The Mirk and Midnight Hour

A Gothic thriller and captivating love story set in Civil War Mississippi

Seventeen-year-old Violet Dancey has been left at home in Mississippi with a laudanum-addicted stepmother and love-crazed stepsister while her father fights in the war—a war that has already claimed her twin brother. When she comes across a severely injured Union soldier lying in an abandoned lodge deep in the woods, things begin to change. Thomas is the enemy—one of the men who might have killed her own brother—and yet she’s drawn to him. But Violet isn’t Thomas’s only visitor. Someone has been tending to his wounds—keeping him alive—and it becomes chillingly clear that this care hasn’t been out of compassion. Against the dangers of war and threatening powers of voodoo, Violet fights to protect her home, her family, and the man she’s begun to love.

“An exciting story—juicy, romantic and at times quite chilling.” —BookPage

“An atmospheric story in which darkness houses mysteries, [with] rich imagery and imaginative subplots.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Compelling. . . . There’s a languid ease to the prose that invites readers to become fully immersed.” —The Bulletin


From the Hardcover edition.

For many years, JANE NICKERSON and her family lived in a big old house in Aberdeen, Mississippi, where she worked as the children’s librarian at the local public library. She has always loved the South, “the olden days,” Gothic tales, houses, kids, writing, and interesting villains. Her first novel was Strands of Bronze and Gold, a retelling of the Bluebeard fairy tale. Jane and her husband recently returned to Mississippi. Visit her at Jane-Nickerson.com.


From the Hardcover edition.