Quarter to Midnight was an amusing contemporary romantic suspense romp through New Orleans. There was danger, a lot of action, secrets and betrayals, romance, and suspense, all thrown into one long week of hell for our heroes. However fun this was, it was still too long and I think it could have been shortened up as some parts of it dragged on and interfered with the suspense and tension.

First of all, I did enjoy the diverse set of characters in this book. I like how Gabe and Molly are attracted to each other, but want to keep all of their dealings professional, so when Molly is hired to help Gabe solve his father's death, you learn more about them as people rather than just jump into the romantic side of things. Gabe is a local celebrity so trying to do her job was quite difficult for Molly, and it was fun watching her navigate that whole minefield trying to keep him safe. Most of the characters though, were quite likeable and I enjoyed them for different reasons. I thought the author did a great job giving them distinct voices so you could keep them straight. However, no matter how much I wish otherwise, I didn't feel any chemistry between Molly and Gabe, none. Felt forced.

I thought the plot was interesting, but there was nothing really new to it. The themes of dirty cops has been around for a while so it was just a matter of waiting to see who else would be involved. Unfortunately, the many and varied POV created a problem with the tension and the secrecy, creating a disjointed story line that did impact the overall suspense of the story as well as gave away the identity of the top culprit which irked me quite a bit. And then there was the body count, so high. I just couldn't believe that that many people would disappear, or that many people would die around a certain someone, and no one else would be suspicious? The book was long for a romantic suspense novel, and while this slow-burn thriller has some great moments, I do think it has some moments that could have been edited out to enable a faster pace and keep the tension going.

Verdict
Quarter to Midnight has good character development and overall, I thought the story was fun. I did find the plot to be predictable under all of that drawn-out character development and action, and think the book is way too long with too many bodies that were overlooked without explanation as if people going missing are unimportant, or readers won't pay attention to such details. This is really a mystery with a forced romantic suspense thrown in between the two main characters simply because the genre is labelled romantic suspense. When you separate it all, it looks really good, when you put it all together, something was missing and it just became ok. I think if you are looking for a half decent mystery that is somewhat predictable, but has good character development, you will enjoy this, but if you are looking for steamy romance, pass. ( )

Just when you think not one more bad thing can happen…….. it does. Plenty of action, smart dialog and killing ( )

Quarter to Midnight starts off in a shocking and tension seeped scene where the reader is confronted with two murders. What makes it shocking for the reader is that we learn a lot about the second victim, Rocky, as events unfold and he becomes important to us. As readers, we want to find justice for him.
We are already invested in finding the killer by the time Gabe hires a PI to find out the truth. They discover that the key to everything is an unsolved murder that occurred during Hurricane Katrina. As the body count rapidly climbs and attempts on their lives increase it becomes a race against time to put a stop to it once and for all.
There are a lot of characters in this book but they are all important and connected. There are quite a few that I hope will feature in the series as it progresses.
Molly and Gabe made a good team and I like that Molly was capable and smart. Her backstory is as equally compelling as the main storyline.

A thrilling and exciting new read from Karen Rose. ( )

When Celebrity Chef Gabe Hebert needs someone to investigate the suspicious death of his retired police officer father, he turns to his father's friend Burke Broussard who is a private investigator. Burke assigns one of his best agents, Molly Sutton, who is a former Marine.

Molly knows Gabe. She's dined in his restaurant on many special occasions and been attracted to him. The case gets complicated fast. First, they have to find a young man for whom Gabe's father Rocky has set up a trust fund. Gabe fears that his father had been unfaithful to his mother who died of cancer, but soon learns that the young man was someone his father rescued as a five-year-old from a rooftop during Hurricane Kristina. Xavier had seen a murder, but when Rocky is able to go back and check it out the body is gone.

Rocky has investigated the case often over the years despite being discouraged by his superiors. Now that he is dying of cancer, he is making one last push to solve the long-ago crime. Then he dies of a supposed suicide, but Gabe commissions his own autopsy when the department wants to accept the verdict as suicide. Rocky wasn't a suicide!

But someone named Lamont wants to finally clean up all the loose ends remaining from his murder of his mistress during Kristina and Xavier and Gabriel on high on his list of loose ends. As the deaths pile up, at one they count fifteen victims, Gabe and Molly and the rest of Broussard's team have to quickly track down witnesses who can help solve the crime. They are in a race with Lamont and his confederates who are killing them before Gabe and Molly can find them.

This was an entertaining, but very long, romantic suspense title. I enjoyed the romance between Gabe and Molly. I also enjoyed trying to figure out who Lamont was as the heroes try to figure out who the villains are.

Fans of intricate romantic suspense titles will enjoy this story. ( )

Quarter to Midnight by Karen Rose is a 2022 Berkley publication.

When Gabe, a celebrity chef in New Orleans, learns his father has died- with an official cause of death listed as suicide, he orders a private autopsy. What he learns sends him to Burke Broussard, and old friend of his father’s, for help. Burke assigned Molly Sutton to the case, despite Gabe’s skepticism.

As Molly starts digging around, they discover a murder case that occurred during Katrina witnessed by a five-year-old boy, named Xavier. Now it looks like whoever killed Gabe’s father, is also trying to kill Xavier. Molly and Gabe team up to protect Xavier and bring down a stone-cold murderer and expose a shocking level of corruption in the process…

This is the first book in a new series for Karen Rose and it gets off to a rip-roaring start. As per usual, Karen Rose gives readers a lot of bang for their buck. Her novels are usually ‘tome’ size for starters, but there is never a dull moment within these pages and despite its heft, it is an absorbing page turner.

Fans of this author know what to expect and won’t be disappointed. For those who are not familiar with Rose’s work, her books might be labeled as romantic suspense, but anyone who enjoys crime fiction- especially thrillers- will probably enjoy this book.

Overall, this is a solid beginning for this New Orleans based series starter and certainly meets the standards I've come to expect from this author.

*Content advisory- brief, but explicit sexual content, some objectionable or harsh language, violence- but not overly graphic. ( )