Dark Mode By Ashley Kalagian Blunt

’Dark Mode’ is the latest book by Ashley Kalagian Blunt.

Is it paranoia – or is someone watching? For years, Reagan Carsen has kept her life offline. No socials. No internet presence. No photos. Safe. Until the day she stumbles on a shocking murder in a Sydney laneway. The victim looks just like her. Coincidence? As more murders shake the city and she’s increasingly drawn out from hiding, Reagan is forced to confront her greatest fear. She’s been found.

Set in the suburbs of Sydney, the story is seen through the narrative of Reagan. A young florist who becomes the centre of a murder case when women are killed in a similar fashion to the Black Dahlia. Reagan is different to other people, she lives her life with her simple flip phone, away from social media and the online world, but she has a reason why she lives offline. Until she meets Bryce, a marketeer who will help her business go, but Reagan falls for Bryce not only professionally but also romantically. As Reagan starts her life online, her past comes back to haunt her and as the bodies of women begin to pile up, she finds himself fighting for her life.

This book is a gripping thriller that delves into the twisted world of incel and dark web, which makes for unsettling reading. The story is very atmospheric and right from the start, we’re pulled into a clammy and claustrophobic world filled with suspense and death. Reagan is an interesting character, her past has moulded her into the persona that she has become, away from the addiction of social media. Her mother Cynthia is a hard woman, a narcissist who Reagan has to bow down to and on the flip side, Reagan has the support of her best friend Minn, an investigative journalist who becomes obsessed with the murders that’s happening in the city, particularly as the women are all similar to Reagan.

Dark, creepy and cleverly plotted, ‘Dark Mode’ is an observational delve into the twisted world of incels and men’s hatred of women that is both disturbing and additive reading.

You can buy ‘Dark Mode’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.