Audio Book Review: Midnight Crossroad by Charlaine Harris

This is an entertaining mystery with paranormal characters.
Midnight Crossroad
By Charlaine Harris
Narrated By: Susan Bennett

Series: Midnight, Texas, Book 1
Duration: 9 h 31 min
Release date: 05-06-14
Publisher: Recorded Books
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Summary
FIRST IN A NEW TRILOGY - From Charlaine Harris, the bestselling author who created Sookie Stackhouse and her world of Bon Temps, Louisiana, comes a darker locale-- populated by more strangers than friends. But then, that' s how the locals prefer it. Welcome to Midnight, Texas, a town with many boarded-up windows and few full-time inhabitants, located at the crossing of Witch Light Road and Davy Road. It' s a pretty standard dried-up western town. There' s a pawnshop (someone lives in the basement and is seen only at night). There' s a diner (people who are just passing through tend not to linger). And there' s new resident Manfred Bernardo, who thinks he' s found the perfect place to work in private (and who has secrets of his own). Stop at the one traffic light in town, and everything looks normal. Stay awhile, and learn the truth...

Review:
Manfred Bernardo is a quiet man who has moved to Midnight, Texas to a house next to the town pawnshop. Manfred thinks he has his own secrets as an online and sometimes live, psychic. But he soon begins to learn he has lots of strange and secretive neighbors. Another renter, who lives below the pawnshop, is only seen at night and a neighbor, Fiji, who lives across the street, sells crystals and spells among other New Age items and is never seen far from her standoffish cat.

There are strangers that come to town seeking his landlord, Bobo…then they are gone. And more strangers come looking for the first two. Then an out-of-town sheriff comes looking for Bobo’s former girlfriend who just walked out a few weeks before. Bobo is heartbroken and shocked that anyone might think that he had anything to do with her disappearance.

Manfred is willing to help investigate when called upon and his neighbors are a bit surprised that he handles each event and reveal with his quiet equanimity. As the community pulls together to protect their own, it is clear that Manfred fits right in.

I enjoyed the low-key characters and the conflicts and mysteries of this story. This is a different style from the author’s southern and more lively Sookie vampire series which I also enjoyed. I was interested in learning more about each character as the story moved on. I plan to pick up the other books in this series. I recommend this book to fans of paranormal characters and quiet mysteries.

Audio Notes: Susan Bennett does a good job with the narration. She provides distinct voices that capture the quirkiness of each character. The narration definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Source: 8/28/19 August VIP Free selection at Audiobooks.com. This qualifies for 2023TBR, 2023Audiobook, and Time of Day goals.