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arkwen452's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
I love anthologies. They can really pull me out of a reading funk/slump and keep me enjoying. Most are filled with satisfying, quick reads that are full of quirky characters, fast plots and funny lines. This one was a great addition to the many out there. I liked the limit of 20 stories, knowing how quickly they would fly. I loved the level of unique stories - from murder and mayhem to journal planning and art theft. Each story had a fascinating character and varied stories. There were definitely some stand outs that I'd love to read as longer stories.
Great set, I loved it!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Great set, I loved it!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
glendareads39's review against another edition
5.0
Midnight hour is a collection of mystery and thriller stories written by crime fiction authors of color. These stories all take place around the midnight hour. Abby Vandiver, Tracy Clark, Jennifer Crow, H.C. Chan, Christopher Chambers, Tina Kashian, David Heska Wanbii Weiden are many authors who contributed to this crime fiction anthology. Well-written and quite entertaining. The stories consist of a simple robbery gone horribly wrong, a grisly murder in a secret love dungeon, suspicious life insurance company policyholders, from cybercrime to homicide.
cheesehead_reader's review
3.0
This anthology of crime stories started off strong with some excellent stories. Unfortunately it ended flat with some mediocre ones.
annieb123's review
4.0
Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Midnight Hour is a well curated anthology of crime fiction and light horror curated and edited by Abby L. Vandiver. Released 9th Nov 2021 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a nice collection of varied short crime and light horror fiction from 2021 and all are by authors of color. There are several nominees here from mystery and crime awards such as the Edgar from the MWA (2 stories).
The stories are varied, there were (as always) some which didn't grab me personally, but all were well written and competently plotted. They were mostly in the 4 star range(ish) with a smattering of really standout stories. This is a well curated solid anthology of stories in the 3-5 star range. There are 20 stories in the anthology and all are previously unpublished fiction from very well known and some new-to-me authors. It shouldn't be noteworthy, but it is; not only are these authors all persons of color, but women are heavily represented here as well (16/20 by my count).
One reason I prefer collections and anthologies is that short fiction is really challenging. It's spare and the author doesn't have a wealth of wordage to develop characters or the plotting. Well written short fiction is a delight. I also love collections because if one story doesn't really grab me, there's another story just a few pages away. I can only recall a few times where I've read a collection (or anthology) straight through from cover to cover as I did this one.
Four stars on average. It's a diverting read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Midnight Hour is a well curated anthology of crime fiction and light horror curated and edited by Abby L. Vandiver. Released 9th Nov 2021 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is a nice collection of varied short crime and light horror fiction from 2021 and all are by authors of color. There are several nominees here from mystery and crime awards such as the Edgar from the MWA (2 stories).
The stories are varied, there were (as always) some which didn't grab me personally, but all were well written and competently plotted. They were mostly in the 4 star range(ish) with a smattering of really standout stories. This is a well curated solid anthology of stories in the 3-5 star range. There are 20 stories in the anthology and all are previously unpublished fiction from very well known and some new-to-me authors. It shouldn't be noteworthy, but it is; not only are these authors all persons of color, but women are heavily represented here as well (16/20 by my count).
One reason I prefer collections and anthologies is that short fiction is really challenging. It's spare and the author doesn't have a wealth of wordage to develop characters or the plotting. Well written short fiction is a delight. I also love collections because if one story doesn't really grab me, there's another story just a few pages away. I can only recall a few times where I've read a collection (or anthology) straight through from cover to cover as I did this one.
Four stars on average. It's a diverting read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
mec8337's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
megan_mirich's review
2.5 stars. I love the idea of this book and initially thought I would enjoy it. The short stories ended up being too...short.
lovelynat08's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
cj_mo_2222's review
4.0
Midnight Hour is a collection of twenty short mystery and suspense stories by authors of color. All of the stories have something to do with Midnight. Of course in an anthology like this, there will always be stories I like better than others. However, overall I found this to be an entertaining collection. Two standouts for me were The Cape May Murders by Tina Kashian, a cute cozy murder mystery, and Gigi Pandian's The Diamond Vanishes, about a seance gone wrong. I also enjoyed the humor in Elizabeth Wilkerson’s story about a yearly planner and the clever way in which E.A. Aymar told a melancholy story.
Other favorites included a couple in which I found myself rooting for the villains, such as an elderly serial killer in Tracy Clark’s story, a female police detective on the take in a story by Delia C. Pitts, as well as the V.M. Burns tale about an art thief. It's all relative and in these stories, the characters who could be considered villains aren't necessarily in the wrong.
I was already familiar with a couple of the authors who contributed to this collection, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to some new authors through their short stories. Fans of mysteries and short stories should find several stories to their liking in this diverse collection.
I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
Other favorites included a couple in which I found myself rooting for the villains, such as an elderly serial killer in Tracy Clark’s story, a female police detective on the take in a story by Delia C. Pitts, as well as the V.M. Burns tale about an art thief. It's all relative and in these stories, the characters who could be considered villains aren't necessarily in the wrong.
I was already familiar with a couple of the authors who contributed to this collection, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to be introduced to some new authors through their short stories. Fans of mysteries and short stories should find several stories to their liking in this diverse collection.
I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Crooked Lane Books. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.