From the award-winning author of Trace of Evil, a detective dealing with the scars of her past must solve a seemingly unconnected string of murders, and face the impossible question of what to do when the killer may be hiding amongst the ones you know, in Alice Blanchard’s The Wicked Hour. “Readers will welcome a return to Burning Lake with Natalie at the helm.”–Associated Press “Lockhart is a … Natalie at the helm.”–Associated Press
“Lockhart is a relatable new heroine on the police-procedural scene, and one who will appeal to readers of Tana French.—Booklist
The day after Burning Lake’s notorious, debauched Halloween celebration, Detective Natalie Lockhart uncovers a heartbreaking scene–a young woman, dead and lying in a dumpster. There’s no clue to who she is, save for a mystifying tattoo on her arm, and a callus underneath her chin. She’s not from around here. No one knows who she is.
As Natalie retraces the young woman’s steps leading up to her death, she uncovers a deeper, darker horror–a string of murders and disappearances, seemingly unconnected, that may have ties to each other–and explain the abrupt disappearance of her best friend years ago.
As she digs deeper within the mind of the hunter, Natalie finds a darkness she could never have imagined. And as she draws closer to the truth, the killer is weaving a trap for her that may prove inescapable.more
The Wicked Hour is an excellent story! What an enticing prologue it starts with and the story continues to captivate you throughout its entirety.
I just really enjoy Detective Natalie Lockhart. She’s headstrong, has great instincts, is caring, and is a great Detective. Natalie is still grieving from her last case and this new case hits home to her as well. This story has a great deal of suspense and mystery and I loved following alongside Natalie and uncovering all the clues. There are some great twists and emotions and the story holds you captive to the end. Great series! I can’t wait for more!
The Wicked Hour is the second book in Alice Blanchard’s riveting Natalie Lockhart series. The first book, Trace of Evil, absolutely blew me away. Though I don’t think anything could beat that book for excitement, I found this one to be quite thrilling also. This story stands alone, but you will benefit greatly if you read Trace of Evil First to fully understand the lead character. If you love suspense, you need to read this series.
Burning Lake, New York is famous for its month-long Halloween celebration; after all, three “witches” were burned at the stake in the 1700’s. The day after the closing celebration, Detective Natalie Lockhart gets her next case: a beautiful young woman is found in a dumpster, covered in trash. What’s the significance of her unusual tattoo, and what caused the callus under her chin? As Natalie digs deeper, she discovers other odd disappearances and deaths. Could they be connected to the current case? And what about her best friend, who disappeared years ago? As Natalie searches for the truth, she begins to wonder if she will survive to find it.
This is one of those books that I simply could not put down; it’s a good thing I started it on the weekend! Ms. Blanchard has a gift for writing scenes steeped in atmosphere. At times the story felt eerie and very unsettling. Natalie is quite an intriguing character. She is suffering with PTSD from her last case in which she lost a loved one. She is having trouble in her relationships, especially with her boss and best friend, Lt. Luke Pittman. She’s not in the best mindset to work on this new case, but yet she does and gives it her all. The supporting characters were an interesting lot, especially Hunter Rose (a rich man with whom Natalie had a prior college fling), Luke, Dr. Russ Swinton (Natalie’s physician) and Grace (Natalie’s sister). The most amazing character, however, was the town of Burning Lake. It had a life all its own, and I feel there are many eerie stories still to be found there. The end of the book had my mouth hanging open. I must read the next story!
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.
The Wicked Hour is the second Natalie Lockhart mystery but is easy to catch up with if you missed the first one. Natalie is haunted by her last case and her sister’s death when she was young and is still dealing with the emotional fallout from it all. After volunteering for clean up on Halloween, she is called to a body in a dumpster. The case quickly takes a turn as it seems the young violinist was overdosed with GHB. The case brings up memories of Natalie’s old friend, Bella also a violinist, who went missing before high school graduation. Natalie leaves no stone unturned until the twisty ending leaves you blindsided. The story starts a little rocky with past references that the author does not elaborate on but it all comes out in the wash as each reference is explained further farther along in the story for a satisfying ending. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.
I had no idea The Wicked Hour was book two of a new series and now that I’ve read this one, I’ll definitely need to read book one as The Wicked Hour was a very good suspenseful read. From the beginning it had me hooked and I knew right away that it would be one I didn’t want to put down. A good story with some twists and an ending that I did not see coming at all. A very good book.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.
The Wicked Hour by Natalie Lockhart is the second book in the series, though I have not read the previous book, I do plan too. Detective Natalie Lockhart is investigating a dead body. What happened to the girl? Now she is trying to figure out what lead up to her murder. This story tells about how she investigates and gives us unexpected twists and turns. I am excited to read the previous book and more from this series.
Happy reading!
I received a free electronic ARC of this police procedural novel from Netgalley, author Alice Blanchard, and publisher, St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read The Wicked Hour of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. The second novel in a series, The Wicked Hour is completely stand-alone, but this tale is told so smoothly, wrapped up so tight, that I will want to read all of this series. Alice Blanchard is an author I will follow.
Natalie Lockhart is a native of Burning Lake, and a detective in the employ of the city of Burning Lake, New York, a tourist town with a well-publicized 17th-century history of hanging witches and a renowned school of music. Summer is a fairly busy time for Burning Lake businesses, but residents make most of their annual income in the month of October, basically closing their doors on November 1st due to iffy weather and lack of interest. Their witchy reputation brings in the odd crazy person hidden among the waves of sunburned, hungry tourists, and this year is no exception. Halloween night brings masses of tourists – and one woman, found nude and dead in a trash dumpster downtown during the massive clean-up beginning on November first is the exception that proves the rule. But Natalie recognizes the callus under the chin and on the left-hand fingers of this woman as the well earned results of endless practice time spent on the violin. Natalie’s best friend, Bella, bearing those same scars, had gone missing just after high school graduation, and Natalie recognized them again in a murder taking place six months ago right here in Burning Lake.
Bella’s disappearance was written off as a runaway months later when a few letters and polaroid photos, posted from cities across the country, were received by Natalie and by Bella’s family. But with the summer murder and now this Halloween murder, that is two women with violin histories, and Burning Lake has a world-class music school. And what about Bella? Is she really traveling the world? She hasn’t been heard from in years. Perhaps the murderer isn’t a visiting tourist, after all. He could be home-grown…
Right from the start, the story has an eerie and haunting vibe to it. It kicks off with Halloween! I am so here for it.
We follow Natalie as she investigates a murder, all while dealing with grief she’s been carrying around from previous events. The pacing of the story was great. We had all kinds of interesting characters. I really had no clue who could be the suspect. I was along for the ride. I have to mention that this is book two in a series. I felt it could have been helpful to read book one prior to this. There are certain events and characters that are mentioned and we as the reader don’t know what has happened. That being said, this was a really great read despite not having read book one. I was engaged and the twists kept me guessing. I was surprised at that ending. Bravo Miss Blanchard!
This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be looking for book one! I really enjoyed her writing style. This is a fabulous start to the series and now I am a huge fan of Natalie Lockhart. More please! I give this 4 stars.
Detective Natalie Lockhart is back investigating the case of a mysterious Halloween murder. A woman’s body is found naked in a dumpster with no known cause of death. Natalie has barely recovered from her case last April when she is assigned as the lead detective. The fact that everyone was in costume has made it difficult to identify those who may have had contact with the deceased. Dogged determination leads Natalie through evidence and clues that suggest the killer may have killed before. At the last moment a conversation will lead her to the killer, but will she survive their meeting? Mentioning characters from the first book, who had nothing to do with this story, seemed unnecessary as unless you read the first book (which I did) they were just names and added nothing to the story. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
This book is the second in a series. I haven’t read the first so it left a few questions that didn’t get answered. I did enjoy the mystery and the process that Natalie used to get to the bottom of her case. The characters were interesting. Natalie is an intriguing lead character. I liked her but she has experienced a lot of pain. I do want to go back and read the first book in the series to get answers about her past. The author did a great job of setting up the story for the next in the series. It was tantalizing enough to make me want to look for it when it is released too. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Whew, I enjoyed The Wicked Hour by Alice Blanchard so much more than book one! This book had a faster pace, and I was fully invested in the mystery and what was happening. The first chapter hooked me immediately and the last chapter left me wanting more, which is always a great combination in my opinion. I also loved that there was a subplot that seems to be a setup for future books to come and I am dying to know what is going to happen. Trace of Evil gave a lot of background on Natalie and even though I don’t think you have to read that book first, it would be a good idea if you want to know more about her as a person and more about her family.
I had no idea how this book was going to end, and there is a lot of action in the last quarter of the book. The majority of The Wicked Hour reads like a police procedural and I really enjoyed the number of suspects and all of Natalie’s interviews that she conducts. I do think Blanchard’s writing isn’t as smooth and concise as it could be, but I liked the way she wrote this one and it was a solid mystery that I enjoyed. This isn’t a gory series either so it would be good for the squeamish readers out there. I also loved the audiobook, which is narrated by Sophie Amoss. She was a great improvement over the narrator for book one and I really hope she comes back for future books!
Thank you to the publisher for my advance listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Burning Lake has survived a Halloween celebration… although not everyone who attended survived. Detective Lockhart is helping clean up afterwards and what she discovers is a body… dead and lying in a dumpster.
There’s no identification and no one seems to know who she is. She has a tattoo on her arm, a callus under her chin.
Upon investigating, Lockhart discovers a string of murders and disappearances. Connection to each other? Connections to the body Lockhart found?
Lockhart can’t help but remember a childhood friend… who disappeared many years ago.
As she gets closer to the truth, the killer is weaving a trap for her that may prove inescapable.
This sequel to TRACE OF EVIL is well-written. The intricate plot is filled with action beginning on the very first page. Suspense is maintained from start to finish with suspects that are many and varied. Characters are deftly drawn. Although 2nd in the series, it is easily read as a stand alone. I would recommend reading in order, as Lockhart’s backstory is more explained in the first book. There is a very slight cliffhanger pointing to another exciting book in the future.
Many thanks to the author / St Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction / police procedural. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from St Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
This is book 2 of the Natalie Lockhart series. You can read this as a stand alone but you will be missing the detailed nuances of the characters and their relationships with each other. I had read book 1 and it took me a few chapters to recall the major events impacting Natalie’s behavior in this new story.
Burning Lake has a rich history dating back to the 1712 witch trials which brings rambunctious and rowdy crowds every Halloween. The town attracts those interested in the history of witchcraft and the occult. Unfortunately, street cleaning after the chaos is the least important issue for Burning Lake Detective Natalie Lockwood. A woman is found dead in a dumpster amidst her belongings which included a unique Wiccan charm unlike the odd tattoo discovered on her body.
They discover the deceased is Morgan Chambers who went to a conservatory in Chaste Hall. As an accomplished violinist she struggled to meet her parents high expectations unlike her violinist sister Poppy. This case reminds Natalie of her best friend Bella Striver who had been pronounced dead after her disappearance the night of high school graduation. Bella had attended Huntington Brock Conservatory and also an accomplished violinist. As Natalie tries to uncover who murdered Morgan she also becomes engaged in discovering what happened to her friend all those years ago.
Another twisted story involving the past and the present uncovering the truths and lies from the past. There are points where you can guess the direction of the story only to have a curve ball thrown in to confuse you.
The only aspect which disappointed me was the relationship between Natalie and Luke the police Lieutenant. Unless you read book one about the Crow Killer case you wouldn’t know there was a history between these two characters. They have known each other for years with a friendship that seemed to be a budding romance. This book doesn’t do much to add to the “drama” which is all I can say without adding a spoiler.
Even though this is the second book in the Natalie Lockhart series it is the first I have read and I was blown away with how relatable she is and loved her dynamic with the other characters. This story is thought-provoking, had me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down from the first word until I read the last. I now realize I need to read the first book for her backstory and will look forward to more thrillers from the folks in Burning Lake, New York. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.
I requested an ARC of this book, and all opinions are my own.
I was interested in this book because I love mysteries, and I am from upstate NY, so the premise was intriguing. My only real complaint is that this story made so many references to the prior book it was hard to keep track. This is a series that really does need to be read in order, if only to avoid confusion.
That being said, I did enjoy the overall story, and getting to know the main characters. While I did see the end coming, there was enough of a twist to leave me satisfied. There were some slow spots – again, if I’d read the first book they may not have felt that way – but when the action picked up it was swift, and kept you engaged.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes a puzzle with tons of interesting characters.
From the award-winning author of Trace of Evil, a detective dealing with the scars of her past must solve a seemingly unconnected string of murders, and face the impossible question of what to do when the killer may be hiding amongst the ones you know, in Alice Blanchard’s The Wicked Hour.
My thoughts:
I love this quote from this book: “Tell her that the longing and sadness will be there like the tide, rolling in and out, awakening and then quieting down. It will come and go, but eventually it won’t hurt so much.”
This book pulled me right in from the very start. I loved Trace of Evil and was really looking forward to reading this one. It did not disappoint. From start to dramatic ending it held me captive. It’s an edge of your seat thriller. A whodunnit from the first. From the first page you will be hooked.
Very likable characters. Plot is great. Edge of your seat good. Natalie Lockhart is not a girly girl when it comes to her job. She’s a hard to beat cop. She does her job without second thought. She’s still recovering from the events of the past and has a lot on her plate but she does not waver on the job. In her heart she wants to have a life too. A love and family. She’s a bit crazy about her boss, Luke. He’s been her friend since she was a child. But they keep their distance. They are looking for a killer. Possibly a serial killer. Who killed a young woman and tossed her into a dumpster?
There is a murderer in Burning Lake. A young woman’s body is found in a dumpster after a huge halloween street party. She was a violin player like Natalie’s best friend from the past. Natalie is in charge of the case and doesn’t leave anything undone. She is a very intense detective who leaves not stone unturned. She has a few clues and is also dealing with personal things. She is a very likable person you meet in the first book. Natalie has her work cut out for her as she is fighting against several things to get to the truth of what happened to this young woman.
This book will keep you guessing all the way through. From the very beginning when you get a glimpse into the killers mind you will start guessing. But you will be wrong. This one is very hard to figure out. There are many suspects. From a rich party boy/man to a very well respected physician. I even suspected the victims family member. I won’t say which one and not I didn’t get it. It’s told in a way that gives you a few clues but not exactly enough to figure out who did it. Until you do. There is a lot going on in this story but it’s easy to keep up.
The scenes in this book are very vividly written. The people are friendly and very nice. Understanding that the town is the setting for a lot of Wiccan related people. There are several references to past witch killings. Is the town maybe haunted? I don’t think so but who knows. This is just an all around good story of a smallish town where a murder takes place and where two murders will be solved. The characters are all very well developed and likable. The plot is great. It builds at just the right speed and the finale is great. You will be holding your breath in a few places for sure.
This is as good as the first book. You don’t have to read the first one to enjoy this one but it does help you get to know some of the past characters better if you do. I would advise reading it but use your own judgement. I do hope there will be another book. I want to know what happened too Ellie, Natalie’s best friend. Is she alive and well or did something sinister happen to her?
Thank you #NetGalley, #AliceBlanchard, #StMartin’sPress for this ARC. This is my own review as I see it.
5/5 stars and a high recommendation.
Numerous suspects abound in a murder investigation involving a deceased violinist found in a dumpster the morning after the Town of Burning Lake’s Halloween extravaganza. As Detective Natalie Lockhart delves deeper into the young woman’s life, she chases down each new clue in hopes of piecing together the final hours of this victim’s life. All the while, Natalie struggles to move past the tragic events that recently turned her world upside down.
“The Wicked Hour” is the second installment to author Alice Blanchard’s Natalie Lockhart series, and if I’m being totally honest, I believe I was at a disadvantage by not having read the first Natalie Lockhart book in this series. Because while “The Wicked Hour” can certainly be read as a stand-alone, much of the protagonists’ back story still remains a mystery to me. Still, I found the premise interesting, and the story pulled me in right from the very start. And while I remained engaged throughout, I have several questions that still remain unanswered. All in all, a decent mystery, but one with holes that never got filled.
The Wicked Hour is the second book in a series featuring rookie detective, Natalie Lockhart. You will enjoy this novel more if you read the first book in the series before reading this one as it does not stand very well on its own.
I won’t recap the publisher’s book description as they did a fine job and I don’t want to chance inadvertantly introducing a spoiler. Blanchard has set up a good cast of characters for the series; Natalie Lockhart is a strong and relatable lead and the numerous secondary characters are well-drawn. Blanchard’s writing style is crisp which keeps things moving along, and there are plenty of suspects to hold the reader’s attention.
I didn’t like or understand the author’s choice of endings, but that’s probably intentional – the “What!?!” will lead nicely into Book 3 of the series.
My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read a copy of the book prior to it’s publication on 12/1/2020.
Detective Natalie Lockhart has uncovered a string of murders in her town. She is fighting her own demons as she is searching for the murderer. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more she realizes the murderer is someone she would never suspect. Or maybe not!
There are quite a few missteps in this book. The author repeats herself several times about several things. If she says once…she says MULTIPLE times about her friend disappearing in high school and the person who was accused of her death kills himself. I also recommend reading the first in this series. I have not read the first one and that may have helped me follow some of this story.
I did enjoy the suspense built around these disappearances. I also connected with Natalie. She is struggling to overcome the death of her sister (this is where reading the first book would have been helpful). The author did a great job with Natalie’s pain and with her strength to overcome. Plus, the mystery surrounding the murders is intense and unique.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.
This is the second book in the Detective Natalie Lockhart series.
Unfortunately, there is so much wrong with this book. The main character may have been well-drawn in the first book, but in this one she has no personality to speak of and all we are given is the fact that she has been grieving over the deaths of people we know nothing about and she’s taking antidepressants. While it is not unusual for an author to assume that everyone who picks up her second book in a series will have already read the first one, this author doesn’t even give the reader enough information to like her character.
Adding insult to injury, Blanchard assumes the reader is ignorant. She felt it necessary to define the word “postmortem” for her readers. Even a novice reader of mysteries will know what that word means. Not only does Lockhart move the body prior to the medical examiner/coroner arriving, but then she begins touching the body, i.e., turns her over, lifts limbs, etc. And she begins guessing at the time the victim died with no evidence to support her assumptions that include assuming she knows the body temperature by touching the body.
It was shortly after Lockhart, the lead detective on the case, interferes with the crime-scene evidence that I stopped reading the book.
Thanks to Minotaur and Edelweiss for an eARC.
3 stars for an entertaining mystery with flaws. This is book 2 in the Natalie Lockhart series and it would have been better if I read book 1 first. There was a murder of a Lockhart family member which took place in book 1 and Natalie is still grieving. She has pushed away friends who offered her support.
Natalie is a detective in the Burning Lake Police Department. She and the whole police force are on duty for the town’s annual Halloween celebration, which draws about 100,000 tourists and is a huge moneymaker for the town. Burning Lake is a fictional town located south of New York state’s Adirondack Park, the largest park in the continental US(bigger than Yellowstone NP). The fictional town condemned to death 3 women as witches in 1712 and now proclaims itself as the epicenter of Halloween and witchcraft.
Natalie volunteers for the annual cleanup on Nov 1 which lasts a whole week, because of the tremendous amount of trash left by the revelers. But then Natalie discovers the body of a naked woman in a dumpster. Natalie does solve the murder with the help of the team at the BLPD.
Pros: I liked the plot and the way it moved along briskly with several suspects. I was not sure who the killer was until the end. The characters were believable.
Cons: I have lived in New York state my whole life. Although this is a work of fiction, set in a fictional town, there were several things that bothered me. Natalie mentions that Detective Lenny Abruzzo has sent the dead girl’s fingerprints to the DMV database. DMV stands for NYS Department of Motor vehicles. I have never had to give my fingerprints for my standard drivers license. This year I was given the option of renewing by mail or upgrading to a REAL ID DL. I upgraded and had to give a thumbprint. NYS does have a fingerprint database. It is maintained by the NYS Dept. of Criminal Justice.
Second, Natalie comments that Burning Lake has 10 historic wooden covered bridges. NY has 17 historic covered bridges in the entire state, and my wife and I have visited all of them. No county, much less a town, has 10. According to our WGCB(World Guide to Covered Bridges), Ulster County has the most with 5. Ulster County is about halfway between NYC and the southern boundary of Adirondack Park, going from the Catskill mountains to the Hudson river.
Third, she mentions driving on Route 17 out of town. Route 17 is actually the Southern Tier Expressway, just north of Pennsylvania, now being converted into I-86.
My wife read this book before me, and these items bothered her also. My wife also noticed many grammatical errors,but this is an uncorrected proof copy, so this is forgivable. #TheWickedHour #NetGalley
Thanks to Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC through Net Galley.