Midnight Solitaire

by Greg F. Gifune

The Devil is in the details. But then, so is God.

As a massive blizzard descends on New England, four troubled strangers find themselves stranded at an old roadside motel on a desolate highway in the middle of nowhere. But there’s a killer on the road. Something is stalking them, a maniac within the storm. Known as The Dealer, he is a deranged and inhumanly sadistic serial killer mercilessly butchering everything in his path to fulfill his ancient demonic rituals and depraved destiny. Four doomed souls with nothing left to lose will have one chance to survive, one cold and violent night to stop The Dealer. But how do you stop destiny? How do you rewrite what a greater power has already preordained? How do you kill something that may not be alive?

In a spray of bloody ice and snow, the horrifying truth behind The Dealer and the stranded strangers is revealed, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Game on.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

179 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2011

About the author

Called "One of the best writers of his generation" by both the Roswell Literary Review and author Brian Keene, Greg F. Gifune is the author of numerous short stories, several novels and two short story collections. His work has been published in a wide range of magazines and anthologies all over the world, and has recently garnered interest from Hollywood. His novels include The Bleeding Season, Deep Night, Saying Uncle, A View From The Lake, Night Work, Drago Descending, Blood In Electric Blue and Dominion.

Along with his short story collections, Down To Sleep and Heretics, his work has been nominated for numerous awards and is consistently praised by readers and critics alike across the globe. For seven years he was Editor-in-Chief of Thievin' Kitty Publications, publishers of the acclaimed fiction magazines The Edge: Tales of Suspense (1998-2004) and Burning Sky: Adventures in Science Fiction Terror (1998-2003), and currently serves as Associate Editor at Delirium Books. 

The son of teachers, Greg F. Gifune was educated in Boston and has lived in various places, including New York City and Peru. A trained actor and broadcaster, he has appeared in various stage productions and has worked in radio and television as both an on-air talent and a producer.  Earlier in life he held a wide range of jobs, encompassing everything from journalism to promotions.

The author of numerous novels, screenplays and two short story collections, his work has been consistently praised by critics and readers alike, and has been translated into several languages and published all over the world. Greg and his wife Carol live in Massachusetts with a bevy of cats. 

Discover more about his writing at GregFGifune.com and UninvitedBooks.com.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some outsiders meet their destiny in form of The Dealer, a mystical demonic creature. Can Doc, one of the cast of characters, stop this ancient evil? Showdown takes place in a remote motel. The book comes up with many eerie motifs and gory details. Also the introduction of the characters and their presentation was top notch. I didn't like the fact that there was too much inner monologue of the characters and a pseudo intellectualization. This dragged a bit. The story would have been straighter to the heart without this frame. Mythology alone would have fulfilled that purpose. Otherwise a very dark and unsettling story. Nothing for the depressed or suicidal. Classic stuff of good vs evil. Creepy cover too.

[Char · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a typical Greg Gifune story in that it's a straightforward narrative with no real ambiguity. It was a change I welcomed.

The Dealer, (the devil?), wanders the road for souls and bodies to collect to satisfy his sick rituals and desires. Doc, (whose wife and daughter The Dealer collected), lives with only the goal of finding and killing him. This is the story of the final showdown.

There's slightly more going on here, but the reader should discover that for themselves. This novella sped right on by and before I knew it, it was all over. A fun, fast paced story without all the thinking and mulling over, (don't get me wrong, I enjoy that kind of tale too), that is often involved with reading Gifune's work.

Recommended for fans of dark fiction, especially fans of The Stand!

[Becks! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so glad I chose to read this book during the day! Skin flaying, and an eyeball necklace? Yeah that promises nothing but nightmares for me!

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg Gifune is hands-down one of my favorite authors. His words are stunningly atmospheric, and have the power to bring readers right into the worlds he creates. MIDNIGHT SOLITAIRE was a bit different from some of his other books that I've read recently. That is to say, the plot was very straightforward--there was never any question of the two basic sides in opposition, as opposed to some of his more ambiguous tales. (A VIEW FROM THE LAKE, and THE RAIN DANCERS are the first couple that come to mind). This story was filled with Gifune's usual ingenious imagery, and I was quickly drawn into the action.

An author who probably couldn't write a "bad" story if he tried!

Re-read @February 2016--3.5 stars. Somehow it didn't hold up quite as well for me this time around, but I'm keeping my initial rating of 4 stars, rounded up from 3.5*. What I would have liked more was a longer read, bringing more depth to the characters.

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. It took a very long time to establish the premise and find its footing with the ever changing cast of characters. However, after that point the story was fairly fun and had some decent gore and suspense. But the journey getting to that point was a bit much. I actually checked to see if this was a short story collection, which it isn’t, as the introductory chapters felt completely detached from one another. Doc and the Dealer are the standouts here and had some good lore and interactions. I didn’t dislike this experience, but I didn’t overly enjoy myself either. It was just ok.

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book starts out with a number of chapters of quite rapid introduction of a number of characters, but then the story kicks off with a roller-coaster-ride of violence and intriguing mythology. A quick and absorbing read, with but a couple of problems. The first is the present tense narrative, which never works great in my opinion. The second is the too short format. The characters are really good and I would have loved to get to know them a bit more. Still, a well-written and fun horror story which I enjoyed and rated 3 Goodread-stars. Or so I thought until I read the mind-tickling and clever ending, which really lifted the whole thing up a level!

[Robert Dunbar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greg F. Gifune’s steadily growing army of fans knows what to expect: this insane darkness, hopeless and irresistible. It’s familiar to anyone who knows Gifune’s impressive body of work. Shifting mythologies, persuasive paranoia, inescapable dread – these are the raw material of his fiction.

But this one …

What makes this grisly thriller different from his other work is the hallucinogenic violence. (It’s like watching a Roger Corman film on acid.) Yet it derives its considerable power from the intelligence behind the work, the quality of the prose. Not the carnage. What a concept!

And just when you think you know what’s going to happen next …

[Rob Twinem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read from my all time fav author Greg F Gifune. A big showdown of good v evil is about to take place at the Moonlight Road Motor Inn. The dealer wants to return home and in order to do so he must collect souls...."When it's time he will cross in a brilliant bloodbath of horror and tears, the screams of those he's slaughtered his chorus as he passes to nirvana, bringing with thim the tortured souls he has worked so hard to horde...Home, he thinks. It's beeen so long...so very long..but soon now. Soon." As the storm rages our four heroes Doc Banta, Greer, Luke and Pit must do everything within their power to thwart the evil intentions of The Dealer..."he is not of flesh. He's not human. Never has been. He's spirit. A demon, a ghost, makes no difference what you call him. He has many names in many cultures, but it's all the same. Evil is a disease of humanity. No on'e immune, no one escapes"

This is wonderful writing that expertly blends horror and fantasy and ends in the most exciting manner...when this night concludes only the brave can survive and sacrifices will need to be made...read and enjoy :)

[Gatorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likeable novella from Gifune about strangers trapped in a roadside motel in a winter storm trying to fight off an evil entity that takes the form of a serial killer. The story moves along nicely and there's plenty of action, just not a whole lot you haven't seen before. The ending explanation of what transpires, hinted at in the first chapter, is interesting and gives the story some kick but I wish Gifune had explored it in more detail. 3.5 stars.

[Sjgomzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another killer, no pun intended, read from Gifune. I’ve said it before, and I say it now- it boggles my mind that more people aren’t reading him! One of the best crime/horror fiction writers out there.

[Benjamin Uminsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

MIDNIGHT SOLITAIRE was really a great read, and one of two Delirium Book novels from this year that I can say I have really enjoyed (the other one being Strand's FANGBOY). I believe this was DB's last novel for the year, and I'm really glad that they ended with Gifune, as he can usually be counted on to deliver.

I can't say that the story was mind blowing (far from it), and even reading the blurb from Gifune's earlier novel THE LIVING AND THE DEAD, it appears that a lot of key plot elements show up again. We basically have a story about a group of strangers trapped in a storm, dealing with a violent supernatural entity hellbent on hunting them into oblivion. Sure, there were a few plot twists that made things interesting, and I thought that the the "prologue" and "epilogue" was really effective in shedding a little light on the Kit Piper character and adding some mystery to the story.

The strength to this story though was less in the plot but more in Gifune's masterful development and fleshing out of his characters. Doc Bantha was easily my favorite character and very reminiscent of Norm Partridge's Cheney character from his short story "The Iron Dead" (and I so badly hope that Partridge continues to write more stories involving this fantastic protagonist). Anyways, Doc Bantha is your prototypical gritty pulp hero, willing to sacrifice himself for a larger goal. Gifune really helps you empathize with Doc by giving him such a pathos filled back story and I was really drawn in. The other character's like Greer and Luke were perhaps not quite as well developed, by there was more than enough there for the reader to really latch on and get invested in their fates.

While I would say that Gifune did a decent enough job developing our antagonist (The Dealer), I think my biggest gripe is Gifune short changing us a bit on providing further explanation as to how the Dealer's "curse" came about and why it was lifting. I'm sorry to spoil things, but ultimately, we learn early enough on that our antagonist is not so much a disturbed serial killer, but actually a fallen angel, feeding off the fear and anger of his victims. His ritual sacrifices are tribute to his dark masters. We get some back story on this, but so much more could have gone into developing this character and the world that he wished to return to. I got a feeling that Gifune left this story a little open ended and perhaps will continue with another novel or novella. This was a fairly short novel and I think there was more than enough room for Gifune to do a little bit more with his mythos building (if indeed this is what he intended).

Overall, I was very happy with the story, even with Gifune amping up the gore for shock value. I'll give him credit that the gore worked well for what he was doing with the story. Unlike a few other DB titles earlier this year from Bryan Smith, the gore here was well contextualized and accented the overall narrative. Where Smith gives us a blood bath simply for the sake of the gore, Gifune gives us shocking imagery to shed further light on what his characters are dealing with and how they are reacting to it.

Definitely recommended.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The devil feeds on your negative/bad thoughts and whatnot, drawing him to you like a magnet. He thinks he's doing you a favor when he mutilates your body for the sacrifices he does. One man has been waiting for his chance to stop the devil that killed his wife and daughter. He would kill it, but you can't kill something that was never alive. The showdown happens at a motel where these strangers meet due to a storm.

I wavered between 3 and 4 star because the story was slow going half the time, too much running from bad man and not enough cans of whoop-ass, which in another book with less literary skill would have made this just an okay read. This was not an eyes glued-to-the-page plot and it was rather easy to put it down. I like it still, thus the 3 Stars.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rather different from the other Gifune books that I have read. It was more or less a straight forward "bad guy chases them down" type of book which is not typical of him. I preferred the atmosphere and slowly building dread of "A View from the Lake" or the deep emotional character-driven "The Rain Dancers." I still enjoyed it because Gifune is a great writer and I enjoy everything that I have read by him, but it is not his best, in my opinion.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars


I am a huge fan of Greg F. Gifune, but I did not get into this novella. This may be the case that the length of this book might have been its biggest flaw. I did not like the characters and the world was not really developed. There are many other great novels by this fabulous author that you should check out. This one....ehhhh.

[Kim (Wistfulskimmies Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of four strangers. They come together at a motel in a snowstorm. All are being chased down by a deranged and inhumanly sadistic serial killer known as The Dealer. Each of them has a reason for being there and over the course of the night they will fight for their lives. Who will die and who will make it until morning?

This is the second novella from this author that I have read and I was not disappointed. With a principle cast of five, and a barely used motel in the middle of nowhere, in a raging snowstorm made for a pretty tense and claustrophobic read. The first half of the story was spent introducing the characters, and I liked that because it meant you got to know them and care about what happened to them. About halfway through though, suddenly the action kicked in and I was left breathless by the end. The story was quite graphic in its gore, so not for the faint hearted! The ending was explosive, literally and a classic good versus evil battle. This is another brilliant dark horror that I totally recommend.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I’ve read from this author and I was not disappointed! This is a suspenseful, horror filled tale with a supernatural presence of unknowing age that’s been killing and mutilating since time, as we know it, began! Ready to play a game of Solitaire?

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humans trapped by an ancient evil must fight for survival and to trap the demon in a bit of New Age hokum.

Fun bit of horror.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of "Demon Knight", but in the best possible ways. A fantastic short read that holds you until the end.

[Sara Twigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think this guy is on my favourite list. Devoured this book and now bought a few of his others.

[Kaisersoze · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was all set to give this one the standard 3 star "it's fine for what it is" review, but this novella (I know it says "A Novel" under the title on the second page but at 127 pages long and with a fairly big type set and generous margins, you're not fooling anyone, dear publisher) throws a big curve-ball in the last two chapters that ties back into the first chapter in a way I still don't get.

So the 2-star rating is my fault. I read every single review here and only one here alluded to it being clever, so I'm clearly the only idiot who didn't get it.

In every other way, this is a 3-star read. Midnight Solitaire is over too quickly after all the build up, and I have major issues with the limited perspectives changing from one paragraph to the next - a major pet peeve of mine - but as far as a standard good-vs-evil-with-innocents-trapped-in-the-middle story goes, this ticks most of the boxes readers searching for such things will be looking for.

And if someone can explain what I'm missing in that ending, I'll bump it back up to that score. Until then ...

2 Final Battles in the Middle of Nowhere for Midnight Solitaire.

[William M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg F. Gifune continues to impress with his dark fiction, this time stranding a small group of people at a roadside motel in the middle of the blizzard. The raging storm, however, is only one of the problems. The other? The demonic serial killer that continues to hunt our main characters with a passion. I'll be the first to admit I'm a sucker for any thriller taking place in a snow storm, and this book really hit the spot. Author Gifune's characters are rich and believable with emotional back stories to keep you rooting for them when faced with the overwhelming danger they go through.

Always well written, Gifune's dialogue is solid and he is very good at keeping the action moving without bogging down the narrative by being overly descriptive. Although the villain reminded me too much of the bad guy in the movie Jeepers Creepers, my only real problem with this book was a chapter near the very end that had me quite confused. The story jarringly jumps away and then returns for a bit of a M. Night Shyamalan-style ending that I think could have been handled more smoothly. Setting up earlier chapters with small hints would have certainly helped. But after re-reading the final chapters, the story fell into place, although still a bit clunky. That aside, this horror/thriller was a lot of fun to read. It was fast, tense, claustrophic, and loaded with atmosphere.

[Richard Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've not read anything by Greg F Gifune before now, but after this his will be a name I will look out for. This is a fantastic story that starts at a great pace and doesn't let up. It manages to perfectly entwine. the natural and the supernatural, so that both are perfectly believable. I didn't quite understand the ending, I suspect I'll need to re-read it to get full value, but a great story.

[Kathryn Grace Loves Horror · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written with wonderfully believable characters, but something about it ultimately didn’t work for me. I think the ending felt a bit rushed, that some of the ideas here could have been more fleshed out. Also the killer kind of reminded me of one of my neighbors, which either means the killer wasn’t scary enough or that my neighbor is much creepier than I give him credit for. Not sure which...

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrill Ride To The End

The Dealer is a serial killer that seems more then human and Doc has been hunting him for years.
The final showdown is at a little motel in the middle of a blizzard.
Will the Dealer finish what he started or will Doc finish him?
Pick this up and find out!!!

[Zafir Ignatov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great novel ! Mr. Gifune is writing some of the best dark fiction out there !

[Kari Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written

Most of the story isn't terribly original, but for the most part it's well written. At least it's not one of those stories where they think the bad guy is bested, but they're wrong, then they think they've destroyed him, but they're wrong. I am so tired of books like that, where the bad guy is like the energized rabbit. I can understand him being hard to vanquish when there is a supernatural element to him, but some books just make it ridiculous, the supposedly dead bad guy becomes a perpetual jack-in-the-box, jumping out from here there and everywhere. Anyhow, it was nice to see a book avoid that cliche. The strong (but not ridiculously so) female characters were a nice touch.

[Mike Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy

Midnight Solitaire is a fun, fast-paced read. I enjoyed the juxtaposition between reality and reflection on the past. A gruesome story about being trapped and helpless, Midnight Solitaire explores the extent to which the absolute power of evil binds us, and our imagination's capability to cope with, and ultimately conquer it.

As with all of Gifune's stories, I highly recommend it.

[John Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Greg Gifune continues to turn out quality fiction. Gifune's take on the Walking Man myths is vivid, graphic and set a breakneck pace. The battle between good and evil during a blizzard at a cheap hotel. The Dealer ( the evil spirit) is facing his final battle against his nemesis ( one of few surviving victims) with the lives of innocent people in the balance. Gifune ones a good job with the action and characterization in a short amount of time.
A lot of fun.

[(the.darkandmoody.reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 - page turning horror novella

Serial killer demon on the lose hellbent on killing enough people to make its way back home. A group of deserted people suck in a rundown motel caught in the middle of a snow storm. The fight of good and evil is about to have a showdown.

This book has everything a horror fan could want: blood, gruesome deaths, fear for the characters, supernatural force of evil, plus mix in a few mindf*ck elements.

[Ted · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually love Gifune's work and look forward to his new novels. However, this one didn't do it for me. I was happy with the first one third of the book but then it became predictable almost to the point of being uninteresting. Even though the book is less than 200 pages, I had to struggle to finish it. Tack on the standard Gifune ambiguous ending and it just feel flat for me.