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The Midnight Visitor
It's midnight in St Ninian's a nun makes her nightly call on those near the end of life. As she goes round whispering a prayer over each in turn, some are more aware of her ministrations than others.
For one, however, it's too late. He lies face down on top of another comatose patient, and it's unlikely that he's died of natural causes, given that a brand new Sabatier fish knife is protruding from his back. Meanwhile, for the nun who finds him, there's a further she's known the dead man for most of her life.
But help is at hand. A friend from her past happens to answer the emergency call to the police. Years before, the nun used to teach him piano. And some other things...
Sister Mary Maxwell-Hume is back – with Inspector John Knox!
For one, however, it's too late. He lies face down on top of another comatose patient, and it's unlikely that he's died of natural causes, given that a brand new Sabatier fish knife is protruding from his back. Meanwhile, for the nun who finds him, there's a further she's known the dead man for most of her life.
But help is at hand. A friend from her past happens to answer the emergency call to the police. Years before, the nun used to teach him piano. And some other things...
Sister Mary Maxwell-Hume is back – with Inspector John Knox!
316 pages, Paperback
Published February 25, 2022
About the author
Gordon Lawrie
13 books12 followersBorn in 1952, Gordon Lawrie taught Modern Studies - that's politics in Scotland - for 36 years in an Edinburgh secondary school, writing occasionally for educational magazines or in political science journals. Then he saw the light... and tried his hand at writing a novel or two, coming up with Four Old Geezers And A Valkyrie at the turn of 2012. Since then, he's written three further novels, the latest of which is The Midnight Visitor(2022).
Today he lives in Edinburgh city centre. Although the stories are not autobiographical, he's in danger of turning into the rather sad central character in Four Old Geezers...
2023 sees the arrival of Grace Notes, a collection of twenty short stories.
Today he lives in Edinburgh city centre. Although the stories are not autobiographical, he's in danger of turning into the rather sad central character in Four Old Geezers...
2023 sees the arrival of Grace Notes, a collection of twenty short stories.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 11, 2025
After reading "The Discreet Charm of Mary Maxwell-Hume" story collection, I was absolutely thrilled to read a proper detective novel about Sister Mary and her "Dr Watson", DI Knox, on a real murder case.
Coming back to familiar characters and their lives felt like home. The book delves deeper into their personalities, letting us understand them better, see the arcs, the reasons and motives of their actions. Here, Sister Mary is not a mysterious, cartoonish archetype for the shock/fun value. We now have the privilege to peek behind the curtains and see her with all the masks off. And John Knox is no longer "another good policeman", but a man with his own desires and failures, living through a tough period of his life. Together, they need to untangle a tight knot of a murder with roots going back years into the past, pulling so many strings attached to the characters we have already connected to (ouch!).
Apart from giving me a delicious puzzle to relish, "The Midnight Visitor" also teaches a lot about luxury-class cars and how their security system operates. It is something I would never grasp. I have no idea how Sister Mary managed to crack this one, but I applaud her standing. The way she stalked and played roles, fishing the information out like a real spy, was amazing. I've said this before, but I must repeat: I want this filmed and turned into a many-episode series. The world needs more powerful and resourceful women like Sister Mary.
Coming back to familiar characters and their lives felt like home. The book delves deeper into their personalities, letting us understand them better, see the arcs, the reasons and motives of their actions. Here, Sister Mary is not a mysterious, cartoonish archetype for the shock/fun value. We now have the privilege to peek behind the curtains and see her with all the masks off. And John Knox is no longer "another good policeman", but a man with his own desires and failures, living through a tough period of his life. Together, they need to untangle a tight knot of a murder with roots going back years into the past, pulling so many strings attached to the characters we have already connected to (ouch!).
Apart from giving me a delicious puzzle to relish, "The Midnight Visitor" also teaches a lot about luxury-class cars and how their security system operates. It is something I would never grasp. I have no idea how Sister Mary managed to crack this one, but I applaud her standing. The way she stalked and played roles, fishing the information out like a real spy, was amazing. I've said this before, but I must repeat: I want this filmed and turned into a many-episode series. The world needs more powerful and resourceful women like Sister Mary.
Displaying 1 of 1 review