MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead | Thriller Book Review

This 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.

My thoughts:

Another thriller book review! It isn’t a surprise to anyone who knows me that Winstead is my favourite thriller author of all time. I get genuine excitement when I hold her latest book in my hands and to feel that again was exactly what I needed. Am I biased at this point? Who knows, but Winstead once again knocked it out of the park for me.

Ruth Cornier was an extremely interesting character for me. As someone who grew up in a completely different town with no religion in sight this book was very fascinating to read. I have always found peoples views on religion interesting, especially since I have never really thought about it myself. Winstead dived into this topic perfectly for me (or what I know anyway.) and I was hooked instantly. Ruth’s relationship with her parents was very complex and for the most part, toxic.

Ruth and Everett’s relationship was one of my favourite aspects in this novel because it wasn’t your typical romance. They both have extreme faults and the ‘will they won’t they’ was very strong throughout. Everett was a character that I felt almost addicted to just because he was so different to anything I’ve read before. When we felt like we had him figured out, he would do a full 180 and it’s like we never knew him at all.

Then we get to the crimes, Ruth and Everett play a big part in this plot but they aren’t the focal point. There is so many layers throughout this story and every chapter we uncover something new and sinister about the town. I found the crimes to be quite original and gruesome, which is impressive since I read A LOT of thriller books.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this and felt sad when it ended knowing I’d need to wait a while for another Winstead novel. This book has a different vibe to her previous work and has some of my favourite scenes that she has written so far. If you are a thriller lover, I do recommend putting Winstead on your radar. She is full of surprises!

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