The Midnight Hour by R. G. Belsky

The Midnight Hour is Belky’s sequel to The Kennedy Connection, a book that I reviewed very favorably in 8/14. He has the same protagonist, Gil Malloy, a reporter for the New York Daily News. In this story, another reporter, Dani Keegan, was murdered, and that became big news, in part because Keegan was the daughter of Jack Keegan, a legendary Manhattan D.A. Why would Dani have gone to a construction project in a sketchy area of town?

But, Malloy was on bad terms with his editor, having been nearly fired for his past shenanigans, so he had not seen any plum assignments for a long time, and he was not getting to write the lead stories about Keegan. Malloy was given some background work that other reporters might need for their stories, but it was there that he discovered a possible link between the murder and the story Dani was covering at the time of her death. Suddenly, Malloy had the front page headlines that he craved.

This is a novella length story into which Belsky wove a complex plot about a murder that occurred three decades earlier, followed by serial killings of families around the U.S. I was surprised by the ending – did not see it coming even though I was looking for the final twist. Malloy is a compelling and flawed character that the author makes believable. His constant proposals to his ex-wife, as well as his often flippant demeanor, provided a good comedy offset to the gruesome deaths which were being described. Belsky surrounds Malloy with a good cast of characters. I like this work and I hope there is a next Malloy installment.