MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR BY ASHLEY WINSTEAD

If you enjoy slow burn, southern thrillers with some great twists and turns then I recommend this one. I love how the author made this book feel so authentic! 

Rating: ★★★★
​Release Date: October 3, 2023
Genre: Thriller
Series: None. 
Pages: 390 pages
Format: Hardcover Source: Publisher

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.
​
"Where The Crawdads Sing meets Twilight meets Thelma and Louise in this brilliantly realized, totally original thriller. Absolutely sensational—I couldn't put it down." —Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author

PURCHASE A COPY

AMAZON KINDLE | AMAZON PRINT | LISTEN WITH AUDIBLE

READ MY BOOK REVIEW

I’ve been on the fence with how I should rate this one because I both loved it and hated it. Some things that I loved is how authentic it felt in terms of the deep-rooted religious beliefs in the south and how far people are willing to go to protect their beliefs. I also think the author did a great job when it came to making her characters fit into the story she was telling. However, I wasn’t a huge fan of what was hidden BEHIND these religious beliefs. I don’t want to say because it’ll spoil the book, but I personally don’t feel like it really fits into the story. I think the author could have stuck with one twist instead of making it so much bigger. Sometimes twists on twists are just too much for one book. In the end though, this one has been sticking with me so I can’t give it anything less than it deserves which is 4 stars.

If you enjoy bleak southern novels that dabble in religion/hysteria, the occult, and some pretty sadistic characters who hide behind what they preach then this is a must read. It’s a slow burn and there were moments where I just wanted it to be over, but I did enjoy the story overall.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Sothern Thrillers
❥ Slow Burn Thrillers
❥ Character driven stories

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐