The Midnight Hour
Twisty mystery from the bestselling author of The Locked Room
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4.0 • 24 Ratings
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
**THE THRILLING SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**
'If only all history mysteries could be as good as The Midnight Hour' The Times
An old man lies dead and it looks like poison, but his wife isn't the only one who had reason to kill him.
Brighton, 1965
When theatrical impresario Bert Billington is found dead in his retirement home, no one suspects foul play. But when the postmortem reveals that he was poisoned, suspicion falls on his wife, eccentric ex-Music Hall star Verity Malone.
Frustrated by the police response to Bert's death and determined to prove her innocence, Verity calls in private detective duo Emma Holmes and Sam Collins. This is their first real case, but as luck would have it they have a friend on the inside: Max Mephisto is filming a remake of Dracula, starring Seth Billington, Bert's son. But when they question Max, they feel he isn't telling them the whole story.
Emma and Sam must vie with the police to untangle the case and bring the killer to justice. They're sure the answers must lie in Bert's dark past and in the glamorous, occasionally deadly, days of Music Hall. But the closer they get to the truth, the more danger they find themselves in...
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PRAISE FOR THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
'An intricately plotted whodunnit' Daily Mail
'Griffiths writes with verve and wit' Irish Times
'An entertaining period murder mystery' Irish Independent
'Layered with a gripping plot' Belfast Telegraph
A Sunday Times bestseller w/c 24/04/2022
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Edgar winner Griffiths's intricate sixth Brighton mystery (after 2019's Now You See Them), police constable Meg Connolly, Det. Insp. Bob Willis, and PIs Emma Holmes and Sam Collins look into the poisoning of theatrical impresario Bert Billington in Rottingdean, Sussex, in September 1965. Finding a long history of serial affairs and abuses of power, they also encounter hints that Billington's murder may be connected to the deaths of two performers and a child. Possible suspects include Billington's widow, Verity Malone, and his sons; actor Max Mephisto, who had an affair with Verity; Eric Prentice, who was a musical performer in variety; and Alma Saunders, who served as Verity's dresser when Verity was a music hall star. An additional death and mysterious figures seen in a graveyard and at murder locales add complications. Sober themes on the oppression of women and the achievement of justice even after many years provide a touching complexity. Griffiths fans and new readers alike will enjoy their time with the Brighton mysteries crowd.
