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Dark Spaces

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Dark Spaces

By: Helen Black
Narrated by: Imogen Church
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About this listen

Lilly Valentine tries to help a damaged teenager - but has she been horrifically abused, or is she lying to save her own skin? Having recently split up from the father of her baby, Lilly is not in a happy place, matters being complicated further by the arrival of her ex-husband, needing a sofa to crash out on, having been thrown out by his girlfriend. In the midst of all this Lilly is asked by a child psychologist if she will help one of her patients: a girl currently sectioned having stolen a car while extremely drunk. While Lilly visits her she is introduced to Chloe, another unstable teenager who slips Lilly a note saying: "Help us". And then Lilly's client is killed and Chloe accused of her murder. Her case is not helped by the fact that the words "Help us" have been carved on the dead girl's stomach....

Helen grew up in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. At 18 she went to Hull university and left three years later with a tattoo on her shoulder and a law degree. She became a lawyer in Peckham and soon had a loyal following of teenagers needing legal advice and bus fares. She ended up working in Luton, working predominantly for children going through the care system. Helen is married to a long-suffering lawyer and is the mother of young twins who take up 90% of her waking hours.

©2013 Helen Black (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Crime Fiction Detective Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Fiction Mystery Exciting Young Adult
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Critic reviews

"Unexpected and moving...A Place of Safety is written with sympathy and humour" (EuroCrime)
"A dark and gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat." (Closer magazine)
"Frightening, depressing, and knowledgeable." (Country Life)

What listeners say about Dark Spaces

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An exciting twist!

Would you listen to Dark Spaces again? Why?

I would listen to it again. It was a more complex plot than I expected, so I am sure it would benefit from a second listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the building tension as the list of suspects was narrowed, and although you could see it coming, the end was still enthralling.

Have you listened to any of Imogen Church’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I'm not aware of any of her other performances.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Trust no-one.

Any additional comments?

A great story- kept me intrigued all the way through.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth a listen

I enjoyed both the narration and the story which made you empathise with the character and want to help find out the perpetrator. You can understand and associate with the frustration in getting to the answer always a good thing in detective fiction.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable.

I have never read anything by Helen Black before, but shall certainly do so again... From the start I could tell it was a good buy & I love Robert Glennister narrating anything. I was convinced I knew 'who dunnit' but got a shock when I actually found out, as it wasnt who I had thought!
I listened to the whole book in just over a day !!
Well worth a listen !!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Engaging story, well narrated

What made the experience of listening to Dark Spaces the most enjoyable?

The narrator made the characters come alive, and this added to the enjoyment of the book. It was easy to identify with the main character. The story is thrilling and also warm and funny in places, making it compulsive listening.

What other book might you compare Dark Spaces to, and why?

I felt this book was similar to The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood, as both have strong female characters who are easy to believe in.

Which character – as performed by Imogen Church – was your favourite?

Lily, the main character, was my favourite - I found her easy to understand and identified with her emotionally.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would definitely have like to listen to this book all in one sittting - I listened to it almost comnstantly throughout.

Any additional comments?

Great characters with an excellent plot - I thoroughly enjoyed this book

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good stuff - a lot of padding

This was a gripping story with believable characters. That's the starry bit.

There was, IMHO, far too much padding. What did we need to know about Lilly Valentine's first marriage for? Or her son? Or her country cottage? None of it was relevant to the story and all of it was written about far too much. It was dull and just a way of adding unnecessary minutes. After all, if I wanted a soap opera, there are other books I could read.

The other negative was that we have two criminals here with no motive whatsoever except that they are equally charismatic and equally insane. How very annoying!

One gets the impression that even the author found this something of a highly-convenient coincidence. If Helen Black had got rid of the unnecessary stuffing and worked at giving back stories to these two, the book would have been FAR better and almost certainly have deserved five stars.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Lily finally uses her brain!

From the first time a certain character (don't want to spoil the story) was introduced, I knew it was him. I was constantly wanting lily to wise up-for someone who is supposed to be intelligent, she proved to be remarkably dense!
I don't know about you, but when I receive important letters I do not wait or go to sleep before opening them.! Also, she was trained in self defence yet when being attacked she was amazingly helpless.
The book, though, was engaging enough to keep listening. If I had been reading it, however, I would have skimmed it to the end as Lily's lack of imagination and curiosity was irksome, to say the least.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Worth listening to

I found this a good "listen". Some silliness and not sure I would put the author on my "must have" list. Nevertheless okay distraction!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable & strangely addictive!

What did you like best about this story?

It's a long story but has lots going on that keeps you interested, and whilst it could be seen as a bit obvious in places, the plot is interesting and varied and there were quite a few parts of the story that I wasn't expecting at all. Well worth a listen.

What does Imogen Church bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

I enjoyed her narration, different character voices and her own voice is pleasing, not irritating!

Any additional comments?

I haven't read/listened to any of this author's books before so it was a stab in the dark but I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Never Judge a Book By Its Cover!

Very good story - well written and as usual excellent narration by Imogen Church.

The cover picture is quite misleading - does not really give a good impression or representation of the story - line. Decided to give it a chance after reading other good reviews and am so glad I did!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dark spaces

Enjoyed this book, guessed the culprit early on but still enjoyed story, very well narrated. Would certainly recommend to others.

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