The Midnight Killer by Jez Pinfold

The Midnight Killer by Jez Pinfold
Published by Joffe Books on 9 September 2025

📝 Review Note:
This review is provided as part of the Virtual Book Tour hosted by Zooloo’s Book Tours, taking place 9 September (publication day) until 15 September 2025. Follow along with the Book Tour Schedule.

Thank you to Jez Pinfold, Joffe Books and Zooloo’s Book Tours for including me on this book tour and for providing a copy of the digital edition of this gripping crime mystery to read and review.

As always, this review reflects my honest thoughts.

About the book

While the city sleeps, a killer strikes.

Detective Bec Pope is waiting in Heathrow departures when the call comes in: a body has been found in a quiet Bloomsbury cemetery. Her long-overdue holiday is over before it begins.

It’s no ordinary crime scene. The smartly-dressed young man hasn’t just been murdered. The killer has left a message – a pentagram, brutally carved into the dead man’s chest.

Then a second victim is discovered on a patch of scrubland in Bermondsey. Another young man, killed at midnight, just like the first.

The same five-pointed symbol etched into his flesh.

Bec is on the hunt for a ruthless killer unlike any she’s faced before. If she is to crack the case, she must discover what the symbols mean. And why these victims were targeted.

With the press circling and the entire city on edge, Bec’s running out of time in a case that grows darker by the hour. She needs to stop the killer before midnight strikes – and another life is taken.

About the Author

Jez Pinfold taught English and Film Studies in London for twenty years, including eight years as Head of English. Before landing in secondary teaching he had various jobs, including roadie, sound engineer, guitar tutor and teacher of English as a foreign language.

After writing, his other passion is music. He plays guitar in a rowdy covers band currently called The Maverick Detectives, although they frequently change their name to avoid becoming too recognised and succumbing to the trappings of fame.

My Review

The Midnight Killer is the first Jez Pinfold book I’ve picked up, and it turned out to be book three in the Detective Bec Pope series. I usually prefer to read in order because I like following the characters’ journeys from the very beginning, so I do feel I’ve missed out on some of the background here. Still, this one does stand on its own, and I never felt lost in the story — it’s just that sense of wanting the full picture. I already know I’ll be going back to read books one and two when I get the chance.

What drew me in straight away was the atmosphere. The imagery of the crime scenes gave the story a chilling, ritualistic edge that kept me unsettled and intrigued in equal measure. I could almost feel the clock ticking as midnight approached.

Bec Pope herself is a character I quickly warmed to. She’s sharp, determined, and doesn’t let the mounting pressure from the press or the city’s growing fear knock her focus.

I would have liked to know a little more of her backstory (hence why I’ll go back to the earlier books), but even here she comes across as a detective I’d happily follow into future investigations.

The pacing was steady, with enough twists to keep me guessing, and the London setting gave the whole thing a gritty realism that I enjoyed. It’s not overly graphic, but the detail of the symbols and the way the murders were staged added a darker, almost sinister layer that made it stand out from a typical police procedural.

Overall, this was a solid and gripping read that I raced through. I’m really glad I discovered Jez Pinfold and Detective Bec Pope, and I don’t think it will be long before I’m catching up on her earlier cases. If you enjoy tense, atmospheric crime fiction with a detective you can root for, this is definitely one to pick up.

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DISCLOSURE: I received an advance or review copy of this book. As always, my thoughts are honest and my own.
DISCLOSURE: I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley/Zooloo’s Book Tours. As always, my thoughts are honest and my own.
DISCLOSURE: I purchased this book myself. As always, my thoughts are honest and my own.

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