‘The best book I’ve read all year’ – SARAH PINBOROUGH
‘A sure-fire shocker. This book will not let you go without a fight’ – JANICE HALLETT
‘The best book I’ve read about a serial killer since Red Dragon‘ – GARETH BROWN
‘ This is a work of fiction. This is not a confession.’
Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. He is also a father, a widower, and a beloved celebrity in his small town. He is an unassuming man - tall, thin and quietly friendly. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer.
Nathan Cole has known the truth about his father since he was ten years old. Too terrified to go to the police, he ran away from home as soon as he was able, carrying the guilt of leaving his sister behind. But when Lucas is found dead in a dingy motel room, Nathan returns to his childhood home for the first time in seventeen years. It’s there he finds The Midnight King, his father’s final unpublished manuscript, a fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims. Trinkets that include a ribbon belonging to a missing eight-year-old girl who disappeared only days before his father’s death.
Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father’s secret. But it may not be as simple as finding a lost child. For The Midnight King holds Nathan’s secrets as well as Lucas’s, and he is not the only one searching for the truth…
Full of unexpected twists and heartrending turns, The Midnight King is a gripping thriller perfect for fans of Chris Whitaker, S.A. Cosby and Ian Rankin.
Book Info: Print length: 352 pages. Publisher: Viper: Publication date: 10 April 2025
My Thoughts:
Well if you are looking for a dark, disturbing and very uncomfortable crime thriller then The Midnight King is perfect for you.
This is my first book by author Tariq Ashkanani and having read it in one day, I can say, without doubt, that I will be checking out his other books now.
I actually confess that I didn’t even read the blurb before starting the book, it was the cover and the text “Husband, Father, Serial Killer” that drew me in and made me read it! Yes, I know, I’m a twisted, dark and disturbed individual.
Anyway, back to the book, the story is told from the view point of Nathan Cole, a damaged man who is returning to his childhood town, having fled 17 years ago when he discovered his father Lucas Cole is a serial killer. Having been found dead in a motel room, Nathan discovers an unpublished manuscript which seems to be a fictional account of all his crimes over the past 30 years, including “trophies” from all his victims. One of the trophies include hair ribbons that belong to a missing 8 year old girl who was abducted only days before his fathers death.
The other main narrator is Isaac, a private detective who has been hired by the missing girls parents to find her and was also a close childhood friend of Nathan when they were growing up and during school.
This is DARK, this is GRUESOME, this is DISTURBING and this is exactly what I LOVE in a crime thriller.
I totally recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
My thanks to Netgalley for my ARC copy.
