The Story Behind This Book
An online "friend" kept her personal information secret. Even after we had "known" each other for several years and she called me Mom. Finally my vivid imagination took her secrecy and thought, "What if ..." Midnight was born.
Praise and Reviews
The ChrisChat Reviews
http://www.freewebs.com/chrischatreviews/midnighthours.htm
Midnight Hours
Vivian Zabel
Publisher: 4RV Publishing LLC
http://4rvpublishingllc.com
Genre: Mystery/suspense
ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-3-2
ISBN-10: 0-9797513-3-0
Pages: 228
Starting Price:
$27.99
4 out of 4 roses
Chats will never be the same.
Martin Rogers is a cop. Doesn’t matter he’s on sick leave;
he’s still a cop. Doesn’t matter he’s regaining his legs after being shot; he’s
still a cop. Doesn’t matter he’s fallen for an online poker playing female,
he’s still suspicious; he’s still a cop.
There’s something about the lady, Midnight. She’s too good
to be true. She’s mysterious and teasing. She’s only online at midnight. Her
picture was found with a dead (murdered?) man. The face in the picture belongs
to someone else.
Oh, yes, there’s something about the lady, Midnight.
And, there’s something about “Midnight Hours,” a serial
murder mystery that left me wavering back and forth again and again over just
who Midnight was.
Ms. Zabel’s story takes place over a course of months,
seamlessly. The friendship between Martin and his fellow officers is the perfect
compliment to the egotistical know-it-all consultant. The coolness of an
officer under the gun and gentle strength of the new assistant district
attorney are a perfec blend of female character qualities, and a good balance
to the male dominated story.
“Midnight Hours” is a cat and mouse game that spellbound me
in both its simplicity and its intricacy … and kept me up well past midnight
reading it. Well done!
~~ Christine I. Speakman
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A Review: Midnight Hours by Vivian Zabel.
Reviewed by Brian L Porter
Police
detective Martin Rogers is recovering from a shooting, working hard to regain
the use of his legs. To fill in the long hours of inactivity, Rogers spends time in an internet chat room,
playing cards with a regular group of surfers. That is until the witching hour,
when he and the mysterious woman known only as Midnight connect via cyberspace and disappear into their
own virtual world. Martin finds himself becoming more and more intrigued and
enamoured by the elusive woman, who seems to find him strangely attractive
despite his disability. When Midnight
refuses to reveal any personal details about herself, despite Martin being
openly honest with her, he begins to suspect that the woman he is falling for
may not be all that she seems.
Martin
confides his concerns to two of his fellow detectives, and soon he and his
colleagues are joined by Assistant District Attorney Lisa Harris as a web of
previous suspicious deaths of disabled victims emerges, all of whom appear to
have been in contact with the mysterious Midnight.
A
task force is set up to investigate the murders, and soon Martin, Lisa, and the
team are involved in a case so complex, and so baffling, that they begin to
feel as though they are chasing a shadow, a clever and resourceful criminal who
they describe as being “like fog that disappears in bright light.”
When
police dispatcher Denise Woods is attacked and almost killed by the murderer,
the police finally believe they are on the trail of Midnight, only to find yet
more clouds of mystery as they attempt to penetrate the veil of the elusive
killer.
What links Midnight with the name Norma Fields, and is Norma
connected to the oddly named Norm Able? What connection does the reportedly
dead sailor J.R Olson have with the case?
Vivian
Zabel has crafted a beautifully and hauntingly compelling crime drama that
leads the reader down one blind alleyway after another as Martin Rogers
attempts to unravel the mystery. The tension is wonderfully wracked up as the
storyline builds towards its shattering conclusion. Without doubt, this is one
for the crime fiction aficionados, a book that cries out to be read, and one
which I found very hard to put down once I’d begun. The characters are
believable, the underlying romance that builds between Martin and the beautiful
Lisa is tenderly and realistically handled, and the fear that things could go
disastrously wrong for the heroes of this tale, right up to the end, is so
palpable one can almost reach out and touch it.
A
great read, tension personified, wonderfully written!
Brian L Porter
Author, A Study in Red – The Secret
Journal of Jack the Ripper, Avenue of the Dead, Purple Death, and the award-winning The Nemesis Cell.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight Hours: A Can't Put Down Crime Story., November 8, 2008
While recovering from an accident that confined him to a wheel chair,
Police detective Martin Rogers finds an interest in life through an
Internet connection with a lovely woman. Or is she what she seems? She
has given Martin a reason for living, but when she sends a picture of
herself that is a duplicate of one found in the pocket of a dead
paraplegic, Martin and his police buddies wonder if she's given him a
reason for dying.
The author makes you believe in the reality of her characters.
Details of the investigation are true to life. The Oklahoma countryside
is beautifully described and gives the novel a strong sense of place.
The plot is filled with surprising, but thoroughly believable twists
that keep the reader guessing up to and beyond the last page.
Zabel has created a fast moving plot with characters you come to
care about, a satisfying romance, and suspense that keeps you reading.
Readers of crime fiction will appreciate Zabel's latest novel and will
be hoping for more. I love a good murder mystery. I recommend this one
highly for readers who are looking for interesting and believable
characters, a tension filled plot, and a realistic setting.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Midnight Hours is a Must-Read Crime Drama!, November 7, 2008
Midnight Hours by Vivian Gilbert Zabel is a book that anyone who enjoys
crime dramas should read. Gilbert has written a tension-filled tale
that leads the reader from one surprising twist of plot to another.
There is no need for my reiterating the plot details as homicide
lieutenant Martin Rogers seeks to unravel the mystery surrounding
Midnight, a woman who preys on disabled men she meets through the
Internet, since two previous reviewers have both done so. Instead, I
will simply confirm what they have said about Zabel creating believable
characters and a plot that grabs your interest from the start and
carries you along spellbound until the dramatic conclusion. If you
enjoy reading compelling, tension-packed crime fiction, then this is a
must-read book for you. Zabel has written a winner with this book! I
recommend this book most highly. |
