A deeply evocative tale that will lure you in and wrap itself around you like a cloak.

From the back cover:  Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her…and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an impostor had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca’s name, but her home and incomes. 

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real impostor. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”? 

Sandra Byrd has presented us a delicious tale of mysterious characters in a complicated situation, and we are compelled to try to determine who is actually who they say they are and what are their motives? We know the future for Rebecca is by no means secure from the moment we read Chapter One’s opening line:

“Dusk had begun to smother daylight as we walked…”

And with Byrd’s skill at creating a foreboding atmosphere, we know when Rebecca faces a threat on the page, other more sinister threats are still ahead.

“The dark approached and the silence encircled me, tomblike in its absolute hush; if it were possible to hear quiet, to hear absence, then I heard it.” [p164]

Mist of Midnight is an intriguing story, a richly-woven tapestry of emotions and cultures, danger and surprises. Byrd has created a novel that captivates and will keep you up reading long past the time you intended.