Midnight – Mari Adkins
Reviewed by Steve Stred
- Paperback: 212 pages
- Publisher: Apex Book Company (21 April 2014)
Samantha Clark has always known she was different.
Raised in a loveless household, she can almost forgive herself for turning to an abusive boyfriend to give her the roots and love she desperately needs. When that solution turns violent, Sami goes on the run, seeking the help of a college friend from her hometown of Harlan, KY. He offers her a chance at family, but he has secrets.
Set in rural Kentucky in 1985, Midnight is a snapshot of a region in the throes of economic despair as coal miners are laid off and abject poverty afflicts the area. Sami believes Harlan offers no hope until she meets the enigmatic Michael, a man out of place and time, living deep in the hills among a cult-like group of devotees.
At once a supernatural mystery and a story of hope, Midnight is a novel of perseverance and finding the power to fight back.
“Maybe he could help her, give her sanctuary for a few days.”
Surprisingly Midnight is the second book I’ve read lately that had the same atmospheric that was so prevalent in the HBO show True Blood. I had shades of it recently when I read Husk, but I found throughout Midnight I was expecting to see some of the familiar Bon Temps characters.
Adkins throws us right into the mix with the arrival of Sami in her high school love Steve’s shop. She’s fled her abusive relationship and with nowhere else to go, she’s turned to the person she trusts and loves the most.
From the outset, I could see some things that would obviously occur, but Adkins didn’t stumble over them, in turn, the characters and situations were allowed to play out. At times I found it to be a bit drawn out. I even commented at one point on Facebook that chapter one was 13 minutes long on my Kindle, but chapter two clocked in at 90 minutes. I found there was a lot of extra fluff at times, reading through details that were unnecessary while I was waiting for something to really ramp up.
Things do start to really occur with the introduction of the mysterious character Michael and as Adkins gives us bits and pieces to digest, we learn more about Sami and her ‘abilities’ and watch as the plot unfolds. If you watched True Blood then you’d see the parallels with Sookie here.
I enjoyed the layout of each chapter taking place in successive months in 1985, and the placing of the story in that year/decade is great because it removes any of the usual issues with “well if they would’ve just texted or called on their cell-phone then that could’ve been resolved.”
At the end of the day, I didn’t mind the story but I think this is more a case of the wrong reader for the book. I’ve typically been trying to reduce the volume of books that follow this narrative as well as Zombie based books lately, but I wanted to give this one a go.
I think if you’re looking for a character-driven story where we get to see Samantha transform from a broken-down person to one who grows and blossoms with confidence then this story will be right up your alley.
Midnight
Samantha Clark has always known she was different.
Raised in a loveless household, she can almost forgive herself for turning to an abusive boyfriend to give her the roots and love she desperately needs. When that solution turns violent, Sami goes on the run, seeking the help of a college friend from her hometown of Harlan, KY. He offers her a chance at family, but he has secrets.
Set in rural Kentucky in 1985, Midnight is a snapshot of a region in the throes of economic despair as coal miners are laid off and abject poverty afflicts the area. Sami believes Harlan offers no hope until she meets the enigmatic Michael, a man out of place and time, living deep in the hills among a cult-like group of devotees.
At once a supernatural mystery and a story of hope, Midnight is a novel of perseverance and finding the power to fight back.
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Steve Stred
Steve Stred writes dark, bleak horror fiction.
Steve is the author of the novels Invisible & The Stranger, the novellas The Girl Who Hid in the Trees, Wagon Buddy, Yuri and Jane: the 816 Chronicles and two collections of short stories; Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery and Left Hand Path: 13 More Tales of Black Magick, and the dark poetry collection Dim the Sun.
On September 1st, 2019 his second collection of dark poetry and drabbles called The Night Crawls In will arrive. This release was specifically created to help fund the 1st Annual LOHF Writers Grant.
Steve is also a voracious reader, reviewing everything he reads and submitting the majority of his reviews to be featured on Kendall Reviews.
Steve Stred is based in Edmonton, AB, Canada and lives with his wife, his son and their dog OJ.
You can follow Steve on Twitter @stevestred
You can visit Steve’s Official website here
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