Ruth is the local preachers daughter and he and his wife run the little Louisiana backwater town. Ruth is a quiet girl and she loves Twilight a book she compares certain life events to. She had no friends due to her father being who he was and due to her being the quiet girl. After a few weekends of talking to an out of towner after services name Renard he asked her to secretly meet him she was excited that would be a first date but when everything goes wrong a loner name Everett intercedes on her behalf. before the incident is over they both have a hand in killing Renard and throwing him in the swamp and this is when Ruth and Everett become friends. The book starts however with the local police finding a body in the swamp of course Ruth believed it to be that of Renard she recently started dating one of the local police, a boys she went to school with who played on the football team and although she isn’t in love with him nor do they give a good reason why but this will be apropos to her solving the mysteries that surround her town including her best friend Everett who has left town on more than one occasion before it’s over her police boyfriend tries to convince her that he goes to these other towns to kill men and he is responsible for the current dead bodies the finding in their own small town. Before it’s over Ruth will find out but all the conspiracy theories they tried to blame on Everett or at least most of them could be put at the feet of someone else she knew and her wish to leave the small town may just come true thanks to a blaze of glory! They were many things I didn’t like about this book bud because of the many questions and conspiracy theories in the book I wanted to see how it played out as I said the book was very interesting the head mini twists but I found the author did something that is a pet peeve of mine and that is she made a stereo typical southern town and being a southerner from Louisiana I can tell you this is totally made up from hole cloth and maybe that’s why it got under my skin. No did I like the ambiguous ending because I didn’t know if it ended one way or a different way and if she meant it to be left on answered well to me that is just ridiculous. Because when I got to the end my heart started palpitating I felt like a fish out of water when I read the last word in the very next page was the book club questions and I was like wait what happened? I felt as if that should’ve been an epilogue or at least a definite ending. People read books for how entertaining they are and how they make them feel at the end. This one I just felt disgusted but because it was interesting I rated it three stars. I do want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for my free hardcopy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for this eARC!

This is set in a swampy, heavily religious small town in the south and is very atmospheric - I could feel the heat, I could hear the sounds of the creatures in the swamp in the middle of the night. This is one of my favorite things about this book.

We also get alternating timelines where we see Ruth in her younger years, growing up in her church-controlled town (did I mention that she’s the preacher’s daughter?) and how that shaped her as well as giving us a more detailed look at some of the side characters in the story.

I did have a few issues with this one:

Ruth has a severe obsession with Twilight. This in general didn’t bother me, as she uses it as a way to escape from the sheltered life she has lived, but there is a point where it was taken too far for me. There is a scene later in the book between Ruth and Everett where we learn of a fantasy she seems to have been imagining since her and Everett became friends…if you’ve read the book, you should know what part I’m talking about. Ruth is presented to us this entire story as being intelligent and meant for more than her small-town life, and this scene just made her lose credibility in that regard (in my eyes).

There is also a romance subplot, which I am almost never a fan of in thrillers, this being no exception.

I did also enjoy the journey of Ruth and Everett uncovering the sinister happenings in the town involving the people in power - it reminded me a lot of The Last Housewife (my favorite Winstead thriller) in that regard. I was also a fan of the high-drama, open-ended finish to the story we were given. You should go into this knowing you’re not going to get a neat and tidy ending.

There are heavy themes of religion and feminism in this one and I appreciated Winstead’s commentary on the subjects.

Overall, I’d say I enjoyed it, but I did struggle with the direction the story took when it came to Ruth’s Twilight-obsession.

If you’re a fan of Twilight, slow burns, romance subplots, atmospheric and mysterious reads and don’t mind an open-ended conclusion, I think you could really enjoy this one!

I enjoyed 2 other books by this author, but unfortunately this one wasn't a fit for me. It felt really slow and predictable. I did like the whole Twilight references, as I really loved those books, but after a while, it just felt overplayed. I also feel like I've been reading too many books about the whole religious cult thing, that I'm growing bored of it. The ending, which is supposed to be the best part, was just so much….it was really rushed in my opinion. Lots of people are really loving this one, but I just did not connect to it. So definitely read other reviews before going off my opinion. I have enjoyed her other books, so I'll most likely pick up her future books!

Out October 3.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by this author, but definitely not my last. What an intriguing and complex story, so much so that I don’t even know how to begin a summary or review of it. Set in an extremely rural town in the south, we see how a preacher, using the word of God, and the fear of the occult, can turn the town against anyone. His own daughter struggles with finding her place, and she finds it with another social outcast. Their friendship is unconventional, but also based in theories of untruths, that in order for them to move forward, they need to come to reality on. There were some twists, and turns in this book that I never saw comin, and while I had a little expectations, going into the book, and by far and away blew away any thoughts I had I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

Dark, sinister & complex, Ashley Winstead brings it with this exploration of a small community with witchy and demonic vibes. Taking place in rural Louisiana, Ruth Cornier is a young 20-something year old living in her preacher father's shadow. The town of Bottom Springs all follows his teachings of fundamentalist Christianity (Holy Fire Baptist), but Ruth is trying to create a pathway for herself. When the town finds a skull in the swamp with mysterious carved symbols, the town believes it to be the workings of "the Low Man" - a vampiric figure said to kill sinners on moonless nights. This discovery reconnects Ruth with a man from her past, Everett. Her friend Everett (Ever) and Ruth have an "interesting" path to say the least and they'll have to face the past and present together. Such a wild ride in the best way possible. 5 enthusiastic stars!

Another dark psychological thriller from Ashley Winstead that skirts a razor thin edge of what it means to be good and evil with a LITERALLY cliff-hanger ending that will leave you breathless!

I loved the small town, deeply Evangelical Southern setting that sees Preacher's daughter and librarian Ruth Cormier trying to cover up her part in the death of the man who tried to rape her and protect her childhood best friend. Told through flashbacks we get to see her friendship with Everett evolve over the years as their bond grows deeply and gets tested.

I love how nothing is black or white in Ashley's books! She tackles tough topics like domestic abuse, violence and revenge with another cultish subplot and a Twilight loving librarian heroine. Great on audio this was another standout for me and definitely worth the wait as one of my most anticipated 2023 thrillers!!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I was a big fan of Ashley’s last book, however this one was just not for me. I had a hard time getting through it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this early.

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Reading the early reviews, this is one of those times where I feel like I read a different book than everyone else. I eagerly started this over the summer, right after I received my ARC. Then I stalled. Then I read a bunch of positive reviews that convinced me to give it another chance. There are so many things about this book that I *should* love - the Louisiana setting, the main character who’s a librarian…but it all fell kind of flat for me.

Ruth Cornier has spent her entire life in Bottom Springs, Louisiana. She’s the extremely sheltered daughter of the beloved local pastor - who’s really cut from the Johnathan Edwards fire and brimstone cloth. She’s always felt this pressure to be the perfect daughter, when what she really wants to do is get out of town, go to college, and never look back. And yet at 25 she’s still stuck in Bottom Springs, working at the underutilized local library, and still dreaming of a bigger life.

Then a few big things happen at once - her childhood best friend Ever comes back to town after a two-year absence, and the police discover a skull in the swamp. There are whispers around town that it’s the work of “The Low Man,” a sort of vampiric figure of local lore (it’s never really clear where this legend came from - everyone seems to agree on the vampire part, but I wasn’t sure how that all came about). Ruth and Ever are terrified that the skull will be linked back to them. Ever’s father was the town drunk until he died of alcohol poisoning, and everyone is just SO sure that his whole family was irredeemably evil. There’s a lot of small-town small mindedness happening here.

Meanwhile, through flashbacks, we learn why Ruth and Ever are so concerned about the discovery of the skull, and the horrible event that bound them together in the first place.

I loved the atmosphere of this book, but the story itself moved way too slowly. It’s very introspective and I didn’t love being stuck in Ruth’s head the whole time. I think adding Ever as a narrator would have been an improvement. Overall it just felt sort of blah to me, which is a shame, because I had really high expectations.

Narco-Saints vibes, anyone?

I didn't really enjoy this much, which is a surprise to me as I've loved all of the author's other books. Never mind it was slow-moving, but everything was predictable and the protagonist was unbelievably dim. So many painfully obvious things that are clear for all (including the reader) to see and yet you're telling me Ruth has no idea? Nah.

In true Ashley Winstead style, the novel's feminist themes were very well-written. I particularly liked what she said in the author's note about how it was important to her "to show that there are multiple ways of resisting". Equally intriguing was her take and analysis of Twilight 👏

However, I was not a fan of the overdone and tired tropes. Whether it was the religious cult thing or the whole 'I have so much darkness in me, I'm such a monster' blah blah blah, there was no fresh spin to any of it.

Overall, this book was more dark drama than twisty thriller. The only reason I'm giving it 3 stars is because of the ending, which I loved. Wild or what?! As aggravating (in a good way) as it was, I thought it was perfection.

Winstead does it again! This book was a slow burn of pure chaos. I loved rooting for Everett even though he was the “bad guy”

I love a book that challenges me to ponder concepts that are important to society. In this novel we are confronted with questions about what is just, what is moral, and what is legal. In this well plotted story, Ruth and Ever, the main characters, are put in situations that force the reader to examine his/her own beliefs. Both are likable and believable characters. Religion, group hysteria, family dynamics, and power that corrupts all contribute to the strength of this novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC to read and review.

I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to read this book! I really enjoy this author's work. I think it's wonderful that she is willing to branch out and try different things.
That being said, this was not the book for me. I didn't connect to Ruth or the other characters, and I frankly found it boring. I did enjoy the Twilight tie-in; I thought it was very amusing. The ending just left me more confused.
I will definitely read more by this author in the future, but this one was meh. Thanks to NetGalley for the book to review.

QUICK TAKE: loved the small town vibes of this one, but struggled to connect with the central relationship and mystery. Ultimately not for me, though the read was enjoyable and ending kinda bad ass.

Folklore about a Vampire in a strictly conservative town? Here are reasons to read the thriller:

Preacher’s Daughter - In a small Louisiana town, with very small minded people, Ruth lives as a preacher’s daughter.

Childhood Friend - and on the night a skull is found in the swap, her Childhood friend Everette shows up again

Low Man - Many people think this death has to do with the Low Man, a vampiric creature who kills sinners.

First, Check your trigger warnings as there are quite a few here. And then I need to say that I absolutely love some of this author’s books, and while this one is not a bad one, it just didn’t do it for me. I got lost in the past timeline that jumps around, making it hard to remember what happens when. When you start to understand who or what is responsible for these killings, it’s almost a let down. And then you get to the ending, and WOW does it leave you hanging both figuratively and literally. I felt halfway satisfied and also very much, not. I wish I could talk about it more…but I can’t.

I really enjoyed The Last Housewife so when I saw Midnight is the Darkest Hour, I knew it was a must read.

OMG, it’s everything I expect from Winstead. It’s atmospheric, dark and disturbing, cultish and more. Set in a small town in the swamplands of Louisiana, Ruth and Ev form a bond over a traumatic experience as teenagers, and what was an unlikely friendship has carried on into their adulthood. She’s the daughter of the town pastor’s daughter, he’s the town drunk’s son. Ev comes and goes from town, and always makes sure to make time for Ruth. The town is in a frenzy over a recent discovery in the depths of the bayou, as well as some mysterious symbols appearing on trees in the clearing, and talk of an urban legend The Low Man is high. Ruth and Ev find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation and all the townspeople have their eyes on them. That ending though 🤯 She really left it off in a way that it could end up being a series. I typically avoid series (too much commitment for this mood reader!) but I would 100% read it if it became one!

Thanks to the publisher, Sourcebooks, for my eARC. Midnight is the Darkest Hour will be available 10/3.

I am in awe of how well all the various storylines wove in and out of each other with such ease! Nothing felt forced, the characters felt real, and watch out for those secrets and twists!! I absolutely loved the relationship between Ruth and Everett, two young adults both struggling with what was expected of them. This book felt like the best combination of a coming into your own and a small town hiding dark secrets. And, weirdly enough, I finally found a good reason for having read Twilight, though it isn't a requirement to enjoy this book. I won't say more because I already feel like the book summary gave a bit too much away and I want anyone I know who reads this book to enjoy finding those "ooooh!" moments for themselves!

This was a little too relatable as I grew up with Texas Christianity. The rapture, holier than thought, calling everyone a satanist- it’s all too true🥴

It also very much reminded me of Where the Crawdads Sing with the atmospheric writing and the slow paced mystery.

I just love how this whole book is morally grey. Religion is evil and laws are out the window. I dug it.

It was chilling and just what I needed. And that ending🤯 feel like I need to evil laugh after this one!

I audibly gasped about 6 times and sat in silence over the ending. This one is beautiful, bloody, and tragic. Ruth is such a great protagonist and I loved watching her learn and become such a bad ass!! it’s very rare to find a thriller that leaves you let’s you think but that’s exactly what this one does! The twilight was an added bonus that had my teen heart beating!!

I love Ashley Winstead books so much, I almost want to read her romance books. I don’t do romance, so I won’t. But after this book, I may be interested…
First of all, we need to talk about the incredibly atmospheric this novel is? Winstead describes the swamp like it’s a magical place. I could almost see the fire flies and smell the breeze. It was almost poetic at times, the descriptions so vivid and gorgeous. With a setting like that, there was no way this book couldn’t have a love story woven into it. Let me tell you, the way the love story was written, may convert me to romance. Maybe..
The story isn’t a romance though. It’s actually a story about murder, secrets and deep rooted religious beliefs. No wait, it’s actually about fighting the patriarchy, women being silenced and overlooked, and breaking free of their shackles. Most Winstead books have this theme, but this book really embodies it.
In all of that, yes, there is a love story. And it’s awesome. It totally stole my Twilight loving heart. It’s a bad boy and a good girl, with darkness and love sick moments. Omg it’s so freaking broody, moody and delicious. So we’ll written, it sucked me in for one sitting.
I’m not giving the story away, but I need to tell you that ending is everything!!!!!!!!! This has to be a movie. I need to see it in real life.

This dark and atmospheric thriller explores the story of Ruth, currently a librarian in the small town where she grew up in Louisiana. Her parents are considered leaders of the town, but Ruth herself has often felt like an outcast. Since she was a child, Ruth had difficulty making friends other than her fellow outsider Everett. When a skull is discovered by the police in a the local swamp near some mysterious carvings, the town is inflamed with the possibility of a killer in the midst. As various parts of the town try to determine what really happened, the dark history of the town and many of its residents become increasingly clear and threaten to shatter the lives of many of the town's inhabitants, including Ruth and Everett.

This was a terrific story, both a strong and suspenseful thriller and a perceptive story about living and growing up in a small town full of secrets.

Highly recommended!