The meticulous descriptions give A Hush at Midnight enrichen the book and help to ground it. For which I am very appreciative. Bell ties her mysteries together excellently but there are many strands to weave. I love watching a mystery be solved and this one especially. It was incredibly satisfying. With that being said, Laura’s investigations could be frustrating. Both in the many times she was waylaid and in her many self-incriminations. I’m all for malicious compliance and testing limits and I had to read through my fingers at several moments because of it.

Its many elements combine to make it very high emotion. There are so many stressors. An aspect that I enjoy. To quote Mari Kondo: I love mess. And the sense of wrongness, of Laura being watched, was very well done. There are, as a consequence of this, quite a few rundowns through the book as more evidence gathers. I appreciated this. I was taking notes, as I do, for the purpose of reviewing, but I imagine without that, I would have needed the reminders.

The eeriness of the the movements, of the messages, is one of the stronger elements in the book. The relationships fall a little flatter. Brent, for instance, is so immediate. When there are so few people that Laura can trust, her belief in him sits at odds with the tension of the narrative. There is a good attempt at closeness with her dad but it comes across more transactional than emotional. And her calling her friend ‘dramatic’ when that friend is suffering a harrassment and stalking campaign undercuts their closeness. It does a far better job at painting the tension between Laura and her neighbours.

Thanks to iRead Book Tours and Marlene M. Bell for the review copy. I leave this review voluntarily.