Print Length: 301 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer (August 27, 2024)
From Goodreads.com: Nearly ten years ago, five Ohio university students were murdered in an off-campus Victorian home. The media dubbed it the Midnight House Massacre. Ever since, survivor and novelist Margot Davis has wanted to forget it, and never again utter the killer’s name. Until she’s compelled to write her side of the story. To do that, she’s returning to Midnight House.
It’ll be a chance for Margot to reconnect with other survivors, heal the trauma, and dispel the ugly conspiracy theories of obsessed true crime fanatics. But when news of Margot’s book gets out, she receives a threatening note that demands she stop lying. Or else. It chills Margot’s blood. Because she hasn’t been telling the whole truth.
As the threats continue, each more sinister than the last, a journalist comes to Margot with new suspicions about that brutal October night. Now, to save her own life, Margot must reveal her well-guarded secrets—ones that, for good reason, she’s been too terrified to share.
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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5
I have a lot of mixed feelings on this one. On one hand, the author did a good job at drawing the reader in, leaving just enough clues amongst the red herrings to cast everyone into suspicion. I was also intrigued when it came to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a student named Elise before the massacre (although I figured that one out on my own pretty quickly, I didn't piece together quite ALL of the details and some of them I'm still a little confused about mainly how they managed to conceal evidence with absolutely no one knowing).
On the other hand, I couldn't feel any connection to the characters. Not the ones in the past, and certainly not Margot. Which was unfortunate as she is who we travel the depths of the story with. There were so many times when she did the stupidest things imaginable when a simple call to the police would have solved literally all of the problems (and probably would have saved some lives as well). I am also confused as to why Remi and her husband agreed to let Margot stay with them in the house, when it was evident they didn't want her there. Heck, they even told her they didn't want her there, but she still didn't leave. We rarely see them interact with one another, and when we do, it does nothing to move the story along. Remi refuses to discuss the horrors of the past even though she lives in the home in which they were committed, and with the exception of one late night foray upstairs, and another more detailed search later on, Margot doesn't spend any time in the rooms her friends once occupied, so I'm still uncertain to what she hoped to accomplish by being there (other than stirring up bad memories for other people).
I will say the ending came as a bit of a surprise in terms of the truth of what happened that night. I thought I had worked it out for myself, but even I didn't see the truth for what it was which left me pleasantly surprised. I would read more from this author!
DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.
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