I was excited when I received this ARC of The Wicked Hour By Alice Blanchard

Summary Of The Book...…..
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.



Thank You NetGalley & Publisher

This is a must read book!
It most defiantly did not disappoint!
The storyline is amazing and the plot is very well written! ( )

Who murdered Morgan? Was it murder?

Morgan, an accomplished violinist is found dead in a dumpster after the annual Halloween bash. Who wants her dead? Was it murder or was it suicide? Maybe just a natural death with suspicious surroundings? Detective Natalie Lockhart is going to find out.

Along the way, new evidence is found, new suspects are questioned. Will the roadblocks from higher-ups prevent Natalie from solving this?

Throughout the book, the author places tiny snippets of another few mysteries along the way that make Natalie who she is. While she solves the mystery of Morgan, the author leaves room for future novels by leaving enough air of curiosity around these snippets.

Alice Blanchard's writing was seemless and intriguing. While still a complete novel, I'm left wanting so much more of Natalie Lockhart and hope there is more in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's for allowing me to read this and give my honest opinion.
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This is a very carefully crafted story. If there is one failure, it is in the ending. The Detective simply stumbles on the killer notwithstanding a very extensive investigation of another person. The characters are well-drawn. ( )

This is the second in the Natalie Lockhart detective series. The town of Burning Lake is known for its Halloween festivities which draw crowds of tourists each year. As the town starts to clean up after the latest Halloween, the body of a young woman is found in a dumpster.

I had a hard time rating this book. It is a solid mystery; a decent police procedural. And for that, I would give it four stars. Being the second in the series, though, there are repeated references to characters and actions from the prior novel. In fact, Natalie has been so damaged by the past case which apparently involved her sisters, it permeates her thoughts and actions.

Those who have read the first book will most likely be familiar with the characters and the references. However, I did not and not really knowing what she was talking about or reacting to, I just couldn’t connect with Natalie.

I think the author could have done a better job filling in the background. I’ve read a number of other book series having missed the earlier stories, but the authors were able to do a good job introducing the recurring characters and their history. I missed that in this book, and for that I would rate it 3 stars. There also were instances when the author would repeat the same information almost verbatim. This was a galley copy I read and perhaps the author will edit for the final copy. There also were some factual errors which bothered me.

All that said, I did not feel a burning desire to go back and read the first novel in the series. ( )

I read Trace of Evil, the first book in this series, last year, and I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this follow-up as much.

If you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend doing so before reading this one. A lot happened in Trace of Evil, and all of it is frequently referenced though not explained throughout this book. Even for me, having read the first one more than a year ago, I struggled to remember the details to all the events referenced.

I enjoyed the atmosphere and setting. The characters are unique and interesting.

Pacing is erratic. Natalie isn't quite the strong, independent female of the first book. Here she wallows more, falling into random depressions and mood swings. Her behavior is due to the events that happened in the first book, which took place one year prior, so her imbalance, to me, seemed too raw given the passage of time.

The plot kept me wondering about the whodunit, though I wasn't wowed by any of it. Some of the investigative details are questionable at best, and the steady stream of Natalie's personal drama detracted from the case.

In the end, this was just an okay read for me.

*I received a review copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.* ( )