Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

Midnight Crossroad (Midnight, Texas, #1)

by Charlaine Harris

"FIRST IN A NEW TRILOGY From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale-populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that's how the locals prefer it. Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It's a pretty standard dried-up western town. There's a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There's a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there's new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he's found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own). Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth... "--

Reviewed by kimbacaffeinate on

3 of 5 stars

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I loved the first season of Midnight, Texas on NBC and although I own and have not read the Sookie series I decided to dive in and begin the Midnight, Texas trilogy. Midnight Crossroad is very much like the television show with some slight changes mostly in casting. In retrospect, I am almost glad I watched the first season before beginning.

Trying to look at this from the perspective of someone just reading the book who has NOT watched the television show my gut feeling tells me it may be a tad confusing. You know Midnight, Texas is different, but it takes a while before you really know who the key players are or rather WHAT they are. Aside from a few minor physical changes,  a missing RV and grandma it looks like the television series follows the book(s) pretty closely. Well, at least season one and book one.

I love the premise of Midnight. A small town with only one-stop light where the veil is thin between the dead and the living, a place that draws those who are different. Here we have all types of supernatural creatures living side by side along with humans who are hiding or different, like a certain kickass female. Manfred Bernardo a psychic has just moved in and through him, we learn about the town and its inhabitants. I am hoping that what we learned about him on the television show is reflected in the next book. We get a lot of different POVs and having watched the show, it made navigating them easier.

One of the things I loved is that Harris combines urban fantasy with mystery. Since these are two of my favorite genres, it stands to reason that together they would rock. We have a murder, but in the book, we also have the mystery of everyone's secret and why Manfred suddenly relocated to Midnight. While this made things interesting and I am sure it will pay off, it also kept me from becoming attached to any of the residents. (This is where the tv show worked better) This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 September, 2017: Finished reading
  • 5 September, 2017: Reviewed