An engrossing murder mystery set in 1965
The Midnight Hour is an entertaining and engrossing mystery, somewhat lighter in tone than Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway books, but just as well-written in terms of plot and character development. I'd recommend it to any reader who enjoys traditional-style murder mysteries and engaging female protagonists. It's 1965 and Emma Holmes and Sam Collins, who have recently opened their own private investigations agency, are called in to investigate after the sudden death of retired theatre impresario Bert Billington at his home in Rottingdean. Billington's death at first appears to have been by natural causes, but is subsequently determined by police investigators to be a poisoning. His widow, former show girl Verity, is keen to dispel suspicions that she's responsible, engaging Emma and Sam to find the real culprit. As they sift through the evidence, including a few red herrings, and gradually untangle the complex web of relationships that exists between the various parties, Emma, Sam and WPC Meg Connolly hurtle towards a dramatic climax. This novel departs significantly from earlier instalments in the series, which featured Brighton CID detective (now Superintendent) Edgar Stephens and magician-actor Max Mephisto as central protagonists. In The Midnight Hour, it is Stephens' wife Emma Holmes, a former police detective herself, together with her investigative partner Sam Collins and WPC Meg Connolly, who feature most prominently, with Stephens and Mephisto playing their roles as supporting characters. This change enables Elly Griffiths to explore the issues facing working women in the 1960s, and the embedded misogyny that existed in both the public and private spheres. The historical setting also allows Griffiths to draw in contemporaneous events, such as Sam's coverage of the arrests of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, perpetrators of the notorious "Moors Murders", adding verisimilitude to the narrative.