ABOUT THE BOOK
Death seems to follow Harriet’s new friend.
Book 7 in the True Colors series—fiction based on strange-but-true history.
Three years before Jack the Ripper began his murderous spree on the streets of London, women were dying in their beds as The Midnight Assassin terrorized the citizens of Austin, Texas. Now, with suspicion falling on Her Majesty’s family and Scotland Yard at a loss as to who the Ripper might be, Queen Victoria summons her great-granddaughter, Alice Anne von Wettin, a former Pinkerton agent who worked the unsolved Austin case, and orders her to discreetly form a team to look into the London matter.
The prospect of a second chance to work with Annie just might entice Isaiah Joplin out of his comfortable life as an Austin lawyer. If his theories are right, they’ll find the The Midnight Assassin and, by default, the Ripper. If they’re wrong, he and Annie are in a bigger mess than the one the feisty female left behind when she departed Austin under cover of darkness three years ago.
Can the unlikely pair find the truth of who is behind the murders before they are drawn into the killer’s deadly game? From Texas to London, the story navigates the fine line between truth and fiction as Annie and Isaiah ultimately find the hunters have become the hunted.
Publisher: Barbour Books
Release Date: August 1, 2020
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES
MY REVIEW
Kathleen Y’Barbo’s The Black Midnight takes readers from Austin, Texas to London, England, continuing the fascinating look at the True Colors of American crime.
Austin’s Midnight Assassin seems to have the same penchant for killing women as the notorious Jack the Ripper. To put an end to the terror, Queen Victoria summons former Pinkerton agent Alice Anne von Wettin to catch the menace. Will she—along with lawyer Isaiah Joplin—do so before the danger catches them?
The Black Midnight makes an exciting addition to the intriguing true-crime series. As it blends well-known history with lesser-known pieces, I could not help being fascinated, and I flipped pages quickly to see how it all fit together. I definitely recommend this book—and series—to readers of historical mystery.
★★★.5
I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GUEST POST FROM THE AUTHOR
I am a tenth generation Texan, but London has held a place in my heart for over ten years. You see, I have a son who has lived there for more than a decade. Thanks to him and his family of three—my granddaughter was born there on New Year’s Eve 2019—the city will always be special to me. There is absolutely nothing like walking those streets with a thousand years of history close enough to touch.
It was on a walk with my son through this great city that the stories of nineteenth century London came alive. With fog shrouding the rooftops of buildings that were hundreds of years old and our footsteps echoing on the cobblestones, I could imagine a time when lack of electricity and CCTV would make this place less than charming on a dark night. What reminded me of my favorite childhood movie, Mary Poppins, quickly became more reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. And then a story was born.
Only I just had half the story.
The other half came to me several years later when I stumbled across an article in Texas Monthly magazine about a serial killer who rampaged through Austin, Texas in 1884 and 1885 and was never caught. Some surmised this madman, called “The Midnight Assassin” by some, might have been Jack the Ripper honing his skills before he crossed the Atlantic to begin his famous crime spree in Great Britain.
But Austin? Ironically, my other two sons lived in Austin. So while part of my heart was in London, two more parts of that same heart resided in the Texas capital. I thought I knew Austin inside out. Between one of my sons getting not one but two degrees from the University of Texas (this Aggie grad is still proud of him in spite of what I jokingly call his burnt orange rebellion) and my other son living there and managing a restaurant at the time (and who just graduated from Texas A&M Galveston last month!), I had spent many years in the city. And yet I had never heard of the Midnight Assassin.
Research turned up a tale that sounds so close to fiction I had to write about it. Discovering the theory that the Austin killer might also be the Ripper just added to my interest—neither had been caught. And I like to write about Pinkerton detectives.
From there the story unfolded. If you’ve read any of my historical romances, you know that I love incorporating actual history into my stories. As you’ll see when you read The Black Midnight, this book is no exception. While I will continue writing the historical romances I love to bring to you, I will confess that writing this book has me itching to research another one like it.
What’s next in my foray into true crime novels? Maybe Houston. You see, I have a daughter who lives there…
In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy reading The Black Midnight as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteLove the series.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, sounds like a good book and series.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great page turner.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a very good series.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great series. I really enjoy Kathleen’s writing.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book, although it's not my favorite in the series.
ReplyDeleteI have read a few books in the True Colors series. I also read some other books by Kathleen, so I bet I would like this one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your review and participation in the blog for "The Black Midnight" !
This sounds really interesting
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the True Colors series! Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDelete