As a child, teen, and young adult, Ruth is isolated in her rural Louisiana community where her father leads a fundamentalist Christian church. Ruth’s lone friend, Everett, is also an outcast. So, do these protagonists serve as the crime novel’s the heroes or antiheroes? Winstead blurs the line of what constitutes justice with a dissonance between legality and morality in an atmospheric setting. Despite being compulsively readable, I just couldn’t quite round up to 4 stars.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

Ruth is the daughter of the local fire and brimstone preacher in a small Louisiana town. She doesn’t really have friends until she starts hanging out with Everett the troubled son of the town drunk. The story goes from the present back thru Ruth’s childhood as she tries to unravel some local murders. I didn’t connect with any of the main characters.

Enjoyable narration.

First sentence: Five hours and forty-six minutes after a trapper pulls a skull from the depths of Starry Swamp, shaking sludge and Spanish moss out of its eye sockets, the entire town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana - all five thousand two hundred and twenty nine Christian souls and the small handful of Godless heathens - has heard the news.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a difficult book to talk about without revealing  spoilers. Between the pages, you will find a mystery, a thriller,  romance, a serial killer exposé, plus a vampire legend! Really, there's so much to keep the reader engaged.  With the immediate discovery of a skull, the story becomes a who done it and why. Enter the two most outcast citizens to figure out what is going on—the daughter of the local preacher and an almost-feral boy who resides in the swamp.

Things I loved:

The strong start to the story.

The southern setting was very atmospheric, from the spooky swamp, a claustrophobic small town, and Ruth's character, I loved it all. Ruth loves to read and dreams of going to college.

The novel is a slow burning tinder box of fear and tension, and you never know when it will burst.

It has a satisfying ending.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for sharing Winstead's dark, deep  and thrilling rollercoaster novel!

I was really drawn to this book as I love southern gothics and thought the tie in with the cult would be interesting with this genre, The Twilight references for kind of cutesy the first few times, however added really nothing to a book about an entirely human couple. My mistake is pushing myself through to finish this book. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

A pretty cheesy romance in disguise as a mystery. Good writing tho!

I was really excited when my wish was granted by the publisher, and I was able to read and review MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR.

I loved, loved this author's book In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and I had high hopes for this one. One of the things I loved was how atmospheric the story was. I really felt like I was in the deep South.

Unfortunately, the story was too slow paced for me and I felt like it could have been shortened about 50-60 pages. I feel like it just went on and on. I know I am in the minority here as a lot of readers I know absolutely loved it. One thing I do not understand is the book is being described as being "for fans of Verity" and I absolutely did not see any comparison to Verity. That kind of bummed me out!

I feel like I was not the right reader for this book, or maybe I wasn't in the mood for a slow-paced thriller at the time. I still adore this author and would absolutely read any new upcoming thrillers from her!

I very much enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and the story kept me engaged throughout. I would recommend this book to others. Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Fans of Twilight and/or vampire tropes may really love this one. I'm definitely a fan of Ashley Winstead, but I wasn't able to connect as much with the characters in this one for some reason, so while I read about 3/4 of the book, I didn't end up finishing it. I'm still looking forward to whatever she might write next!

Midnight is the Darkest Hour

Well I finished this book a week ago and needed to think about it!

Small town bayou that is plagued with the Low Man, and minister that has a questionable background. A town that is easy to believe what the townsfolk tell them is true. And a daughter that questions her entire life when she thinks she has found her one true love but really who is he. Who is everyone?
I don’t know if I loved or even liked the ending which is what to me so long to rate the book. The book was recommended to me and see that it is all over Tictok as a must read for the fall. I don’t know if it is a MUST read.

Thank you- NetGalley for the read.

What an interesting book of southern gothic legend. I loved the Twilight tie in, which Winstead did so cleverly. Bottom Springs, Louisiana is a small town heavily influenced by religion. When librarian Ruth Cornier is involved in a murder to save her own life, she falls in love/obsession with local boy Everett. The book takes place later, in their 20s, with frequent flashbacks. This book started off fast for me--I was fascinated both by the setting and by their odd relationship. By the mid-point, I felt like not much was happening, and it was a lot of the same thing over and over. That said, it was an enjoyable read, and such a unique take on a southern thriller. I will definitely pick up her next book!

I DNFed this book. I tried to push through. I just couldn't do it, though. This felt like a YA book with all the Twilight references. Rating it 3 stars because, while it wasn't the book for me, it might be the perfect book for someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the E-ARC

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Ashley Winstead

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Sourcebooks and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, 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: Winstead is one of my favorite thriller writers and I am always excited when she releases a new novel. Another novel that is perfect for the spooky season. Ruth lives in an area of Louisiana that is extremely old school religious, almost cult religious. When a skull is found in the swamp, the whole town is in fear of the mystical figure created long ago, the Low Man, a vampiric figure that is believed to creep into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them, placing the remains in the swamp as a sacrilege sacrifice. What lengths will the town and/or the people of the town, including Ruth and her sidekick Everett go to turn out the secret? This novel gives off Bonnie and Clyde vibes with a gothic religious twist.

The story is narrated by Ruth in a third person POV. Ruth has been brought up by a fire and brimstone preacher father, where children are to be seen and not heard. Where girls are to wait for sex until after they are married. When the wife ALWAYS obeys the husband. Where you must go to church, be tight with the community, never sin, and always obey the followings of the church. There is the law and God laws that the community of Bottom Springs must follow. Ruth is attracted to Everett, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, that her father has warned her against. Everett thinks he is too evil for Ruth but cannot stay away. The characters were well fleshed out with depth, mystery, creepiness, intriguing, and creatively woven throughout the story. The MCs are unreliable, flawed, yet likable. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, atmospheric, and brilliant. The characters are built up through the chapters and through flashbacks of the past, the plot is delivered in twists throughout the story, and the ending is unpredictable. I believe that some will love the ending and some will hate the ending.

This was a creepy, atmospheric psychological thriller that delves into fire and brimstone religious, even cult-like behavior. The story is twisty, creepy, dark, disturbing, suspenseful, and did I say twisty? I adored the vampire references, definitely a Twilight feel. The last quarter of the book is page turning, heart racing, cannot put down and the ending, whoa, what an ending. I screamed at the ending but will not say much more to not ruin for other readers. GO PICK UP THIS BOOK! Highly recommend! For me, this is a must read.

Easily an auto purchase author and this just adds to my reasoning why. The references to Twilight made me swoon and had me feeling nostalgic. I connected to Ruth and related to her. This book was great and I found myself savoring the pages because I was enjoying it so much.

I absolutely loved this book. I have read In My Dreams I Hold a Knife as well as The Last Housewife and after this book Ashley Winstead is firmly cemented as an author I’ll follow for years to come. The beautiful setting, lush descriptions, and interwoven Twilight themes all combined to create a perfect, atmospheric spooky read. I can’t wait for Future Saints!

Midnight is the darkest hour is the 4th book I’ve read by Ashley winstead and I’m not sure why I keep thinking she’ll get better. This book was so slow and boring and way too many twilight references. The ending just had me so annoyed. Not good. Do not recommend

I have enjoyed Ashley Winstead's previous works, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and The Last Housewife. However, I was not as enthralled with Midnight Is the Darkest Hour. There were so many references to Twilight that I felt as though this might be more geared to YA readers (of which I am not). I will, however, continue to look forward to Ashley Winstead's writing in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

A creative and ominous read. At times it was a little too over-the-top for me. The last 25% was my favorite and definitely unputdownable.

<b>"What did it feel like to become a warning?"</b>

This is a truly haunting and surreal, visceral read. It's wonderfully taunt, expertly crafted, and deftly imbued with some elements that always make you feel just that little bit off kilter -- is there some supernatural realism at work? Is there something of the occult transpiring in Ruth's reality? Who are the real villains and what is the real justice?

<b>"Why should we have to love and obey a world that doesn't love us back?"</b>

Winstead's latest is certainly different than your usual crime fiction or thriller. It feels slower while at the same time sharper. It begs a lot of philosophical questions, challenging readers to examine their own internal narratives, their own ethics, and pushes the boundaries on our traditional senses of crime, justice, love and even freedom.

<b>"But what about what children sacrifice? What about the courage it takes to right our parents' wrongs, course correct the mess they've left us?"</b>

There are several heavy themes, most especially religious zealotry and cultism, that might give you the impression this is another dark underbelly telling like Winstead's previous works, but this actually takes on so much more. There's a constant push and pull as Ruth chafes against her town and family, but finds herself beholden to it. As events unfold, you can feel her cognitive dissonance transpire off the page and insidiously creep into your own perspective. As the hidden depths of the swamp and the town surface, you're experiencing all the same challenges to the things you've been taught like Ruth. You're pushed again and again to reconsider what a crime is, who a villain really is, and what costs you would pay to set yourself free, to define your freedom and grasp it.

It's hard to really dive into this further with specifics without spoiling any elements, and truly I think this is one best enjoyed going in blind or with your own specific notions to see how Winstead challenges and surprises them. While the overall 'twists' might not be surprising by the time they come, the journey and unravelling there is worthwhile and downright addicting. Readers be warned that the ending goes out with a bang with maybe not with everything neatly tied up, but to me, it was perfect because I know how it ends in my heart and I love that Winstead gives the reader the ultimate power in the end.

<b>"Midnight is a piece of crime fiction that I hope asks: Is justice also written by the winners? That is, what's considered just determined by who's in power?"</b>

While there are some outright zany elements and scenes, this is a striking story that feels timely while also eloquently documenting issues as old as time: misogyny and the subjugation of women, the abuse of power and the boy's club, the power of religion and its perversion, criminality and villains, and love that borders on obsession and madness.

Don't let mentions of Twilight -- yes that Twilight, in reviews deter you because the way Winstead uses that as the first of many rebellions for Ruth demonstrates a keen analysis of what is it that makes those stories so alluring and even…dangerous to power systems. It's brilliant and I think the authors notes at the end really help articulate this. Truly, Winstead shows herself to be a formidable writer with a mind that delivers equal parts hope and inspiration, along with nightmares and darkness. It's an intoxicating cocktail and I can't wait to see what narratives and stories Winstead brings next.

Not to be missed and also absolutely fabulous on audiobook, I highly recommend this.

📖 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫
✍🏻 @ashleywinsteadbooks
🎁 Thank you @bookmarked for the advanced copy!

💭 Ashley Winstead is back, baby. And this time with a new thriller that is perfect for spooky season. Ashley is an autobuy author for me. Her romances are just as good as her page turning thrillers. I am FASCINATED by religious cults so when I found out this story had one in it, I was an immediate YES I NEED TO READ. The setting is Louisiana which adds to the creepy vibes. There were mentions of Twilight and a bit of a romance that I adored. Ashley's thrillers always have you saying 'ONE MORE CHAPTER' because you need to know how the story ends. And let me tell you, this ending? SO UNIQUE. And so dang good.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨/5

Well, this one hurts. I’ve loved her other thrillers so I had high hopes this one would also blow me away. Unfortunately, it felt forced and predictable. The premise had possibilities but the execution just wasn’t there for me. If you try this one, I would suggest reading or at least listening to a sample of the audio first because the accent the narrator uses was distracting at times.