Midnight Secrets

by Jennifer St. Giles

Book Overview

Is he her darkest dream...or most terrifying nightmare? Cassiopeia's dreams have never been her own. They are harbingers of death. Yet when she learns her gentle cousin, Mary, has disappeared from a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425209628
• ISBN13: 9780425209622
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 373 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 4.3" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Gothic tale of mystery and romance

"Midnight Secrets" is the first book I've read by Jennifer St. Giles and initially I wasn't too optimistic - the information on the back of the book made it sound like a story of two warring brothers with some overinflated gothic trappings. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, to find myself reading a story with some mystery, some gothic elements, but far more emphasis on the thoughts of a particular woman as she experiences life as a maid rather than her normally socially elevated status. Cassie Andrews is a very likeable and interesting character who is strong, resourceful and works to help those around her, learning from her mistakes despite being felled by 'love at first sight'. Cassie has a strange ability, one that is actually a problem to her - she tends to have dreams that foretell the deaths of those around her. When she has a dream about her much-loved cousin Mary she decides to go to Cornwall, where Mary works as a governess, to see if she can do anything to prevent the tragedy. Unfortunately when she arrives she discovers that Mary has gone missing, presumably drowned, and that the local constable isn't interested in what happened to Mary. Cassie goes 'undercover' as a maid in the Killdaren estate in order to have the opportunity to do some more investigating. Cassie finds life as a maid significantly harder than she had expected. Her workload is huge under the tyrannical Mrs Frye and her fellow servants may have things to hide. She befriends Bridget but soon discovers that her ideas of right and wrong and behaviour don't translate well to the serving class. Cassie's a wonderful character as she is actually able to learn and to grow and to accommodate her new circumstances. She's also fascinated by Sean Killdaren, the owner of the property who no-one ever sees; it's rumoured he is a vampire and when Cassie meets him she certainly finds him striking. Although billed as a gothic romance this book was mercifully free from overwrought prose. Yes, people wander around dark corridors at night, find themselves kidnapped and stashed in underground caves, but it's all written so enjoyably and well and Cassie is such a great narrator that it's easy to be carried along by the story. Her friend Bridget is excellently described, as is the hard life of a maid in the 1880s. The romance with Sean Killdaren is perhaps a little piecemeal at times, and I wasn't entirely sure why he fell in love with Cassie, but the story was always interesting and enjoyable as Cassie searches for the truth behind Mary's disappearance. My only slight quibble is that something that is hinted about Sean throughout the book isn't really completely rounded up and that the end happens rather quickly and that some loose ends weren't tied up but this was a great read for those who like historical romances and there is a subsequent book featuring Cassie's sister and Sean's brother to continue this excellent cast of characters and presumably to shed light on some of the p

Jennifer St. Giles did it again

Jennifer St. Giles is a very powerful writer she give you a nice mystery with a ghostly romance. You connect emotionally with her characters very enjoyable to read. Engrossing and charming. A story with many intriguing secondary characters that always have something interesting happening can't wait for December went the next book in this trilogy comes out you will no go wrong with this author she is HOT!! a new voice, a super star in the making.

My favorite of hers so far

I have read all 3 of Jennifer St. Giles' gothic romance novels and so far this was my favorite. I loved the characters of Cassie and Sean, and how Cassie, by posing as a maid in the Killdaren Castle, comes to learn to rethink many of her opinions about how people should lead their lives. For fellow fans of Jenni's "Muse" (Gerard Butler) there are a great many "inside winks" that made me smile. I could so picture Sean Killdaren's physical essence resembling (to a great extent) that of the incredibly charismatic and impossibly handsome Mr. Butler. I was not upset by the presence of Irish characters in the English landscape because I realize that many families migrated throughout England, Ireland and Scotland, and I believe many families of wealth living in England would have had Irish servants. I would only question that Sean seems a bit too Irish for someone who was apparently born and raised in England though of Irish ancestory. It was slightly less than satisfying that the mysteries presented during the book were not all resolved in this volume. The teaser at the end indicates a continuation of the story with the next book, coming this December. I'm not sure if there will be a 3rd as well (there are 3 sisters I suspect this may be a series with one book focusing on each sister, in the style of Nora Roberts). Whatever the future of the series, I hope to see all the loose ends and unresolved issues brought to fruition in future editions. I will be on line to purchase them as soon as they are available!

A Very Good Gothic Romance!!

This was an excellent gothic romance written in the 1st person (which I love). There's a creepy castle, a curse and a mystery. Sean Killdaren is a recluse, haunted by a curse involving his twin brother. Cassie travels to Dartmouth to try and locate her lost cousin who has gone missing while employed by Killdaren. I really enjoyed this book. The mystery doesn't overshadow the romance but adds an interesting aspect to the story. I'm a sucker for a tormented hero and a smart heroine. Do yourself a favor and pick up this book.

terrific Victorian romantic suspense

In 1879 Cassie Andrews sees a vision of her cousin Mary dying at sea off the coast of Dartmouth. Unable to ignore what she "witnessed", she plans to learn how her relative ended in the cold water and who caused the "accident". Cassie disguises herself as a chambermaid to gain entrance to the estate of Sean Killaren, the last place Mary stayed where she hears of a curse in which he and his twin will kill one another Cassie and Sean are immediately attracted to one another, but she fears that the man she is beginning to fall in love might be Mary's killer. Adding to the aura of mystery that surrounds Sean is he is a bibliophile, but the only books he collects are those who dwell on the topic of vampires. Cassie ponders whether the man who stole her soul is soulless. MIDNIGHT SECRETS is a terrific Victorian romantic suspense that grips the reader from the moment that Cassie has her vision and decides to become an amateur sleuth and never slows down until the mystery is resolved. Cassie is a fabulous heroine with a need to know the truth though she fears that once she learns it her heart will break. Sean is an enigmatic hunk who in some ways seems like a gothic antihero. The whodunit is fun to follow and the paranormal elements blend in completely so that readers obtain a great tale, which is no secret as Jennifer St. Giles always provides such to her audience. Harriet Klausner