I read the first two of Mullen's Darktown series, and the stories held my interest, but I was ambivalent about the writing style, and for a while thought I wouldn't go further. But I re-read my own reviews, and decided to give the third book a try. Unfortunately, this time I couldn't get past the style issues, the fact that the characters simply don't come alive for me the way, say, Walter Mosley's do, AND some editing failures that made me sadly aware that this story about black police officers in Atlanta in the 1950s was written by a white man. Steven King called the first book in this series a "brilliant blending of crime, mystery and American History". In the first 80 pages (which is where I stopped) of this one, the "blend" doesn't seem to be working. The history feels like it was slapped in for relevance, and I'd rather just read some non-fiction---or a better crime novel. ( )

Since leaving the force, Tommy Smith has set up as a reporting for Atlanta's leading African American newspaper. When his boss is murdered, he finds himself thrust back into the detecting life with his former partner Lucius Boggs, once again dealing with suspicion, racist cops, a changing society. To top it all off, it appears that the government is planning to 'redevelop' Darktown and other predominantly 'coloured' neighbourhoods rather than address issues of inequality. "Midnight Atlanta" is the third in the Darktown trilogy and has probably come out as my favourite. Mullen's writing style is really developing and this work was a joy to read, being both engaging and informative. ( )

It is 1956 and Tommy Smith has left the Atlanta police force and is now a reporter for the Atlanta Daily News, the only daily Black newspaper in America. One night, while working late, he falls asleep at his desk, and is wakened suddenly by the sound of gunshots. He follows the sound and finds the body of Arthur Bishop, editor of the paper.

Since only white police can investigate murder and Smith knows they will likely just look for the easiest, preferably Black suspect, he decides to investigate the murder himself and he quickly finds several possible motives - a recent article Bishop wrote that has angered many whites; a planned building development that has serious implications for the people of Darktown; and the fact that Bishop just returned from a trip to Montgomery where an ongoing bus boycott is underway led by a young minister from Atlanta named Martin Luther King Jr. As Smith digs deeper into each of these possibilities, he soon finds himself up against not only the white Atlanta police but the FBI and the Pinkertons who make it very clear that they will do whatever it takes to stop Smith’s investigation.

Midnight Atlanta is the third book in author Thomas Mullen’s brilliant Darktown series and, like the previous two books, he combines a well-written and compelling mystery with well-researched portrayal of the history of the time. A series not to be missed. Darktown is one of the best mystery series around and one of the few I know I will reread. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )