Do you like urban legends? Have you ever played a scary game?
I can’t say I’ve tried any of the urban legend games, but I am fascinated by them and how they are used in stories. So when I heard about The Midnight Man, a thriller based around a (fictional) urban legend, I was intrigued.
The Midnight Man starts with a bang – a teenager is being hunted down, and her entire family is massacred in their home. It then leaps into the future, with Sarah preparing to go back to work in the police force. We then switch to a group of teenagers as they prepare to play The Midnight Game at Blackhall Manor, the spooky house in town. Of course, one of these teenagers ends up dead.
Sarah, however, isn’t really assigned to the case. As it turns out, she took a long leave of absence and the increased workload on her colleagues has made them resent her, to the point where they are bullying her. But when Sarah reconnects with an old friend and her son, she finds herself drawn back to the case.
As you can tell, there is a huge cast of characters in this book. To make it more complicated, we switch between the POV characters fairly quickly. I had problems getting into the book because of this; it could be quite confusing when combined with the quick pace and short chapters of a thriller. In fact, I thought that the number of POV characters could be cut down without much issue.
However, when I got into the story, I generally enjoyed it. The legend of the Midnight Game was fascinating and the plot was fast and twisty. I had absolutely no idea why Sarah was being targeted and what happened, and so was compelled to keep reading in order to find out the secrets that she and the murderer hide.
In terms of characters, I don’t think I have a particular favourite, probably because there are so many to choose from! Elliot, the son of Sarah’s old friend was charming. Sarah, though initially not the most likeable, really has her own difficulties and I found myself sympathising with her.
Overall, this was a fun read. While I didn’t like everything about the book, the problems were generally small enough that I could put them aside and just enjoy the story while I had my kobo open.
Featured Image: Photo from Canva
Looks like this isn’t the best but enjoyable.
It was fun but I don’t think I’ll follow the series haha
I do like urban legends and have tried a few–all when I was a teenager. My daughter and I were talking about some of them the other night actually. This sounds like an interesting book and like one that would be a fun movie.
That’s true! This may work better as a movie, I’m not sure if anyone has the rights.
If you like urban legends, have you heard of the website “The Ghost in my Machine” (hopefully I remember the site name correctly). It collects urban legends and spooky stories!