Bad things have happened in the small town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. People have been murdered and people have disappeared, but that is just the tip of the iceberg as Ruth Cornier and Everett Duncan will soon discover when a skull surfaces in a swamp. Is their secret about to be revealed?
Ruth, the only child of a preacher, and Everett, the son of a mean drunk, are fascinating characters who will surprise and shock readers over and over. Both are outcasts but for different reasons. On the surface, it appears they have nothing else in common. As the narrative progresses, it becomes evident that this isn't the case at all. Their relationship is unconventional and often perplexing. As for the rest of the characters, for the most part, they are amongst the most flawed group I have ever encountered.
MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead is a deftly crafted Southern gothic novel that brings to life a small town whose population believes in swamp monsters, fears the devil, and with the right amount of encouragement, will take the law into their own hands. Winstead brings to readers an intense examination of the complex question of what is right and wrong. This unique thriller deals with issues of power, corruption, and justice. Well plotted and engrossing, this dark and powerful story is well worth reading. Highly recommended.
From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I
Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes Midnight is the
Darkest Hour, a gothic Southern thriller about a killer
haunting a small Louisiana town, where two
outcasts—the preacher's daughter and the boy from the
wrong side of the tracks—hold the key to uncovering
the truth.
For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the
Dark, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a twisted
tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that
lie dormant within us all...even the God-fearing folk of
Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian
Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her
beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the
pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the
only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the
Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of
the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners'
bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is
found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols,
Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes
only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have
the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of
true evil.
A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect
from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest
Hour is an examination of the ways we've come to expect
love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have
to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work
of being a girl in this world.
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