Customer Reviews

The Midnight Hour

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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

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.

"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.

Not bad...but not her best. I've read all of her contemporary novels and loved a few enough to keep and reread often, particularly my favorite Hunter's Moon. The Midnight Hour lacked a lot of romantic tension that her other books seem to have because she did not include the hero's voice in any significant way until almost halfway through the book. He's just a secondary character for far too long. Another major sore point for me was the stalkers viewpoint...unfortunately it read like an older person trying to think young and angry. Pretty trite and unimaginative...very unconvincing...and not very scary either. I guess I'm a little closer to an age when I can still vividly rememeber the angst and anger of being a teenager, so in particular this character came across to me as very forced. But she threw some good plot twists in at the end to keep the reader thinking. Not bad...but not her best!

Detective Tony Marino and Judge Trace Hart don't like each other at all when they first meet. She's a single mother with a rebellious 15 year old daughter, Jessica. One night Jessica sneaks out of the house, buys a small amount of pot and he and his partner find her and bring her home. He forms a low opinion of Grace's mothering skills and she DEFINITELY doesn't like his attitude.

But when she reports small incidents happening at her house, a teddy bear found outside, a message written on a mirror, small things missing, he's the one who listens. Their romance is predictable but the rest of the story isn't.

Someone is watching them who is getting more and more dangerous. The incidents increase in intensity until the final denouement.

Grace, Tony and Jessica are people that you really end up liking. I know I did.

I was really surprised by this book because i didn't like her other ones. I think i finished this book in about 3 hrs straight because i really couldn't put it down. The ending was definately a shocker! Robards' characters seemed so real. It was an enjoyable book. Please read it!

I just love "Maggy's Child", "One Summer", and "This Side fo Heaven" from Karen Robards. So when I bought "The Midnight Hour", I was expecting it to be just as good as the other three that I've read. However, it was not. The storyline was interesting, but the book is soooo boring during the first half! I struggled to get throught this, hoping it would get better. The last quarter of the book is the best part, and I thought the ending regarding Tony and his daughter was very sweet. However, I would not recommend this book. Save your money and buy one of the titles listed above instead. I'll have to be more careful about buying Karen Robards books from now on.

In the middle of the night, Bexley, Ohio Judge Grace Hart realizes that her fifteen-year old daughter, Jessica, is not home. She calls the police, who promptly respond to her cry for help. However, during the interview with the local police, Detective Tony Marino arrives with Jessica, who is suffering from sugar shock. They rush her to the hospital and Jessica recovers.

Strange things begin to happen to Grace. Somehow, a trespasser continually manages to get inside her home. Grace thinks it is the son she once gave up for adoption. Tony keeps an eye out as he feels he must protect "my girls". Tony and Grace soon fall in love. However, before they can pursue any future together, they must stop the intruder, who plans to kill both of the female Harts.

Karen Robards is a popular author whose romantic suspense novels are, rightfully so, very popular among readers. Her latest tale, THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, has a very absorbing storyline. The suspense keeps growing until the very end of the book. The characters feel genuine especially Grace's concern with her teenage daughter's aberrant behavior. Fans of romantic suspense will heartily enjoy Ms. Robards newest book.

Harriet Klausner

I have read ALL of Karen Robards books, and this one was pretty good, but not her best. In the last few years she seems to write a lot of comtemporary romances and they all have a "mystery" feel to them. They all have a mysterious guy pursuing the heroes, causing them to constantly look over their shoulders in fear. Not that there's anything wrong with mysteries, it's just that I miss her historical novels. There's more variety of characters, places and plots. Overall, though, you won't be too disappointed with Karen.

Item was in good shape and arrived sooner than expected- I would definitely deal with this seller again.