Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose is the first book in her New Orleans series. What an excellent opening salvo to this new series! The storyline is complex and full of action and suspense. The characters are well-developed and very likable. Well... the good guys are. The bad guys are pure evil. Karen Rose writes such chilling evil villains. I really enjoyed this book. Then again, every book I've read by this author has been great. I like Ms. Rose's voice. She is an excellent storyteller.

Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose is the 1st book in her New Orleans series, which is also the 26th book in her Romance Suspense series. I am a big fan of Karen Rose, as her suspense thrillers are amazing, and unputdownable. In this newest arc, Rose gives us another fabulous book that is once again over 600 pages. Rose always creates fantastic heroes and wonderful secondary characters, as well as evil villains; and this does not change in this book, as she writes another masterpiece. Quarter to Midnight is a tense, exciting, action filled story that kept me on the edge of to my seat from start to finish.

Quarter to Midnight starts with a bang, as a retired detective dies, with his son, Gabe Hebert, our hero, unable to accept that the police said he committed suicide. Gabe suspects some of the police are trying to hide things, and he pushes to have a private autopsy, which confirms his suspicion. Gabe goes for help to his father’s best friend, Burke Broussard, who is a former cop, now running a private investigation firm.

Burke will assign, Molly Sutton, our heroine, to work with Gabe, which at first doesn’t sit well with him, since she is a woman. But he will learn that Molly is a former marine, and is considered the toughest member of his team; and from the start, Gabe learns how smart and savvy Molly is. In a short time, the sparks will fly between Gabe and Molly, with a slow burn romance. However, the case is the main focus of this story, as both become involved in a dangerous web of police corruption, evil villains who will stop at nothing to kill and murder. Molly, Gabe, Burke set out to investigate and protect a wonderful group of secondary characters, which was a great addition to the story line.

What follows is an intriguing, tense, exciting, and edge of your seat suspense storyline that had me holding my breath so many times. This was very tense from all the way through, especially with the evil villains constantly killing off many innocent people. As we raced to the wild climax, I prayed for the for the survival of all the good people, and the demise of the main villain. I do not want to give spoilers, as you really need to read this book from start to finish.

Quarter to Midnight is an intense thriller, with non- stop action all the way. As I have said before, Karen Rose never fails to give a fantastic well written thriller that is intense, always on the edge, with fantastic characters, evil villains and a wonderful couple you care for. If you love suspense, with a touch of romance and a thriller all the way, then look no further then Karen Rose.

Karen Rose brings suspense, danger, action, intense moments, and romance to her first book in the New Orleans romantic suspense series, Quarter to Midnight. If you like contemporary romances with lots of suspense and danger, then this book is one to check out. Except for the prologue and epilogue, the book takes place over the course of one week.

Molly Sutton has moved to New Orleans, Louisiana and taken a job with her former Marine Commanding Officer Burke Broussard, who had left the New Orleans police department and set up a private investigator office. Gabe Hebert’s dad worked for the New Orleans police department until he retired a few months ago. Gabe saw the effect of the work on his dad so he decided to become a chef. When Gabe’s father’s death is rules a suicide, he goes to the father’s best friend, Burke for help and Molly is assigned to the case.
Molly and Gabe are likeable characters and work well together. Molly is serene, unruffled, tough, has great attention to detail, and likes to take notes. Gabe is unsettled and experiencing both grief and fear. They seem to balance each other, but their attraction was a little too fast. There are many characters in this novel, but it was easy to keep them separate. Readers learn partial names of the antagonists long before Molly and Gabe. However, we don’t know their full names and how they totally fit into the picture.

The prologue is dark and gritty, but it takes a while for readers to discover how it relates to the rest of the story. The setting is mainly in New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding bayous. However, there are events that take place in Houston, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana as well. The book was descriptive without slowing the pace, which is fast. While the story switches points of view frequently, it flowed well.

This riveting crime thriller and romantic suspense novel keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The novel builds suspense in a way that pulls readers into the lives of the characters. The plot is full of chasing down leads and interviewing people as well as plenty of danger for those involved. I enjoyed how the author provided unpredictable moments and a little humor in the story, as there are some gruesome spots in this tale. The conflict moves the story forward at a rapid pace. Who can be trusted? How many people are telling lies? Who will survive? Will you see that ending coming? Themes include murder, relationships, families, friendship, secrets, infidelity, corruption, and much more.

Overall, this briskly paced novel was engaging and atmospheric with diverse characterization. I can’t wait to find out who will be featured in the next book. I recommend this to those that like romantic suspense novels with relatable and likeable main characters.

Berkley Publishing Group and Karen Rose provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way. Publication date is currently expected to be August 2, 2022.

Lots of interesting characters to keep up with and a rather long complicated path to the end but worth it. Bodies are popping up quite frequently as Burke, the CO of his own PI agency sets out to prove that his good friend did not take his own life. Molly, a former Marine and cop is put in charge of the investigation that will lead in many directions. There are no easy answers in this story which I liked. The Xavier's motley group of investigators added some humor to this story of gruesome murders and corruption. Loved the setting. I do wish authors did not have to use the 'F' word excessively.

This is a new author for me and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It was very well written with an attention-grabbing plot, well-developed and likable characters (well, except for the bad guy...he was a TOTAL villainous bad guy), and just enough steam to make it good romantic suspense (with a great dose of suspense). In all the nail-biting there was even a little comic relief that made me literally laugh out loud.
I definitely plan to read more and hope to see these characters again.

➜ romantic suspense
➜ just enough spice to keep things interesting
➜ found-family ties
➜ badass female lead
➜ a lil bit of the bodyguard trope, a lil bit of the forced proximity trope
➜ hidden secrets
➜ enemies in high places
➜ for fans of Nora Roberts
➜ no, the dog doesn’t die

I’m NOTORIOUSLY picky with my romantic suspense, because I’ve noticed that with a lot of books in this genre, the author either succeeds at the crime fiction plot OR the romance plot, but rarely both. However, I thought the author genuinely did a good job with both genres in this book. The main characters had chemistry and made sense together, and the crime fiction plotline was driven steadily forward by pacing that made this 600+ page book seem a lot shorter. This isn’t a book full of twists and turns where you’re left wondering about the whodunnit…that question is answered right away, and you’re even given their POV, which definitely amped up the interest factor for me. Sometimes it’s fascinating to get into the bad guy’s head, ya know?

This is a massive story. WOW. There are loads of characters to keep track of and plenty of twists and roundabouts. I was so absorbed in this book, it sucked me into the mystery surrounding the crime.

Rose took the time to develop each character and lead in this twisting suspense story. There is nothing left unturned and that just leads to a fabulous reading experience.

I loved the heat and connection with the two main characters. It balanced the plot nicely so it was not too much crime/suspense or too much romance.

With every turn of the page, Rose built the suspense and it was a strong act of willpower to close the cover at night. Be prepared and clear your reading schedule when this one hits your door! You will not want to put it down!

Karen Rose is one of my go-tos for romantic suspense. I love the way she lets you get swept up in the story and she has an unusual but satisfying pacing style where there are bursts of action followed by a lot of "hang out" time with our characters. I think because this one didn't have my favorite suspense trope (dirty cops/justice system), it was fine but not great for me. I also struggled to connect with the hero. That said, this was perfectly enjoyable, but not a standout among the books in the series IMO

Set primarily in New Orleans, Quarter to Midnight is a thriller with a bit of romance thrown in. I give it 3.5 stars. Pros: decent plot and well pretty written. Cons: Weak on character development and the story was unnecessarily long and complicated.

A new Romantic Suspense Series! I’m here for it!

I’m obsessed with the Sacramento series and I was so intrigued to start this new series which is based in New Orleans.

First off, I really loved the characters! There’s usually a big family dynamic in the series, and this one is an interesting one as they more develop a family unit instead of having their own family unit, like in the Sacramento series, for example.

In addition, in the Sacramento series, it’s more the typical man will protect woman, but I loved how the tables were switched in this one and it’s more woman, will protect the man. Molly is a badass and I can’t wait to read more of this series!

Even though I really loved this book and I rated it 5-stars, there was still something missing for me that I couldn’t put my finger on. It's almost like the attraction between Molly and Gabe was too fast, and there wasn’t enough buildup. I’m not quite sure, but regardless this was an excellent novel!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley. As usual, my reviews are my honest and unbiased opinions.

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Okay, if you're familiar with me and my reading tastes, it's going to come as absolute not surprise that, once again, I loved a Karen Rose book. I started my Karen Rose journey as a teenager that saw Count to Ten in a grocery store checkout line and fell in love with her characters, their love stories, and their interconnected world in which they all deal with some of the darkest sides of humanity.

Quarter to Midnight was no exception. This time taking place in New Orleans, a city ripe with history and culture, we followed Molly and Gabe as they fight city-wide corruption and attempt to solve the murder of Gabe's father. The new (and some old!) characters were some of my favorite personalities yet, and what they went through broke my heart. I enjoyed the love story between Molly and Gabe immensely, and can't wait to see the rest of their group find their happily-ever-afters.

The only detractor I have is a personal preference. In this case, I prefer when the "bad guy" remains a faceless, unnamed individual that you have to work alongside the characters to uncover throughout the story. In this case, while you only had the first name of the "bad guy" and not much else, there wasn't really any mystery to uncover, because once you heard the name at the end, you instantly knew what was going on.

I still loved this story, and will always auto-buy anything Karen Rose writes. This was a five star read for me and I can't wait to see where the rest of the series leads.

This beginning to a new series was a really nice read. As always with a Karen Rose story, there are a lot of characters thrown at the reader, and the book is incredibly long. Rose really needs a good editor.

Overall, QUARTER TO MIDNIGHT is a fast paced murder/mystery, full of twists and turns to the last page; but perhaps a little too convoluted, as the reader will need to concentrate fully to keep up with who is who throughout the book. Good read, recommended to Rose fans and fans of quality RS.

I was so delighted to have the opportunity to read Karen Rose’s new book Quarter to Midnight. In my mind only being able to give it a 5 star rating is too limiting, I’d go much higher. From the introduction of the various members of Burke Broussard’s elite private investigative service to the people they will represent, to the bad guys they will deal with - Quarter to Midnight becomes a thrilling no hold bars story of politics, crime, corruption, back history, and finding justice in New Orleans. Justice will win for Molly, Gabe, Xavier, Rocky and more. The development of all characters is outstanding, the good guys and the bad. The novel keeps you guessing right to the end as to who the big bad guy is and how the team will find justice for those they represent. This is a must-read Karen Rose novel and a must purchase for libraries.

Quarter to Midnight is a rapid-fire New Orleans detective mystery. There is political, judicial, and police corruption. The body count is 23-25ish. Honest and hard-working detectives and police are thwarted by the sudden and revenge-motivated deaths of potential witnesses. Through it all is a cast of likable characters that readers can't help cheering for. Definitely start reading this book early enough in the day that you'll have time to finish it.

Quarter to Midnight is an intensive, heart-stopping thriller about corruption and crime involving individuals in positions of authority in New Orleans legal system and law enforcement. Karen Rose's characters add well-developed as well as mysteriously connected to the suspense and the complicated crimes in the novel. This is a tremendous offering.

I’ve been a fan of Karen Rose’s books for a while now, and I’m happy to say that her newest book, Quarter to Midnight, I kind of loved It, is another great one. I loved the main characters, and in true Karen Rose fashion, there were a lot of main characters. This is something she excels at in each of her novels. Despite the circumstances, they all had a great sense of humor, strength, and resilience. They all were a lot of fun to read about, I also loved how colorful the secondary characters were, which made for a lot of great dialogue. I’m really looking forward to reading more from Karen Rose!

Ms. Rose has done it again. I have read many of her books and I have to say that this one was one of my favorites. I enjoyed the mystery and the romance. It was a good book and I am looking forward to the next one.

A complex and addictive crime novel - I will be recommending Quarter to Midnight to fans of Karen Slaughter and Peter Connelly.

I love Karen Rose books! I've read them all and am happy to see a new city in the mix. This book has it all. Romance, suspense, danger, capable beautiful women and hunky good guys make for great reading and incredible enjoyment!