Book Review: The Midnight Side

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Midnight Side     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Natasha Mostert
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Supernatural
Morrow, Jan 2001, $24.00, 288 pp.

Not many people can claim they receive phone calls from a dead person, but Isa De Witt talked with her cousin Allette two days after the latter died. At the time of their discussion, Isa was unaware that Allette had already died until a solicitor informed her that she inherited her cousin's large estate. Isa immediately leaves her South Africa home for Allette's estate in England.

Allette's solicitor gives Isa a letter written by the deceased in which she claims she suffered mental abuse from her ex-husband Justin and wants revenge from the grave. Her goal is to see his pharmaceutical company, which he loves the most in the world, destroyed even as the firm is close to creating a medicine to help with Alzheimer's disease. When Isa hesitates, Allette calls her again to encourage her to take action. Isa learns that someone murdered Allette, but is unaware that the killer plans to send her to a place where she will not need a phone to talk with Allette.

The supernatural elements add a chilling feel to a well-designed mystery. Dead people using telephones (must be a cell phone) allows the audience to see the reflections inside the mind of the victim as well as her mirror image reflected from the eyes of an obsessive maniac. The metaphysical and the mundane overlap, as Natasha Mosteri provides her audience with a wonderfully unique reading experience.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner