A review by drjoannehill
The Turn of Midnight by Minette Walters

informative tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Sequel to The Last Hours, it is 1349 and the plague/pestilence is running its course. Considering the opportunities (while grieving and coping with loss) that the huge population reduction might offer in terms of social order changes - many lords have disappeared, labour is in short supply - the lady of Develish and her serfs hatch their plans for freedom.

The book is quite complicated in the way it is written, I had to read back over things a lot or just accept I hadn't understood a part just to keep moving forward. The action takes place over a short time, so there is micro level detail about what people are up to and who they are talking to, which I found complex. There's no single narrator and we are supposed to keep in mind what plots and plans one person knows and another doesn't, while also knowing how that can lead to misunderstanding or subterfuge regarding another person.

But, it's informative about the Black Death, social hierarchy and what passed for heresy at the time (some really weird things to modern readers, like telling people that disease was caused by poor hygiene rather than god's judgement - that was heretical) and tells a good story of how to weave a cloak of lies.
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