Walk Me to Midnight

by: Jane St. Clair

Published by: Capstone Fiction

Reviewed by Michele E. Davis

The title means what it says; the book is about “walking someone to midnight.” This euphemism is frequently used in the cancer and AIDS hospice communities and means that you wait with the dying until they are dead. While this book focuses on the humanity in certain instances of death, it also covers the controversial issue of euthanasia, championed by a villainous Russian physician Alexis Hedeon.
The book begins with Dr. Susan Rutledge in a state of panic when she finds out that her good friend Bitsy (Elizabeth) Thatcher Cole-Pruitt decided on a physician-assisted suicide, which Rutledge is convinced was murder.

The mercy killing, or euthanasia, is a controversial issue in the United States but the book doesn’t make a compelling argument for or against this practice, especially for those terminally ill– one who is a patient of Rutledge’s psychiatric practice. Perhaps principles of God’s Word should be introduced early on to show us exactly why Rutledge is against euthanasia. However, God isn’t mentioned until the very last portion of the book, and only in contrast with a faith healer and his many beliefs. Author Jane St. Clair thenn makes her point clear: “The two-legged path on earth is not an easy one; it is a devious spiral, and there are many little deaths and many walks to midnight before the little flowers of God can unfold.” That sums the book up in a nutshell.

Almost all of the characters are shallow, one-sided and I felt no real connection or sympathy for any of them. You do, of course, despise Dr. Hedeon, simply because he is the most well-rendered, descriptive personality in the book. Perhaps it is easier for St. Clair to show her audience evil than it is to show her audience goodness or divine grace.

Armchair Interviews says: A quick read, not too complicated, but not really too interesting either.

Author’s Web site: http://www.JaneStClair.net