From the best-selling author of Longbourn, a gripping novel of one young woman’s unraveling during the Blitz—a story of World War II intrigue, love, and danger • “[A] thrilling novel…atmospheric and memorable.” —Emma Donoghue, best-selling author of Haven
It is 1940 and twenty-year-old Charlotte Richmond watches from her attic window as enemy planes fly over London. Still grieving her beloved brother, who never returned from France, she is trying to keep herself out of trouble: holding down a typist job at the Ministry of Information, sharing gin and confidences with her best friend, Elena, and dodging her overbearing father.
On her way to work she often sees the boy who feeds the birds—a source of unexpected joy amid the rubble of the Blitz. But every day brings new scenes of devastation, and after yet another heartbreaking loss Charlotte has an uncanny sense of foreboding. Someone is stalking the darkness, targeting her friends. And now he’s following her.
As grief and suspicion consume her, Charlotte’s nerves become increasingly frayed. She no longer knows whom to trust. She can’t even trust herself . . .
Utterly riveting and hypnotic, The Midnight News is a love story, a war story, and an unforgettable journey into the fragile mind and fierce heart of an extraordinary young woman.
Genre: Historical Mystery
It is 1940 and twenty-year-old Charlotte Richmond watches from her attic window as enemy planes fly over London. Still grieving her beloved brother, who never returned from France, she is trying to keep herself out of trouble: holding down a typist job at the Ministry of Information, sharing gin and confidences with her best friend, Elena, and dodging her overbearing father.
On her way to work she often sees the boy who feeds the birds—a source of unexpected joy amid the rubble of the Blitz. But every day brings new scenes of devastation, and after yet another heartbreaking loss Charlotte has an uncanny sense of foreboding. Someone is stalking the darkness, targeting her friends. And now he’s following her.
As grief and suspicion consume her, Charlotte’s nerves become increasingly frayed. She no longer knows whom to trust. She can’t even trust herself . . .
Utterly riveting and hypnotic, The Midnight News is a love story, a war story, and an unforgettable journey into the fragile mind and fierce heart of an extraordinary young woman.
Genre: Historical Mystery
Praise for this book
"The Midnight News approaches the story of the Blitz from a completely fresh angle. Both a captivating mystery and a moving insight into one woman's experience, this book is a deeply immersive read. Baker is a master at evoking place and time in an incredibly personal, intimate way. A novel you won't forget easily." - Jan Carson
"An intriguing and thrilling read, believable in the tiniest details - I've read half a dozen novels set in the Blitz but this one is the most atmospheric and memorable. It had me by the throat." - Emma Donoghue
"This clever and accomplished novel is simultaneously a vivid evocation of London life during the Blitz, where secretaries struggle into work after digging bodies out of rubble; a late-night page-turner that will keep you guessing till the end, and a fascinating exploration of identity - and one woman's fight to hang onto her own." - Joanna Quinn
"Immediately immersive and utterly enthralling, The Midnight News is full of atmosphere and intrigue and tells a deeply moving story that is as surprising as it is satisfying." - Cathy Rentzenbrink
"Jo Baker is one of my absolute favourite writers working today. She is that rare and precious thing: a literary writer with a poet's eye for detail, an acute psychologist who creates characters who live, but also a brilliant storyteller who in The Midnight News tells both a love story and a mystery with increasing tension and dread. I read with a lump in my throat while the family dinner burnt." - Natasha Solomons
"Deep and dark and wonderful: a marvel of storytelling wrested from the black night of the twentieth century. Your heart will be in your mouth as you read." - Francis Spufford
"A riveting and moving novel that masterfully captures the reality of wartime in all its sorrow and uncertainty as well as the light that can still be found in the dark and the beauty of lasting friendship." - Nina Stibbe
"An intriguing and thrilling read, believable in the tiniest details - I've read half a dozen novels set in the Blitz but this one is the most atmospheric and memorable. It had me by the throat." - Emma Donoghue
"This clever and accomplished novel is simultaneously a vivid evocation of London life during the Blitz, where secretaries struggle into work after digging bodies out of rubble; a late-night page-turner that will keep you guessing till the end, and a fascinating exploration of identity - and one woman's fight to hang onto her own." - Joanna Quinn
"Immediately immersive and utterly enthralling, The Midnight News is full of atmosphere and intrigue and tells a deeply moving story that is as surprising as it is satisfying." - Cathy Rentzenbrink
"Jo Baker is one of my absolute favourite writers working today. She is that rare and precious thing: a literary writer with a poet's eye for detail, an acute psychologist who creates characters who live, but also a brilliant storyteller who in The Midnight News tells both a love story and a mystery with increasing tension and dread. I read with a lump in my throat while the family dinner burnt." - Natasha Solomons
"Deep and dark and wonderful: a marvel of storytelling wrested from the black night of the twentieth century. Your heart will be in your mouth as you read." - Francis Spufford
"A riveting and moving novel that masterfully captures the reality of wartime in all its sorrow and uncertainty as well as the light that can still be found in the dark and the beauty of lasting friendship." - Nina Stibbe
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