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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this somewhat cozy mystery, part of the Brighton series. I read it as a stand-alone, which meant that it took me a few chapters to understand the main characters and their relationships. Emma and Sam have started a detective agency; prior to that Emma was a policewoman and Sam was and still is a reporter. When a show business mogul is found dead in his apartment, there are numerous suspects, including his sons, his wife, the many women he cheated on his wife with, and more. Meg is a young policewoman also working on the case, who blossoms as she works in tandem with Emma. I recommend this book, and I am encouraged now to read the series. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Elly Griffiths is one of my favourite mystery writers and I was thrilled to receive an early copy of The Midnight Hour via NetGalley. This story is number 6 in her Brighton Mysteries, which is slightly darker than her Ruth Galloway series, and runs from 1950 to 1965 (so far!). While it is possible to enjoy this story without reading the others first, each book introduces more main characters, who all become involved in solving the mysteries, so you might find it a little confusing if you don't start with the first one (The Zig Zag Girl).
Brighton, 1965. When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found poisoned, suspicion immediately falls on his much younger wife, ex-variety star Verity Malone. The evidence is stacked up against her; even her son thinks she did it. Exasperated by the police, Verity calls in two private detectives to clear her name: ex-police sergeant Emma Holmes and journalist Sam Collins. It soon becomes apparent that Bert had a very long list of enemies. In fact, it would be easier to find someone who didn't want to kill him...
The Midnight Hour is more light-hearted than the other Brighton Mysteries and in a similar style to Elly's recent bestseller, The Postscript Murders. Rather than DI Edgar Stephens (now a superintendent) and famous variety magician Max Mephisto solving the murders, in this book it is Emma (Edgar's wife) and Sam, with the police represented by DI Bob Willis and WPC Meg Connelly, although Emma and Meg do most of the legwork as Sam is chasing a news story in Manchester.
The Midnight Hour is set in the run up to Halloween and Elly has had a lot of fun adding spooky elements to the story. Max is working on a new film in Whitby, playing the part of Dracula's dad, and at one point Meg is convinced she's seeing a real vampire. There are also other tiny supernatural hints.
Despite the light-heartedness, there are darker moments and some serious themes are touched upon. This is the 1960s, so a reoccurring one is equality between the sexes and women's rights, along with harassment and bullying in the workplace. As the story takes place in 1965, it also mentions the Moors Murderers.
The Midnight Hour is probably my favourite of the series to date. I particularly liked the character of Meg (along with her eccentric family) and I hope she appears again. There are lots of red herrings; I was led up and down the garden path several times and didn't guess the identity of the murder at all.
Recommended to anyone who loves brilliantly written, fiendishly plotted murder mysteries with fabulous characters. One of my favourite reads this year.
Thank you to Elly Griffiths and Quercus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
Brighton, 1965. When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found poisoned, suspicion immediately falls on his much younger wife, ex-variety star Verity Malone. The evidence is stacked up against her; even her son thinks she did it. Exasperated by the police, Verity calls in two private detectives to clear her name: ex-police sergeant Emma Holmes and journalist Sam Collins. It soon becomes apparent that Bert had a very long list of enemies. In fact, it would be easier to find someone who didn't want to kill him...
The Midnight Hour is more light-hearted than the other Brighton Mysteries and in a similar style to Elly's recent bestseller, The Postscript Murders. Rather than DI Edgar Stephens (now a superintendent) and famous variety magician Max Mephisto solving the murders, in this book it is Emma (Edgar's wife) and Sam, with the police represented by DI Bob Willis and WPC Meg Connelly, although Emma and Meg do most of the legwork as Sam is chasing a news story in Manchester.
The Midnight Hour is set in the run up to Halloween and Elly has had a lot of fun adding spooky elements to the story. Max is working on a new film in Whitby, playing the part of Dracula's dad, and at one point Meg is convinced she's seeing a real vampire. There are also other tiny supernatural hints.
Despite the light-heartedness, there are darker moments and some serious themes are touched upon. This is the 1960s, so a reoccurring one is equality between the sexes and women's rights, along with harassment and bullying in the workplace. As the story takes place in 1965, it also mentions the Moors Murderers.
The Midnight Hour is probably my favourite of the series to date. I particularly liked the character of Meg (along with her eccentric family) and I hope she appears again. There are lots of red herrings; I was led up and down the garden path several times and didn't guess the identity of the murder at all.
Recommended to anyone who loves brilliantly written, fiendishly plotted murder mysteries with fabulous characters. One of my favourite reads this year.
Thank you to Elly Griffiths and Quercus for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.
I really enjoyed this. Characters well rounded, interesting females despite the setting.
When this series began it was labeled "The Magic Men Mysteries", but its focus has definitely shifted to the women. The Midnight Hour sees Emma Holmes Stephens and Sam Collins take on their first official case and places them in an unofficial competition with the Brighton police and Emma's husband, Superintendent Edgar Stephens. Emma soon finds herself working with a young female constable, seeing a reflection of what her life had been before her marriage and children. Another winner from Elly Griffiths.
Thanks to Mariner Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.
Thanks to Mariner Books for access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.
This is such a lovely book set in 'the good old days', which I thoroughly enjoyed. This is a feel good story, even though there are some gruesome murders involved. However since it is written in the style of Agatha Christie, it is more of an old timey cosy mystery, so the murders are not graphically explained.
I could feel myself walking on the narrow lanes in Brighton, seeing men in top hats, and women in fancy hats. I read the book in two sittings, because it simply drew me in. I enjoyed reading about the music hall and film industry.
The private detective duo Holmes and Collins is really working for me. It must have been an interesting duo in those days. I think this book would work well in the theatre. It is somehow both posh and down to earth. The characters feel real, and the writing is excellent.
I could feel myself walking on the narrow lanes in Brighton, seeing men in top hats, and women in fancy hats. I read the book in two sittings, because it simply drew me in. I enjoyed reading about the music hall and film industry.
The private detective duo Holmes and Collins is really working for me. It must have been an interesting duo in those days. I think this book would work well in the theatre. It is somehow both posh and down to earth. The characters feel real, and the writing is excellent.
A terrific read. Meg, Emma and Sam are the characters at the forefront of this story with Edgar and Max taking a slightly back seat. Adds a different slant. Elly's series are very different to each other and are all enjoyable.
This was a good mystery, although I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the rest of the series first. This book is the latest in the DI Stephens and Max Mephisto series.
The Midnight Hour begins with the death of Bert Billington, former actor and producer. Bert was poisoned, and his wife Verity hires the new detective agency of Emma Holmes and Sam Collins to find out who killed him. However, that puts Emma in direct "competition" with her husband, Edgar Stephens, with the Brighton Police force, who also is trying to solve the case.
Novice police officer Meg Connolly is excited to be involved in the case; women police officers were rarely assigned anything more than traffic duty in the 1960s, when this book is set. When Meg and the other police officers investigate the case, they find out that Bert was a serial cheater who wasn't well-liked by anyone, other than his youngest son. There are plenty of people from his past who could have committed the crime, especially since Bert once played the Rat King and was poisoned with rat poison. Emma and Meg team up to investigate the suspects, and find out much more than they want to about the lives of Verity and her sons, Max Mephisto, and Max's wife Lydia.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I wish I had read the others in this series before.I began this book. However, even without the background on the characters, I could enjoy solving the mystery along with the characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance reader's copy of this fun mystery.
The Midnight Hour begins with the death of Bert Billington, former actor and producer. Bert was poisoned, and his wife Verity hires the new detective agency of Emma Holmes and Sam Collins to find out who killed him. However, that puts Emma in direct "competition" with her husband, Edgar Stephens, with the Brighton Police force, who also is trying to solve the case.
Novice police officer Meg Connolly is excited to be involved in the case; women police officers were rarely assigned anything more than traffic duty in the 1960s, when this book is set. When Meg and the other police officers investigate the case, they find out that Bert was a serial cheater who wasn't well-liked by anyone, other than his youngest son. There are plenty of people from his past who could have committed the crime, especially since Bert once played the Rat King and was poisoned with rat poison. Emma and Meg team up to investigate the suspects, and find out much more than they want to about the lives of Verity and her sons, Max Mephisto, and Max's wife Lydia.
As I said at the beginning of this review, I wish I had read the others in this series before.I began this book. However, even without the background on the characters, I could enjoy solving the mystery along with the characters.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance reader's copy of this fun mystery.
I'm honestly obsessed with the fact Elly Griffiths decided to write a book just about the female characters. We have to stan. Also not me being happy I finished this series in less than a month vs Realizing I have now read all of Elly's books (bar the one that came out 2 days ago) and will soon have to enter the limbo of waiting for new releases.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No