Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town is an official Stranger Things novel by Adam Christopher.
Set after season 2 of the show, El is now living as the adopted daughter of Hopper. On the day after Christmas, 1984, El finds an old box containing files about Jim. Seeing her curiosity piqued, and realizing she doesn't know that much about him, Hopper decides to tell her a story of his life in New York City.
In July of 1977, Jim Hopper is a detective working in Brooklyn's 65th Precinct. He's married to Diane, and has a 6-year-old daughter named Sara. Now, he's working on a series of homicides, all of which seem to involve cards being left at the scene of the crime. He's also been assigned a new partner from another precinct, one Detective Delgado. The two begin their work on the case, and soon end up involved in a plot that involves the whole entire city.
The book was released on May 28th, 2019.
Stranger Things: Darkness On The Edge Of Town contains examples of:
- The '70s: The main body of the story about Jim Hopper in New York is set in July of 1977.
- The '80s: The story's Framing Device is set on December 26th, 1984.
- Big Bad: Saint John, leader of The Vipers.
- Big Blackout: Near the end of the book, all of New York's power goes out, plunging the city into darkness.
- The Big Rotten Apple: Naturally, since it's 1977 New York City. Jim has a lot to do as a detective and the public schools are so underfunded that it's considered a rarity that Sara is in a good elementary school.
- Black Cloak: Saint John wears one during the ritual to start "The Day Of The Serpent".
- Cheerful Child: Sara Hopper prior to her death.
- Cutting the Knot: On Hopper's first night out with the Vipers, they come across an electronics store with barred windows and a padlocked door. Martha W. solves the problem by smashing the lock with a sledgehammer.
- Dad the Veteran: Hopper served two tours of duty in Vietnam before Sara was born. It's implied that he has a form of PTSD from his time there that factored into moving from Hawkins to New York.
- Foregone Conclusion: Hopper reassures El at one point that he came out of the case alright, because he's present with El now.
- A darker example with Diane and Sara, since we know from Season One that Sarah dies from cancer and Jim and Diane later divorce.
- Framing Device: Hopper telling El the story of what happened in July of 1977.
- From New York to Nowhere: Flipped. Jim and Diane initially lived in Hawkins where they grew up, until Jim took a job opening in New York City.
- Happily Married: Jim's marriage to Diane is shown to be much happier in 1977 back when Sara was still alive.
- The Mole: Agent Gallup's plan is to send Jim into the Vipers as one.
