Published 24th April 2025 by Pan Macmillan.
From the cover of the book:
Jayne Ferguson has always been a keeper of secrets, most especially her own . . .If there’s one thing Jayne Ferguson has learnt in her life, it’s that every blessing comes with a curse. She married the most handsome man on the isle of St Kilda - but he’s a bully. She inherited her mother’s gift of second sight - but only ever foresees her fellow islanders’ deaths. She has learnt to keep to herself, treading in the shadows and shirking the highs for fear of the lows.
When a needless death strikes at the heart of her home, Jayne’s bad marriage becomes worse and she finds solace with an unlikely friend. Glimmers of happiness tantalise her, though there’s no possibility for anything more, especially once word comes of St Kilda’s evacuation.
But as the day draws near, tensions on the island rise. Secrets are being forced to the surface, passions and enmities erupting with equal violence. A man is killed, as Jayne knew he would be, and her closest friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora are each implicated.
On the mainland, the villagers scatter into new lives, hoping distance means refuge. But then Jayne has another of her dreams and she knows the past isn’t done with them yet.
The Midnight Secret is the fourth and final book in Karen Swan's sweeping, bestselling Wild Isles series, following on from The Last Summer, The Stolen Hours and The Lost Lover.
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Jayne Ferguson has always been an outsider among the St Kildan community. Cursed with her mother's ability to foresee death, Jayne was astonished to be courted by the island's most handsome man, but Norman Ferguson turned out to be a bully of the worst kind and marriage to him is far from easy.
Transplanted to the mainland, with the rest of the St Kildan community, Jayne's existence is worse than ever. Now forced to endure her husband's open infidelity, and with her friends Effie, Mhairi and Flora scattered to their new lives, Jayne's only solace is an unlikely partner in the grief they share.
But Jayne also holds the key to unravelling the mystery of a past that stalks them all, if she can find the courage to tell what she knows...
And so we have reached the concluding volume of the fabulous Wild Isles series, which has followed Effie, Mhairi and Flora through their emotional trials and tribulations from their home on St Kilda to destinies which have separated them from each other.
The previous books (The Last Summer, The Stolen Hours, and The Lost Lover) have each been told from the perspectives of the central characters Effie, Mhairi and Flora, dovetailing their parallel plotlines together in an absolute masterclass of storytelling as they pursue their hopes and dreams, and negotiate the fallout of the tragic events they left behind on St Kilda. This time, Swan brings everything full circle by taking a little turn via Jayne Ferguson, a character who has always been on the fringe of the stories of her friends, and of the community as a whole - separated by the otherness of her unwanted psychic abilities, and a marriage blighted by domestic violence.
As we get to know more about Jayne, we discover she holds crucial information about what happened on St Kilda. The storyline now splits between Jayne, and the the other girls, with a full quota of additional heartache for Effie, Mhairi and Flora, just when you thought they had each found happiness. Swan has more surprises up her sleeve as she flips back and forth between the girls, and I began to wonder how they would ever get to the places I dearly wanted them to arrive at by the end of the series. But have no fear, though she drags you through the emotional mill, the threads all work out in the most satisfying of endings for them all.
The Wild Isles books have made up one of my favourite series of the last few years, as they are full of vivid characters caught up in compelling adventures, and packed with delicious social history from the 1920s and 30s. I found myself sipping this final story to make the pleasure last as long as possible, and am bereft to be leaving behind Jayne, Effie, Mhairi, and Flora as they embark on their future journeys without me.
Absolutely cracking writing from Karen Swan in her first series, which I highly recommend you add to your reading piles if top-drawer historical fiction is your bag - make sure you read them in order they are written to avoid major spoliers though!
The Midnight Secret is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.
Her historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.
