Review: The Midnight Secret
After three years, Karen Swan has finally wrapped up her Wild Isles series. The Midnight Secret is the fourth and final book in Swan’s first ever historical series and readers will be thrilled to know every loose end is tied up and you’ll finally know what, exactly, happened on St. Kilda that last night.
Here’s the book’s description:
If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda - but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight - but only ever forsees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.
When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.
But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and those closest to her are implicated.
On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.
The worst thing about writing a review about the last book in a series is I don’t want to give anything away! So this may be a little vague because I don’t want accidental spoilers for anyone. The joy of this series was not knowing at all how things were going to end up. Each book gives more insight into what happened but I knew we had to wait until this last book before finally finding out who the murderer was.
Even though I’ve read all four books and I understood how Swan was telling the story, I still neglected to make detailed notes for myself. That meant I started this one and felt quite lost as I had to search my brain for the details of the lives of Effie, Mhairi, Flora, and Jayne. What had I already learned? What was brand new information in this final installment? Luckily for you, all four books are now out in the world so you can read them all in quick succession! Going back to how Swan wrote this story: she started with Effie’s version of events in The Last Summer. But in The Stolen Hours, she brought the reader back in time and went over the same period but through the eyes of Mhairi. She repeated that with Flora in The Lost Lover and finally ended with Jayne starting The Midnight Secret but hopping around to each young woman’s POV so we could see the threads finally coming together. It sounds confusing (and I’m sure it was for her to write) but the story does work. There were only a few occasions in the last books where I felt frustrated that I wasn’t getting any brand new information.
One of the things that captivated me about this series was the evacuation of St. Kilda, which did happen in August 1930. Thirty six people had to leave the only home they ever knew and move to mainland Scotland. The press and public at the time were also fascinated and the residents became something of a novelty, which Swan explores in her books. Effie is trying to fit in with the aristocracy while Flora has found herself on stage in Paris. Their worlds expanded so very quickly and I can’t imagine what it would have been like for those people to try to acclimate to society.
I love the friendship between the women and the strong connection of family - both born and made. The relationships Swan writes are always so well done - full of tension, love, and a multitude of other emotions.
If you’re a historical fiction reader who enjoys a sweeping saga, the Wild Isles series is for you. I was so satisfied with The Midnight Secret and how Karen Swan wrapped up the mystery that had been captivating me since reading the first book.
*An ARC of this novel was provided by the publisher, PGC Books, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*