The Wicked Hour: A Natalie Lockhart Novel (Natalie Lockhart, #2)

by Alice Blanchard

The day after Burning Lake’s notorious, debauched Halloween celebration, Detective Natalie Lockhart uncovers a heartbreaking scene - a young woman, dead and lying in a dumpster. There’s no clue to who she is, save for a mystifying tattoo on her arm, and a callus underneath her chin. She’s not from around here. No one knows who she is.

As Natalie retraces the young woman’s steps leading up to her death, she uncovers even more horror - a string of murders and disappearances, seemingly unconnected, that may have ties to each other - and explain the abrupt disappearance of her best friend years ago.

As Natalie digs deeper to find the killer, old hurts are renewed and dark secrets uncovered. But deep within the mind of the hunter is a darkness Natalie could never have imagined, and as she draws closer to the truth, the killer is weaving a trap for her that may prove unescapable.

• ISBN10: 1250205735
• ISBN13: 9781250205735
• Publish Date: 1 January 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 June 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Minotaur Books,US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kim Deister]

The Wicked Hour is the second Natalie Lockhart book, a police procedural series with a side of witchiness. The series should definately be read in order, as there are storylines in the first book, Trace of Evil, that are referenced in this. They are significant enough that not reading the first would impact the reading experience of this installment.

As with the first book, strange things are afoot in Burning Lake, a brutal murder that has left few clues. The town is still reeling from the events of the first book, and it begins to feel as if the town’s history truly has cursed it. Natalie is a great protagonist, a strong woman and a character that felt both real and relatable. There is a lot of introspection with her character, more so than in the first book. That may be something some readers may not enjoy, but I enjoyed it. Her character has been through some horrific moments, and it gave the story an additional layer to be able to experience her journey with her.

The secondary cast of characters were well developed and very much enhanced the story, which was gripping and had me turning the pages. As I said in my review of Trace of Evil, I loved the setting. It is very reminiscent of my own hometown, nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks. It was used in a great way to really set the mood for the plot, which was full of twists and turns and a buffet of suspects.

There are some clear themes in this series: death, the processing of grief, the processing of revealed secrets, family dynamics and relationships, and more. I felt as though these were handled in an authentic way, which made the characters that much more relatable.

There is one subplot that has been referenced here and there throughout both books… the mysterious disappearance of Natalie’s childhood best friend, Bella. I’m hoping that we get more of that as the series progresses!

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Wicked Hour is the second Detective Natalie Lockhart procedural thriller by Alice Blanchard. Released 1st Dec 2020 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a character driven procedural thriller. The plot and character motivations are heavily dependent on the fallout from the first book, and as such it didn't work as well as a standalone. The mystery revolves around the abduction and murder of violinists in and around a prestigious music academy. Detective Lockhart (who is still suffering psychological aftershocks from the occurrences in the first book) pulls a homicide case when the nude body of a young violinist is found in a dumpster after the town's annual Hallowe'en festivities.

There's a lot to unpack here. As stated, the heavy dependence on previous unresolved plot threads from the first book left me feeling somewhat confused and wrong-footed for much of the book. I also got whiplash from how quickly main character Natalie switched emotional gears. She's still suffering brutal emotional trauma and alternately pushing away and trying to repair her relationships, but it was just awkward for me in several places, especially her interactions with her friend/maybe love interest Luke.

The writing is competent throughout and there are glimmers of compelling style and prose to be found. They're not a majority of the book, but they are there. I liked that Natalie is strong, flawed, and actively trying to work through her trauma and grief. I found it somewhat difficult to really invest myself in the characters apart from Natalie.

There is a fair bit of graphic description of violence and some (more minor) mentions of self-harm, suicide, sexual assault (GHB, rohypnol), and rough language.

I plan to continue with the series, but I would strongly recommend readers come into this book having read the first book.

Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.