THE MIDNIGHT SIDE
Natasha Mostert
Portable Magic Books
December 2013
Isabelle "Isa" de Witt is awakened early one morning in her Durban, South Africa apartment by a call from her cousin, Alette, who is now living in London. Isabelle is not surprised as the two girls grew up together on a homestead in the Transvaal and were always very close. Imagine what she feels when she learns that her cousin was already dead, killed in an accident, at the time of the call. Isabelle is already in a very fragile state, grieving for the loss of her married lover of thirteen years. She is Alette's only heir. Alette requested that she come to London for at least a month to claim the legacy. When Isabelle arrives in London and meets with Alette's attorney she finds that Alette has a task for her to accomplish, one all about revenge, obsession and murder.
The Midnight Side is a complex psychological thriller with elements of lucid dreaming, African folklore and the possibility of a vengeful woman manipulating events from the grave. It is the kind of book that I kept wanting to flip to the end in order to find out if my suppositions were correct. Instead, I just stayed up late reading. Natasha Mostert writes wonderfully descriptive prose that evokes both South Africa and wintertime London. Filled with mystery, suspense and characters one does not necessarily like, but are completely credible in their obsessions The Midnight Side is a great read. I had not heard of Natasha Mostert, but this debut novel that has evidently been updated and re-issued will not be my last from this gifted writer.
Thanks to netgalley.com and Portable Magic for an advance digital copy.
RATING- 4 Stars
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