Brief Thoughts: Midnight Exposure

Midnight Exposure

by Melinda Leigh
Book 1 of Midnight

~ Goodreads ~

Rating:  2.0 Stars

Point, click, die.

When two hikers disappear, their hometown in Maine blames the blinding storms.  But the truth is far more sinister.  Unaware of the danger, tabloid photographer Jayne Sullivan follows an anonymous tip to find the most reclusive sculptor in the art world.  Instead, she finds sexy handyman Reed Kimball—and a small town full of fatal secrets.

Five years ago, Reed buried his homicide detective career along with his wife.  But when a hiker is found dead, the local police chief asks Reed for help.  Why was a Celtic coin found under the body?  And where is the second hiker?  Avoiding the media, Reed doesn’t need a murder, a missing person, or a nosy photographer.  Then Jayne is attacked, and her courage is his undoing.

Reed must risk everything to protect her - and find a cunning killer.

This book would have been more interesting without all the romantic angst, which, when the conclusion rolls around, seemed awfully moot, as none of the misunderstandings really affected anyone's feelings.  There was instalust, which quickly became instalove, and a couple who are unwilling to talk to each other, even though they are willing to sleep with each other, and think that they're in love.

At the very least our heroine wasn't TSTL, but that's little consolation for the fact that a whole bunch of other stuff in the book bugs the crap out of me.  Not least of all was the way too predictable murder mystery / crime thriller.  I most definitely saw the killer's identity from the beginning.

As I have a predisposition to give second chances to an author who didn't thoroughly annoy me--because this book was less frustrating than it was just formulaic and predictable--I will probably move onto the next book and see how that one works out.

Otherwise, pending my decision to continue or drop this series, I'll have to move onto my backup series for the Can You Read a Series in a Month? Challenge for this month.

Meanwhile, this book was also read for the 24 Festive Tasks, Door 18: Winter Solstice / Yuletide:
'Read any book that takes place in December; OR with ice or snow on the cover; OR that revolves around the (summer or winter) equinox; OR a collection of poetry by Hafez'.

This book takes place in December.

I'll come back and add the Door's graphic when it is officially revealed!