Saturday, August 1, 2020

The Black Midnight: are two serial killers actually one in the same?


The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y’Barbo is the newest addition in the True Crimes series. It is 1889 and Alice Anne von Wettin is called to meet with her great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. Alice Anne is known for solving puzzles and the queen is asking for her help in solving the greatest mystery. Who is killing the women in Whitechapel? She is told to assemble her team. Rewind to December 1885, Alice is now undercover as Annie Walters, working the Midnight Assassin murders in Austin, Texas with fellow Pinkerton detective, Isaiah Joplin. Gruesome murders are occurring in the dead of night by a suspect who seems to vanish into think air. It is a race against time as Annie and Isaiah gather clues in the hopes to identify the killer before he strikes again. In the meantime, Annie struggles whether to tell Isaiah who she really is. Will he understand? Will he see her differently? Will they catch their killer? Are the murders in Austin connected to the murders in Whitechapel?


The Midnight Assassin killed eight people between December 30, 1884 and December 24, 1885. The Whitechapel killer, who would become known as Jack the Ripper, killed between August 31, 1888 and November 9, 1888. The Black Midnight explores the theory that the two killers are one and the same. The story is interesting as it connects the two killers, however, it was not as exciting or gripping as other titles in this series. Perhaps because there is no real conclusion as the killers or killer isn’t caught. I may go back and read it again, just in case there was something I missed to make it more interesting. I have enjoyed the True Crime series as it takes real American Crimes and spins a story around it. I highly recommend The Black Midnight and other titles in this series.

The Black Midnight
is available in paperback and eBook

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