Review: The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters

The Turn of Midnight is the second book in Minette Walters's new historical series. It is set in the 14th century, when the Black Death hit England with devastating consequences. I was desperate to get my hands on this book because I loved the first one in the series, The Last Hours, and I would recommend reading that one first to fully understand and appreciate the characters and their motivation. 

At the end of 1348, the people of Develish have only survived the plague that devastated the rest of country by forcibly isolating themselves. When it seems the pestilence might have finally run its course, former serf Thaddeus Thurkell ventures outside the walls with a band of teenage boys to scout the surrounding villages for food and news of fellow survivors. But to enable Develish to continue to prosper and thrive in this new world, a deception will be necessary. Can Thaddeus pull it off? Because the penalty for his failure will be death ...

The strength of these stories is in the characters. It is impossible not to root for their success and be completely gripped by their adventures. I particularly love Lady Anne, who uses her intelligence and cool logic to outsmart her enemies (usually men who underestimate her!), and former serf Thaddeus, who is determined to rise above his lowly status and is, in fact, far smarter than those who are supposedly his 'betters'. I also loved the way Thaddeus's band of surly teenagers have grown into mature soldiers.

I know very little about this time period and felt the author really brought it alive for me. I do hope someone turns it into TV series! My favourite scenes were when Thaddeus and his men finally see the sea, and their confrontation with one of the villains from the first book. The only negative was that I felt the scene set in Blandeforde went on for a bit too long - I was eager for Thaddeus to get onto his next adventure!

Thoroughly recommended, particularly for anyone who loves gripping, character-led historical fiction.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of The Turn of Midnight, which will be published in the UK on the 4th of October 2018.

Thank you to Minette Walters and Allen and Unwin for my copy of this book, which I requested from NetGalley and reviewed voluntarily.

Related Review:

The Last Hours (Book 1) by Minette Walters