Midnight Crossroad is the first book of the latest series by Charlaine Harris. I've previously only read Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series - the misadventures and romances of a waitress in a world where vampires have come out of the coffin and live amongst us. That series was fun mystery initially and very effectively built a believable world of supernatural fantasy. Unfortunately for me, the fantastical and romantic elements came to dominate increasingly convoluted and yet somehow skimpily drawn plot lines coupled with tedious descriptions of what the main character was wearing. I bailed out around book eight. I similarly gave up on the television series, True Blood, around the fifth season.
Midnight Crossroad is rather more stripped back and probably better for it. But it lacks the descriptive power of the previous series, and is by comparison a real slow burner of a cozy mystery rather than paranormal romance adventure. Nothing really happens in the first sixty or so pages and it chooses multiple viewpoints which often don't feel distinctive enough.
The setup - a small Texan town - inhabited by unusual people who have secrets to slowly reveal is a good one as is the plot and some of the characters become more appealing as their true selves are revealed. The conclusion feels overly quick, even a little pat but does add a little bite.
I am hoping the second and third books of the trilogy deliver more oomph.
Verdict: Flat fantasy mystery.
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