Dark Mode is about Reagan Carsen who owns a struggling niche nursery called Voodoo Lily. She has a difficult relationship with her mother and has no real friends other than Min, who writes true crime novels. The strangest part of Reagan’s life is that she has no online presence at all, an anomaly for a 30-something woman in 2023.
The story opens with Reagan discovering a murdered woman in the lane next to her Sydney apartment. It’s a gruesome sight, made even more harrowing by the victim looking exactly like Reagan. Another dismembered victim, also looking identical to Reagan, causes her to entertain the awful truth that ‘he could have found her, he could be back’.
Dark Mode is about the dark web and stalkers. It is terrifying to read and even more terrifying to contemplate. What I thought was the worst thing that could happen, doesn’t even come close.
This fast-paced thriller is fiction, although it is based on a couple of true crime cases. Blunt is to be commended for taking these cases and writing such a tight fiction thriller. The plot moves quickly, with enough red herrings to satisfy the inner detective. Reagan is an interesting character and Blunt has created a believable world in which she could exist with no online presence.
I was utterly absorbed, my heart raced, I held my breath and could relax only when it was finished. But, then I was disappointed it was over!
Reviewed by Nicola Skinstad
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ashley Kalagian Blunt is a writer, speaker and podcaster whose psychological thriller, Dark Mode, is out 1 March in Australia and 13 April in the UK.
She is the author of two previous books, How to Be Australian, a memoir, and My Name Is Revenge, a thriller novella and collected essays.
Her writing appears widely across Australian and international publications.
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