The Black Midnight

4 stars

Annie may be British, and distantly in line for the throne, but she’s not the royalty kind. Annie wants to be a detective and live her best life away from the throne. Grandmother, Queen Victoria, might have other ideas though. When the Queen interferes on behalf of her father to take away her “special constable” position, Alice Ann von Wettin finds a way to become a Pinkerton detective in the United States. While her family in England believes she is exploring her social options abroad, “Annie Walters” is solving crimes alongside Isaiah Joplin.

Isaiah is born and bred Texas, a lawman for Pinkerton who also has a law degree. He and Annie not only solve crimes, but seem to have found a connection with one another that is hard to resist. Resist they both did, however, when Annie finds herself back in London as Alice Anne von Wettin once again.

Jack the Ripper intervenes, however, and Alice Anne is recruited by Grandmother Victoria to try to assist in solving the Jack the Ripper mystery. Because of their working past, Alice Anne wants to include Isaiah to help with finding Jack, and put an end to the brutal murders occurring on the London streets.

This time, what will happen between Isaiah and Annie?

By far, my favorite story in the True Colors series so far. Kathleen Y’Barbo hit it out of the park with this take on the Midnight Assassin murders in Austin, Texas and the Jack the Ripper killings in London. Though she tweaked the history a bit in this historical fiction novel, it comes out very well.

History brings us many fascinating tidbits, some of which are very hard to believe. We have all heard of Jack the Ripper, but the murders in Austin, Texas were new to me. The similarities between these murders can not be denied, but whether or not they were perpetrated by the same person remains yet to be discovered....or did our illustrious Pinkertons figure it out?

It is 1889 in London, England and Alice Anne von Wettin is called before Queen Victoria. This young lady has spent several years as a Pinkerton agent in the USA, already quite a feat for a woman and certainly much more so for the great granddaughter of the Queen! Isaiah Joplin is her partner from her tenure in Texas. Can they, along with a high-level officer of the Metropolitan Police, finally catch this murderer? Granny is counting on them...

This installment in the True Colors crime series keeps you wondering right up till the end. Toss in a little covert romance, plenty of suspense and you have a story you will long remember. I received this copy through Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. The comments and impressions are my own and were in no way solicited.

I love both of the main characters. Alice Anne / Annie and Isaiah are wonderful. It was a lot of fun to see how Alice Anne keeps so much of her true personality while she is in Austin, living as Annie. The way they interact with each other while both in Texas and then in England is great.

The plot of the mystery is fantastic. I loved going along with the investigators as they searched for clues about the murderer. There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the note by the author at the end of the book explaining the actual history behind her story. I love the way she expresses what facts she bent to make them fit.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.

Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention or review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I have done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*