Audiobook Review: The Midnight Ride by Ben Mezrich

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Author: Ben Mezrich
Edition: ALC
Publisher: Hachette Audio (February 22, 2022)
Genre: Adult, Thriller

Synopsis

The Midnight Ride Ben Mezrich Book Cover

THE CARD SHARK: Hailey Gordon is looking to make some fast cash to help pay her tuition when she’s caught counting cards at the Encore casino in Boston. She grabs her winnings and makes her escape. With guards closing in, she dives into an unlocked room to hide . . . only to find a dead body.

THE EX-CON: Recently released from prison, Nick Patterson hasn’t felt hope in a long time, but the job he “inherited” in prison promises to change that. He enters hotel room 633 to find that the person he was supposed to meet has been murdered. Next to the corpse stands a terrified young woman—Hailey Gordon.

THE PROFESSOR: American history professor Adrian Jensen learns of the death of his professional nemesis, Charles Walker, the night after he received Walker’s latest research. Sceptical at first, Adrian nearly deletes the file. But when one small, new detail catches his eye, he makes it his mission to uncover what could be one of the biggest secrets of the Revolutionary War.

All three strangers find themselves on the cusp of an incredible discovery—one that someone is willing to kill to keep buried.

My review of The Midnight Ride

The Midnight Ride is a history-inspired thriller that delivers fast-paced action and intrigue but falls short with underdeveloped characters.

I received a free digital ALC from Hachette Audio in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

Heists and History

I’ll come out and say it: I don’t particularly care about American history. When I picked this book up, I didn’t expect it to revolve as much around the Revolutionary War as it did. Luckily, I don’t think any historical knowledge is necessary to understand the plot or even enjoy it. However, the focus on historical figures and events was certainly unexpected and not really what I hoped this book would be. Ultimately, I definitely missed some of the nuances of the plot because I simply don’t know or care enough about American history to fully grasp them. But if you are a history buff and love books that speculate about the past, it might be exactly what you’re looking for!

Particularly, I think if you like the National Treasure movies, this is a book for you!

The story opens with a museum heist. As a lover of heist stories, I was immediately hooked! While the rest of the book is not as much heist centred as it’s more a mystery and elaborate chase sequence, there was still enough tension and intrigue to keep me entertained.

A fair warning: this book tries to do a lot. From a famous museum heist to a Revolutionary War hero, alchemy and spy families, there is a lot going on. At times I enjoyed all these convoluted threads, at other times it was simply too much. If you’re a reader who gets easily lost in too many plot threads, this book is probably not the best choice for you.

Underdeveloped Characters

Overall, I liked all the characters enough to be interested in their stories. However, all of them felt severely underdeveloped and had little depth beyond their function for the plot. As a reader who thrives on emotionally investing in characters, this was deeply disappointing.

A welcome bright side to these otherwise rather flat characters was narrator Corey Carthew’s performance. He really brought out as much personality and charm as possible and was the reason I felt any connection to the characters at all! His performance truly elevated the story and allowed me to be emotionally invested enough to finish this book.

Overall…

The Midnight Ride was a fun read with lots of mystery and tension across multiple plot threads. It falls short with underdeveloped characters but if you’re looking for a fun thriller, you might be able to overlook those shortcomings.