Imani, Melissa, Nate and Philip are good friends. However, when the effects of the pandemic of COVID-19 strike their small group, the consequences are very dire; during the pandemic, it is believed that Melissa has killed Nate and absconded, leaving their daughter behind as Imani refuses to believe that her friend is capable of such despicable act. Deciding to prove her friend's innocence, Imani then embarks on a dangerous mission. Meanwhile, Imani's husband Philip loses his restaurant and desperate for money to support his family, he decides to help out his employee, Tonya a single mother who has her own secrets when it comes to the group. However, could Tonya be involved in Nate's murder? And if so, why? 

In an atmospheric voice of 2020 as well as suspenseful who-done-it, THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS by Cate Holohan is best described as an ice burn that allows its mesmerizing power to creep slowly over the reader, inch by inch, cell by cell, until it plants inside the heart and blooms a poisonous rose. 

THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS by Cate Holohan doesn't read like a typical thriller/mystery novel because, for one, it tackles the all too important consequences of COVID-19 on society, namely the masks, the social distancing and the loss of dreams and businesses as well as forced evictions, which is something that other novels don't do. (I also haven't had a chance to read novels that incorporate COVID-19 and its societal effects in post-2020 novels.) 

However, THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS by Cate Holohan does share the suspense/thriller tropes of other novels, so it's both familiar and strange and can be a perfect read.

If the reader is seeking a novel that tackles on COVID-19 pandemic and its after-effects as well as a thrilling tale of secrets, murder, determination and twists and thrillers, then THE DARKNESS OF OTHERS by Cate Holohan is guaranteed to be a treat for all sorts of readers, the veterans and newbies of thrillers and suspense.