Midnight

I loved Breathless and was looking forward to Midnight but didn't find that McCulloch's second novel was as strong as her first. There are a lot of the same engaging ingredients -- murders, mystery and an expedition holiday -- but the story bogged down. That said, anyone wanting to vicariously take a luxury expedition Antarctica cruise will love the authenticity of her setting.

3.25 Stars — For me, this book's strong point is the atmospheric setting. As an armchair traveler, the Antarctic cruise in MIDNIGHT was amazing. Sailing along with these characters as they cross the treacherous Drake Passage and camp on the frozen continent is about as close to Antarctica as I'll get. What a ride!

The mystery within the pages was just ok, though there were enough twists and tense moments to keep me reading. Olivia was a frustrating main character. There were times when she would discover something seemingly important, but then fail to follow up with simple inquiries. The pacing was on the slow side, and probably a few too many characters to keep track of.

Though I'm left with mixed feelings about this book, the show more incredible sense of place the author created made me want to keep reading. I'm curious about her previous novel, BREATHLESS, another cold weather/harsh elements thriller. show less

Olivia agrees to go on a cruise with an art dealer friend. He never makes the ship and is later discovered to be dead.

The dialogue between the characters seemed to take precedence over plot action. Nothing really happened during the first half of the story. Also, Olivia is not an interesting character. She has PTSD from being on a ship years earlier with her father, who died on the trip. This could have been better written into her character but it wasn't. So why bring it up? As for the pace, I did not see any pace; just character dialogue that did not even move the plot.

The setting descriptions were spot on. I loved reading about Antarctica. I also enjoyed the cruise ship descriptions, including the activities onboard. Another aspect show more of the book that I liked was seeing how the art market works. It was informative.

This book fell short. I don't know why I didn't DNF it. show less

Olivia is given an opportunity to take a once-in-a lifetime trip to Antarctica. She believes the trip will be an opportunity for her and her boyfriend to have a romantic getaway and perhaps get engaged. But, when he doesn't show for the trip, she is sad. She is also grieving the fact that her dad died in a boating accident, and she feels responsibility for it. When she meets a few others on the cruise, she starts to heal with their friendship, however, she is wary, as she believes someone is following her. When dead bodies start to pile up, the cruise turns sinister. Eventually, Olivia realizes she is a target of revenge and is in danger.
A decent thriller, but I wasn't invested in the characters.