Review: DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN by Adam Christopher

Publisher Century
Length 432 pages
Format softcover

Published 2019

Series Stranger Things
My Copy I bought it

My Review

Darkness on the Edge of Town provides some insight into Jim Hopper's life as a New York City detective working homicide before he ended up as chief of police in Hawkins. The storytelling method uses a throwback technique (Christmas eve, Hopper and El sitting around as he recounts a case in 1977) which readers will either like or not; unfortunately it didn't work for me, with the method coming across as little more than a gimmick to link this book to the series proper - otherwise reading as a non-licensed cult/crime fiction story  (unless I missed something major in the book - entirely possible). 

I've always found Hopper an intriguing character with a lot of potential for further exploration and development, particularly from a noir or hard-boiled perspective - and while the second official Stranger Things novel goes some ways to achieving that, it leans heavy towards a more mainstream crime focus with hints of the other worldly thrown in in an attempt to tie it with Netflix series. 

As a crime fiction book, there are some really nice things going on in Darkness on the Edge of Town; the idea of a citywide black-out and a crazed cult engaged in battle in the darkness against a range of wild gangs is pretty cool, as is learning of Hopper's former partner and glimpse into his life post Vietnam. However, none of it felt deep enough to hold the story; when I hit page 300, it felt like things were really just starting to get going, then in 100-odd pages we're done; this is one of the few occasions I can say I would've liked an extra 100+ pages to flesh out the plot elements and provide added depth to the story.

My rating: 3/5 stars. The cover is cool. The book is just okay. 

You may also like:

Suspicious Minds by Gwenda Bond (the first Stranger Things novel)

World's Turned Upside Down (non-fiction serious companion)