Sam Midford is the presenter of the popular Midnight Tonight current affairs show, a charming smile and witty lines wrapped up in an attractive package with wide audience appeal. He is cool calm and collected under pressure, except for tonight - the crew saw a ring in his dressing room and think he is going to propose to his long time girlfriend in the most public way possible, but Sam does something else instead. When his nerves seem to have reached an absolute peak he pulls out a gun, points the gun at his head and pulls the trigger. Thanks to the wonders of modern TV the delay of several seconds is enough for the nation to avoid seeing the violent result, though people searching online manage to uncover unedited footage. Such a dramatic and public death makes headlines around the country, so when Sam Midford appears to talk to disgraced and incarcerated television producer Jack Quick there is a certain amount of confusion - which only slightly lessens when Jack discovers that the man he is talking to is in fact Sam's twin brother Harry.
Harry is a man on a mission, convinced that his brother was murdered - that he was forced to pull the trigger. Jack isn't convinced, but when Harry offers him a lot of money to look into the case it is an offer he can't refuse. Everyone has secrets and demons in their lives, and apart from his battles with food and bulimia, Jack is haunted by his older brother who lives in a permanent vegetative state that requires expensive care … and the money is running out. It seems like an easy case to explore, Harry has promised to accept the results of Jack's investigation, but Jack is not convinced he is ready to hear the truth. But as Jack digs into the case and the twins background, he discovers that they have both been keeping secrets and that something that happened in the past has a resounding echo in the present. Will Jack be able to solve the case - or will he become another victim of the twisted web that surrounds Sam Midford? It seems that everyone in Sam's life had secrets to keep, some of them just kept them better than others.
I picked up Either side of midnight after seeing it on a new books list and it was only after reading the whole book that I discovered that it is the sequel to Greenlight (also published as She lies in the vines) which was disappointing as I like to read books in series order if possible. I was not disappointed with the book itself however - Either side of midnight was a rare find for me, a book that was original and kept me guessing what was happening. The characters were interesting and easy to connect with, and as a New Zealander it was nice to read a book set over the 'ditch' in Australia. This was a great find and highly recommended reading. See if you can figure out what is happening before the explosive ending.
If you like this book then try:
- Sticks and stones by Katherine Firkin
- When I was ten by Fiona Cummins
- Breaking Creed by Alex Kava
- Safe by S.K. Barnett
- Good me bad me by Ali Land
- Rattle by Fiona Cummins
- The better sister by Alafair Burke
- Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
- Spare me the truth by C.J. Carver
- The coast to coast murders by James Patterson and J.D.Barker
- Eeny meeny by M.J. Arlidge
- Crimson Lake by Candice Fox
- Killing trail by Margaret Mizushima
- Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza
- Vodka doesn't freeze by Leah Giarratano
Reviewed by Brilla
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