I was excited when I received this ARC of The Wicked Hour By Alice Blanchard

Summary Of The Book...…..
The day after Burning Lake’s notorious, debauched Halloween celebration, Detective Natalie Lockhart uncovers a heartbreaking scene—a young woman, dead and lying in a dumpster. There’s no clue to who she is, save for a mystifying tattoo on her arm, and a callus underneath her chin. She’s not from around here. No one knows who she is.

As Natalie retraces the young woman’s steps leading up to her death, she uncovers even more horror—a string of murders and disappearances, seemingly unconnected, that may have ties to each other—and explain the abrupt disappearance of her best friend years ago.

As Natalie digs deeper to find the killer, old hurts are renewed and dark secrets uncovered. But deep within the mind of the hunter is a darkness Natalie could never have imagined, and as she draws closer to the truth, the killer is weaving a trap for her that may prove unescapable.



Thank You NetGalley & Publisher

This is a must read book!
It most defiantly did not disappoint!
The storyline is amazing and the plot is very well written!

Natalie Lockhart, a detective, is working the Halloween shift at Burning Lake. Every year. a popular celebration is held in the tourist area among all the occult shops culminating in burning of the mannequins (witches). On cleanup duty the following day, a body is found in a dumpster. The young woman, Morgan was a violinist who participated in a violin competition on Halloween. Natalie tries to trace Morgan's steps to discover how and who.

Readers will quickly turn the pages trying to get an inkling of what happened and why Morgan died. When you think about the Halloween crowds, all in costume and in a wiccan area, it is all a bit creepy. Worse is yet to come! Although the book can stand alone, reading Ms Blanchard's first book in the series, Trace of Evil, is recommended; it would help readers have a better knowledge of many of the characters, There are a few things left hanging possibly for future books, The Wicked Hour was an enjoyable read with an exciting finish and a surprise ending.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing the ARC. I will look forward to Ms Blanchard's third book in this series.

Book two in the series another book I couldn’t put down.Inpicked it up to read a few pages and read late into the night.Full of twists and turns so well written.#netgalley#st.martinspress

Many thanks to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for providing me an ARC of this book! I was excited to read “The Wicked Hour” because I enjoyed reading the first book in the series “Trace of Evil“. The story turned out to be entertaining, but not as good as the first.

Similar to “Trace of Evil”, they author introduces many characters who interacted with Morgan (the victim), and considered suspects. Each chapter introduces Natalie to a new suspect or motive, making the story fast and gripping. I liked some of the twists and turns, where everyone has secrets, and nobody is how they appear to be. Moreover, I loved the underlying theme of how people succumb to pressure of over-achieving. I know people in real life who broke down from the stress, where they couldn’t live to their family expectations. It was refreshing to see that aspect included in the mystery. Also, Natalie is wonderful as the main character. I liked her even more in this book because of how she struggles to cope with her guilt and shock from whatever transpired.

However, while this was a very good read, but I felt it was not as compelling as book one. In the first book, even though there were multiple mystery plots, the author resolved them all in the end. But in this story, one sub-plot stays unresolved, which I didn’t expect. I expected all the story-lines to get closure in this story as well. Also, I missed the witch craft element that was hardly present in the story. While the first book had some spooky rituals taking place that made it atmospheric, this story felt more like a procedural.

Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this novel! I feel people reading this as a standalone would enjoy reading it even more.

Review of eBook

The annual October celebration in Burning Lake, New York culminates in a town packed with tourists celebrating Halloween. The Monster Mash music competition is over, the Witches’ Ball is coming to a close, and soon all that will be left is the massive clean-up.

Burning Lake Police Department detective Natalie Lockhart is one of the many volunteers working on the clean-up that will likely take most of the week to complete. But the gruesome discovery of a young woman’s body lying in a dumpster interrupts her volunteer efforts. No one knows the identity of the young woman with the enigmatic tattoo on her arm and the callus beneath her chin.

As Natalie investigates, she uncovers other disappearances that, while seemingly unrelated, may actually link to her case in some way. And she begins to wonder if this murder case has any connection to the disappearance, some twelve years earlier, of her best friend, Bella Striver. Can Natalie find the answers before someone else falls victim to the killer?

Burning Lake, a sleepy little rural town, retains its atmospheric pensiveness in this, the second Natalie Lockwood narrative [following “Trace of Evil”]. As with the previous story, the setting firmly anchors the narrative while an underlying creepiness pulls the reader into a captivating story filled with mystery and populated with well-defined, realistic characters.

References to events that took place in “Trace of Evil” give clarification and provide backstory for readers new to the series. However, allusions to some events remain hazy and only half-explained, leaving those new readers to wonder exactly what took place. And, while readers are certain to grieve with Natalie over the loss of her sister, Grace, the detective’s incessant mournfulness throughout most of the narrative tends to overwhelm readers and keeps them from being fully involved in the telling of the tale.

The unfolding story surprises readers with unexpected revelations, but with some significant events left up in the air, they are likely to feel frustrated. Despite being a strong presence in this narrative, Bella’s story remains static and problematic, giving readers no closure. And a completely out-of-the-blue ending is certain to leave readers feeling both stunned and flummoxed.

Nevertheless, the story itself is complex and intriguing.
Unfortunately, an unnecessary, offensive expletive mars the telling of the tale and lowers the rating for this book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#TheWickedHour #NetGalley

I was so so excited to receive advanced access to this book! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I loved book one (a must-read!), and I could not wait for another mystery with Natalie Lockhart.

I really enjoyed book 2, even though I did not rate it as highly as the first one. The things that I loved from the beginning of the series continued to draw me in here - the main character, Natalie, and her family background and hometown roots; the setting of Burning Lake in upstate New York and all its history as the site of witch trials - all of which lended itself to an evocative picture of atmospheric gloom in a rustic, small town. I thought the use of flashbacks and accounts of memories from Natalie's past were an effective way to tie the ongoing events investigating the murder of a young woman visiting Burning Lake to the town and Natalie's state of mind.

I thought the mystery was well-done. But we did not get any resolution regarding Natalie's childhood friend Bella. Could this be where a subsequent book goes?!

I will say that I am pretty invested in the subplot, Natalie's personal life. I do wish that there could have been more development leading up to that reveal at the very end. I felt that it was random, although that may have been the author's intent. If so, I thought that it still could have been built up in subtle ways, especially since throughout the book we were led to believe there was another relationship brewing.

Overall, a great mystery read! It lacked some of the drama in the first book (I mean, sort of understandable given the events that occurred...) But I can't wait for more in this series.

Halloween is a big deal in Burning Lake and the day after the over the top festivities, Detective Natalie Lockhart find a woman’s body in a dumpster. The woman has no identification and no one recognizes her, her only identifying features are a tatoo and a callus under her chin. As Natalie follows the few clues she has, she begins to believe this woman is only the latest in a string of murders that may very well have included Natalie’s best friend.

After finishing the first book I was left stunned. I couldnt wait for book two. Trust me, this book did not disappoint! The twists and turns kept me on edge the entire time.