A hodge-podge of magical beings and elements – and I like it.
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Detective
No. of pages: 242
From Goodreads:
If you love someone, set them free…If they come back, they could be a zombie
Someone is trying to kill Charles Hawthorne, one of the richest men in Maine. And they’re using magic to do it.
He suspects the members of his own family and hires me to check them out. I soon discover that Charles Hawthorne has a dark secret in his past; a secret that may have come back to haunt him.
With an ancient wizard bugging me to chase down the Midnight Cabal and two Shadow Watch agents who want to question me about my father, things are going to get crazy.
Oh, and Mallory’s back, along with some supernatural baggage.
Time to sharpen the swords…no, not that sword…and get to work!
Another instalment of the P.I. Harbinger series. I really enjoyed this one. A quick, adventurous read. I had commented a little about some of the machismo/sexism that our protagonist Alec sometime exhibited, and it seemed to have been tossed out the window in ‘Midnight Blood’ and made it a much more pleasant read – though we do get a bit of this attitude (and classism) from one of the agencies clients in the story.
There is still that niggling notion of some of the overarching storylines that continue through many different volumes of this series, and how they aren’t moved forward enough for me to get any satisfaction – if they are sprinkled so lightly, the reader is going to start forgetting clues and not get invested in the story. It feels much like a tv episode where a case is wrapped up and a few points are hit for seasonal arcs. Its fun reading but is starting to get repetitive. I don’t want the Harbinger series to get stale and formulaic. Though Adam Wright’s writing is improving with each subsequent sequel.
There were no repetition of phrases (like in some of the prequels) in ‘Midnight Blood,’ the pacing was great, and the story flowed easily. I did find a number of small grammatical errors, but nothing worth noting. I couldn’t help but ponder on the switch to dual perspectives (following Alec’s assistant Felicity as she took over the case of ‘Midnight Blood’s plot) well after the halfway point when Alec’s narrative had been well established… it felt a bit amateurish.
There is still a bit of that convenience of calling on the rest of his ‘Scooby Gang,’ and them just falling in line, risking their lives. It was written better here, but still, there was little establishment or motivation to make it feel believable.
I really enjoyed Alec in this one, there wasn’t the predilection to describe women by their physical characteristics in a sexual manner, and they weren’t falling over themselves to jump his bones. It was a lovely reprieve. I think with that old James Bond-esque tone removed, I really got into the story instead of eye-rolling at the relationships/flings/flirting. Taking time to develop character and story has greatly benefited ‘Midnight Blood.’ Whatever romantic relationship Alec develops in the future, I hope it follows suit and build and grows from something, and not just a reaction to something or an impulse.
This did feel too short. The main storyline on the attempts of a wealthy man’s life through magical means was perfect, but I needed more from the three other plot lines, and maybe some more development in the relationships between the cast. It doesn’t give me any time to care about the people Alec has in his life if they are just cameos serving as a plot device to drive the story forward (without facing any difficulty.) We’re getting to the point now where there are six novels in this collection and I can’t recall or describe the different types of relationships between Alec and the different members of the Scooby gang. He has saved their lives, but I don’t feel that connection when reading the book. Mallory is a past love interest, and some scenes are great, and others, just meh. As for the Blackwell sisters… I really have no clue there, they just seem to be someone to turn to when you need a spell or teleported somewhere. They serve no other purpose in the story.
‘Midnight Blood’ is predictable – you know Alec is going to solve his case – he always does. I’d like to see him fail, or face some bigger hurdle to mix things up a bit. But this is still a fun read I’d recommend to fans and lovers of the paranormal detective genre.
Not bad, still a guilty pleasure. Looking forward to the next sequel ‘Twilight Heart.’
Overall feeling: Getting better – a gold star for you!
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Casey Carlisle 