Midnight on the River Grey
England, 1813. The only reason Rebecca agrees to move to her guardian’s secluded estate is to uncover the mystery behind her brother Jacob’s death. Believing her guardian Lewis Browning to be responsible, Rebecca quickly starts searching for clues. However, Rebecca is guarding a secret of her own, one that haunts her at night. When Lewis’s solicitor is found dead near the bridge that claimed Jacob’s life, Rebecca and Lewis wind up as unlikely allies in their hunt for a culprit who seems comfortable in the shadows of Mr. Browning’s gothic country estate.
Utilizing a vividly-painted pastoral landscape as the stage for her murder mystery, the author’s love for the time period shines in the atmospheric details. Wilson does a commendable job exploring her main character’s inner turmoil. Character dialogue is spirited while keeping a strong sense of period panache. Plot-wise, during the book’s first half, Rebecca keeps getting scared by someone speaking or approaching from behind (Mr. Browning being a frequent repeat offender). This makes plot movement feel unnatural during the book’s early section. However, the second half provides good character development alongside the unraveling mystery. With a wonderfully suspicious cast of characters, intriguing clues, and lush backdrop that readers can easily get lost in, Midnight on the River Grey is a captivating novel.
