The novel “The Midnight People” by John Peel was published for the first time in 2019.
Hobo receives a phone call from Greg Morton, an old friend who has long since moved to the village of Monknash, who tells him that something very strange is going on in his area. The boy sounds very scared and the phone call is cut off. Hobo’s mom calls Monknash’s police but the constable who goes to check the situation calls back saying that Greg just pulled a prank on his friend that went a little too far.
Hobo is not at all convinced by the explanation because Greg isn’t the type to pull that kind of prank. He and Lucy Wilson decide to go and see for themselves what’s happening with the excuse of spending a few days with Hobo’s uncle and aunt, who live in that area. When they meet Greg, they find his behavior very strange, and he’s not the only one in the village. Why do so many villagers go to a cave near the village all the time and why there’s always someone who finds a way to stop Hobo and Lucy from going to visit it?
The series “The Lucy Wilson Mysteries” tells the adventures of the granddaughter of Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart, a character who became famous in the TV show “Doctor Who“. It’s a series aimed at young readers with novels that are much shorter than the normal series connected to this saga. The stories almost exclusively include fictional characters created for other short stories and novels, and only occasionally characters that appeared in the TV show.
Lucy Wilson and her family moved to Ogmore-by-Sea, a village that seems boring but strange things can happen in the most unexpected places. That’s also true of Monknash, another village where the family of Greg Morton, an old friend of Hobo’s, moved. When Lucy and Hobo find nothing strange, something strange finds them.
John Peel plays with the classic theme of the place where locals start acting out of the ordinary and strange things happen in the area. The novel is aimed specifically at young readers but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to use clichés when developing a plot. The author makes good use of this theme by creating a story that is linear without being dull by including some interesting twists.
The central theme has been used in science fiction stories with horror connotations. Tones of this type are often present in stories related to the “Doctor Who” saga but in this case, they have been toned down a lot. This makes “The Midnight People” suitable for readers who are not only young but also easily impressionable.
The mystery of Monknash is developed in a way that takes into account the readers’ age and you can see that also in the actions of the characters and in particular of Lucy and Hobo. The two protagonists are the only ones to notice that something strange is happening while their parents dismiss any oddities with rational explanations. In the case of Monknash’s constable, Lucy and Hobo wonder whether he’s under some form of mind control or he’s particularly thick.
The beginning of this series of novels was strongly tied to Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart’s story but it’s quickly taking on a life of its own. On several occasions, Lucy thinks about her grandfather, also to draw inspiration and courage, but she and Hobo act on their own. It’s a series written to be enjoyable even for readers unfamiliar with “Doctor Who” and the series of novels about Lethbridge-Stewart.
In the end, “The Midnight People” is a novel that can be fun even for adult readers even if the plot is pretty simple. For younger readers, it can be a good introduction to the type of stories featured in “Doctor Who” and be a source of fun as a standalone series.
