The Turn of Midnight

June 15, 2019
Survivors of the Black Death's terror search for safety in this sequel to The Last Hours (2018). In 1348, while pustules and agonizing death plague the rest of the English countryside, Lady Anne has the good sense to wall off Develish and surround it with a moat. So no one there dies from the plague, but they can't survive indefinitely in isolation. "Milady" has backup from Thaddeus Thurkell, a strong, intelligent, and courageous serf. Readers of the first novel will know many of the details already because the two books are one tightly woven story. For example, Sir Richard, Anne's late and unlamented husband, not only impregnated their daughter, Eleanor, but carelessly helped spread the plague (the dirty rat!). Most have no clue of the plague's cause. The official answer of church and royalty is that God really, really hates sinners--apparently even those whose infractions are trivial or imagined--so He inflicts a pestilence that could "[rob] all England of its peasant class." Of course it afflicts nobles as well, because "the pestilence makes equals of us all." But Milady sees the problem as not wrath but rats, hence the wall and moat. She conspires with Thurkell for him to go away and return as My Lord of Athelstan so he'll be better able to protect her people. Then he must safely lead everyone from the village through a countryside laid low by disease. They face strong opposition from enemies such as Master de Courtesmain, who thinks Thurkell a "harlot-hatched bastard" as well as a thief and murderer. Courtesmain also correctly accuses Milady and Thurkell of conspiring to let the serfs of Develish buy themselves out of bondage. Thurkell's bravery complements Lady Anne's use of "kindness and reason to quell the anger in men's hearts." We should be "loved and honored for who we are," Lady Anne writes. Yes indeed. Thoroughly enjoyable, if less exciting than The Last Hours. Read them both, and in order.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 1, 2019

Walters stepped away from her usual crime and suspense novels to create two works that take place during the Great Plague years that decimated the populations of Europe and created widespread famine and suffering. The Last Hours explored the terrible months during which millions died almost overnight. This follow-up delves into the aftermath as survivors rebuild their lives. Central to the story are two unlikely heroes: Lady Anne, the widow of an abusive husband, and Thaddeus Thurkell, a willful, educated, courageous serf. When they realize the plague seems to travel from person to person, they ruthlessly quarantine themselves and their symptom-free people in the manor house, forbidding entrance to anyone showing any sign of the disease. Together they protect their land and people and bring a new form of democracy and opportunity for those born to the peasant class, rising above their lowly stations in a way that was impossible prior to the Great Plague. VERDICT Meticulously researched, Walters's novel brilliantly depicts the lives of serfs, soldiers, nobility, and clergy and the roles they played in medieval European history, as well as the devastation caused by the loss of so many people. [See Prepub Alert, 2/18/19.]--Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.