This book has been described as a crime thriller, which I will say is accurate, but it is one with a surprising amount of depth which for me places this above many of the other books I have read in this genre.

The book is told in a non-linear fashion, with one narrator: Ruth Cornier, the sheltered daughter of a small Louisiana swampland town's pastor, and the most powerful man in town. Ruth has lived a lonely life, escaping into books that her father hasn't managed to have banned or burned, subject to his preaching and corporal punishment if she ever dared to live her life outside of the strict code of her father's (and the town's) Christian fundamentalism. But when a skull is dredged up from the swamp, and another swiftly follows, the secrets that have been kept in the swamp begin to come to light. Ruth and her friend, Everett Duncan, another outcast who is the son of an alcoholic who avoids church and therefore might as well be the Devil incarnate, need to investigate the murders to protect their own secrets.

At first, the book almost lost me early on when Ruth explains how as a teenager she became obsessed with Twilight and how she thought the love that Bella and Edward had was pure and a real love (which I couldn't really take seriously although I suppose from the perspective of a teenage girl it does make sense). It was also a secret she kept because of course her father would call the book satanic. I am glad that I stuck with it though, because I think the fact that Twilight was itself written by a strictly religious person, and the themes of Eve, of monsters, and morality tied in nicely with this story. Ruth is constantly confronted with the "morality" of religion, of the law, and of nature itself with the background of the wilderness in the Louisiana swamps. In the end, neither religion nor law, created by men, can hold up in the face of those who seek only power and who love to hurt others because it makes them feel good. The reader has to confront their own morality in a way when faced with this town of supposed God-fearing Christians with something rotten and dark running through it. Sometimes the beasts aren't in the swamp, but are in our churches, our schools, our homes. Sometimes we have to create our own justice. The author did a great job with these themes, and I loved the setting.

I loved this novel by Ashley Winstead!! I have only read her romances and as an avid mystery/thriller reader I was really excited to dive into her darker fiction. I found the writing to be absolutely gorgeous and highlighted several passages, which I find myself doing very rarely in this genre. I found her characters to be really well rounded and truly interesting, everyone was flawed and twisted in the best way. The town and religion itself felt like a character which added to the dark atmosphere and ominous vibe. The murder mystery aspect was a good through line to keep the plot going while giving us flashbacks to flush out the story. I found it to be propulsive and would highly recommend to anyone who is doing a dark character study and group think!

4.5 stars. Midnight is the Darkest Hour was kind of like a cross between Twilight and Bonnie and Clyde. But also Thelma and Louise mixed with Where the Crawdads Sing. I also think fans of Stacey Willingham’s Flicker in the Dark will find a lot of enjoyed with MITDH as well. Basically, if that sounds like a wild combo, it’s because this book was WILD. It’s hard for me to really review this without giving anything away. And Winstead does such a good job of divulging information at exactly the right moment, so I really don’t want to spoil anything. But also… that ENDING 🙈.

Let me start by saying that Midnight is The Darkest Hour is the perfect read for Fall and spooky season. It’s gothic and romantic at the same time. There are also dead bodies and bad guys, religious zealots and satanic/Wiccan rituals, as well as characters that personify innocence, but also those that personify depravity. As such, definitely check the trigger warnings if there is any subject matter that might effect you. MITDH was super fast paced and there were a lot of surprises I didn’t see coming— which for my personal preference is a requirement for a successful thriller. There are tons of flashback scenes that help provide important contextual information to the present day plot. Normally, I don’t enjoy flashbacks, but these were essential and actually kept the pace of the book moving rather than stagnating things. In addition to crafting a compelling plot with multi-dimensional characters, the writing itself was also beautiful, poetic, and haunting. I’ve read several books from Winstead, and they’ve all been winners. Midnight is the Darkest Hour is yet another example of how she excels at her craft.

Thank you so much to Winstead, Sourcebooks, and Netgalley for the chance to read this one early.

“In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar—and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.”

I have read both romances and thrillers from Ashley Winstead and trust me when I say she can do no wrong! Ashley transports you to south and makes you feel like you’re sitting in a pew of a Baptist church. Her descriptive writing is ✨chefs kiss✨. She is a pro at having multiple plot lines that collide and create an amazing, explosive ending. Also every book she writes forces me to have a new book boyfriend and Ever is that boyfriend. I love his and Ruth’s relationship. He shows Ruth that she does have a voice in her own life and men do not own her. I also love that she weaves together the southern Baptist religion as well as the spirituality and folklore of the Low Man. And the freaking ending 🤯🤯🤯. Seriously get this book for your October TBR because you do NOT want to miss out on this one

Are you lamenting the loss of ‘Riverdale?’ Well let this book fill the Archie & Veronica sized hole in your heart! We got snake themed biker gangs, we got drug runners, we got evil dads and young people pulling off ridiculous, complicated, illegal things so often you will have to pause every few chapters and say “WHAT?!” out loud to your dog.

Was it fun? Yeah, a little fun. The best parts are when Everett is around. He is 10 times more interesting than Ruth who is so painfully naive and many steps behind both Ever and the reader throughout most of the book.

Some missed opportunities to get across how lonely and desperate the women of Bottom Springs were, and it would have been nice to have the women of the town play a bigger role in the conclusion.

Had the author just picked one of the dozens of bonkers things taken on by these characters I would have loved it. But it all felt claustrophobic by the end. A quieter, more subtle ending would have been chilling.

Overall it felt like a second draft, there is lots of potential here but it misses the mark overall.

This book had me glued to each and every page until the very end. Ruth is a Cornier, daughter of the local Holy Fire preacher of Bottom Springs. To be a Cornier means your father runs the town and Ruth is held under his rule. Ruth has always followed his rules, go to church, stay away from the other kids at school, and to run and hide when her father has his men friends over. But Ruth longs for companionship and love, just like Bella and Edward in the book Twilight. Everett also lives in Bottom Springs and is seen as the bad seed, the evil one. Everett’s father even blames Everett for killing his own mother. So it comes as a surprise that Ruth and Everett become friends and despite what others say about Everett, Ruth refuses to listen and sees something beautiful in him. Soon skulls are discovered in the swamp and the hunt is on, with everything pointing to Everett. With the help of Ruth who works in the local library, secrets are discovered that will be the salvation for both, or will it?

This book is COMPLEX! It's a dark thriller that had me hooked from the start. The plot is paced and developed masterfully and the characters are engaging. The themes of empowerment are fantastic and I can't wait to read this without my reviewer glasses on.

I really tried to like this book, but I was not a fan. The setting and atmosphere really drew me in, and I really wanted to root for Ruth. But it didn't take me long to get annoyed by her, and then to get mad at her. I wanted her to make better decisions and couldn't figure out why she developed no agency for herself until it was much too late. I also really did not like the way she treated Everett. The back and forth of time periods in the narration also ended up confusing me. I was never quite sure of "where we were" when the reader was taken back into the past, and what we were supposed to know at that point, what had or hadn't already happened, and what was going on. I also feel like many threads in the story were left hanging, and I would have liked more development of the "supernatural" aspect. I think this could have been a great book, but there were too many things that I just didn't like, especially when I read the last couple of pages. I understand the author's choice with how the book ended, but it just left me unsatisfied and let down after investing in the story. I'm sure many will love this book, but it was not for me.

🌙MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR by Ashley Winstead🌙

📆PUB DATE: October 3rd, 2023
➡️Swipe for synopsis
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Format: E-book
Read if you like:
🍎Twilight
🌑Extremely Dark Thrillers
2️⃣Dual timeline

This is a thriller for the people who grew up reading the Twilight series!! The main character Ruth has lived her entire life in Bottom Springs, Lousiana and is the daughter of the preacher, who has banned all books with reference to the occult or anything supernatural. But when Ruth finds a copy of Twilight, she sees herself in Bella and wants someone like Edward to love her. When she finally meets someone that she thinks could, something terrible happens that bonds her to the town outcast, Everett, forever. Years later, a skull is found in the local swamp and Ruth and Everett are determined to find out what happened.

The devoutly religious town in the Bible Belt south is a character in the book as much as anyone else, and represents the dangers of religious obsession and how the Bible is often used to justify wicked behavior and oppression. The way this town treats women and outsiders is absolutely horrific😭 No town is actually like this (I hope), but again I think it’s a hyperbole used to portray the consequences of blind faith and narrow-mindedness. Every single character, even the supposedly “good” ones that are fighting back against the town’s oppressive views, have very dark sides and the line between good and evil is so blurred you will start to question it yourself🤯 I am so impressed with Ashley Winstead and her ability to write a thriller with an amazing plot that also touches on important themes!

Thank you @netgalley and @bookmarked for the copy of Midnight is the Darkest Hour in exchange for an honest review!

Ruth is the preacher's daughter, living in a small town on the Louisiana Gulf. She's grown up in Bottom Springs, and although she longs to escape the patriarchal and religious restraints that are all she's ever known, she can't bring herself to wrench herself free from its grasp.

Even though her father runs the town, Ruth has always felt like an outcast. Like calls to like and after a traumatic incident, she becomes best friends with Ever, another outcast. When a killer stalks their town, both of them must unravel their haunted pasts to figure out how to bring justice.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It had everything I wanted in a suspense novel--Southern Gothic vibes, nods to the occult, outlaw motorcycle clubs--all told in a dual timeline.

Sometimes Ruth seemed a little naive to me, but once I finished the book I could see why she was the way she was.

I think Ever is one of my favorite MMCs I've ever read. He was so complex, mystifying, and compelling. He was written so beautifully I wanted to cry for him. I could understand immediately how Ruth was drawn to him. It reminded me a lot of True Blood, in the best way.

If you want to be thoroughly creeped out and kept guessing, put this on your list for spooky season!

Reviews to come on @pittelsbookclub on Tiktok and Instagram

I went in blind, but it’s a thriller from Ashley Winstead, so reading this was a no brainer.

Such eerie atmospheric vibes, the nods to twilight, the romantic element- it was different for me, but in a good way. I loved the two main characters and was rooting for them all the way to the end.

Speaking of the end…I NEED TO KNOW HOW WHAT HAPPENED! Don’t leave me in a cliffhanger 😭

Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead is a fast paced read that will keep you hanging on to the end. Ruth, whose father is the town preacher and Ever, the town outcast have come together in an unlikely way. Ruth is out on a date with an older man, when things don't go as planned. As he is trying to rape her Ever shows up and a fight ensues. In order to save Ever, Ruth hits the assailant in the head with a rock. He is dumped into the swamp where they don't talk about what happened to him. A few years later a skull is found in the swamp but it is not the person Ruth thinks it to be. Soon they discover another skull and assume they have a serial killer on their hands. Ruth is torn between her fathers acceptance and her love for Ever.

The story inside this beautiful book is deep, dark, and full of triggers.

Ruth and Everett captured my heart and honestly, will never let it go. There is so much love within this book despite the darkness that also lurks inside. There were a few good twists that surprised me and the choices made by the characters will really make you question the meaning of justice, being morally good, and loyalty. The ending was very fitting and I already know what I am choosing to believe.

A fantastic read that will really have you thinking. Look out for this one in the fall!

A solid Southern gothic thriller. I was promised thrills, and I got thrills, I was promised a lush, swampy atmosphere, and Winstead delivered on the swampiness.

Main characters and best friends Ruth and Everett are fascinating Louisiana teens and also (there are alternating time periods) fascinating young adults. Ruth is the daughter of the town's fundamentalist Baptist minister, and Everett is the son of the town drunk. Both are unloved and badly abused. The pair love to sneak around in the swamp, especially in the middle of the night, finding freedom there from their parents and hidden from small-town judgment. Because of Ruth's smothering and abusive religious upbringing, she does not know her own mind when it comes to Everett or anything else.

While Ruth's college dreams are quashed by her mother and father who believe a woman's place is in the home, somehow Ruth gets out of her parents' house, audits a bunch of college courses, and gets a job in the town library.

However, she is still trying to be quiet and submissive enough to win love and respect from her parents and her small town. Ruth is terrified of her own sexuality, which she equates with sin and shame. Because Ruth can't figure out who to trust, the reader is also kept in the dark.

When Ruth finds out what horrible secrets are being harbored by the power-brokers in Bottom Springs, LA, the town might never recover from her epic awakening.

In small town Bottom Springs, Louisiana, Ruth has never really felt good enough - especially not to her pastor father. She finds herself and her comfort in books... and in her friendship with town outcast Everett. When remains are found in the local swamp, Ruth is fearful that her past is going to come to light, but it seems that there is more nefarious goings-on in Bottom Springs than Ruth could ever have imagined...

I'm a sucker for a gothic setting, and this one pulled me right with its swampy Louisiana setting and witchy vibes. I loved In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and I think this book is even better! Perfect for reading on a late summer/early fall evening - you will not be disappointed.

I was a bit ambivalent about Winstead's earlier hit - In My Dreams I hold a Knife - when I first started reading it although I ended up giving it 4 stars. So I was braced for a similar experience here. Instead, I was gripped from the first paragraph.



This is a claustrophobic, twisting thriller on the edge of horror. Plenty of people have summarised the plot so I won't go into too much detail. Suffice to say that this is about an enduring, obsessive friendship in the face of overwhelming opposition from a town and community twisted out of true by a self-proclaimed preacher and his minions. Except, just how moral are these people really? As the novel unfolds, more secrets swim up from the swampy depths of this small Louisiana town - and from the MC's carefully suppressed subconscious.



What I loved about this was the ride or die friendship. Ruth and Everett just had this no holds barred relationship that was very enjoyable even as it veered into being somewhat unhealthy. But on the other hand no one else in town was a refuge for either of them. I'm afraid I fall into the camp of thinking that their extracurricular activities were both understandable and justified (so much so that the proposal to continue them at the end of the book seemed almost out of character - it was a specific species of revenge. A personal vendetta.) Basically there's a lot of murders in this book and unusually for thrillers (or crime) I was delighted by every single one of them. Which probably says a lot more about me than anything else.



I actually also loved that literature of all kinds was a binding force between the pair. I loved that Twilight - so often denigrated for being pap by people who think it's ok to sneer at things because teen girls like them (including the whole 'Twilight is the worst' movement of a few years ago by a bunch of youtuber sheeple) - anyway *wipes foam from mouth* it was great to see it shown as a book that provided an essential escape for someone who desperately needed. People need different books at different times in their life and every so often you find one that is a touch stone. I even found Ruth's grafting of Ever onto Edward Cullen understandable (and very cringeworthy) because most people have to be shown love and kindness in order to emulate them. As Ruth says, this was a place she had no map for and Twilight became her map.



I didn't love the ending. I'm not fond of the double 'you decide' endings although I can absolutely see why the author went in that direction. Overall this was a great read. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and Ashley Winstead for the Arc! I've read almost everything Ms. Winstead has written and I was so excited to get this one. When I learned that it had some supernatural/Twilight vibes, I was initially turned away and put it at the bottom of my TBR pile. I'm so glad that I finally read it because I loved it! It was such an atmospheric and guilty pleasure read. Ms. Winstead has a way of making you feel part of the book. It's almost like you are in Bottom Springs, which has me craving a trip to the bayou (minus the heat). I highly recommend this book to former Twilight fans and anyone interested in weird Southern occult/Bible thumping/bayou life. If you don't like the strange and weird in your mysteries, it may not be for you. However, I don't either and I ended up loving this one.

O.K. So I seem to be on the outskirts of bibliophiles to say that I have never read Ashley Winstead before, but her latest thriller MIDNIGHT IS THE DARKEST HOUR literally had me on the edge of my seat, then I just had to get up and move as the adrenaline was coursing through my body!
Ruth Cornier, daughter of Bottom Springs, LA fire and brimstone preacher has loved Everett Duncan, son of the town drunk, since he ‘rescued’ her from an assault by Reynard Michaels, a construction worker just passing through town. That rescue, the events that followed and the consequences come to the surface six years later when there is a discovery near the swamps. Everett, who was finally able to escape, returns to stand with Ruth.
Meanwhile, there is vandalism in the woods and the local legend says that the vandalism invites The Low Man. If he picks you, he steals your soul. Strange carvings appear on the trees and writing appears on rocks. It seems that each year there is a mysterious death attributed to an accident or The Low Man.
Ruth, working as a librarian (I can’t believe she was allowed to work) begins researching clues to figure out what is going on in the male dominated town, rebukes her father’s efforts to keep her under control and puts her boyfriend off as to accepting his proposal. She’s not sure if this is the life she wants.
This story was so action packed! Something came up every few pages; ie, biker gangs, explosions, drug running, shoot-outs, HA, you name it, it’s probably in here. While I also have never read the Twilight series, it does play a part insofar as shaping Ruth’s ideas of what true love really is, but you could put any great love story in there.
I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and her character building abilities. Her descriptions were so precise that I felt like I was walking (or running) through the forest with Ruth and Everett, could feel the power of Reverend Cornier’s sermon from the pulpit, and the hopelessness of the women stuck in this town. I found that it was important to read the Conversation With the Author at the end of the book, so don’t miss that also. I will certainly be reading others by this author. GREAT JOB

The premise of this book was great. A small Louisiana town, bodies turning up, and a killer in their midst. The first 3/4 of the book I really enjoyed. However the last quarter fell flat for me. It became unbelievable. The twist is fairly obvious but that doesn’t ruin the book for the reader.

I love Ashley Winstead and her writing! This book was so atmospheric and so fun!! I really liked the character development because when things go down I feel like I have a connection. This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read so far this year.