This just wasn’t for me. It felt overly familiar and not in a good way - more like a I’m sure I’ve read this book before but I haven’t because I have early copy. Once the ending rolled around I realized it’s so familiar because it’s a very typical thriller novel.

I didn’t particularly care for the “layout” I guess of this one - we have multiple timelines and POVs and they didn’t mesh for me.

I received an advanced copy through NetGalley and I want to thank them for it!

Oh I loved this. The narrators were amazing! The small mistakes our protagonist makes are so relatable and they filled me with dread.
What a mess.

I was very excited for It Ends at Midnight. I enjoyed Blood Orange and am a big fan of New Year’s Eve. Sounded perfect.

We follow Sylvie who goes from having it all to literally having it all ripped away from her in a matter of weeks.

It was Something Borrowed meets Blood Orange. Again, we are back with Barristers and the court system. But then we have this wedding/weird threesome vibe like Something Borrowed. One of the characters was even named Marcus!

It Ends as Midnight moved really slowly. There were 3 parts, and the majority of the book was part one… but everything happened in parts two and three!

That said, those last two parts were phenomenal. You just LOVE to hate Tess. She was perfectly written. And I was rooting Sylvie for the entire time! What a twist!! 🤌🏻

I also thought the flashes to the impaled/dying scenes and the witnesses/crime scene procedural was SO powerful, and I was VERY eager to find out who it was!!

It Ends at Midnight brought me into the mind of our main character Sylvie and left me questioning every intention behind her past decisions. The audio-book performance was spectacular, and I believe gave this story more life. If you are a fan of Alex Michaelides or of the movie Tar, I would recommend you give this one a listen! Tyce does an excellent job of developing characters and, similar to Michaelides, the novel is more focused on character study and living inside the mind of each narrator rather than building a thrilling, multi-twisting plot. We get to feel the anxiety that Sylvie feels and the desperation she has to stay on her desired career path. A fantastic portrayal of an unreliable narrator that keeps you guessing who to trust.

My main issue with this novel is that the blurb description is VERY misleading. If you are looking for a book about a "lavish party" gone wrong with all the focus on who is going to die, you likely won't like this. It is not a slasher horror/thriller in anyway. Luckily, this turned out to be more of a psychological thriller which I enjoy more but wasn't what I was expecting. I also had the same issue as I do with Michaelides when it comes to twists, but I won't say too much about that... Lastly, the ending had a bit too much tell rather than show, and it felt like an unnecessary summary. I think it would've been more fulfilling to keep more questions unanswered in regards to who we should've trusted throughout the story, but I know some readers don't prefer that.

3.5 stars!

This book is interesting in a lot of ways. It has a very unique ending and getting there is a strange and sorted journey.
It’s New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh and a fancy lavish party is underway.. It’s when friends new and old gather together and it’s a great time for old friends to make amends for the past in order to move on.
As fireworks go off in the sky and the liquor flows, the actual celebration just may not be going off as planned.You see, someone at this party will die tonight.
As the hour of midnight approaches, the countdown starts but one of the guests isn’t there to make any resolutions. They are there seeking revenge.
I really don’t want to tell you more about this book because it is just so well written and the suspense runs high so I’ll just leave this as it is and you just need to read it for yourself.
I liked all the characters in this book, even as I hated some of them.
I was incredibly lucky and received a review copy of the audiobook from Netgalley. The narrator is superb and really brings the story to life. There are actually a few different voices in this at times and I highly recommend it if you like audiobooks. I really enjoyed it.

A New Year’s party has a deadly end when long buried secrets come back to haunt a pair of old friends. Only one of them will be alive at the end of the night.
It Ends at Midnight is a dark and twisted thriller about what happens when past lies are exposed. The story follows Sylvia as she deals with her best friends cancer, accusations that might end her career and trying to keep the sins of her past hidden, The story alternates between past and present with sporadic updates on the scene of a gruesome murder. However, the victim is unknown. I enjoyed how the author gradually gave more info on the crime scene and back story. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to find out who the victim was. This novel has lots of elements I enjoy in a thriller such as hidden identities, flawed characters, long buried secrets and lots of psychological mind games. However, this story is really dark and heavy and it’s a good idea to check trigger warnings before reading this one. I would recommend this novel to fans of Ruth Ware or Clare Douglas.

4/5 stars

Thank you HighBridge Audio for the advanced listening copy!

Let me start by saying-- this is a great one to read without a ton of background info, so this synopsis will be short! Go in blind!

Sylvie and Tess have been friends for years. 20 years later, a cancer diagnosis changes everything for them. With age old wrongs to right, career goals to work towards and a metaphorical death sentence to contend with, a new years eve vow renewal is the perfect platform for revenge. Someone is going to die, but who? And why?

This book gripped me from the second it started! It was riveting throughout and had some good surprises throughout. The only reason it wasn't a 5 star for me was because I predicted the major twist, which always ruins things a bit for me. However, I'll say that this is definitely worth the read! Harriet Tyce really sets the scene, making this an atmospheric thriller that will have you enticed from page one. With dual POVs and timelines, multiple narrators in the audiobook, and some shocking twists, this one is worth the read!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harriet Tyce for an audio arc of It Ends at Midnight in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

Audios are my fave as I’ve gotten accustomed to listening at 2.25 speed, so needless to say this was a quick read/listen for me!

This was my first Harriet Tyce novel & I look forward to more!

First of all, the setting is a New Year’s Eve party. I love party settings. They are so atmospheric for me, so I easily get engrossed in the story. The New Year is a time to make resolutions and with this group of friends it is time to right old wrongs and move forward. Except, one guest has something else in mind to right their wrongs and at least one person ends up dead.

Very well written & thought out so exquisitely. The twists and turns were fabulous. The pacing was perfect and character development left me feeling like I genuinely knew all of the characters. This story is told in alternating timelines of the past & the present.

This dark & tension filled story is one that you MUST pick up! Out on February 21, 2023.

4/5 Stars

This book opens with a bang as two bodies are found impaled on an iron fence on New Year’s Eve. The victims are not identified. Readers are then taken back in time where they meet Sylvie and Tess, long time friends. While Sylvie is doing well both professionally and personally, Tess is struggling. Over drinks, Tess shares with Sylvie that she has received a terminal diagnosis and wants Sylvie to be the one to tell Tess’s estranged husband. Tess hopes the news will bring her husband back to her side and as a final wish, she wants to absolve herself of the guilt she has carried for what she and Sylvie did many years ago. Sylvie would do almost anything for Tess, but if this secret comes out, it will almost certainly lead to the end of Sylvie’s life too. A twisty and complex story of the things we will do, and the things we will not do, i the name of friendship

A shocking and brutal portrait of youth, ambition, the boundaries that didn't exist yesteryear, and the lies people tell themselves to be able to sleep at night.

Sylvie's life is going pretty well. She has a successful legal career and is finally in a promising relationship with a handsome chef. During a catch up with her longtime best friend Tess, she finds out that Tess is sick. She has two main requests: that Sylvie help her tell her husband and that they right a wrong from their past.

Tess hasn't always been the most loyal friend but can Sylvie trust her memories from the past? Is she seeing it through the distorted lens of a younger, more reckless person?

The tension is mounting and the walls are closing in on NYE during Tess's vow renewal. What is done in the dark will be brought to light but not everyone is going to live to see their resolutions through.

This was a raw and gritty drama that took a lot of turns and gave satisfying reveals throughout. I wasn't expecting it to be so intense but I was left feeling quite uneasy. It sticks with you after you finish.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen and review! The narration was great.

This dark new years celebration was unstoppable! I hit play and couldn’t stop until it was over. Add this to your New Year’s Eve list.

First off I want to thank @netgalley & @highbridgeaudio for my free ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I am glad I listened to this one, as I don't believe I would have finished it if I read it. It was enjoyable but nothing more. The pacing was a bit too slow for me and the characters were highly unlikeable.

I was intrigued in the beginning, definitely expecting more to the intrigue. The ending was rushed in my opinion. I honestly was disappointed with the ending, I felt I had read all of it for nothing. Also, I pretty much had it all figured out from early on it was predictable.

It was definitely well written, but fell flat on a lot of aspects for me to love it. I didn't care about the characters at all.

Posted 02/12/2023
It Ends At Midnight - Harriet Tyce

I received an eARC of this intriguing drama filled read from the publisher and Netgalley many thanks(
This review the audio version ( I don't always bother to mention a book`s format, however - I not only recommend this book for the content, but also for the wonderful acting ability of the narrator as she truly seems to embody the main character:s, every nuance of joy, happiness, stress and panic embodied in the book are reflected perfectly in the narrator's voice! I have omore than 2k audiobooks in my Audible library, and the narrator greatly contributed to my enjoyment of this novel is a standalone excellent read on its own merit, but the narrator mirrors the book's action and emotions perfectly!

What I found uniquely satisfying about this psychological thriller is that by the author subtly prompts you to examine your own mores regarding weighty issues including;
Whether someone be banned from judging others in a court of law when that person displayed a lapse in judgement decades ago when they were legally a CHILD, well past and the timeframe when this is discovered is 3 times past the statute of limitations for prosecution. If you consider how openly and thoughtlessly cruel and cliquish teenagers are in general, it makes for debatable food for thought
This book prompted me to reexamine my views regarding those appointed to judge us legally in a court of law, and the almost impossible stellar standards they must uphold - and how easily they can lose a career they devoted decades to attaining by the mere TAINT, of suspicion of wrong-doing.

I finished this book at 5;30 AM on a Monday, the start of a work filled week, but I read this in one sitting over the weekend.

Until next time, make sure to give this book read or a listen if you enjoy psychological thrillers (my inability to put it down until I reached the end that caused me to miss my Peleton class!

Post script: one thing drove me CRAZY in this novel, so I would rate it 4.1/2 stars because I hate it when women state their true feelings, but within moments the, I AM AO SORRYS" begin! Yuck.

Sophie worked SO HARD to become a judge and she was a hell-on-wheels Javelina regarding standing up for herself against a senior lead (SURPRISE, A MAN) who could have ruined her chances of ever becoming a judge, permanently..

However Sophie was a completely different passive milquetoast animal (a terrified nose quivering terrified bunny perhaps, when it came to her friends and "loved." ones.

Sophie would get drunk, and fed-up by the way she was treated she would finally blurt out the truth to at them scream the truth at them, only to turn around within seconds to APOLOGIZE, to them, for what, her honesty, I guess, even though what she said to them was TRUE

Tess (a )her "best" friend (who needs enemiest, right?) Or her "boyfriend" graham. With Tess ,her VERY MANIPULATIVE and selfish 'best friend was extremely belittling Sophie, finally happened to get frustrated enough to COMPLAIN (and in these judgements she was always spot-on correct)
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https://books.google.com/books/about/It_Ends_At_Midnight.html?id=9Ic3EAAAQBAJ

This story's non-linear timeline starts with two people found dead on New Years Eve/New Years Day. The reader is left to wonder: who are these dead characters and how did they come to find their demise?
We then flash back to the perspective of Sylvie, a 40-something aspiring judge in a new relationship. Things seem to be going well for her until her long-time, sometimes controlling best friend Tess breaks the news that she has a brain tumor. The reader is then lead down a dark, winding road of flashbacks and current day situations that lead up to the night of the deaths.
I enjoyed this novel. It was a very quick listen and kept my attention. I felt somewhat disconnected from the characters, though. I usually enjoy a non-linear timeline, but this one jumped around just a little too much for me. I couldn't get dates from high school and college to align with the characters' current day ages and actions. Partly because of this (and partly because they just aren't all that likable), I never formed a true connection to Sylvie or Tess.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for allowing me the opportunity to review this audio version of the book in exchange for an honest review.*

Jaw dropping page turning mystery!!!
I started this audiobook and couldn’t stop listening until the ending!!! It grabs you from the very beginning!!

3.25ish stars

I liked (some of) but didn’t love this one. The basic premise of the story seemed promising, and I liked the way intrigue was built by going back and forth with time shifts, but overall, I didn’t really enjoy a lot of the major characters and found the book a little bit underwhelming. Others seem to have really enjoyed it, though, and I’d be interested in checking out other novels by the same writer.

WOWZA!

I could not stop listening to this audiobook! Loved both the narration and the gripping and captivating plot!

Two people were found impaled on a gate after midnight on New Year’s Eve. This book looks back at the events leading up to the bodies being found.

Sylvie Monroe has been friends with Tess since school. Sylvie is a highly motivated barrister who is on her way to becoming a judge. She has worked hard and has always had her eye on the target career wise. She is in a relationship with a man named Gareth and is happy that for once she has chosen a good guy.

Tess and her husband are estranged, and Tess would like to reconnect with him. Over drinks Tess informs Sylvie that she has been diagnosed with a devastating (could be terminal) tumor. Tess asks Sylvie if she will tell her estranged husband, Marcus of her diagnosis. Tess also informs Sylvie that she would them both to right old wrongs which occurred when they were teenagers. Guilt has weighed heavy on both for years, but are both looking for closure?

Holy Moly!


This book is told in two timelines in which readers see the characters in the past and the present. Decisions have consequences. Perception is everything. The truth will set you free, or will it? This was such a hard to put down, perfectly paced and gripping book. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator.

This book was a pleasure from beginning to end. I thoroughly enjoyed the courtroom sections, seeing Sylvie at work and getting into her mind. I also enjoyed the red herrings, and I had a few moments where I shook my head at Sylvie for choices she made. Just when I thought I had a handle on things, the author turned the tables on me. I love when this happens.

If you enjoy books with unreliable narrators, toxic friendships, courtroom scenes and a good mystery, this book is for you! I enjoyed how things played out and there was never a dull moment in this book. I found this book to be perfectly paced and well thought out. I can't believe that I have not read a book by Harriet Tyce before, I will be righting that.

I found this to be a well written, brilliant, perfectly paced mystery that I could not get enough of.

Gripping, dark, and engrossing!


4.5 stars

I was hoping for an exciting and fast-paced thriller with many twists and turns as I've been in a bit of a thriller slump lately... This book unfortunately wasn't it. I didn't connect with the main character at all, and it was hard to feel bad for her when things started to go wrong.

The flashback sections didn't mesh well with the current storyline. I found myself questioning how the characters didn't see some people's intentions or why they didn't take this action or another which made some of the major plot points unbelievable to me. The ending didn't surprise me. On to the next!

It Ends at Midnight was an average thriller with below-average characters. The main characters Sylvie and Tess are both extremely unlikeable. They both are going through something extremely personal and stressful and I had a hard time sympathizing with them since they seemed like such awful people.

The plot is all over the place. It goes between the present day and back to when Sylvie and Tess were younger. When they were younger they made some poor decisions that lead to a friend going to jail. That moment should have haunted them for life but they seemed to have no remorse or issue putting it out of sight until they can’t anymore.

By the time the book ended I found it to be a predictable ending. The best thing about this book was it’s a fast read. Unfortunately, I find it hard to recommend this book.

Final Score 2/5

Wow, this psychological thriller was a fast paced whirlwind of a book! It Ends At Midnight is full of secrets, lies, and toxic relationships. You are not sure which characters to believe or what they are hiding. I listened to this audiobook in one day! I highly recommended checking out the audiobook when it comes out.

Thank you @highbridgeaudio @recordedbooks and @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.