Midnight is the Darkest Hour: A Novel

Written by Ashley Winstead

Narrated by Sarah Welborn

For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all . . . even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana. In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners' bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar-and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town's secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we've come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350836561

Ashley Winstead

ASHLEY WINSTEAD is an academic turned novelist with a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature. She lives in Houston with her husband, their two cats and a beloved wine fridge. You can find her at www.ashleywinstead.com.

Reviews for Midnight is the Darkest Hour

[Inga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An amazing book for those who like Twilight kind of books

[Tonile Wortley · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was a real slog. The plot is slow and boring, Ruth is an awful, weak character, and the narrator was practically impossible to listen to. If this wasn’t for a book club, I’d have DNFed about five minutes in.

[caleb thomas · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Where the crawdads sing meets twilight in this dark southern mystery

[Roxy · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 ⭐️ i had issues with the book itself. 4 ⭐️ to the audiobook though!

[Brown Charlotte · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely loved it. If you’re a fan of true blood/southern gothics/true romance/religious zealots/folklore then you might like this.

[Ellie Solomons · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

cannot STAND this narration!! it was so painful and ruined the whole story for me

[carrionqueen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book. The narrator fit the man character well. However I didn’t always enjoy it. She over pronounces and draws out words. But that’s a minor aggravation overall. The ending was great. Really didn’t see that coming.

[Katie Pierpaoli · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Ruth was super annoying, this was very much a love story with a immature girl who is obsessed with Twilight and keeps giving Everett blue balls. No thanks

[Hannah Bonner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t think I will ever recover from this. 100/10