Book Review: Nothing Good Happens After Midnight by Jeffery Deaver

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight 

edited by Jeffery Deaver

Publisher: Suspense Publishing

Publication date: 17th November 2020

Genre: Suspense / Mystery / Thriller

Pages: 338

Format read: eBook

Source: Courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley

 

About the book

 

The sun sets. The moon takes its place, illuminating the most evil corners of the planet. What twisted fear dwells in that blackness? What legends attach to those of sound mind and make them go crazy in the bright light of day? Only Suspense Magazine knows…

Teaming up with New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, Suspense Magazine offers up a nail-biting anthology titled: “Nothing Good Happens After Midnight.” This thrilling collection consists of thirteen original short stories representing the genres of suspense/thriller, mystery, sci-fi/fantasy, and more.

Readers’ favorites come together to explore the mystery of midnight. The ‘best of the best’ presenting these memorable tales, include: Joseph Badal, Linwood Barclay, Rhys Bowen, Jeffery Deaver, Heather Graham, Alan Jacobson, Paul Kemprecos, Shannon Kirk, Jon Land, John Lescroart, D. P. Lyle, Kevin O’Brien, and Hank Phillippi Ryan.

 

My Review

 

I love anthologies! You get a quick short burst of whatever the theme is, be romance, fantasy, thriller or suspense. My love started with Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl which has since become my benchmark for anthologies.

 

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight as the title suggests has a common theme of grisly events happening just after midnight. As with any anthology some stories will be liked more than others. I rated each story to my enjoyment. Some were three star, some four and some five star reads. I averaged the book out to four stars overall.

 

I did initially worry that these might be horror stories but they were mostly entertaining tales, some with a chilling twist and some I found quite amusing.

 

My favourite five star stories were Linwood Barclay's Night Shift and Shannon Kirk's Tonight is the Night, both authors used revenge as a plot line. Jon Land writes an eerie but uplifting tale using magical realism in ATM. Whilst Kevin O'Brien's Cell Phone Intolerant is a humorous and cautionary tale starring a curmudgeonly vigilante. Jeffery Deaver's A Creative Defense was another five star read.

 

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight is an anthology of thirteen short stories, from the masters of suspense, that will have you glued to the pages until well after midnight. 

 

4/5 stars  ⭐⭐⭐⭐

 

Meet the authors

 

Joseph Badal - Joe is a #1 bestselling author, with 16 published suspense novels. He has been recognised as "One of The 50 Best Writers You Should Be Reading."

 

Linwood Barclay - A New York Times bestselling author with nearly 20 novels to his credit. His books have been translated into more than two dozen languages.

 

Rhys Bowen - is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of two historical mystery series, as well as three internationally bestselling standalone novels. Her books have won multiple awards. 

 

Jeffery Deaver - is an international number-one bestselling author. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages.

 

Heather Graham - New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She has written over two hundred novels and novellas. She has been published in twenty-five languages.

 

Alan Jacobson - is the award-winning USA Today bestselling author of fourteen thrillers. His books have been translated internationally and several have been optioned by Hollywood. 

 

Paul Kemprecos - is the author of eight novels in the Aristotle Socarides private detective series. Paul became the first fiction co-author to work  with Clive Cussler. He has received many awards for his writing.

 

Shannon Kirk - is a contributor to the International Thriller Writer's Murderers' Row. She is a practicing litigation attorney and former adjunct law professor.

 

Jon Land - is the USA Today bestselling author of more than 50 books, including the award-winning, critically acclaimed Caitlin Strong series. He has also penned six novels in the Murder, She Wrote series.

 

John Lescroart - is the author of twenty-nine novels, nineteen of which have been New York Times bestsellers. Libraries Unlimited places him among "The 100 Most Popular Thriller ans Suspense Authors." With sales of over twelve million copies, his books have been translated into twenty-two languages.

 

D.P. Lyle - is the Amazon #1 bestselling and award-nominated author of 18 books. both non-fiction and fiction. He was co-host of Crime and Science Radio and hosts the podcast series Criminal Mischief.

 

Kevin O'Brien - Is the author of twenty-one internationally-published thrillers, he won the Spotted Owl Award for Best Pacific Northwest Mystery.

 

Hank Phillippi Ryan -  is on-air investigative reporter for Boston's WHDH_TV, winning 37 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honours. She is a USA Today bestselling author of twelve thrillers. Critics call her "a master of suspense."