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Chris Tomasini lives in Ontario, Canada.
He is the author of Festival, a coming-of-age novella set in London, England, and Toronto, Canada. He is also the author of Close Your Eyes: A Fairy Tale, which won the 2022 Historical-Fantasy award from the Historical Fiction Company.
In the 1990s Chris taught English as a Second Language and had stops in England, Poland, and Japan. Since 2000, Chris has worked in bookstores, publishing, and in libraries.
A chaser of sunrises, Chris can often be found on a bicycle or in a kayak, pointing a camera towards the rising sun.
Reviewed by Emily Maynard for Readers' Favorite
For generations, the Gardela family has lived in Douro. It’s a small, unassuming rural town with a mystical lore that attracts and intrigues visitors, and a largely undocumented, highly classified past with the Canadian armed forces. While Jeremy Gardela is grieving, following his sister’s tragic death, a stranger with a military background and a preoccupation with the town’s history, both factual and fabled, arrives and starts making enquiries. Jeremy’s Aunt Kasia is disquieted by the man, who has information about her ancestors, knowledge that no one should have. She recruits her nephew and sends him on a quest to use old family journals to unravel the mystery, solve the puzzle, and find a precious hidden cache. Within This Darkness by Chris Tomasini follows Jeremy, the challenges he faces, his discovery of secrets going back more than a century, and the legacy he will forever carry with him.
Within This Darkness is a wonderful story that is very hard to put down. It’s written from different perspectives, in different centuries, and with aspects of the supernatural thrown in. Chris Tomasini has united these potentially complicated components effortlessly. The plot is strong and is revealed to the reader slowly but deliberately, with every little detail, even mere hints of foreshadowing, clearly planned and purposeful. The pace is equally deliberate, with chapters of varying lengths. Each chapter focuses on the happenings of one perspective at a time, maintaining clarity and creating intrigue. A diverse range of characters all play a role in Jeremy’s journey, no matter how small. While not all are likable, each is written in such a way that you can easily picture them, their mannerisms, and even the way they speak. Tomasini touches on grief and loss, war, and crises of identity, creating a depth to the storyline and evoking empathy in the reader. Within This Darkness is easy to read, highly evocative, and extremely engaging. I love the little details, seemingly innocuous conversations or interactions that then play a much bigger role in the story. I didn’t know where the narrative would go next, and right up to the end, there were moments of suspense and surprise! This book has great appeal for fans of fantasy, mystery, and suspense. Overall, a fantastic read. I heartily recommend it.
