#Spooktober ‘The Midnight Man’ by Caroline Mitchell

About the book…

From number one bestselling author Caroline Mitchell, comes the first chilling Slayton thriller for fans of C. J. Tudor and Stephen King.

If you open your door to the Midnight Man, hide with a candle wherever you can. Try not to scream as he draws near, because one of you won’t be leaving here…

On Halloween night in Slayton, five girls go to Blackhall Manor to play the Midnight Game. They write their names on a piece of paper and prick their fingers to soak it in blood. At exactly midnight they knock on the door twenty-two times – they have invited the Midnight Man in.

It was supposed to be a game, but only four girls come home.

Detective Sarah Noble has just returned to the force, and no one knows more about Blackhall Manor than her. It’s a case that will take Sarah back to everything she’s been running from, and shake her to the core.

Will she be ready to meet the Midnight Man?

Hugest of thanks to Embla Books for approving my request to read one of their first titles, ‘The Midnight Man’ by Caroline Mitchell, which, I am calling it now, could make the village of Slayton as integral to Caroline’s fiction as Castle Rock is to Stephen King’s. It is a town where even the people living there feel is cursed, that there is a darkness, a fog which hangs over it and, having read this series opener, I can see why.

Overlooking the town is Blackhall Manor, scene of a family massacre which casts a pall over the entire place. Locals are desperate to knock it down, it stands as an emblem of entitlement , the epitome of the haves versus the have nots, as is echoed by the social divide between Upper and Lower Slayton. There has been blood spilt in the construction of the house, unaccountable deaths, and the mythology of the Midnight Man game which occurs on Halloween.

Signing your name in blood on a card will bring an invite to the Midnight Game, no one knows who put the cards and instructions in the 5 school girls bags, it seems like any other Halloween night prank, survive until 3.33 a.m and win kudos from all around.

So they think nothing of it as they turn up to the dilapidated mansion, with their candles and lighters, knocking 22 times and repeating the poem-

”If you open your door to the Midnight Man,
Hide with a candle wherever you can.
Try not to scream as he draws near,
Because one of you won’t leave here.”

But this is no ordinary house. And it is all fun and games until one of the girls vanishes….

Running parallel to this story is that of Sarah Noble, about to return to her police job after a year on the sick for unspecified mental health issues. Her husband, also a police officer, won’t leave her alone despite them having split up prior to the start of the book, and he has quite clearly done something or been involved in something which has tainted Sarah’s fellow officers perception of her. To say they don’t welcome her back with open arms is an understatement.

Tied to a desk under the watchful eye of her superior, she is on restricted duty and told to take witness statements in the community. Until she is called off this task to a missing person report from the mother of one of the girls who went to Blackhall Manor, and never came home…

Threaded through these plots are the first person killer narratives, giving you glimpses inside this tortured psyche, as the town of Slayton desperately searches for the missing Anjelica. The Midnight Man is here and ready to play…

I found the mix of paranormal, and police procedural, really engaging, there is a realism to the police scenes which is reminiscent of Lynda La Plante, and the author’s own experiences as a long serving, female, police officer. She nails the dynamics of the squad room, and so when the supernatural elements are introduced into the narrative, you have absolutely no issue with them.

Hugely engaging and genuinely scary, I think this is a brilliant read for autumn/winter, and recommend it to any thriller fan.

About the author…

Caroline originates from Ireland and now lives with her family in a pretty village on the coast of Essex. A former police detective, Caroline has worked in CID and specialised in roles dealing with vulnerable victims, high-risk victims of domestic abuse, and serious sexual offences. She now writes full time.

Set in Shoreditch, London, her D.S Ruby Preston trilogy is described as terrifying, addictive serial killer thrillers.
Caroline also writes psychological thrillers. The most recent, Silent Victim, has been described as ‘brilliantly gripping and deliciously creepy’. Her new D.I Amy Winter series is published by Thomas & Mercer.

Links-http://www.caroline-writes.com/

Twitter @Caroline_writes @emblabooks