3 stars for an entertaining mystery with flaws. This is book 2 in the Natalie Lockhart series and it would have been better if I read book 1 first. There was a murder of a Lockhart family member which took place in book 1 and Natalie is still grieving. She has pushed away friends who offered her support.
Natalie is a detective in the Burning Lake Police Department. She and the whole police force are on duty for the town's annual Halloween celebration, which draws about 100,000 tourists and is a huge moneymaker for the town. Burning Lake is a fictional town located south of New York state's Adirondack Park, the largest park in the continental US(bigger than Yellowstone NP). The fictional town condemned to death 3 women as witches in 1712 and now proclaims itself as the epicenter of Halloween and witchcraft.
Natalie volunteers for the annual cleanup on Nov 1 which lasts a whole week, because of the tremendous amount of trash left by the revelers. But then Natalie discovers the body of a naked woman in a dumpster. Natalie does solve the murder with the help of the team at the BLPD.
Pros: I liked the plot and the way it moved along briskly with several suspects. I was not sure who the killer was until the end. The characters were believable.
Cons: I have lived in New York state my whole life. Although this is a work of fiction, set in a fictional town, there were several things that bothered me. Natalie mentions that Detective Lenny Abruzzo has sent the dead girl's fingerprints to the DMV database. DMV stands for NYS Department of Motor vehicles. I have never had to give my fingerprints for my standard drivers license. This year I was given the option of renewing by mail or upgrading to a REAL ID DL. I upgraded and had to give a thumbprint. NYS does have a fingerprint database. It is maintained by the NYS Dept. of Criminal Justice.
Second, Natalie comments that Burning Lake has 10 historic wooden covered bridges. NY has 17 historic covered bridges in the entire state, and my wife and I have visited all of them. No county, much less a town, has 10. According to our WGCB(World Guide to Covered Bridges), Ulster County has the most with 5. Ulster County is about halfway between NYC and the southern boundary of Adirondack Park, going from the Catskill mountains to the Hudson river.
Third, she mentions driving on Route 17 out of town. Route 17 is actually the Southern Tier Expressway, just north of Pennsylvania, now being converted into I-86.
My wife read this book before me, and these items bothered her also. My wife also noticed many grammatical errors,but this is an uncorrected proof copy, so this is forgivable.
#TheWickedHour #NetGalley.
Thanks to Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through Net Galley.

The Wicked Hour by Alice Blanchard

A detective dealing with the scars of her past must solve a seemingly unconnected string of murders, and face the impossible question of what to do when the killer may be hiding amongst the ones you know.

This was a good cozy mystery. It kept you in suspense until close to the end. Many characters and many suspects to interview and rule out. I recommend this book.

Thank you to Net Galley for sending an advanced reader’s copy copy for review.

Dropped into this series after missing the first one, and I think it would have been better to have the background before diving into this one. However, I enjoyed this police procedural regardless (but now I'm curious about some things so I need to go back and read that first book!).

Natalie Lockhart is a young detective in Burning Lake, New York. The town is apparently a hot spot during October due to a history of witchcraft, but this book isn't about witches. After a long, hard night dealing with the crowds and revelry of Halloween, a local business owner finds the body of a naked young woman in an alley dumpster. Natalie is nearby and is notified immediately. This begins an intriguing investigation trying to find out who the woman is and whether her death is a suicide or murder. Diving into the woman's background turns up some surprising discoveries and there are several suspect possibilities.

I had fun reading this book. It wasn't too gory and focused on Natalie and some problems she is dealing with (which apparently occurred in the first book). Natalie is a good person and a strong protagonist, but she does have some issues to work through. There's a little romance, but that is not the main part of the story. I can't wait to grab the first book in the series to get the answers to some of my questions.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

Detective Natalie Lockhart has just solved a major “serial killer” case and is a bit of a celebrity in her town. Because of her status, she is under great scrutiny by her bosses. The city sanitation crew is cleaning the streets of the city after a large Halloween festival in the City and a young woman is found naked in a dumpster. Natalie is trying to fly under the wire when she finds herself once again in the middle of a messy murder investigation. Natalie must follow the clues and find the person who has killed this young woman. The path leads her to an investigation that includes people she has know since childhood. Throughout her investigation, she uncovers the towns secrets and a link the town has to witchcraft when the town was established. The plot is full of twists and turns, suspense and murder. After reading this book, I plan to go back and read the first book in the series “Trace of Evil”. Good read!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The Wicked Hour by Alice Blanchard is the second in the Detective Natalie Lockhart series. Natalie is still reeling from the events of the first book. A quick note, if you haven’t read the first one please read it before you read this one. Natalie is a detective in Burning Lake, New York. Burning Lake has a rich history, alot of it to do with witchcraft. Every year they have a huge Halloween event in the town. Tourists come from all over to see a reenactment of the burning of witches. The next day during the town cleanup, someone finds a woman dead in a dumpster. Natalie is of course assigned to the case. I don’t want to give too much else of the plot away. I very much enjoyed the second entry in the series. I loved the first book, the second one got even better. Natalie is a very complex character with a complex past. Her relationships suffer because of this. I am hoping there will be more books in the series. I have a feeling there will be by the way this one ended. Also, kudos to author for creating such a cool, creepy town like Burning Lake. I actually feel like I’ve been to this town and can picture it so well in my mind. It’s almost like another character in the book. You should definitely read this book , but again make sure to read the first one before you read this one. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much.
When I requested this book it was because of blurb and cover. To read this book I read it's prequel and God! It was just amazing. It built perfect atmosphere for "the wicked hour" and the timing was just perfect. I was trying to get into fall vibes with halloween approaching ans this book seriously set the vibes right.

- I felt chill throughout the book and I loved it.
- Narration and language was gripping but easy.
- Beautiful character development.
- Perfect to give you adrenaline rush.
Specially recommending it as a halloween read and to all those who just loves thriller.

The story is intense. There are a lot of characters and suspects to keep track of. Natalie is dealing with an enormous amount of emotional baggage which impacts how she solves the case and lives her life. There is also political undertones that interfere with her ability to get the job done. In the end it’s her instincts that help keep her on track and solve the case.

I read the first book in Alice Blanchard’s Natalie Lockhart series, Trace of Evil, last year when I received an ARC on NetGalley. I enjoyed it – it had a cool setting, a good protagonist, and a few different interesting mystery subplots all going on at once – so I was pleased to get an ARC of the sequel. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

I had a few complaints right off the bat. The Wicked Hour takes place about a year after Trace of Evil, and a lot has happened in that time. Natalie was in the news for catching a serial killer in Trace of Evil, Brandon hates her for the role she played in his wife’s death, and she’s grieving the loss of her sister, which gave her depression and anxiety and led her to push her love interest Luke away. It was a lot to adjust to in the first few chapters and it left me feeling like I missed a lot of interesting plot and character development.

I also noticed a lot of little aspects of Alice Blanchard’s writing in The Wicked Hour that I don’t remember noticing in Trace of Evil. I can’t be sure if they were more present in this book than the previous one or if I just didn’t notice them in the first book. Whatever the reason, this time around, Blanchard’s writing struck me as somewhat repetitive and sort of awkward. Much of the dialogue felt unnatural; everyone always had something clever, deep, or insightful to say.

And there were little details to all of Natalie’s relationships with other characters, the sort of quirky habits you’d expect from characters in a sitcom or a family movie. Natalie kept remembering cliché platitudes her deceased father used to say that were relevant to the situations she was in. Her friend group in high school called themselves the Brilliant Misfits and they hung out in an abandoned theme park. Luke and Natalie apparently have a thing where, instead of hugging, one of them holds out a thumb and the other squeezes it? Weird. I think these details were meant to add life to the characters but instead they took me out of the story.

And Natalie was a far less compelling character in this book than I remember her being in Trace of Evil. I understand that grief changes a person, but her emotions would come out of nowhere. One minute she was trying to solve the mysterious death at the center of the story and the next she was thinking about how in love she was with Luke and how he makes her want to settle down, get married, and have children. There was plenty of room for Natalie to solve the case, grieve her dead family members, and try to reconnect with Luke, but she bounced back and forth between those three tasks with no rhyme or reason.

The plot of The Wicked Hour was the highlight for me, what kept me reading. I think Blanchard would make a good true crime author, because she excels at writing the details of a case and the process of solving it. But eventually it reached a point where the plot wasn’t strong enough to make me look past everything I disliked about this book.

I always feel guilty when I don’t finish a book, especially one like this that isn’t exactly bad but that just has a lot of little flaws that rub me exactly the wrong way. But every time one of Blanchard’s characters said something faux-deep and out of place, or every time Natalie leapt from one emotion or thought process to another with no connecting thread between them, all I wanted to do was put the book down and never pick it up again, and around halfway through I decided to do exactly that.

Some towns cash in on their holiday connections. Welcome to Burning Lake, where their history with witchcraft makes for some pretty exciting Halloween celebrations, until a mysterious murder victim brings a far deeper horror that proves that evil has been lurking for years.

Detective Natalie Lockhart is determined to find justice for the victim, but finds herself drawn into a trap that could cost her her life. THE WICKED HOUR by Alice Blanchard is a hair-raising, edge-of-your-seat tale of dark suspense. Well-developed, Natalie is a strong character with a past that makes this murder feel like a déjà vu of a time she would rather forget.

I would suggest that readers read book one first for relevant background. On its own, it IS a good read, but when I was invited to read an ARC, I was not told this was book two and felt I was missing something vital.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Minotaur Books! This is my honest and voluntary review.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. On November 1st detective Natalie Lockhart is at the scene where a young woman was killed The victims name was Morgan who was a violin player. This brought back memories of Natalie's friend who went missing after high school graduation This book was a nail bighter and kept me guessing until the end. I cant wait to read Alice Blanchard's next book.

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

I really enjoyed this book although I wish I had read the first book in the series. I think it would have been easier to keep up. It did offer a good amount of mystery and suspects. I will definitely go back and read the first. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Was not aware this was part of a series and felt a little lost at times, but the book eventually kind of caught me up, and while slow in the beginning to me, I enjoyed this book. It was well written and I felt connected to the characters. Pretty good Halloween themed who-done-it, and it kept me guessing with a surprise finish!
4 stars!

This was a do not finish for me unfortunately.

Thank you net galley for giving me the chance to read this book.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series so I was excited to read this sequel. I really like Natalie’s character which feels unique with her blend of toughness and grief. Obviously after the events of the last book she has even more baggage and is shown very raw as she tries to move forward. My biggest complaint with the last book was the focus on the occult which I felt was excessive so I’m happy to say Burning Lake while again a seen of the macabre is not as focused on events of the distant past. Unfortunately this book feels lacking compared to the last book. There is a lot of what feels like cut and paste reminders throughout the book that detract from the story itself. The actual murder mystery does not feel center to the story and there is little effort to reveal the clues to the killer. There is also no motivation or wrap up with the reveal of the killer either. There is glaring plot hole where the killer could have gotten away but does not which makes no sense. While not as great as I was hoping this book would be the author still leaves open some things about Natalie that will have me interested in reading the next book to see where it’s going. Definitely don’t start with this book if you come across this one. It’s a series that needs to be read in order and not as a stand alone book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It's Halloween night, and Burning Lake is overrun with a huge crowd in costume and Detective Natalie Lockhart is on foot patrol. Natalie is still struggling with the notoriety of being dubbed the crow killer, her sister, Grace, and some fallout with friends. Natalie in trying to escape ghosts, is working early and staying late.

Natalie volunteers for the post-Halloween cleanup, when she is flagged down, a body is found in the dumpster. A young unidentified woman with a tattoo and a mark under her chin that give Natalie a clue, because she's seen that mark on Bella, her best friend.

This becomes Natalie's case, to which she retraces the victim's steps, and each bit of information she follows leads to more questions and more victims. Also brings to mind memories of Bella, and leads Natalie to pull out old photos and notes with a clue missed years ago.

This is a good police procedural mystery. The town is steep in their traditions, and traditions that the Chef of Police would get involved to help protect the town's prominent citizens from the public eye. I did have to wonder how after being clubbed in the head and knocked out, how Natalie was able to get behind a wheel with a head injury. I did like the tense scene where Natalie is struggling, and gets a vision of her sister, to encourage her. The ending, definitely needs more explaining, I was totally surprised, and there's still questions left about Bella.

I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley via St. Martin's Press and I have voluntarily reviewed this book.

This is a very competent police procedural that, while it can be read as a stand alone, would probably be better enjoyed if you read the first book in the series so you're more invested in the main character. I enjoyed the characterization and depth provided throughout the investigation.

**I received this advanced reader's copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur for the Advanced Reader Copy provided for an honest review.

While I really enjoyed the first book in this series, I didn’t find this book quite as compelling. The mystery had potential and I wish the violin musician aspect had been more developed. The ending was a little abrupt as was the explanation and reveal of the killer. While I enjoyed Natalie’s character development in book 1, it seems to stall in this book. I had several small issues with repetitiveness in the book, but hopefully those will be cleared up through editing in the final version. There was also an issue with the character names. Justin was the first name of a different character in both books and I found that strange bordering on confusing. In addition, the serial killer in book 1 played with a dead raccoon and a side character in book 2 was mentioned as messing with a dead raccoon, which I thought was odd in its similarity.

Overall, it was just okay. There’s a continuing thread that I’m curious about so I probably would try Book 3 to see if the series improves. I would definitely recommend reading Book 1 first.

"In a world filled with evil, being a good person is an act of defiance." (Unknown)

And nothing brings out all the baddies like the sole night of the year........the witching hour. Costumed or just plain clever in attire, the edgy evil doers mingle with the rest of us. They'll serve up more than just bobbin' for apples near midnight.

Detective Natalie Lockhart has been assigned a heavy-duty job on Halloween night. It's Burning Lake, New York where this little town relishes the hauntings viewed in decorated store windows and the local bars sliding Zombies across the bar........and maybe a few of the real ones. Throngs of people in costumes clog the streets as the merriment begins. Corraling these party-goers is like herding cats all at once. Next to impossible.

As the streets begin to clear in the wee hours, a barrista makes a horrendous discovery while taking out the trash. The body of a young woman dressed as Wonder Woman is found scrunched down and dead in a dumpster behind the bar.

Natalie and her fellow detectives have their hands full trying to identify the woman. Once the identification is made, all hell will break loose. There will be undeniable connections here and there with dangling ends like on the tassels of Dracula's cape. Why this young woman and why here in Burning Lake?

Alice Blanchard creates a tale perfect for this time of year. The Wicked Hour is the second book in this series. Although she fills in gaps to set the stage for this one, I'd encourage reading Trace of Evil to get a better feel for Det. Natalie Lockhart. Not necessary, but I want to know ol' Natalie better. I've already got my hands on the first one. That's a sign that this series has life to it and is worth investing in. Can't wait to see where Blanchard takes us in her next offering. Good stuff.

I received a copy of The Wicked Hour through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Minotaur Books (St. Martin's Press) and to Alice Blanchard for the opportunity.