About the Book
Book: The Black Midnight
Author: Kathleen Y’Barbo
Genre: Christian Historical Suspense
Release Date: August, 2020
Death Seems to Follow Harriet’s New Friend
Book 7 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History
Three years before Jack the Ripper began his murderous spree on the streets of London, women were dying in their beds as The Midnight Assassin terrorized the citizens of Austin, Texas. Now, with suspicion falling on Her Majesty’s family and Scotland Yard at a loss as to who the Ripper might be, Queen Victoria summons her great-granddaughter, Alice Anne von Wettin, a former Pinkerton agent who worked the unsolved Austin case, and orders her to discreetly form a team to look into the London matter.
The prospect of a second chance to work with Annie just might entice Isaiah Joplin out of his comfortable life as an Austin lawyer. If his theories are right, they’ll find the The Midnight Assassin and, by default, the Ripper. If they’re wrong, he and Annie are in a bigger mess than the one the feisty female left behind when she departed Austin under cover of darkness three years ago.
Can the unlikely pair find the truth of who is behind the murders before they are drawn into the killer’s deadly game? From Texas to London, the story navigates the fine line between truth and fiction as Annie and Isaiah ultimately find the hunters have become the hunted.
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My Thoughts:
What does Jack the Ripper have to do with a true American crime? Maybe something, maybe nothing. But The Black Midnight opens up and explores some connections that I never even heard about before.
This story takes place over two time lines- just four years apart- but the same main characters. A man and woman team in the Pinkerton Agency. Isaiah Joplin is a Texan through and through and he like the rest of the town does not like the fear that has arisen due to the Midnight Assassin's cold-blooded killing of innocent women. He teams up with British agent, Alice Anne von Wettin, Annie for short, to try to break this case wide open.
Not only do we have a very chilling murder mystery, but to balance it out we have a romance brewing that between these two agents might just not work out. Annie has some secrets of her own that she has been keeping from Isaiah, and her family.
I enjoyed both timelines, especially how the past set us up for the present one and the pace kept moving throughout. There was a lot of interesting facts sprinkled throughout and with these stories the author's notes in the back are priceless.
I think the whole True Colors series should be picked up as a drama series. They do a nice job of balancing the disturbing with the romance.
I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.
About the Author
Bestselling author Kathleen Y’Barbo is a multiple Carol Award and RITA nominee of more than sixty novels with almost two million copies of her books in print in the US and abroad.
More from Kathleen Y’Barbo
I am a tenth generation Texan, but London has held a place in my heart for over ten years. You see, I have a son who has lived there for more than a decade. Thanks to him and his family of three—my granddaughter was born there on New Year’s Eve 2019—the city will always be special to me. There is absolutely nothing like walking those streets with a thousand years of history close enough to touch.
It was on a walk with my son through this great city that the stories of nineteenth century London came alive. With fog shrouding the rooftops of buildings that were hundreds of years old and our footsteps echoing on the cobblestones, I could imagine a time when lack of electricity and CCTV would make this place less than charming on a dark night. What reminded me of my favorite childhood movie, Mary Poppins, quickly became more reminiscent of Jack the Ripper. And then a story was born.
Only I just had half the story.
The other half came to me several years later when I stumbled across an article in Texas Monthly magazine about a serial killer who rampaged through Austin, Texas in 1884 and 1885 and was never caught. Some surmised this madman, called “The Midnight Assassin” by some, might have been Jack the Ripper honing his skills before he crossed the Atlantic to begin his famous crime spree in Great Britain.
But Austin? Ironically, my other two sons lived in Austin. So while part of my heart was in London, two more parts of that same heart resided in the Texas capital. I thought I knew Austin inside out. Between one of my sons getting not one but two degrees from the University of Texas (this Aggie grad is still proud of him in spite of what I jokingly call his burnt orange rebellion) and my other son living there and managing a restaurant at the time (and who just graduated from Texas A&M Galveston last month!), I had spent many years in the city. And yet I had never heard of the Midnight Assassin.
Research turned up a tale that sounds so close to fiction I had to write about it. Discovering the theory that the Austin killer might also be the Ripper just added to my interest—neither had been caught. And I like to write about Pinkerton detectives.
From there the story unfolded. If you’ve read any of my historical romances, you know that I love incorporating actual history into my stories. As you’ll see when you read The Black Midnight, this book is no exception. While I will continue writing the historical romances I love to bring to you, I will confess that writing this book has me itching to research another one like it.
What’s next in my foray into true crime novels? Maybe Houston. You see, I have a daughter who lives there…
In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy reading The Black Midnight as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Blog Stops
Babbling Becky L’s
Book Impressions, August 27
Genesis 5020,
August 27
Debbie’s
Dusty Deliberations, August 27
Inklings
and notions, August 28
Locks, Hooks
and Books, August 28
Ashley’s
Bookshelf, August 28
Older
& Smarter?, August 29
Texas Book-aholic,
August 29
Artistic
Nobody, August 29 (Guest Review from Joni Truex)
For the
Love of Literature, August 30
Connie’s
History Classroom, August 30
For Him and My
Family, August 31
Adventures
of a Travelers Wife, August 31
Betti Mace,
September 1
Robin’s
Nest, September 1
Bigreadersite,
September 1
deb’s Book
Review, September 2
Splashes
of Joy, September 2
Just
Your Average reviews, September 2
Rebecca Tews,
September 3
Just
the Write Escape, September 3
Emily Yager,
September 3
Christian
Bookaholic, September 4
reviewingbooksplusmore,
September 4
KarenSueHadley,
September 4
Remembrancy,
September 5
Through
the Fire Blogs, September 5
21st
Century Keeper at Home, September 6
Tell Tale Book
Reviews, September 6
Blogging With
Carol, September 6
Musings
of a Sassy Bookish Mama, September 7
Life of
Literature, September 7
Mary Hake,
September 7
Godly Book Reviews,
September 8
Back
Porch Reads, September 8
Daysong Reflections,
September 8
Pause for Tales,
September 9
Blossoms
and Blessings, September 9
Hallie
Reads, September 9
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Kathleen is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and the book and author details, this sounds like an exciting read
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