DARK THINGS I ADORE by Katie Lattari
Sourcebooks; 9/14/21
CBTB Rating: 4.5/5
The Verdict: A dark and hypnotic revenge tale
Katie Lattari’s DARK THINGS I ADORE is easily one of the most unusual suspense novels I’ve read this year—and I mean that as a compliment. DARK THINGS I ADORE is a book that manages to be both beautiful and horrific all at once; author Katie Lattari delivers a unique and beguiling blend of lush storytelling and disturbing content that kept me engaged from the book’s first page to its very last. While this book’s dark subject matter and slow-burning pacing won’t be for everyone, readers who gravitate towards dark tales with immersive world-building will relish DARK THINGS I ADORE. In this lush-yet-disturbing story, the author weaves an irresistible tale of past sins that have never truly been forgotten, and present-day vengeance for those past evils. Centering around an art student and her professor caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, DARK THINGS I ADORE explores the dark corners of artistic inspiration, drawing readers into a world where villains get their comeuppance and victims fight back. DARK THINGS I ADORE is both beautiful and sinister, an elegant story of revenge with very sharp teeth.
Plot Details:
Three campfire secrets. Two witnesses. One dead in the trees. And the woman, thirty years later, bent on making the guilty finally pay.
1988. A group of outcasts gather at a small, prestigious arts camp nestled in the Maine woods. They're the painters: bright, hopeful, teeming with potential. But secrets and dark ambitions rise like smoke from a campfire, and the truths they tell will come back to haunt them in ways more deadly than they dreamed.
2018. Esteemed art professor Max Durant arrives at his protégé's remote home to view her graduate thesis collection. He knows Audra is beautiful and brilliant. He knows being invited into her private world is a rare gift. But he doesn't know that Audra has engineered every aspect of their weekend together. Every detail, every conversation. Audra has woven the perfect web.
Only Audra knows what happened that summer in 1988. Max's secret, and the dark things that followed. And even though it won't be easy, Audra knows someone must pay.
Enter the alluring world of art school: a place where ambition and talent collide to dangerous effect. Max Durant is a highly-respected art professor at a prestigious art school in Boston. Of all Max’s students, none is as intriguing as his brilliant protégé Audra. So when Audra invites Max to her home in remote Maine to view her thesis work, Max is quick to say yes—his obsession with and undeniable attraction to Audra make this an offer he can’t refuse. Little does Max know, he may be walking into a trap. What begins as a flirtatious getaway becomes increasingly sinister as Max realizes Audra’s motivations may not be quite what they seem… and following his student to Maine may be the most dangerous decision Max could have made. Because Audra isn’t just a talented artist. She is also cunning, resourceful, and hell-bent on making Max pay for the sins of his past. DARK THINGS I ADORE weaves between Audra and Max in the present, and an equally-intriguing timeline set a few decades prior at a prestigious art camp in the Maine woods, where sinister group dynamics take hold, and someone ends up hurt. How do the fateful events at that art camp tie into the present day? What has Max done, and why is Audra so determined to punish him? Readers will be riveted by the hypnotic, dreamy way in which author Katie Lattari unfurls the answers to these questions.
DARK THINGS I ADORE is a character-driven suspense novel that effortlessly moves between three central points of view: Audra, Max, and Juniper. In the present day, readers are drawn into the delicate and dangerous dance between art student Audra and professor Max. Audra is a very enigmatic, charismatic character—the kind of protagonist readers will be instantly drawn to. Audra is a brilliant and naturally gifted artist, a very private individual who closely guards her secrets, and a very resourceful and cunning woman—more so than readers could even imagine at our story’s outset. There is an air of intrigue surrounding Audra that draws readers into her world much as it catches the attention of her professor, Max. Max Durant is a highly-regarded art professor and an artist himself, though when readers meet him, it becomes evident that his artistic career is on the decline, a fact that wounds his pride. Max is lecherous, manipulative, and egotistical—a villainous character whose dominant traits will put readers instantly on edge. When Audra invites Max to view her thesis work at her home in Maine, Max views it as an opportunity to finally get close to the mysterious and alluring Audra. Max’s motivations are clear, but Audra’s are more murky. What does Audra really want with Max? Readers quickly discover that not everything is as it seems as the author deftly changes readers’ perspective on who here is actually a villain, and what makes a character a villain to begin with. As dark secrets from the past are revealed, readers will find themselves rooting for revenge, no matter how deadly a form it may take. The palpable tension and ever-shifting dynamics between Audra and Max will keep readers riveted. Author Katie Lattari expertly explores the dangerous cat-and-mouse game Audra and Max are playing in DARK THINGS I ADORE.
While Audra and Max circle one another in the present day, a past timeline adds an unexpected element of darkness to this already-edgy suspense novel. In this past timeline, readers are invited to a prestigious art camp in the Maine woods in the 1980’s, a place where aspiring artists hone their craft. This timeline, following the point of view of young art teacher Juniper, is where some of the story’s darkest content resides. In this timeline, readers follow the increasingly dangerous events that occur at the camp when a young woman named Coral arrives, and in doing so, upends the lives of all the campers. Coral is a vulnerable young woman who has the misfortune of falling under the influence of another camper with dark motivations, a young man who is only too happy to take advantage of her vulnerabilities and push her towards a breakdown in the name of artistic inspiration. Readers will soon discover that the tragedies and injustices of the past have a direct connection to Audra’s revenge scheme in the present. While the connections between past and present here are easy to telegraph (this is not a book for readers who are looking for shocking, never-saw-it-coming reveals), the lasting impact of DARK THINGS I ADORE is found in the little details of the cruelties its characters inflict on one another. Katie Lattari pulls no punches here, particularly in her story’s past timeline; readers should expect to encounter themes and topics including mental illness, self-harm, suicide, manipulation, and more over the course of this story. Suffice it to say: the deeper readers delve into this increasingly sinister past timeline, the more they will find themselves rooting for Audra to get her revenge in our story’s present.
DARK THINGS I ADORE is a sinister suspense story beautifully told. True to its art world setting, DARK THINGS I ADORE is a remarkably elegant read, balancing the heaviness of its subject matter with lush, immersive writing that keeps the pages turning effortlessly. What begins as a slow-burning story builds to a gripping conclusion as author Katie Lattari turns the tables on her story’s villain once and for all. Thought-provoking considerations of the dark side of ambition and artistic inspiration coupled with a seriously satisfying revenge plot make DARK THINGS I ADORE highly memorable and engrossing. I know the word “unique” is mostly meaningless, but if it doesn’t apply here, I don’t know when or where it does—DARK THINGS I ADORE is its own class of suspense novel, a deliciously dark book that tells a dreamy (or nightmarish?) story of past sins that can never be forgotten, or forgiven.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. All opinions my own.
Book Details:
Publisher : Sourcebooks Landmark (September 14, 2021)
Language : English
Hardcover : 416 pages
ISBN-10 : 1728229847
ISBN-13 : 978-1728229843
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