Author: Charlaine Harris
Publication: Ace Hardcover (May 6, 2014)
Description: From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale—populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it…
Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.
There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).
Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...
My Thoughts: Charlaine Harris's new mystery introduces a new set of characters and a new setting. Midnight, Texas is a dying town inhabited by a bunch of people who are keeping secrets. Manfred Bernardo moves to town to run his psychic business which is mostly conducted through the internet. His landlord Bobo runs the local pawn shop and has two other tenants in his basement - Lemuel who is a sort of vampire and Olivia who is a dangerous woman of mystery. Living next door is Fiji who is the local witch and who has a massive crush on Bobo.
A couple of months before Manfred arrived, Bobo's girlfriend Aubrey disappeared. While Bobo is mourning, the rest of the residents don't miss her as she wasn't close to anyone and made a habit of hitting on all the men in town when Bobo wasn't watching. One of Bobo's secrets is that he is the grandson of a white supremacist who was stockpiling weapons before dying from a stroke. Rumor has it that Bobo inherited the cache which has grown larger and larger with each retelling. Now the local bunch want the weapons and are willing to do all sorts of damage to get them.
When a town picnic uncovers Aubrey's corpse the situation gets even more dangerous. The townspeople want to find out who killed her in order to clear Bobo's name. After all, the boyfriend is usually the first suspect. And since Aubrey was sent in by the local supremacists, they believe that Bobo is guilty too.
The mystery was entertaining and I did not figure out the villain before the characters did. But the bulk of this story was spent introducing the many residents of Midnight, Texas and hinting at the stories that they have hidden. I can't wait to read more in this world and want to learn all those hidden stories.
Favorite Quote:
They all stood silent. Bobo didn't know what anyone else was thinking, but he was back in that land where unpleasant revelations were the norm. He hadn't lived there in a while, and he hadn't wanted to return, ever.I got this ARC from Amazon Vine. You can buy your copy here.
Great review. I may have to give this series a try.
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