Review: Night Shift by Charlaine Harris

In a small town with a vampire, 3 were-tigers, a witch, a psychic, two fallen angels, and some humans, something shifty is going on. People are coming into Midnight, Texas and killing themselves at the crossroads. Whatever is responsible, it's likely it will take teamwork to deal with it.

Lemuel, the vampire, is translating a book of ancient Etruscan which might just hold the key to what's going on in Midnight currently and why the residents were all drawn to Midnight to start with. There is a bit of romance gone awry with Fiji and Bobo. And Fiji plays a rather central role in the book.

This novel wraps up a lot of the loose ends from the other 2 books while still leaving enough gaps that Ms. Harris could continue the series if she ever decided to do so. She has said more than once that this is a trilogy. And Night Shift is the third book.

Each character has some sort of role to play in the book. My only regret is that the character who is now running the gas station and convenience store isn't fleshed out a little more. Even Teach and Madonna are more fully revealed.

I enjoyed the book. I give it 4 stars out of 5. It has good characters, a good mystery or two, and a good pace. I liked watching the characters work together to solve the problems they face. If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, then this is a must-read. If you like urban fantasy/paranormal stories, then you should check out this trilogy.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday #130: Night Shift by Charlaine Harris

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating.

This week the prepublication title I am waiting on is Night Shift by Charlaine Harris, #3 in the Midnight, Texas series. It's due out May 3, 2016 from Ace.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

At Midnight’s local pawnshop, weapons are flying off the shelves—only to be used in sudden and dramatic suicides right at the main crossroads in town. 
 
Who better to figure out why blood is being spilled than the vampire Lemuel, who, while translating mysterious texts, discovers what makes Midnight the town it is. There’s a reason why witches and werewolves, killers and psychics, have been drawn to this place. 
 
And now they must come together to stop the bloodshed in the heart of Midnight. For if all hell breaks loose—which just might happen—it will put the secretive town on the map, where no one wants it to be...

Why am I waiting on it? I've enjoyed the 2 other books in the series so far. And I like the way Charlaine Harris writes. Once again Midnight, TX is in danger of its oddness being exposed and I want to see what happens.

What book are you waiting on this week? Share the title or a link in the comments so we can check it out. Happy Reading!

Review: Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

Released May 5, 2015
by Ace

A man walks into a hotel in Dallas... Manfred Bernardo, psychic, is in Dallas to see clients. He does see the clients, but he also sees Olivia from back home in Midnight with an unknown couple who turn up dead the next day. Meanwhile, one of his regular clients ends up dead just as their reading is getting started. Her son Lewis is accusing him of having stolen her jewels from her purse. Somehow Manfred knows that Olivia can help him out and get things back to normal as fast as possible, as normal as things get in Midnight, Texas anyway.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, so to speak, Midnight has a hotel being mysteriously remodeled. Also, there are insights into the lives of the other Midnight residents with the exception of Teacher and Madonna who we really don't know why they live in Midnight since they don't appear to have any of the peculiarities that the other residents have. All of the other residents are special in some way, including the Rev, who didn't seem to have much going on for himself has a visitor that brings his uniqueness to the forefront before the end of the book. 

It's an interesting book about the town and it's occupants and leaves things open for the next book. It's well written. There is a short appearance by a couple of characters from the Sookie Stackhouse series. 

My biggest and perhaps only real disappointment in the book is that it seems we are going to learn more about Olivia and her background, which we do up to a point. But it seems like it's going to play a bigger part of the plot, and instead it sort of fizzles out. It's definitely wide open for action in book 3 though. My other disappointment is that there is little motivation for revealing the uniqueness of Joe and Chuy other than to inform us and make Madonna and Teacher stand out more.

Otherwise, it's a good mystery. It's pretty much a cozy since it's solved by amateurs of sorts. And, of course, the overall book has paranormal overtones. 

I give the book 4 stars. It's well written and interesting. And it leaves you wanting to know what will happen next for the characters in Midnight.


Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday #75 - Day Shift by Charlaine Harris

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event hosted by Jill over at Breaking the Spine where we spotlight upcoming releases we are eagerly anticipating. 

This week I am waiting on the second book in the Midnight, Texas series by Charlaine Harris. Day Shift is due out May 5. 2015.

Synopsis from Goodreads.com: 

There is no such thing as bad publicity, except in Midnight, Texas, where the residents like to keep to themselves. Even in a town full of secretive people, Olivia Charity is an enigma. She lives with the vampire Lemuel, but no one knows what she does; they only know that she’s beautiful and dangerous.

Psychic Manfred Bernardo finds out just how dangerous when he goes on a working weekend to Dallas and sees Olivia there with a couple who are both found dead the next day. To make matters worse, one of Manfred’s regular—and very wealthy—clients dies during a reading.

Manfred returns from Dallas embroiled in scandal and hounded by the press. He turns to Olivia for help; somehow he knows that the mysterious Olivia can get things back to normal. As normal as things get in Midnight…

Why am I waiting on this book? I read book one in the series, Midnight Crossroad, and enjoyed the story and the cast of quirky characters. Olivia was very much an enigma even in book one. Manfred had the point of view of an outsider since he had just moved to Midnight in the first book. I'm curious if he is more accepted now in book 2, and what kind of problems the unwanted attention he draws to the town will cause. 

What book are you waiting on this week? Leave a link or a title in the comments so we can check it out too. Happy Reading!