The Midnight Hour cover art

The Midnight Hour

The Brighton Mysteries 6

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The Midnight Hour

By: Elly Griffiths
Narrated by: Beth Eyre
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About this listen

 A twisty new murder story from the bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries. An old man lies dead and it looks like poison, but his wife isn't the only one who had reason to kill him.

Brighton, 1965

When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found dead in his retirement home, no one suspects foul play. But when the postmortem reveals that he was poisoned, suspicion falls on his wife, eccentric ex-Music Hall star Verity Malone.

Frustrated by the police response to Bert's death and determined to prove her innocence, Verity calls in private detective duo Emma Holmes and Sam Collins. This is their first real case, but as luck would have it they have a friend on the inside: Max Mephisto is filming a remake of Dracula, starring Seth Bellington, Bert's son. But when they question Max, they feel he isn't telling them the whole story.

Emma and Sam must vie with the police to untangle the case and bring the killer to justice. They're sure the answers must lie in Bert's dark past and in the glamorous, occasionally deadly, days of Music Hall. But the closer they get to the truth, the more danger they find themselves in...

(P)2021 Quercus Editions Limited©2021 Elly Griffiths Crime Fiction Historical Modern Detectives Mystery Fiction Marriage

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Critic reviews

Beneath the smooth, swan-like progression of Elly Griffith's sentences there is a lot going on. She is utterly in control of her material, and the machinations of the plot are never allowed to swamp character development, sense of place or the creation of atmosphere. She is a witty writer: the sturdy legs of a toddler on a swing, for example, are said to be "kicking the sky." If only all history mysteries could be as good as The Midnight Hour.
Griffiths writes with verve and wit, and has an unflaggingly keen eye . . . deliriously entertaining
An entertaining period murder mystery full of delightfully eccentric - and one decidedly deadly - luvvies
Layered with a gripping plot ... very, very enjoyable'
An intricately plotted whodunnit
All stars
Most relevant
My overall impression of the book is of overwhelming disappointment, by a writer who is capable of much better. This was a book with an average plot (see later) and some historical inaccuracies eg the acceptance of showers and duvets instead of baths and blankets/eiderdowns which were prevalent at the time. The fact given to us was that the Beatles music was all pervading at the time, which precludes the prevalence of single and duet performances as being the most important genre then. (Cf Elvis, Cilla, Everley Brothers who were more established than the Beatles.) For the plot - to make a statement and then feeling obliged to “unpick” it, shows a lack of confidence in the reader to be able to work it out for themselves.

Midnight Hour

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I know the author is delighted with the female reader, but for me the voice was dull and flat. I liked the story, but as I said the voice made it drag. I wish this author would realise there is NO SINKS IN BATHROOMS OR TOILETS, this is the 2nd book it's been in. I know you don't care, but I do.

Yes but no

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I was rather disappointed and bemused by the last book and it’s sudden jump forward in time with the women all feeling out aside. Had I realised that the author was repositioning the stories to focus on them I’d have been pleased. Dull old Edgar and dirty old Mephisto had lost their interest but as more supporting characters, they act well as a foil to the women in a hopefully revitalised series.

Back on form

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I enjoyed this read and would recommend it. I see others have not liked the break away to Emma and the downgrading of Edgar. I felt that Edgar/ Max had probably run its course ......but we'll see!

Moved along nicely

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Alright. Loved the vampire movie. The murders were convincing in terms of motivation and sequence of events, but the pace of the tale is a bit plodding with too much of characters rehearsing reactions in their own heads. The ending was painfully over-explained. Pedantically I also find it annoying to hear so many 21st century phrases on the 60s dialogue but that’s a fussy point- just I was around then, so I notice! Quite good narration. The actress does her very best to keep it all moving along.

Needs a good strong edit

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