I've read at least one book (in some cases all)
of every single series Charlaine Harris has written. Her earlier cozy mysteries are at worst, mind numbingly boring (especially Aurora Teagarden), and at best, mildly interesting. Midnight Crossroad unfortunately falls into the cozy mystery genre, though I was hoping for more of a Harper Connelly-type story, especially given the (sort of) main character hails from that series, but this ends up closer to Lily Bard's series instead.
Stay away from this if you don't like mysteries solved by people who shouldn't be solving mysteries (one of Harris's protagonists in another series is a cleaning lady, and yet the worst one is a librarian. No, these people should not, and would not, solve mysteries in real life!) Cozy mysteries as a whole just don't make much sense to me, though I realize lots of people like them.
Also skip this if multiple POVs make your head spin. On one occasion the POV switched mid-page. I was ok with this most of the time, but it took me a second to go with the flow.
Another thing, if you're a fan of whodunit mysteries and like to try to figure out the killer, good luck with this one. I don't think I'm oblivious to signs and clues but I had no idea who the killer was up until they were revealed. I honestly don't see how anyone could guess what had happened or why until it's spelled out in the end.
I'd like to say that this is a case of "first book syndrome" where things are just getting setup and the author can be forgiven for a shaky start: but COME ON. How many books has Harris written now? Plus, this is just a trilogy! She only has two more times to make this series seem worth reading.
Some of the characters are really interesting and I want to learn more about them, so that's why I'll continue reading this series. Plus, like I said
this is just a trilogy. I don't have to invest much and I don't regret reading this book, even with its faults. I did borrow it from the library, which I suggest most should do, or wait for the paperback.
Sadly, Harris is no longer on my insta-buy list for authors I'll blindly buy hardcovers of. I really wish she'd write another paranormal series because I know from experience that
her cozy mysteries just aren't that exciting for me.