Charlaine Harris
Ace
Publishing May 3, 2016
ISBN: 1101598832 (ISBN13: 9781101598832)
The small town of Midnight is in an uproar when a rash of suicides take place at the crossroads in the center of town. Every one of them appear to be a sudden, snap decision that no one can reconcile.
The residents of Midnight work together to discover the root of this strange evil drawing death to their doorsteps.
The third installment in the Midnight, Texas series develops the background of a few more of the strange inhabitants of the small town. Set in the same world as the Sookie Stackhouse novels, we follow the interactions of Bernard the psychic, Fiji the witch, Lemuel the vampire, and Olivia the assassin. They find out the town has a complicated and dark past, and that secret could get everyone killed.
Night Shift begins much like the other two installments in the series with strong character development and what reads like a well prepared mystery. Unfortunately, about three quarters of the way in, everything gets tied up in a way that feels very rushed. Aside from a dump of information that occurs to bring the characters to the Big Standoff With Evil scene, the vanquishing of that evil employs a method that’s awkward at best. Not a great addition to the series.
JL Jamieson is a strange book nerd who writes technical documents by day, and book news, reviews, and other assorted opinions for you by night. She is working on her own fiction, and spends time making jewelry to sell at local conventions, as well as stalking the social media accounts of all your favorite writers.