Winstead has quickly become an absolute favorite author for me (<i>The Last Housewife</i> was my favorite book of last year) and she just keeps proving why. she not only knows how to craft a propulsive thriller with morally grey characters, but takes it the extra mile by addressing dark themes that aren't really tackled much in the genre - she seems to be following right in the footsteps of Karin Slaughter. <i>Midnight</i> is actually quite similar to <i>Housewife</i> in its characters and the way the story progresses, but this one swaps out heavy sexual themes for religious trauma. this actually reminded me a bit of the "Midnight Mass" netflix series, where the entire small town lives and breathes by its cultlike religion and its leaders. this one is also a bit more romance-heavy than her previous books, but I felt like that part was actually integral to the plot (a young Ruth gets her first taste of forbidden romance by secretly reading Twilight - although it sounds a bit corny, I feel like a lot of readers can resonate and relate to this), and as someone who usually only enjoys very minimal romantic subplots, Winstead actually made me care about this one.

Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead follows Ruth Cormier, the town librarian in the tiny community of Bottom Springs, LA. Ruth's father is the preacher at Holy Fire Baptist Church and the townspeople just love his fire and brimstone sermons and good versus evil. About the only thing the townspeople fear more than the Devil is the Low Man, a vampire-like creature who, according to legend, steals into sinners' bedrooms on moonless nights and murders them. Although Ruth has been raised to believe all of these things too, she still just feels like an outsider in her town. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to some strange carved symbol, the superstitious townsfolk are sent into an uproar, convinced that evil is among them.

Ruth isn't convinced that the evil is quite what the townspeople think it is and she partners up with Everett, an old friend from the wrong side of the tracks, to find the true evil that is plaguing their community.

This is definitely what I would call a slow burn thriller. While it wasn't an action-packed read that kept me on the edge of my seat, it was an engrossing read with unsettling sinister vibes that kept me turning those pages to uncover the truth. The story also explores powerful themes such as religion, the occult, abuses of power, child abuse, and so many more. One that I found especially compelling was what we see in both Ruth and Everett, the struggle between trying to grow up and find your own place in the world versus just blindly trying to please your parents.

I don't want to say anything else for fear of spoilers, but If dark, unsettling thrillers with southern gothic vibes are your thing, this is the book for you!

Sarah Welborn does a phenomenal job narrating the audiobook and bringing the characters to life and fully immersing me in the southern Gothic atmosphere of the story.

Thanks so much to @tantoraudio and @bookmarked for the gifted review copies!

Holy crap batman this was a crazy read! I love Ashley Winstead anyway. Was this my favorite? No. I didn’t care for how she portrayed Christians, but other than that this story was visceral and I loved it! It had just the right amount of creepy (like her thrillers always do) and I couldn’t stop!

Thank you, NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

I always go in blind with thrillers, and I usually won't read a book if it focuses a lot on religion.
This book really centers itself around small town religion and in my opinion, everything that's wrong with it.
It really made me ask myself, are there actually towns like this in America? Terrifying.

The story had me enthralled during certain parts and in others I wanted to throw my headphones at the wall. Not because of the writing (Ashley's prose is always fantastic) but because of the characters.
There was such a push and pull with are these people maybe good people and then the rug would get ripped out from underneath you once again.
I loved the Dexter style twist at the end, and no matter how bad Ruth and Everett were, you still rooted for them. At least I did.

That ending though? Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Overall 3.5 ⭐

🎧📖 note: I thought Sarah Welborn did a fantastic job, but I did have to speed the book up to 1.25 time to escape the Michelle Duggar vibes.

Ever read a book that shocks you in all the right ways? Midnight Is the Darkest Hour was a riveting read which I enjoyed via audiobook. I was swept away by this southern gothic book that is knee deep in religious fervor, outcasts, love, myths, and the bayou. I had a hard time putting this book down as I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I was captivated by the bond between Ruth and Everett, two outcasts who I was rooting for the entire book.

Bottom Springs, Louisiana is a place where the preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks make everyone in this god fearing town uncomfortable. Ruth's father rules from the pulpit preaching about God and the Devil. The town is also fearful that a myth about the Low Man, a vampire type creature may be real and lurking the swamps. When a skull is found and strange carvings are found on the trunks of trees, the town goes on high alert.

This was such a gripping, dark, gothic and mesmerizing read. I loved the audiobook version and thought the narration was fantastic. If it were not for the modern references and talk of the book, Twilight, I would have thought the book took place in the 1950's due to how females were treated, the talk of being a "good girl", the control of the preacher and local law enforcement.

This book is full of twists, turns, revelations and shocking moments. The book is full of atmosphere, secrets, tension, danger, and darkness. Survival becomes the name of the game when truths come to light!

WOW! I cannot wait to read more of Ashley Winstead's book. I was blown away with how much this took me by surprise and wowed me. Plus, that ending!

I really enjoyed the bayou folklore and dark magic components of this story. There was great imagery. This is definitely a very slow burn, and the majority of the action happens at the very end. The story reads like a southern suspense, with some vigilante murder thrown in throughout. I loved the small town conspiracy and witch hunt for what the town thinks is the "low man" - a figure likened to the devil who the town believed was killing off the men. I think a lot of readers are really going to love this one, especially as we get into spooky season.

What I did not love:
- the FMC felt weak
- religious trauma/patriarchal control is not a trope I generally enjoy
- I predicted the twist

The narration was easy to listen to, although at times there was a half-accent that did not really work for me, because it only appeared occasionally. Her cadence and tone were great. I felt that her voice matched the main character well. I would listen to this narrator again.

At first I didn't know if I would like this book, because it is unusual to what I normally read. But I was so wrong! I enjoyed this book so much. All of the twists and turns, made the book worth listening to/reading. The two main characters, Ruth and Everett gave me a "Bonnie & Clyde" feel. I really enjoyed seeing the character development from Ruth; her starting out as someone who always listened to her preacher father and tried to abide by the church, to someone who wouldn't stop at anything to figure out the truth of what has been happening in their small town of Bottom Springs. Louisiana. While the church parishioners thought there was a mythical monster on the loose, maybe it was actually people they would never expect. I really liked all of the references to "Twilight". However, I am not a fan of cliffhanger endings. Besides that, I wanted to keep listening so I would know what would happen next!

Midnight is the Darkest Hour was a long, slow book. For me. At just over 12 hours, I felt the pacing of this one too slow to keep me totally invested. That said, TONS of Goodreads reviewers loved it, so what do I know.

It had all the makings for a fabulous spooky season read - southern gothic, woods, Louisiana and all the lore of that area.....it was just too long. Too much emphasis on religious zealotry which felt over the top.

I loved Winstead's last novel, and will read her next one, but Midnight wasn't for me.

2.5 stars. Oof. I'm very sad to have to write this review.

For me, this book just did not work. I was never a Twilight girlie, and I think that was a big issue in my connection to the story. A lot of the first half is spent invoking Twilight scenes and Bella/Edward interactions, and I think the attempt here was to cause an instant "bridge" of shared consciousness with the reader. However, this forged no connection for me because I don't have positive feelings toward that franchise in general. If anything, it actually turned me off of Ruth and her story.

Speaking of Ruth, what in the what? I found her to be a very "YA" character in every timeline, completely naïve and ignorant to things going on around her. But then all of a sudden, she's able to figure out this complex plot with extremely detailed motivations and actions and linkages to solve the mystery? Yikes. Also, that's not how ethylene glycol metabolizes in humans, unless I'm missing something. Are we supposed to believe there was divine intervention? Unclear to me. AND THE ENDING (!) ugh, just not my fave.

Sigh. Anyway, there's no doubt that the writing itself is solid, and I will still buy anything Ashley ever writes, but Midnight was a big miss for me specifically. I also think it is mislabeled as a thriller, but fortunately one of my besties read this first so I knew to expect more of a coming-of-age story out of this read.

Thank you to Ashley Winstead, Soucebooks Landmark, Tantor Audio, and NetGalley for my advance audio copy.

Ruth Everett is the preacher’s daughter in a small Luisiana town. When a body is found in the swamp in town, she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery.

This is my second Ashley Winstead book, and sadly this just didn’t live up the Last Housewife for me. While they both deal with a lot of similar topics such as love, family, friends, feminism and cults, I felt like The Last Housewife did everything this book did, but better.

I was most looking forward to the topic of the Low man, a supposed vampiric killer. Sadly, this wasn’t as central to the story as I would have liked. That being said there were plenty of things I did like in this novel. I loved the relationship between the two main characters, Ruth and Everett, and how that evolved throughout the years. In addition, I’m a sucker for religious drama, and this book had plenty of that.

This book is perfect if you like small town religious intrigues, with a little mix of murder. Personally, although this book wasn’t perfect for me, I will likely keep picking up books from this author in the future.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Tantor Audio, and the Author Ashley Winstead for allowing me to listen to an audio arc of this book.

I'm not a fan of talks on religion so this book wasn't for me. I have enjoyed this author's previous work so I thought I would try this out but the reveal was told to us way too early and the rest of the book seemed too long. Nothing really happens till the end of the book. I didn't get the comparison of this book with A Flicker in the Dark or Verity, both books that I have enjoyed. It was predictable and ridiculous at the same time but maybe there's an audience for it. Wasn't my cup of tea.

Wow! This book left me speechless and I’m still sitting here with my jaw dropped.

What a twisted story with blurred lines between religion and the occult, love and friendship, redemption and revenge, and a hauntingly atmospheric setting.

While the religion aspect took over the story a bit too much for my liking, this was a deeply immersive listen that I didn’t want to turn off! I was sucked in from the moment they found a skull in the swamp, to the very end, especially the last 20 or so percent that just went wild.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

Ruth is the daughter of a hardcore Southern Christian pastor. She keeps her head down, stays obedient, respectful, and quiet- but she has a dark secret.
This novel is an interesting twist on a traditional thriller/horror. It has the slow pace and amazing atmospheric setting of the Louisiana wilderness. It was certainly an odd narrative, but you felt tenderness for naive Ruth and rugged Everette.
The plot sometimes fell by the wayside in preference for the character development, but that is something I have come to expect from Winstead.
The novel has alternating timelines which I loved for the storytelling aspect; however, in the process of reading I occasionally felt lost, questioning if I was in the past or future. In addition, I saw a lot of people loving the ending plot twist, but I was left feeling unsatisfied due to the hype.
It was definitely an interesting tale that I would recommend, but due to the pace and jumping timelines, as well as the ending, it was just ok for me.

🌙 Midnight Is the Darkest Hour - Ashley Winstead

3 ⭐️ - Ugh this pains me. I wanted to like this more than I did. I’m in the minority for this book. I liked some parts and some parts I just didn’t.

Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider in her God-fearing folk town of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. The people of Ruth’s town only fear two things more than God; The Devil and The Low Man who is a mythical creature that folks believe come into sinner’s bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found in a swamp in town, Ruth, and her only friend Everett, realizes that they are the only people who can comb through the towns secrets to discover the true evil.

So, I wanted so much more than I got out of this one. This sucked me in from the beginning. I was hooked and determined to try to figure out where it was going. In the middle, it lost me. It felt so farfetched and honestly, I felt confused. The end was mindblowing. I was torn on how to rate this one. The parts I liked, I really liked. The parts I didn’t like, well, I didn’t like. Due to that, this one lands somewhere in the middle for me.

BUT please keep in mind, some books aren’t for everyone and this one has been getting a TON of fabulous reviews. It just didn’t click for me. On to the next! Definitely add this to your spooky season TBR and give it a try.

A solid novel about tragedy and self discovery from a pastor's daughter raised in a strictly religious environment.

I don't really know what to say about this book. It was good, not great, but had a great ending.

As for the narrator, this was a hard pass for me. No effort to make any difference between characters voices and every sentence sounded like a question.

3.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me access to an audiobook arc!

This is my first book by this author, but it definitely won’t be my last!

Ruth is the daughter of a pastor in a small Louisiana town, with citizens that are God fearing and deeply religious. Despite her father’s leadership role in their community, Ruth finds herself always getting in trouble with her parents for doing things they don’t approve of- reading Twilight, wanting to go to college, and most importantly, her friendship with Everett- known by the town as the devil’s son.

When a skull is discovered, the investigation also uncovers more of the town’s secrets, including corruption, greed, betrayal and even more murders. Obsessed with the idea of the Low Man- a vampire like creature that kills sinners- the townspeople are convinced the Low Man is responsible for the deaths, and they’re sure they know his identity, too.

With shocking twists and unbelievable scandal, this book will have you questioning who is innocent until the end-if there even is anyone who is innocent.

Ashley Winstead is a genius! All of her books are different but oh so good!! They always have a dark vibe but the plots are all over the map.
Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a gothic story about a girl and her friend in a rural Louisiana town that is run by her father and his church. Right away I got nostalgic for the VC Andrews vibes I was getting. Throw in some Twilight references for a cheesy laugh. Some genuine mystery and tension and likable main characters that you root for and it’s a slam dunk.
Now, for the not so great news. The narrator of the audiobook grated on my last nerve. It sounded like she was putting in a baby like voice and it was super annoying. I highly reccomebd just reading the print version. And , sadly the ending went in a direction I didn’t expect and didn’t necessarily enjoy . But all in all this was a fun ride!!

I always enjoy an Ashley Winstead novel. I was very excited about this book based on the description of the novel given on NetGalley, however I feel like it did not give a good summary of what the book was truly about. It was much more focused on the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest than it was on any murders at any time, as well as religious organizations. I was at times confused by the time jumps in the novel (I think this was more so due to the audiobook narration, the book would have been clearer). Overall, while I am glad to have had the chance to listen to this book thanks to NetGalley, I have enjoyed Ms. Winstead's previous works more.

The narrator of this one was NOT for me.

I liked the mystery aspect of this one, but I didn't feel like it was very much of a surprise. I knew all along who the murderer was. That being said, I liked the small town crime element, and I didn't see the ending coming, which is nice. That being said, I did NOT like the ending. I won't spoil anything, but it could have gone very differently had the characters exercised any common sense at all. The elements of the small religious community added a level of almost horror to the entire reading experience, which I liked. It had some good and some bad.

This was thrilling, atmospheric, and kept me engaged the entire time. This may have taken the number one spot in my list of Ashley’s books. The narration was also great. Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this book.