THE MIDNIGHT MAN – Charlotte Mede
Kensington Brava
ISBN-13: 978-0-7582-2367-8
August 2008
Historical Romance

London, England – 1860

Helena Hartford is an artist, a widow, and currently is in Madame Congais's establishment, a den for smoking opium and all sorts of other licentious activities. Entering the oblivion she craves, she is in her own world...a world where the elderly husband to whom she was given by her father is dead, leaving her a wealthy widow indeed. Only, her husband's nephew, the Bishop of Sissinghurst, is determined to see Helena put in Bedlam. With her in a mental institution, he will have full access to all her inheritance, and as the Lord's emissary, he is much more qualified to spend that money. Why, an ungrateful woman who has lovers and paints nudes needs some serious religious help, and perhaps Bedlam can change her ways and save her soul. While relaxing in the mists of her mind, a rough man suddenly appears. He is large, beautiful, and seems to know her; he certainly knows of her paintings.

Nicholas Ramsay has friends, but nobody who really knows him; where he came from, how he made his money and who his people are remain shrouded in secrecy. When he suddenly appears at Madam Congais, it is to save Helena as the constable comes to charge her with immoral insanity -- destination Bedlam. Bedlam, where people go, and if they aren't crazy when they enter, they are within a short time; people who enter Bedlam are seldom seen again. But despite Nicholas and his good intentions, Helena fights him all the way. She decides to hide with her good friend Horace Webb and his mistress...but is that the best place to be? And who is Nicholas, and why is he interested in saving her?

The X Club is made up of modern, scholarly men who agree with the writings of Charles Darwin. They discuss various issues and now are anxiously looking for the so-called missing link between ape and man, a link that will show that they are right, and the Church had just better stop creating trouble for them. Nicholas Ramsay has the means to find and retrieve the transition life forms, or missing link, that they so desperately need to prove their theories. Many adventures are in store for Nicholas and Helena while on this quest.

Charlotte Mede writes a story told mostly from Helena's point of view, with just hints from Bishop Sissinghurst and Nicholas Ramsay to spice things up. The Bishop is a man of the cloth, determined to save Helena's immortal soul (and her money), and Nicholas is a man of mystery, only slowly showing what sort of person he is and where he has come from.

Bishop Sissinghurst has Deacon Mosley under his thumb, willing to let him do anything sick or perverted to save Helena's soul before she goes into Bedlam. And Helena's elderly friend, Horace Webb, another painter but not of her caliber, appears to help her in times of trouble. Little does Helena know the part Horace has played in her life through the years.

THE MIDNIGHT MAN is a dark, action-packed historical novel that is distinctly different from the norm. Clandestine, hidden plots and a relationship between a strong man with many secrets and a woman who feels she has been under the thumb of men for years make for an intense, extreme read.

Carolyn Crisher