THE WICKED HOUR is the second novel in the Natalie Lockhart series. It throws you right into the action with Detective Natalie Lockhart patrolling the scene at Burning Lake’s notorious Halloween celebration. People from all over the country come to celebrate the holiday in this small New York town with a dark history of witchcraft. Everything appears to have run smoothly, until the next day when the cleanup begins, and a young woman is found dead in a dumpster.

There is no indication of death, but a small callus under the girl’s chin leads Natalie to believe she was a violinist. Digging into her background, Natalie uncovers a controlling father, a more talented younger sister, and a possible link to other missing violinists in the area including Natalie’s childhood friend, Bella. As Natalie starts to trace the woman’s actions before her death, it opens up a whole new array of possible suspects including the unknown man at the bar, fellow contestants at a music competition, and the eccentric millionaire who hosted a local Halloween party. Who wanted the young woman dead and why?

The novel is the second in a series and reading it as stand-alone puts readers at a slight disadvantage. There is a lot going on in the first half of the novel, which is hard to reconcile without having the backstory from the first novel. Natalie is grieving the loss of a sister and she is facing the emotional toll of dire events that took place in the first book in this series, TRACE OF EVIL. There have been changes in her relationships with her partners and her family, but new readers will be hard-pressed to fill in the pieces. She also has a missing friend Bella from her youth, who will likely be a continuing thread throughout the series.

There are some clunky writing and dialogue, and some instances where information is dumped into the story, especially character motivations and explanations that don’t quite fit or add to the character development. Yet, the author does write compelling action scenes and elevates tense moments of revelations. When the investigation hits its stride and Natalie starts to uncover the secrets of the residents in her town, this is where the novel really shines. The author paces the last half of the novel well and the red herrings, motivations, and deceitful suspects keep the momentum going until the final dramatic showdown. Overall, THE WICKED HOUR delivers on several fronts, but readers should read the first in the Natalie Lockhart series to get a better experience from this novel.