The Midnight Hour by Elly Griffiths - Review

I've been waiting for this book forever! It feels like so long since I got to read one of Elly's adult books, whether the Ruth novels or these, the Stephens and Mephisto series. I had this and the new Ruth book on pre-order, because I was waiting for the paperbacks. This one arrived in mid April and I picked it up not too long afterwards. I do feel like it's not really a Stephens and Mephisto book anymore because we don't get a lot from Edgar's point of view. Instead a lot of it is from Emma Stephens' point of view. She used to be a DI but once she married Edgar she had to give up her job. She is now a private detective alongside Sam Collins, who is also a journalist. There is a young female detective, WPC Meg Connolly. Emma and Meg mostly narrate the book, and I love both of them and am really happy that in this book they become much more friendly!

At the beginning of the book a man called Bert Billington is found dead. He is an ex showman, married to ex chorus girl Verity Malone, and the couple have three children - David, Seth, and Aaron. Bert was fifteen years older than Verity, and had a string of affairs in his life, and is found to have been poisoned with rat poison. Aaron telephones the police to say that he thinks his mother has killed his dad. Bob Willis and Meg start to investigate. Meanwhile Verity employs Emma and Sam to look into the death too. There is a list of suspects a mile long as it seems no one really liked Bert.

Middle son Seth is an actor, and he's currently in Whitby filming a sequel to Dracula with Max. Max knew Verity and had a short-lived relationship with her. His wife Lydia is in Whitby with him, but once filming is finished she doesn't want to stay with him and heads home to Massingham Hall. 

There's a lot of mystery and intrigue throughout the book, but I find it so cosy, like putting on some comfy slippers and settling down with friends. I liked the further look into Meg's family, and I liked Emma's struggle with being a mother and wanting to work. I am giving this four out of five and I'll look forward to the next one as usual!