Author: Melissa F. Olson
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published on: February 7, 2017 by 47North
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published on: February 7, 2017 by 47North
Scarlett Bernard is used to cleaning up messes. As a human who cancels out any magic around her, Scarlett’s job is to keep the supernatural world hidden—at any cost.
But on the eve of the Vampire Trials, a two-day tribunal that allows the otherworldly community to air their grievances, Scarlett receives a blood-soaked message from Molly, her estranged former roommate. Molly, a vampire, had been living with twelve human college students…and in one terrible night, she slaughtered them all.
Scarlett believes Molly’s been set up, but no one else in the Old World agrees with her. Meanwhile, the true perpetrator is determined to make sure Molly goes on trial for the massacre—and the penalty is death.
With less than two days to prove her friend’s innocence, Scarlett calls on former LAPD detective Jesse Cruz to help her dig into Molly’s past. But no one—Molly included—wants Scarlett and Jesse to bring the terrible truth to light.
The original protagonist of the Old World Chronology, Scarlett Bernard, is back for another adventure. This is an urban fantasy that takes place in contemporary LA. Scarlett is a null, a human capable of negating magic around her. She last appeared in Hunter’s Trail. Midnight Curse takes place after the Boundary Magic trilogy, set in the same world. It’s not necessary to read those books beforehand, though.
Three years have elapsed since Scarlett’s last big case. She’s still working as a crime scene cleaner for the vampire, witch, and werewolf factions. Scarlett is also in a relationship with Eli, the beta of the werewolf pack. Things appear to be going great with them. Scarlett also still has the bargest whose loyalty she won in Hunter’s Trail. For those who don’t know, a bargest is a huge dog magically endowed with immense strength and endurance. Dashiell, the cardinal vampire of LA, charged Scarlett with looking after the bargest, whom she named Shadow.
When she’s out with Eli one day, Scarlett receives a strange message. It’s from Molly, her former friend and roommate. Molly is a young-looking vampire who evicted Scarlett because she kept getting them in dangerous situations. Now, Molly’s landed in big trouble all by herself. Scarlett gets to the building where her old friend has been living. The scene there is nothing short of horrible. Several college girls are dead, and there’s blood everywhere. It seems Molly is guilty of one of the worst crimes a vampire can commit: blood-gorging.
Even though Molly pretty much dropped Scarlett out of her life, the latter doesn’t leave the vampire to fend for herself. Scarlett believes Molly is innocent. Dashiell catches them before they can run, unfortunately. It’s dreadful timing for the allegedly framed vampire. In two days, the bi-decennial Vampire Trials will take place. Chances are great that Molly will be found guilty and killed. Scarlett asks Dashiell for time to find the real culprit. He agrees after Scarlett tells him what she knows so far.
With so little time, Scarlett will need help to prove Molly’s innocence. She turns to Jesse Cruz, her former police detective partner and old flame. It shocked me to learn Scarlett hasn’t talked to Jesse in three years. I thought they were friends! Jesse was weary of the Old World, though, and the things he had to do to solve the previous cases. It led to Jesse resigning from the police force. Since then, he’s published a book that pretty much set him up financially. When Scarlett comes to him for help, Jesse is reluctant at first. He ends up accepting, and just in time to save Scarlett’s life.
It was a pleasant surprise when I found out there were new books in the Old World Chronology. The first books I read in the series were the Boundary Magic trilogy. After that I read the first Scarlett Bernard trilogy. That was out of order, but it wasn’t a problem. The book’s stories are done in such a way it’s not really necessary to read the series in the proper order. Midnight Curse is the first of Scarlett Bernard’s second trilogy. It’s great to see the return of a few characters, including Molly. Scarlett’s new bargest is rather cool, too. Shadow is an eerie-looking beast, but still. How often do you see magic-powered dogs like it? I’m definitely going to continue reading this series. It’s become one of my favorites in the fantasy genre. The characters, the world-building…it’s just so engrossing.
My rating: ★★★★ 1/2
4.5 stars - A fantastic page-turner!
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