From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale – populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that’s how the locals prefer it…
Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It’s a pretty standard dried-up western town.
There’s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There’s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there’s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he’s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own).
Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth…
Charlaine Harris is the writer that gave life to the vampires of the Sookie Stackhouse Series which inspired the TV series True Blood. If you’ve read the series, or other books by Charlaine, then you know she has a unique way of writing and the uncanny talent of making any supernatural being or talent seems normal… somehow. And a wonderful mind for mysteries. Not only that, but a lot of the worlds she has created are interconnected as I’ve discovered in Midnight Crossroad! And that is so exciting to me as a reader, seeing known and dear names being mentioned here and there. Charlaine has really created a world of her own.
I have only read the Sookie Stackhouse series (13 books) and Harper Connelly Mysteries (4 books). When I started her most recent series; Midnight Crossroads I thought the book would focus only on Manfrend Bernardo, the psychic that just moved into Midnight, but the point of view would interchange quite a bit between the main residents, which was a bit confusing at first. It frustrated me a bit, but finishing the book I absolutely understand why she chose to do that – every resident in Midnight has their own secrets, their own lives and motivations – so seeing their unique view on things was entertaining and it grew on me. I felt, and still feel, very curious over the past that these characters living in this almost ghost town are hiding.
What I enjoyed most about this first book is the introduction to some unique twists on the supernatural creatures I already knew. The vampire in town for example doesn’t only feed from blood – what else he feeds on is a secret you’ll have to find out! There were also some twists on the known shifters and weres I was used to from the Sookie Stackhouse Series. Initially, this book’s story wasn’t one I got really excited about – a fanatic religious group is obsessed in finding a supposed weaponry that Bobo’s (pawn shop owner) father, a hero to the cause, had gathered and hidden before he died, supposedly passing it onto his son. Tales of such weapons became more and more exaggerated and it ended involving Bobo – unbeknownst to him – into an elaborate scheme to find it. BUT the storyline did get very exciting and may I say – shocking as one of the resident’s hidden secret comes out in a very satisfying ending.
Either way, this first book was a wonderful introduction to the characters and the future courageous adventures they will surely embark on! I can’t wait to read the next installment and discover more. With the reconstruction of an old hotel there will be some new faces in town!
Do you enjoy this type of books? What have you been reading recently?
XO,
