The Midnight Watch is a strong debut novel built on meticulous research of the historical records. Prior to reading this book, I'd never even heard of the Californian, but a quick Google search shows just how real this nightmare story is. The Californian was nearby at the time that the Titanic was sinking, close enough to potentially have been able to save most or even all of those lost in the tragedy, and yet the ship did nothing in response to the Titanic's distress signals. 
 The author does a painstaking job of recreating the events of that terrible night. In alternating chapters, we see events unfold through the eyes of the men onboard the Californian, especially Herbert Stone, and then learn of the Titanic and the possible involvement of the Californian through the perspective of John Steadman, a journalist who specializes in giving voice to those who've died in tragic circumstances. 
 It's shocking to read that the officer of the watch saw the rockets, understood them to be distress signals, and then contacted the captain, only to do nothing once his captain chose to do nothing. The subsequent sets of lies and cover-ups and self-deceptions are equally disturbing and confusing. Why didn't the Californian respond? How could Captain Lord live with himself afterward? Why didn't the second officer do more if he truly believed he was witnessing a ship that needed help? 
 While The Midnight Watch lays out the events and presents a fictionalized accounting of what may have been going through the minds of the men involved, of course we'll never actually know the truth or why this terrible inaction transpired while people were dying nearby. 
 The book is well-written and the character of John Steadman is appealingly flawed -- a man who pursues the truth, even while drinking himself into oblivion and at the risk of his job. Captain Smith remains a haughty enigma. It's impossible to truly understand his role in the Titanic's sinking, but the portrayal of him here is certainly unflattering. 
 The piece of The Midnight Watch that carries the greatest emotional power comes toward the end, as the book includes the (fictional) account written by Steadman, called "Eight White Rockets". Steadman's piece describes events on the Californian that night, intercut with his recreation of the final hours spent on board the Titanic by a family of eleven -- a mother, father, and their nine children -- who all perished in the sinking. (This family, the Sage family, were real people who died in the disaster; the author has imagined what their experience might have been and why none survived.) 
 So many years later, the tragedy of the Titanic continues to fascinate us. The Midnight Watch describes a less well-known aspect of that terrible event, bringing to light facts and people that most with a casual interest in the Titanic today are probably unfamiliar with. The Midnight Watch blends historical details with a fictional story of journalistic research to create a compelling and moving tale. If you enjoy historical fiction and want to know more about the Titanic disaster, be sure to check this book out.