Midnight Hour | Eve Chase
Diary Entry 1
January seems to take forever, doesn’t it? What are we? The first week through?! It feels like I lived a hundred lifetimes since Christmas. I’ve no idea what day it is and I’ve just lost one, or gained depending on how you view it, reading Midnight Hour by Eve Chase.
I’ll be honest: this one is not something I would normally choose. I’m a very visual person, and I fall naughtily into the trap of heavily judging a book by its cover. This book is, well, not very interesting to look at. I’m not sure what exactly the significance is of the clock on the front of my edition, but then, maybe it’s a piece of symbolism that I am missing! Nonetheless, this book fell happily into my hands as a gift and I could not be happier.
Midnight Hour tells the story of Maggie Parker, a teenager who lives in the shadow of her vacuous, famous mother with her adopted younger brother Kit. The characterisation of Maggie is immediate and a key part of the story. Her vulnerability seems to absolve her of all blame from the first page, despite major hints otherwise. A definite part of why I continued to read so rabidly was Maggie Parker and her steadfast bravery despite all the cards being stacked against her. I feel a lot of female readers will be able to relate to her caring nature and ability to put others’ needs before her own. This is another reason why the novel is so gripping.
The plot and its hair-raising pace only fuel the fire to read further! From the fourth page until the very end, something is happening. Not a single page or sentence is flat. I would dispense with nothing. Nonetheless, the story never feels as though it’s only moving at one pace. Subtle shifts depend on the gravity of the information being revealed and stop the novel from feeling like a race to the finish.
I will admit, however, that I felt the storyline surrounding Kit’s parentage was a little boring at times. Not that it was written badly, it just wasn’t my preference and felt a trifle overdone in places.
The main thing that this novel does excellently is atmosphere. The setting and links to the popular film Notting Hill, help to create a realistic environment and make the story feel more lush. The 90s is also present throughout, running through the novel like a book binding, never seen but always felt. There are sly references to popular artists of the time, like Pulp, and subcultures such as skateboarding which sneak unnoticed but felt heavily.
This principle also helps characterise Dee Dee. Words like ‘painkillers’, ‘sunglasses’ and ‘Fleetwood Mac’ help to build a picture of the character without ever actually detailing her physiognomy. Chase seems particularly adept at characterising this way and it helps give her story depth without making it obvious and gauche
Overall, I would give this novel an 8 / 10 and would highly recommend it. It feels like an easy story to get lost in, but enough is happening to make a re-read worthwhile.
