The Other Side of Midnight - Simone St. James
4.5/5 stars.
As a lover of gothic romance and horror fiction, I've enjoyed all of Simone St. James books, however, this one might be my favorite. Set in the period just after WW I, when death and grief were still very fresh, the book explores the fascination with mediums, psychics and spiritualists. It seems everyone that lost someone in that horrible war wanted to try to reach out to their lost loved one and there were many fake psychic/cons who were happy to take their money. The Other Side of Midnight deals with two women with real psychic power and their odd love/hate friendship. When one of the women is murdered and it turns out that she has left instructions for the other to "find" her, the very spooky game is on.
There are many things to like about this book, the writing is elegant, the heroine is intelligent and brave, there is a potential love interest who combines just the right amount of chemistry and antagonism and there are some genuinely scary moments to be savored. The authors descriptions of what psychic interactions felt like, from the point of view of the main character, were extremely well done and made me even more sympathetic to the heroine, Ellie.
I'm holding back that half a star because I found the explanation behind the murders to be somewhat out of left field. The ending, while not completely out of the question, felt as if it was slightly disconnected from the rest of the narrative. That said, it made some sense and tied certain aspects of the story together, I just felt that it was the weakest aspect of the book.
As I said earlier in this review, I have enjoyed all of this writers previous work and I suspect the St, James will only improve and I can't wait to read her next book, there are all too few writers who can capture the wonderfully gothic, spooky tone that puts one in mind of du Maurier.
If you love a spooky, atmospheric romance, don't miss this one
Simone St. James booklist:
The Haunting of Maddy Clare - 2012
An Inquiry Into Love and Death - 2013
Silence For the Dead - 2014
The Other Side of Midnight - 2015
Lost Among the Living - 2016
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