Torrent 'Masterfully crafted and addictive, Dark Mode will keep you on edge to the last page. It will also make you think deeply about the world were living in now. This brilliant exploration of the increasing, and terrifying, merging of our online and physical lives shows Ashley Kalagian Blunt at the height of her artistic powers. I gulped this book down! And I know Ill be thinking about it, and the perverse reality it reveals, for a long long time. This is an outstanding debut novel. Lee Kofman, author of The Writer Laid Bare
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LapReader
Dark Mode | Ashley Kalagian Blunt
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Pickpick

1. Let‘s see… 2 houses full and a storage cage. I think there may even be some boxes at my parent‘s storage container. More than I‘ll read before I kark it. 2. The tagged book kept me up at night especially as I have been stalked myself. I listened to it in the recent school holidays while cleaning the house or out for a walk. It made washing up way more entertaining. I plan on reading her next book as soon as I can get my hands on it.

TheSpineView That's a lot of books! Thanks for playing 3d
27 likes1 comment
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OutsmartYourShelf
Dark Mode | Ashley Kalagian Blunt
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Following a terrifying experience with a stalker as a teenager, Reagan Carsen keeps her life offline so her stalker can't trace her. She owns a plant shop 'Voodoo Lily Garden Centre' which is struggling due to the minimal promotion & zero online presence. One morning on her daily run, she finds the mutilated dead body of a young woman who looks exactly like her. (Continued)

OutsmartYourShelf Terrified that this is a message from her stalker, she goes home & doesn't report the murder, but unfortunately her image has been captured by a cyclist who was also in the area.

Reagan can't get the dead woman out of her mind, so she calls her BFF, Min, who is well-meaning but interfering but who, as a journalist & writer of a true crime book, has an inside man at the local police department.
2y
OutsmartYourShelf It seems that the case has similarities to the Elizabeth Short murder, known as the 'Black Dahlia' killing, & the similarities are too obvious to be a coincidence. In the midst of all this, she has a small car accident & meets Bryce, a man who as luck would have it, has experience in online marketing. The two hit it off (pun intended) & start seeing each other, but as more bodies appear, all with similar looks to Reagan, 2y
OutsmartYourShelf & strange things begin to happen sabotaging her business & her private life, she can't help but be afraid that her stalker has found her again.

It was a slow start & it took a while to kick into gear, but when it did, it turned out to be a a very good read. It veered from your standard crime thriller into the nasty side of the dark web & online misogyny. I wasn't sure at first but I grew to like the MC, Reagan & her affinity with plants.
2y
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OutsmartYourShelf There's nothing really surprising about most of the plot, in fact you wonder why it takes Reagan so long to catch on, but it's very readable & it keeps your attention well. It also makes you think about just how much personal information we put out there online & how vulnerable it makes us. Overall, this is a great read & I would definitely read more from this author. 4🌟

TW: stalking, misogyny, death/crime scene details

2y
OutsmartYourShelf My thanks to #NetGalley & publishers, Ultimo Press, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5388975262

Read: 13th-15th Apr 2023

#AwesomeApril @andrew65
2y
Andrew65 That‘s better 👏👏👏 2y
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