Midnight Is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark,Midnight Is the Darkest Hour is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all . . . even the God-fearing folk of Bottom Springs, Louisiana.

In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist.

Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than God and the devil are the myths that haunt the area. Like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners’ bedrooms on moonless nights to kill them. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into an uproar. And now Ruth realizes that only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the secret underbelly of the town in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel, the kind fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight Is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways in which we’ve come to expect love, religion and storytelling to save us; the lengths we have to go in order to take back power; and the monstrous work of being a woman in this world.

“Where The Crawdads Sing meets Twilight meets Thelma and Louise in this brilliantly realized, totally original thriller. Absolutely sensational―I couldn’t put it down.” —Clare Mackintosh, New York Times–bestselling author

ASHLEY WINSTEAD is an academic turned novelist with a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature. She lives in Houston with her husband, their two cats and a beloved wine fridge. You can find her at www.ashleywinstead.com.