The Wicked Hour

After finishing the first book I was left stunned. I couldnt wait for book two. Trust me, this book did not disappoint! The twists and turns kept me on edge the entire time.

This second book in the Natalie Lockhart series begins where the first ending; Natalie is still reeling from the revelations about how one sister died and the suicide of another. She is experiencing symptoms of PTSD and depression, and she is seeing a doctor and taking a prescription for both. It's Halloween season in town, and the celebrations run for over a week. On the last night of the partying, Natalie discovers the body of murdered woman, a local violinist, in a dumpster. As the investigation unfolds, there is another missing woman, also a violinist, and it seems that both cases are related. Natalie, along with her boss (Sam), chase clues that seem to add unexpected suspects and complications. In the midst of the stress, Natalie is wrestling with her feelings for Sam, which are complicated by their working relationship. The case has a surprise ending, as does the book, with us wondering what will happen next for Natalie and a new love.

Alice Blanchard's Wicked Hour is a mind bender that you will not want to put down and please don't because the ending is really a mind blower. I enjoyed every minute of this thriller. Hopefully scenes that Natalie uncovers still do not exist in our world today, but if they do, please let them be revealed before more people are hurt.

The Wicked Hour will grab you from page one. The characters are intriguing and complex. You'll be kept guessing until the end. Natalie has a murder to solve plus dealing with her sister's death and a friend that ran away right after high school.

After finishing the first book in the Natalie Lockhart series (Trace of Evil) I remember thinking that I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the second installment! Well the time has come and The Wicked Hour is everything I’d hoped it would be! The storyline was superbly paced, I found myself completely entranced! Being that the novel takes place around Halloween, this mystery/thriller most definitely has a bone-chilling and creepy vibe. I love the fact that Detective Natalie Lockhart is a smart, bad@ss women—I could read a hundred books with her as the main character! The Wicked Hour is a 4.5 star novel that you will find unputdownable! I cannot wait for the next book in this must read series!

this is a revitting story to the end, Natalie is a detective that is called to the scene of a murder, the body is in a dumpster , as she tries to find out what happened the girl reminds her of her friend that went missing right after graduation. if you do not mind some adults words and like suspense you will want to read the book i was given a copy of the book but this is an honest review.

I really enjoyed Trace of Evil, Alice Blanchard's first in this series. So when I saw a follow up, I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy. Natalie is trying to recover from the events of the previous book, as well as the losses of those she loves, both to death and to distance. A murder happens on Halloween and when the body is discovered in a dumpster, Natalie does everything she can to solve the case, as well as hopefully find some answers regarding her best friend's disappearance when they were 18.

This book is fast-paced, incredibly interesting, and impossible to put down. 5 stars!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was definitely one that I knew I was going to like as soon as I started reading it. The main character definitely pulls you in and the storyline is phenomenal. A must read!

Natalie Lockhart is still grieving after her sister was killed when she begins investigating a new case. Some of the subjects are people Natalie has known for years. Will she be able to find the killer? This was a great story and kept me guessing until the end!

I was so excited to have been given an advanced readers copy of The Wicked Hour. I loved Traces of Evil and when that ended I couldn’t wait for a sequel. Well here it is! We are back in Burning Lake and Natalie Lockhart is back! Natalie has been through a lot in her life and you learn all about that in the first book. The Wicked Hour picks up several months after the events in Traces of Evil. I loved that you get see where Natalie is and how she is coping. You also get to see her get into another case. Natalie’s determination to solve this latest case has her pushing herself and facing more events of her past. I really love this series and couldn’t wait for this one. And now I can’t wait for the next one, because the way this one ended there better be a next one!! I don’t want to give anything anyway but when I read the last line and went to the next page I was not expecting that to be the last line of the book. I believe I shouted “COME ON! IT CANT BE OVER!” Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for ARC! And to Alice Blanchard for writing such an amazing series! There will be a book three right?

The Wicked Hour is a very well written suspense. Well crafted plot and characters. Edge of your seat page turner. I highly recommend. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

It has been several months since Detective Natalie Lockhart has lost her sister, solved her childhood horror mystery, and caught and killed the Crow Killer in Burning Lake, New York. Natalie is still going through the seven stages of grief and has still not quite yet figured out how to cope with everything that has happened to her. The last thing that Natalie wants is to be given another high profile case when she is trying to still put her life back together again. However, on Halloween night, which is the busiest time of the year for Burning Lake, Natalie is called to a scene where she finds a young women who is dead inside a dumpster. At first Natalie does not want to take lead on the case but something resonates with her and she knows that she must try to help this poor young dead women. Little does Natalie know though is that this young dead woman is going to dredge up more of her past and possibly put her back into the limelight that she is trying so hard to avoid again.

To be honest, I wasn't sure that I wanted to pick this book up when I saw that it was available on Netgalley for request since I was quite disappointed by the first one. However, I am so glad that I did pick it up. The Wicked Hour is what I was expecting from the first and I absolutely loved this book.

Alice Blanchard pours so much emotion into Natalie Lockhart that you can feel her grief. You can also sense her desire to want to be with Luke, her childhood friend and her supervisor. I know that I definitely want them to get together.

There are a ton of interesting characters in this book and thankfully Alice Blanchard did not make this story as gruesome as the first one. She definitely goes into detail around the scenes where the body and body parts are found but they are bearable.

I was a little confused by the first chapter in the book as it felt so disconnected from the rest. Honestly, I feel like the story would have been just fine without the first chapter. The story is fast paced and has many twist and turns. Alice Blanchard is great at the cloaking who the murder is.

I am a huge fan of Halloween and love the history of Burning Lake and their witchcraft history. Alice Blanchard does a wonderful job at integrating Burning Lakes history throughout the story, especially since it is Halloween night when the murder takes place.

Similar to the first book, Natalie Lockhart finds that this case that has landed in her lap makes her reminiscence of her childhood best friend Bella who disappeared after they graduated from high school. Natalie starts to wonder more about Bella and what happened to her as it is a mystery that is not quite solved. She also starts to wonder if yet again if she really knows those that are close to her.

Rating: 5 out of 5. Best Natalie Lockhart book yet. I found it very hard to put it down. I am seriously hoping for a third book and I hope that it explores Bella's mystery.

Thank you Netgally, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur books for the advanced readers copy.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the story.

I did not read the first book in this series - an oversight I will remedy this weekend!

Natalie Lockhart is intelligent, tenacious, quick on her feet and lugging around a whole lot of baggage emotionally.

The plot has a lot of twist and turns, I often thought I had it figured out - wrong! The story keeps you guessing to the end.

The characters are as entertaining, endearing, in turns evil and despicable like a good installment of Rizzoli & Isles!

Highly recommend this book - you'll re-read it to see what clues you could have possibly missed!

Great book, I really enjoyed this one. I look forward to the next book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I love Natalie Lockhart!! I love this thriller/mystery book!! I can't wait to read more of this Author!! She definitely is now on my fangirl radar!!! Buy this book!!!

I received a free electronic ARC of this police procedural novel from Netgalley, author Alice Blanchard, and publisher, St. Martin's Press - Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Wicked Hour of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. The second novel in a series, The Wicked Hour is completely stand-alone, but this tale is told so smoothly, wrapped up so tight, that I will want to read all of this series. Alice Blanchard is an author I will follow.

Natalie Lockhart is a native of Burning Lake, and a detective in the employ of the city of Burning Lake, New York, a tourist town with a well-publicized 17th-century history of hanging witches and a renowned school of music. Summer is a fairly busy time for Burning Lake businesses, but residents make most of their annual income in the month of October, basically closing their doors on November 1st due to iffy weather and lack of interest. Their witchy reputation brings in the odd crazy person hidden among the waves of sunburned, hungry tourists, and this year is no exception. Halloween night brings masses of tourists - and one woman, found nude and dead in a trash dumpster downtown during the massive clean-up beginning on November first is the exception that proves the rule. But Natalie recognizes the callus under the chin and on the left-hand fingers of this woman as the well earned results of endless practice time spent on the violin. Natalie's best friend, Bella, bearing those same scars, had gone missing just after high school graduation, and Natalie recognized them again in a murder taking place six months ago right here in Burning Lake.

Bella's disappearance was written off as a runaway months later when a few letters and polaroid photos, posted from cities across the country were received by Natalie and by Bella's family. But with that summer murder and now this Halloween death, that is two women with violin histories, and Burning Lake has a world-class music school. And what about Bella? Is she really traveling the world? She hasn't been heard from for years. Perhaps the murderer isn't a visiting tourist, after all. He could be home-grown...

Natalie Lockhart is still reeling from her sister's death and the notoriety that came with solving a high profile case six months ago. Policing the huge party that surrounds Halloween in Burning Lake is a distraction, until the body of a young woman is found in a dumpster. Natalie doesn't really want to be the lead detective on the case, but knows refusing it will reveal her inner demons.

She immediately recognizes that the Jane Doe is a violinist, like her high school friend, Bella, who disappeared the night of their graduation. She can't be certain whether there's a connection between the two cases, but is more certain the latest death is tied to the disappearance of another violinist a few months previously.

As Natalie navigates not just the case and the demands of her own police chief as well as the police from Chaste Falls, where both violinists lived, she deals with her own memories and deep ties to Burning Lake. She knows everyone's pasts, and everyone there seems to have one.

Haunting and atmospheric, THE WICKED HOUR is unputdownable. Autumn in upstate New York seems not unlike autumn in my native western Pennsylvania, and I am totally absorbed in the setting and the characters Alice Blanchard has created. #TheWickedHour #NetGalley