The Black Midnight
by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Back of the Book: “Two Series of Murders Seem Mysteriously Connected

Step into True Colors -- a series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime

Three years before Jack the Ripper began his murderous spree on the streets of London, women were dying in their beds as The Midnight Assassin terrorized the citizens of Austin, Texas. Now, with suspicion falling on Her Majesty’s family and Scotland Yard at a loss as to who the Ripper might be, Queen Victoria summons her great-granddaughter, Alice Anne von Wettin, a former Pinkerton agent who worked the unsolved Austin case, and orders her to discreetly form a team to look into the London matter.

The prospect of a second chance to work with Annie just might entice Isaiah Joplin out of his comfortable life as an Austin lawyer. If his theories are right, they’ll find the The Midnight Assassin and, by default, the Ripper. If they’re wrong, he and Annie are in a bigger mess than the one the feisty female left behind when she departed Austin under cover of darkness three years ago.

Can the unlikely pair find the truth of who is behind the murders before they are drawn into the killer’s deadly game? From Texas to London, the story navigates the fine line between truth and fiction as Annie and Isaiah ultimately find the hunters have become the hunted.”

Impressions: The mystery of Jack the Ripper still circulates as a fascinating unsolved case today. I was intrigued to see where this story would go and I was not let down. This was a fun combination of fiction and non-fiction.

Liked: I liked the mystery of who might be the killer.

Disliked: The story was mostly a romance with little bits of mystery here and there. I was hoping to have a little more mystery.

Learned: Don’t assume the obvious is the answer.

Quotes: “If you feel your value lies in being merely decorative, I fear that someday you might find yourself believing that’s all that you really are. Time erodes all such beauty, but what it cannot diminish is the wonderful workings of your mind: your humor, your kindness, and your moral courage. These are the things I cherish so in you.”

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

I am really enjoying these true crime books. I have always liked true crime stories and with favorite inspirational authors taking turns featuring one each is really awesome.

*My thanks to Barbour Publishing for a copy of this book. The opinion here is my own.

Alice Ann von Wettin (aka Annie) is the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and as such wishes to please her family. She also desires to be a detective, so heads across the pond to the United States where she (unbeknownst to her family) becomes a Pinkerton detective. While her family imagines Annie to be enjoying high society on America's east coast, Annie is really investigating a serial killer in Austin, Texas. When she teams up with fellow Pinkerton agent Ike Joplin, emotional sparks fly. Ever-mindful of their duty to their employer, Annie and Ike uncover intriguing clues while trying to maintain a professional working relationship. When Annie's father discovers what Annie has really been up to, Annie is forced to return to London with the mystery, and her relationship to Ike, unresolved.

Three years after returning to England, Annie is summoned by Queen Victoria to help solve mysterious murders occurring in London's Whitechapel neighborhood. Tasked with forming a team of investigators to solve the crime, Annie calls upon her former colleague, Ike, to help find the serial killer. Were the serial killings in Austin and London committed by the same person? Will Ike and Annie finally find happiness together? Find out in this intriguing mystery, based upon two unsolved true crime mysteries, one of which involved the notorious, but never identified, Jack the Ripper. Accompanied by the author's informative historical notes after the novel's conclusion, this book would be especially appealing to fans of the Victorian era, true crime, and the art of a skillfully told historical fiction tale.

I really enjoy this series of fiction based on true crimes. The Black Midnight is very well written. Good plot and character development. I highly recommend this book and series. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I have loved every title in this True Crime series and I can't wait for more to come out. This one is equally as thrilling. It read fast and furious and I couldn't put it down! I may have stayed up way too late reading this one.

In America there are killings. They seem random and the killer keeps getting bolder. But then he stops and disappears. Plus there is some secret society going on who are covering up for the killer who is one of their own.

Two Pinkerton agents are sent to unofficially work the case. One of them just happens to be the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Nothing can go wrong with that!

When her identity is discovered in America and she is also forbidden to have anything else to do with the handsome agent she's in love with, Alice Anne goes back to England. But her days of solving cases aren't behind her.

When her grandmother asks her to look for a connection between the murders in America and the killings that have been happening in London she jumps at the chance. And she enlists her handsome Pinkerton agent to come over and help her.

It's just a bonus that her presence back in his life makes his fiance run for the hills and he's single again. Now if only she can solve this case, stay alive, and get her family to approve of her match.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

Usually when you read a book with a romance and a mystery, one or the other isn’t done justice. However, The Black Midnight is the perfect romance/historical mystery blend. The book follows the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria who has become a Pinkerton detective. She joins forces with Ike Joplin, another Pinckerton detective, in an attempt to solve a series of gruesome murders in Austin Texas, as well as to determine whether the same person could have committed London’s Whitechapel murders. They also work together to determine whether there can ever be a future together for a royal and a Texas lawman. A great story and a quick read!

Thanks go to NetGalley and Barbour Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Black Midnight is the seventh book in the True Colors series. I have read five other books in this series and enjoyed them all. The Black Midnight is a fictional account of the investigation of two still unidentified serial killers in the late 1800s in Austin, Texas (the Midnight Assassin) and in London, England (Jack the Ripper) which may or may not be related. The story features a steady-paced, romantic plot and well developed characters, but not as much action as I expected. Real people and events are skillfully incorporated into the fictional story. I enjoyed this read and recommend it.

I received a copy of this book in e-book form from the publisher via netgalley but am under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y’Barbo is a marvellous historical murder mystery novel. It is part of the True colors series which is fabulous.
The author has woven her story around the Whitechapel murders of 1889 and the Austen, Texas murders of 1885. It is believed, in reality and in fiction that these murders may have been committed by the same person. As a historian living in England, I have read widely around the crimes of Jack the Ripper so I found the whole story absorbing and fascinating.
Underneath the surface a romance bubbles away. The reader senses the tension between being a professional and the attraction for another.
Wonderfully crafted characters help to bring the story to life. The reader travels from Buckingham Palace to Whitechapel and to Texas. There is a real contrast between the locations from the very poor to the very rich.
The Black Midnight was a totally absorbing read that I greedily devoured in just one sitting. It was superb.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

3.5 stars- This book is the next installment in the True Colors series that takes a look at true crimes in America and abroad. Some of the crimes are more obscure than others, but I have enjoyed learning so much history throughout this series. Admittedly, it has often been disturbing history but each book has strived to leave the reader with a thread of hope by the end of the story. I always love reading the author’s notes about their research for the book. It’s nice to know what is fact and what is fiction throughout the story.
“The Black Midnight” follows two Pinkerton detectives, Ike Joplin and Annie Walters as they try to find and stop a serial killer, dubbed “The Midnight Assassin” or the “Servant Girl Annihilator”, in 1880’s Austin, TX. Unbeknownst to Ike, Annie is more than just an English transplant, she is the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
This is sort of a split time line story, most of it takes place in the past, when Annie and Ike are working in Austin, while the the very beginning and the last quarter of the book take place several years later in London. I found the story intriguing and enjoyed learning the history of the events in Austin, TX. It was interesting to read about how crimes & crime scenes were handled in the 1880’s. I am amazed that any crimes were truly solved back then with how horribly crime scenes were trampled and destroyed. Granted they didn’t have the benefit of DNA but my goodness, no wonder it was so easy to frame people for a crime. I applaud the law enforcement officers (Pinkerton detectives and otherwise) that worked to solve these cases as best they could. The idea that the Servant Girl Annihilator and Jack the Ripper might have been the same person is fascinating. I wonder if we’ll ever truly know.
As for the story itself, I thought the relationship between Ike and Annie was sweet. It seemed a bit formal at times but that may have been due to Annie’s royal upbringing. The only thing about the story that felt off to me was the ending. Part of it seemed very abrupt and didn’t quite fit with the rest of the story.
I look forward to the next book and learning more history. I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This book is another in "True Colors - a series of Historical Stories of Romance and American Crime," an unusual series that I really enjoy. The story begins with the great granddaughter of Queen Victoria working as a Pinkerton detective in Austin, Texas, in the 1880s during a serial killer crime spree. Annie fell in love with a colleague during that time but was forced to return to England for her royal duties. That killer was never found. Fast forward a few years later and Jack the Ripper is terrorizing London. Annie and her former beau are asked to help in this new, possibly related, investigation.

The theory of a murderer traveling between England and the United States to commit crimes was also the plot of the February release FELICITY CARROLL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE, although the woman detective in that story was not a member of the royal family.

This book is a welcome addition to the True Color series, although I found this one a little less intriguing, probably because the crime on which it is based was unsolved, I like the blending of fact and fiction that works throughout this series, and I look forward to more books in the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Barbour Books for providing an ARC.

Jack the Ripper was never arrested. Nor was a similar murderer in Austin, Texas. Maybe it was the same killer.
Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter Annie can’t work in England as a constable, so she works in the US as a Pinkerton detective. She partners with Isiah Joplin. A future together is highly unlikely, given her family.
Crime investigations in those days seem slipshod at best, with neighbors, reporters, and curiosity seekers disturbing the scene.
With no historical arrests, this book’s conclusion is wholly fiction, but it makes a good tale.

What a wonderful book from the True Colors Crime series made available by Barbour Publishing Inc. The Black Midnight is a fictionalized account surrounding the crimes of Jack the Ripper. The writing flows throughout the story with carefully crafted characters who are interesting and believable. The focus is on finding who committed the murders and not on the guts and gore of the crime. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys good writing and an unsolved mystery.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from the author and Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

#TheBlackMidnight #NetGalley

First and foremost, a huge thank you to NetGalley, Barbour Books, and Kathleen Y'Barbo for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

With every book I read in the True Colors series, it gets just a little bit better than the last. I enjoyed The Black Midnight. In fact I would love another book that features Ike and Annie. They were interesting to meet and made a great team.

I will admit when I picked up this book I thought it was going to be mostly about Jack the Ripper with a little Midnight Assassin tossed in. It was truly a pleasant surprise to have a good portion of the book focus on the Midnight Assassin.

I would absolutely encourage people to give the book a try. And one of the best things about this series is that you can start on any of the books and not feel like you are missing information.

In this story the author takes a strong female character, as the request of her aunt (the Queen) on a true crime adventure that spans two continents and many years. The addictive nature of this story had me turning the pages to see if there really was a connection between murders in American and the Ripper murders in England. I loved the balance of historically accurate true crime with the fiction within this story. It makes for a wonderful read.

I found myself taking notes and trying to piece the puzzle together before the main character, but the author kept both me and her on our toes and so I was excited to find the twists and turns outside of the box. The overall story flows nicely with a few instances of flashbacks that caught me by surprise. I think the author did an amazing job with this story and it was a great read.

This is one story in a series of standalone true crime reads that are quite clean and readily accessible to all readers. I will be continuing to devour this series and have found a new author to follow. I received an ARC via Barbour Books and NetGalley and I am leaving my honest review. 4.25 stars.

I picked this book because of the description. I’ve recently got into historical fiction and really liked the Jack the Ripper mystery. I think the author did great with the development of the main characters. I had a few issues with the flashback. I feel it made the story harder to follow. I would recommend to book to others.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

The Black Midnight is part of a series of books dealing with crime. Each book is written by a different author and is entirely standalone.

I don’t usually pick up books like this. I am not a fan of true crime stories. But the description of Queen Victoria’s great-granddaughter being a Pinkerton agent and working to capture Jack the Ripper? Count me in!

I had a bit of a challenge at first with this story, because so much of it was a flashback. It felt odd and I never really got comfortable with it. But given the Jack the Ripper/murderer angle, I can live with the discomfort as part of the story.

The characters were interesting, but I found myself wanting to know which child of Victoria she was related to! I’m a history buff, and this drove me crazy! She at one point said she is about 100 people away from the crown, so that makes me think a younger child but.... This bothered me! It might not bother anyone else, but it did me.

My other criticism was that in the “current” time we go from Texas to London with little explanation. Not a big bother but a slight bother. Overall, I did enjoy the book and would be happy to read both more in the series and by this author.

I received a copy of this book to facilitate a review. All opinions are my own and I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise.

This novel was very compelling and while I didn't intend to read so late, I really wanted to know what happened. I thought that this book could be made into a series about the main characters only to discover that it is a series written by a variety of authors! The common thread is that the authors use a combination of fiction and historical facts. Kathleen Y'Barbo points out which is which at the end of the book and I found this interesting! As I result, I'm definitely interested in reading the rest of the series.

I wasn't sure before reading it whether it would be something I would buy (I primarily chose it because of the author and it interested me). Upon reading it, my conclusion is that had I not got it free in exchange for an honest review, I would definitely have purchased it. Instead I will be recommending the purchase of it for my library and telling others.

I was excited to hear of another book in the series True Colors. I was also excited that it was written by Kathleen Y'Barbo. I have enjoyed this series and I have always enjoyed books by Kathleen Y'Barbo and this book did not disappoint.
Most of the books in this series are true crimes committed in America. This book covered both America and England. It covers the murders in Austin, TX and "Jack the Ripper" in London.
The book was an ARC and so the editing wasn't perfect but very well done. It is also a Christian series and I'm sad to say there wasn't much in the way of Christianity in this. It was a very clean book but not preachy in any way.
The main characters were quite well developed. I was a bit confused at first to realize that the book started in one year and then jumped to another year and I didn't catch it, but that was my fault as it was listed at the top of the chapter when it did change. Other than my missing the time jump, the story flowed well. It was well written and entertaining. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Five stars are reserved for superbly excellent books.
I thank Barbour Books and Netgalley for giving me the ARC copy to read. I am not required to leave a review and this review is my own opinion.

The first half of the book starts off giving background of Annie and Isaiah’s relationship and how they originally came together to become partners on the Midnight Assassin case. I enjoyed how the author presented the reader with this background information first as opposed to bringing up flashbacks throughout the book. I also like how the author combined fiction with history. Before I read this book I knew nothing about the Midnight Assassin.

Despite the fact that the story involved crime and detective work it didn’t have a lot of action in it, however, it was written in such a way that I was engaged for hours. The pacing was great which also contributed to that.

Overall, I don’t have anything bad to say about this book. It gave a unique spin on a real life situation, the pacing was smooth and I would recommend it to anybody who is into history or even crime novels.

I have mixed feelings about this story. Anyone at all familiar with Jack the Ripper knows that mystery shrouds the man who was an infamous murderer in London in the late 1880’s. There are rumors of a tie to a string of murders committed earlier, in Austin Texas.
The author weaves a lot of fiction around a few historical facts. It makes for an interesting, well written, and somewhat fanciful read. I guess I was expecting a more historical read but if you want to use your imagination, you should enjoy this tale.