In Bixby there is a secret hour. At midnight time freezes for an hour and the town belongs to the dark creatures.
Jess is a Midnighter, one of a small group of people who know about the secret hour, each with a special ability. Jessica doesn't know what her talent is and the group are keen to find out. The dark creatures know though. They're scared of whatever it is and determined to stop Jess from using it.
I was pretty much hooked on this book after just a few pages. I love Scott Westerfeld's writing - just the right amount of detail combined with some great action. There's good explanations of what the secret hour is all about without making it too complicated.
The characters are well developed and the relationships between them were totally believable. I liked that Jessica didn't just fit straight in and that there were issues between some of the other Midnighters.
I was left wanting more at the end of the book and fortunately I have "Touching Darkness" (the second in the series) sitting on my book shelf.
