Every year my husband and I take a trip to the mountains, and every year we pick an audiobook to listen to during the ride there and back. My husband doesn't read very much, but I know what kind of books he enjoys. Upon hearing about Black Crouch's Dark Matter, I knew it would be our vacation read this summer. 
 Dark Matter ticked a lot of my boxes of interest: science-fiction, travel through time and place, a little bit of a mystery, a family torn apart by tragedy. All of these elements were present and gripping. The story is fast-paced, and I immediately became concerned with the futures of each of the characters. 
 Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to all of my expectations. There was a point about a third of the way through where I thought to myself, "This book could've ended right there and I would've loved it. I would've been thinking about it for days," but I still had two-thirds of the book left to listen to, and I couldn't imagine what kind of turns it would take. Upon finishing it, I stand by the idea that I had that it could've ended much earlier and been a thought-provoking piece of science-fiction. Instead, it dragged on a little too long for me, and Crouch spelled out a little too much for me, as a reader. That being said, I think the book achieved what it meant to in being a gripping, thrilling read. And there were definitely points in the last two-thirds of the book that shocked and awed me. 
 Even though I received an ebook version to review, purchasing and listening to the audiobook was definitely the way to go with Dark Matter. It was a gripping read, and the narrative wasn't too convoluted that I had a hard time following along. It was a really fun book to listen to, and I would recommend this format to anyone interested in picking it up. 
 I received a free copy of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.