Review of Way Down in the Deep Dark

[Melisa Jane]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Way Down in the Deep Dark" by Richard Van Doren.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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This is a re-review.

Morality and legality may be interrelated, but they are very different. Some people also think everything legal is moral, and everything illegal is immoral, which is not true. Sometimes, man-made rules can be so stiff that they ignore human nature. For instance, prostitution has been in the world since time immemorial. In fact, some articles argue that this may be the world's oldest profession. However, man-made laws make it illegal to engage in prostitution. Taking into account human nature, it is impossible to eliminate prostitution. Therefore, it's only reasonable to manage it to ensure that those who engage in prostitution do so safely. Way Down in the Deep Dark by Richard Van Doren is a fictional novel about a law enforcement officer's interaction with prostitutes and how he strives to ensure they are safe.

After quitting his career as a parish minister, Abel Haskins, now Detective Abel Haskins of the Port City Vice Squad, joins law enforcement. He interacts freely with the prostitutes of the region and even gives them pieces of advice aimed at ensuring their safety. When Melody, also known as Licia Turnbull, started working as a prostitute in that town, Abel reached out to her and gave her some safety advice. They grew so fond of each other that they even went out together as friends. One day, on his day off, Abel receives a phone call from the homicide team asking him to help them identify a victim of a homicide. After reaching the crime scene, he realizes that the body belongs to Melody. She had been stabbed several times. Can detective Abel Haskins solve this murder mystery? How will the plot develop from here?

With five hundred and three pages, this book is divided into five parts. Each part is further subdivided into several chapters. Although this is a detective book, there are several other themes, such as the themes of religion, family relations, and betrayal. This book is written from the third-person point of view and in the past tense.

I liked several things about this book. First, through this book, the author makes the readers realize that there are genuinely good people who go out of their way to assist others without expecting anything in return. Abel, for instance, worked overtime to ensure everyone was safe. Second, by using the names of some characters as titles for some parts of the book, the author develops the plot by focusing on the perspective of different characters. This ensures that the characters are so efficiently developed and relatable that, most often, readers feel their pain and even, to some degree, predict their reactions to different situations. Third, since this is the second time I'm reviewing this book, I commend the author for considering my previous error list and working on eliminating some of the grammatical errors.

Although this is a brilliant book with an excellent storyline, I still noticed some flaws. First, the structure of the book needs to be edited. For instance, the book is divided into five parts. However, the subdivisions within the parts are just numbers. I'm guessing these were originally meant to read as chapters. However, the numbers are not visible and can easily be confused with page numbers. I recommend that the author add "chapter" against these numbers, so the readers don't get confused. Second, although the author did well eliminating the grammatical errors, I still found some errors. My list of errors did not include comma errors because some authors object to listing comma errors as objective grammatical errors. For example, on the book's first page, the author's name is listed twice. First, it is listed as Richard Van Doren; then, it is again listed as Van Doren, Richard. The comma implies that the book has two authors: Van Doren and Richard. This is not the only comma error in the book. This book will benefit from another round of editing, primarily focusing on the comma errors and the book's structure. An example of a flaw in this book's structure is where, instead of writing "PART 3," the author writes "CHAPTER 3."

In conclusion, this is a brilliant book. I enjoyed both the storyline and the character development. However, it still has some structural flaws. I, therefore, rate it 3 out of 4 stars. If I could, I would have rated it 3.5 out of 4 stars because the author did well in eliminating grammatical errors after my first review. I recommend this book to anyone interested in detective stories, especially where the main character may be considered morally gray.

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Way Down in the Deep Dark
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[Margi zuu202]

A detective on the vice squad of a fictitious city learn of a secret cult trafficking in underage girls

[Phelicia Gloria]

Wow this must be a very interesting novel, it's a must read for me. Its funny when you say prostitution might be one of the oldest profession

[Mr Excellence]

I love how you started the review. It propelled the heart of the book in full.
Meanwhile, I enjoyed reading your review.

[Mr Excellence]

The themes added to the uniqueness of the book. The plot is superb, and the character is wonderful.
This book is a must read for me.

[Israel10]

Although this is a detective book, there are several other themes, such as the themes of religion, family relations, and betrayal. Great review.

[Marvelly]

This books is very interesting and I look forward to reading the full story. But how come will you say, prostitution is the oldest profession, so very funny.

[Chiwendu Ikechukwu]

It is interesting to know that captivating reviews like this are gotten in this site. This book seems interesting. Adding it to my book shelf ASAP.

[CharlesC+Esq]

This sounds like an eye-opener int the world of those considered sinful souls. I'm sure all married women have a dislike for the men who are customers of prostitution, men on the other hand don't necessarily usually have any ill-feelings towards the profession unless it brings harm like gangs, kidnapping, blackmail to the customers.
The author's main character proves again that men have a heart.
Jesus saved a prostitute on the blink on the blink of death while other men who were guilty as she was,wanted her dead.

[Shadreck Rogers]

Very intriguing story line. Law enforcement and prostitution are timely subjects.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a great detective story that also includes important themes and just needs some polishing. Thank you for your great review!