Gone by Midnight by Candice Fox

The Synopsis

They left four children safe upstairs.
They came back to three.

On the fifth floor of the White Caps Hotel, four young boys are left alone while their parents dine downstairs.
But when one of the parents checks on the children at midnight, they discover one of them is missing.
The boys swear they stayed in their room. CCTV confirms that none of them left the building. No trace of the child is found.
Now the hunt is on to find him, before it’s too late – and before the search for a boy becomes a search for a body...

My Review

I always know that I really loved a book when I find it difficult to write my review for fear of not doing the book justice, and oh gosh how I struggled to write this review! But here it is anyway and hopefully it expresses how much I loved this book!
While I was reading Gone by Midnight, I was thinking about how well it would work as a series because of what great characters Ted Conkaffey and Amanda Pharrell are, not realising that it’s already part of a series - the Crimson Lake series! I think the fact that I was able to get through the whole book without realising that there were previous books or feeling as though I’d missed anything, shows how well written Gone by Midnight is. While I would definitely recommend reading the previous books because (going by this one) it’s a wonderful series, this book can definitely be read as a standalone with no problems at all. I was able to slot straight in and I warmed to Ted and Amanda instantly, so I think you will too.
As you might’ve guessed by the fact I’ve mentioned their names twice already, Ted and Amanda’s partnership really made the book for me. They’re so well-developed and layered that they’re really easy to get behind and although they seem like an unlikely pair, they complement each other so well.
There’s a fabulous sense of place during the entirety of the book, and while I’ve never been to Australia, I now feel as though I have!
This book really has it all. It’s full of tension, action, gripping writing and a complex central mystery but is also packed with plenty of emotion and heart.
I read the last third of this book with my eyes glued to the page and I was completely unable to work out who was behind Richie’s disappearance or how it was done. I really enjoyed the ending and found it thoroughly satisfying.
Overall, I’m giving Gone by Midnight 4.5 out of 5. It’s immersive, satisfying and expertly written. I absolutely cannot wait for more from Conkaffey and Pharrell!

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About the Author

Candice is the middle child of a large, eccentric family from Sydney’s western suburbs. The daughter of a parole officer and an enthusiastic foster-carer, Candice spent her childhood listening around corners to tales of violence, madness and evil as her father relayed his work stories to her mother and older brothers.


Candice won back-to-back Ned Kelly awards for her first two novels Hades and Eden. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed Fall and co-writer with James Patterson of the Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Never Never set in the Australian outback.