Dark Ugly Places

4 Stars - The beginning of the book is terrifying/sad but it paints the picture of the trauma that Nicola has been though.  The initial chapter alludes to a separate narrator/voice watching above Nicola as she experiences a traumatic hit and run that leaves her husband dead.  The book follows the aftermath of losing her husband, and Nicola dealing with debilitating headache and pain in her leg.  Her daughter survived but needed multiple surgeries that leaves her with a large scar on the side of her head – difficulty for any teenager to deal with.  As these two are trying to put their life back together Nicola’s mental health is suffering, they are broke and grieving and something or someone at the back of Nicola’s mind keeps trying to come forward.

Across town in Beverly Hills Jason Redfern is a hit movie star married to a model, Bambi.  She left her life in New York to come be with her husband.  He spends his days on set and nights out with stars which leaves Bambi home and lonely.  As the book progresses these four lives intermingle on an intimate level and all the good and bad parts of these lives are exposed.

This was an enjoyable read for me, interesting look in how trauma affects people differently.  This is the first book that I have read that throws around medication names frequently almost like the author is a pharmacist.  I have been prescribed one of them before so that resonated with me and the crazy side effects it has.  The book probably did not need to use brand name of the drugs the whole time and could have just said “migraine pills” or “pain pills.”  I enjoyed the character development and how each character deals with their own demons. 

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.