The Midnight Hour [Hardcover]

Karen Robards (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1999

Called "one of the most popular voices in women's fiction" by Newsweek, author Karen Robards follows up The Senator's Wife (a bestseller on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today lists) with her heart-stopping new novel, The Midnight Hour.

Judge Grace Hart seems to have it all: a successful career, a bright, beautiful teenage daughter, and a comfortable home in a quiet Ohio suburb.  But beneath the placid veneer, darker truths lie waiting: Her daughter is testing the limits of Grace's patience, exploring a world of liquor and drugs, and a stranger has begun lurking about, threatening their safety and peace of mind.

Unnerved by the prospect of a stalker, Grace calls the police--and that's where Detective Tony Marino comes in.  But his presence creates as much confusion as it does security.  While outwardly they seem to be opposites, the undercurrents of a romantic attraction between them are undeniable.  When it becomes clear that the stalker has the power to destroy all that Grace holds dear, Grace and Tony join forces to stop him, soon learning that any hope for their future will require a reckoning with the past.  

Karen Robards pulls out all the stops to create her most nerve-shattering book to date, keeping readers breathless and guessing what will come next until the very last page.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

For Grace Hart, single mother and Juvenile and Domestic Court Judge, it's never a problem sorting out other families' affairs, but when her own 15-year-old daughter, Jessica?recently diagnosed with diabetes and unable to come to terms with her disease?begins sneaking out at night, experimenting with drugs and alcohol, and running with a fast crowd, it's a different story. Enter Detective Tony Marino, on the night that one of Jessica's sneak-outs coincides with a stalker breaking into the Hart home in suburban Ohio. Despite the fact that Grace and Tony initially antagonize each other, before long he moves in with the Harts to help defend them from the still-at-large stalker. Formulaic plotting puts a decided damper on any surprises that might be derived from the love story. The characters must convince a skeptical police force that the stalker's manifestations?messages on mirrors, stolen teddy bears, a dead hamster?are more than harmless pranks. Such material might prove credibly spooky coming from a King or a Koontz, but in the hands of Robard (The Senator's Wife) the chills are nearly nil. With its conventional characters, a frothy "angel" motif and a predictable feel-good ending, this book makes for very light suspense-reading, despite steamy romantic scenes and a plot that manages to casually involve working-parenthood, adoption, criminal teens and an ineffective justice system.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this latest work from a popular romance writer, Judge Grace Hart teams up with Detective Tony Marino to stop the stalker threatening both her and her daughter.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (January 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385319711
• ISBN-13: 978-0385319713
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Karen Robards is the bestselling author of twenty-seven novels. The winner of six Silver Pen awards for favorite romance novelist, as well as numerous other awards, she lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, Doug, and their sons Peter, Christopher, and Jack. She says, "I read, I write, and I chase children. That's my life."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you are looking for a time filler, youve found your book, November 30, 1999

By 

Sarah "sssspro" (North East, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Midnight Hour (Mass Market Paperback)

Reading Tony and Grace's story is a decent way to pass the time, if that is what you are looking for. I felt that The Midnight Hour lacked the usual depth, and sexual energy that Ms. Robards books usually contain. There was nothing wrong with the plot or the character per se, but then I did not find much right with them either. Tony is your typical modern wounded male (who just so happens to be a cop), who can be found in any number of contemporary romances. Under the tough exterior, he is basically a good guy, with a soft heart who got burned previously.

With Grace, I at least felt like there was something different. She is a single parent struggling to do what she feels is best for her floundering daughter. Parenting is not easy and Ms. Robards tries to show the good with the bad and that we are all human and make mistakes. I think that there could have been a little more interaction between Grace and Tony to show their growing relationship. Circumstances make for a short timeline in this story, but two such blatant antagonists who heartily disapprove of each other as much as they did at the beginning, found a way to relate to one another rather quickly (too quickly).

There is an attempt at intricacy in the plot, though I didn't find it to run too deep. It did not take me long to figure out the general theme of the mystery and what was going to happen. I did find the secondary characters interesting and they added some flavor to the overall story. Too me, The Midnight Hour was an OK book, which is why I gave it an average rating of 3 stars

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Twist on a Twist, February 7, 2000

By 

Taryn Hill - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Midnight Hour (Mass Market Paperback)

This was my first Karen Robards novel and I was pleasantly surprised. I found her characters amusing and real. It was a mystery with a bit of romance, which I prefer to a romance with a bit of mystery. I also appreciate that her characters are not perfect and they are not gorgeous, which is the down fall of the romance genre. It is refreshing to read about someone who is normal. Kudos to Karen for keeping me guessing through to the end. I had no idea who was who until the very last chapter and that is much more fun the the normal, every-day, completely predictable fluff that you find in most romance novels.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Boring beginning but great ending!, March 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Midnight Hour (Hardcover)

"Someone wants to hurt my daughter." "No, it was just a prank", said the police. "My daughter is in danger." "No, you are reading too much out of it", said the police. "Someone is following her". "It is probably a silly thing that a kid from your daughter's school pulled", the police trying to calm the mother. Well, this went on and on and on for the first half of the book. I understand the writer wanted to tell us that the mother regarded her child's safety as the top priority (honestly, which normal mother would not?). Unfortunately, the police felt these little things were not strong enough to make a case. So, can we do all these jabbling in shorter words instead of spanning 150 some pages to paint it? Fortunately, the middle picked up, and the ending was fascinating. What a twist?! As much as I enjoyed the story, I still had a problem convincing myself that the murderer of that age could do and plan all these.

Anyways, I would have given it a 5-star if it were not for the dragging first half, and the slightly unconvincing intellectual ability of the murderer. Since a rating should base on the whole book from the beginning to the end, I would say this one was on average overrated.