I generally do not read crime novels but when I was given the chance to read this book by Netgalley and Barbour Publishing I couldn't pass it up. The Black Midnight is based upon the true life serial killings in Austin, Texas between 1884 to 1885 and in the Whitechapel district of London between August and November of 1888. This is the story of two Pinkerton detectives, Annie Walters and Ike Joplin as they try to solve the cases. The interesting twist to this story is that Annie Walters is a.k.a. Alice Anne von Wettin, the granddaughter to the Queen of England. There is just enough details to the story to keep you on the edge of your seat without being gruesome. Before you get to the end of the book everyone is a suspect and you are left wondering just who did it. This book is a nail biter from the first page. You not only can't put it down, you won't want to put it down. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series.
I received this book from Netgalley and Barbour Publishing but it did in no way influence my review.

This fictional account of a possible pursuit of Jack the Ripper was an engaging read. Having the great granddaughter of Queen Victoria as a Pinkerton assigned to the case made things very interesting. As clues were followed, a fun romance developed with a fellow Pinkerton. I enjoyed the scenes when they spent time together for the Christmas holiday and the humor added was a nice touch. This well researched historical fiction is a nice addition to this True Colors Crime series. I was given a copy of this book by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

A good murder mystery following the investigation into the Midnight Assassin. The story started a little slowly for me. But the characters were likable. I always enjoy a good mystery.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, but this review is all my own opinion.

I really enjoyed this read, the author gives us a delightful young woman, one who has really spread her wings, and is now a Pinkerton Agent. She is pared with a man who seems to have a lot of compassion, and opens his heart to a woman he can never have.
The story spans continents, and sadly a string of murders, unsolved, and happening as we enter Austin Texas, and then meet suspects. As the book unfolds we leave Texas and go to Buckingham Palace in England and more murders, are they connected?
We enjoy being with Isaiah's family, and then with Anne's and the contrast couldn't be more different. Family, yes, and we see these characters interact, and get too enjoy being with both. Will sparks fly between these two?
Be sure to read the Author's Notes at the end, it gives great information as to what led to this book!

I received this book through Net Galley and Barbor Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

The Black Midnight is a work of historical fiction. It focuses on Texas in the late 1880's with the serial killer The Servant Girl Annihilator. It explores the connections to the serial killer Jack the Ripper, who killed in London during a similar time period. The story was well-written, with many accurate facts from history. It begins with the later killings, flashes back to the earlier run in Texas, and ends in London. There is murder, mystery, and romance, all wound together with the history. I enjoyed the story immensely, but wished it could have lasted longer! I felt that the ending came a bit quickly, and that part of the story could have been fleshed out a bit more. I'm hoping there is another book that continues exploring the two main characters.

This is a magnificent book with characters you will absolutely love! I was so mesmerized by this story and just couldn’t put it down. The author does a fabulous job with all the possibilities of who could be Jack the Ripper. The reader is taken on a journey that keeps the imagination running with what is going to happen next. A sweet romance that is forbidden but not lost captures your heart. Such a fun and interesting read with the Queen and Buckingham Palace that is pulled into the story. I found so much to love about this fascinating read. Murder, mystery, intrigue and a forming romance makes this a must read!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y'Barbo is a Christian Historical Fiction based on True Crime and is a part of an exceptional series published by Barbour Book. I have enjoyed this series immensely and this latest book is especially interesting since it involves a crime spree by the Midnight Assassin in Austin Texas that may have a connection to the Jack the Ripper crimes in London. I loved the characters especially the appearances by Royal family members and Queen Victoria. The possibility of a murderer traveling between different areas is not a new idea but I had never heard of the Austin, Texas murders and their relationship to London murders. The Author's notes on the actual historical details that went into this book is very well done as is the book because of her extensive research.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 5 Stars

I requested this book because it spoke of Jack the Ripper. I love a good detective novel as well. It is even better when a woman is leading the investigation. Bonus, the woman is the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria,

The two detectives have great chemistry and with one of them living under an assumed name, things get interesting. This book connects two cases in history that were unsolved strings of murders, a few years apart. The historical notes by the author indicate that the evidence points to a possible connection. While the murders are solved in the book, it is pure speculation and purely fun,

I found that I really liked this detective story and the conclusion made to the story.

I received an early copy of this book from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

The Black Midnight mixes historical fiction, romance and suspense into an intriguing novel. Anne Walters is a Pinkerton detective by day, but is secretly a British royal. She wants to live her life outside of family obligations. She gets assigned to Texas to work with Isaiah Joplin to hunt down a serial killer.

I’m typically not a fan of the 1800’s or romance themes. But I enjoyed everything about this novel. First – the suspense. The murders in Austin, TX become linked to a series of murders in England, which eventually leads to the hunt for Jack the Ripper. Anne and Isaiah work to connect the string of murders between the two continents. Also, Anne is a female Pinkerton detective, which was rare for women during this time period, not to mention someone with a royal background. Anne takes a strong lead in this novel, as a detective and as she stands up to her family.

As far as the romance, I enjoyed Anne and Isaiah discovering their feelings for each other. Of course it falls into the forbidden love category as Anne could never marry someone who wasn’t a royal and chosen by her family. Her desire to be independent and work as a detective clashes with the desire to please her family. And Isaiah appreciates Anne’s investigation skills and sees her for so much more than the roles women of this time period traditionally held.

I found this story intriguing from the historical aspect. I didn’t know much about Jack the Ripper, and I liked the author’s notes in the end with the research details. Kathleen Y’Barbo tacked a big topic and created a suspenseful story with heartwarming characters that will keep readers hooked until the very last page.

Overall: 5 stars (I loved it, couldn’t put it down)
Suspense: 5 stars (Non-stop edge-of-your-seat suspense from start to finish)

I received an ebook review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I am a huge fan of the True Colors historical fiction series. I enjoy the facts interwoven with fictional details. This volume focused on the Midnight Assassin in Austin, TX and Jack the Ripper, of course, in London. In this book, the crimes were principally investigated by a female detective, which would have been unheard of in the late 1800s, but she was portrayed as equally as competent as, if not more than, male detectives. A crime thriller short on gore, this book was fun and intriguing.

Kathleen Y’Barbo is a talented author who pens a descriptive and well research true crime fiction novel. This book tackles two seemingly unrelated cases that span an ocean and two continents. I’m a fan of this author’s work and enjoy her character development. My preference is non violent books so I didn’t enjoy the description of the crimes.

A wonderful gripping story across the oceans. The author kept me guessing &engaged with the characters. Some of the descriptions were not that great but didn't detract from the story.

This new 'true crime' novel poses the question whether the Midnight Assassin and Jack the ripper could be the same person. Though the murders were on different continents, there are some similarities. Annie and Isaiah work well together in this latest installment of the True Colors series. This well researched book proves interesting. Be sure to read the author's notes.

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y'Barbo is a one of nine books in a series called True Colors that depicts historical stories of romance and American crime. Each book has a different author, so these books are stand alones and have no order to them.

In Y'Barbo's book, she weaves together fiction and facts and theories that were presented back in the 1880's regarding the Jack the Ripper murders (or Whitechapel murderer) and similar murders, called the Midnight Assassin murders, that took place in Austin, Texas.

"Due to the violence involved in the murders and the fact that the killer preyed on women of a certain class, some believed the Whitechapel Murderer and the Midnight Assassin were the same person. This theory has been argued for more than one hundred years...but there has never been a conclusive answer." --quoted from Author's Note and Bent History: the rest of the story in back of book.

Y'Barbo's two main characters, Annie Walters (who's real name is Alice Anne von Wettin who is the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria) and Isaiah Joplin (former lawyer turned Pinkerton Detective) team up as Pinkerton Detectives to try and solve the Midnight Assassin murder cases that are terrorizing Austin, Texas. As Annie and Isaiah (also called Ike) begin their quest for answers regarding the murdered victims, they stumbled upon the knowledge of a secret society called the Black Midnight and begin to theorize that the murder suspect is a member of this secret society, and he may be the same man who London know as Jack the Ripper!

The pace of the plot of the book was a little slow at the beginning, but it started to pick up after the Christmas Eve scene. The story was good, but I was more intrigued by the Author's Note at the end of the book and how she incorporated historical facts with her fictional plot. She coins the term Bent History (I like it!) which she uses to "bend" historical fact to accommodate her fictional plot, which makes her, what I have coined, an Author Time Lord.

If you are in to historical mystery fiction and true crime, this book is a must read!

This is a wonderful addition to the True Color series. This book is well written and has a blend of murder, mystery and romance. The author did a wonderful job of blending fact with fiction and it made an exciting read. I recommend this book and the entire series. Thank you Barbour Publishing via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Enjoyable murder mystery—just sad that the murderer was never revealed. According to the notes at the end, no one really knows who the Midnight Assassin/Jack the Ripper really were. The unresolved nature of the story did bother me some. The story of Annie – the granddaughter of Queen Victoria – and Ike (her fellow Pinkerton agent) was interesting and I did find myself rooting for them. I did want to know who Annie’s father, grandfather, etc were in the lineage of the Queen and that was not revealed in the story. The details weren’t too gory—although I am aware that in reality the murders were really gruesome. The author admits to taking quite a bit of license with the story, but it was a good read as long as I remembered that it was mostly fiction.

This was a great installment in the "True Colors" series!

I wasn't sure what to expect about a book on Jack the Ripper, but appreciated that it wasn't gory or too detailed regarding murder descriptions. This was one I could easily read at night (which is not always the case with "True Colors" books, lol - not that I'm complaining by any stretch!).

In "The Black Midnight, I learned so much not only about this time period, but also the two murder sprees between London and Austin. Shocking that there's still so much we don't know!

Y'Barbo did a great job at blending fact and fiction together in this read. Well done.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I think this is my favorite book of this whole series so far.
I enjoyed the story and the characters. I did think it took awhile for the story to play out. I would like to see a series with Isaiah and Annie.
Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

This was an enjoyable murder mystery. The way the book started in 1889 and then went back in time 5 years was interesting. Though only 20% was in 1889. This was more of a mystery of following the clues with the Pinkertons on who the murderer could be.

Annie and Ike were interesting characters and I enjoyed the scenes with the Queen.

The murder mystery and romance was both mild. The romance ending was satisfactory but the murder plot left me with wanting more (but reading the author’s notes at the end I can understand why).

***Thank you to NetGalley and Barbour Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

🌟🌟🌟🌟
4 – 4.5 stars

This was another enjoyable installment in the True Colors historical series. The Black Midnight is based on The Midnight Assassin, a serial killer who terrorized the citizens of Austin, Texas in the 1880s...who MAY be linked to Jack the Ripper, who later terrorized the citizens of London several years later. A bit of artistic license is taken with the story's details, but nowhere enough to make the story unbelievable. Already looking forward to the next story!! 😊