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blut91's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
justinkhchen's review against another edition
3.0
2.75 stars
A well-meaning effort fusing 90s nostalgia, horror films, and childhood trauma, with its home invasion premise and the gorgeously ominous cover art, I was expecting a fast and lean thriller in the vein of movies such as Panic Room, or even Home Alone. Turned out this is yet another incident where the word ‘thriller’ in its promotional material felt intentionally misused, aimed to draw in a specific audience, but eventually led to disappointment when the material didn’t match up—Midnight on Beacon Street is objectively decent with a focused goal, but it’s much more subdued and serious, more character study than an adrenaline-filled game of cat and mouse.
In contrast to the minimalist setup (1 house in the span of an evening), Midnight on Beacon Street is told non-linearly, jumping back-and-forth in time at irregular intervals. Even though this added complexity feels ‘thrillery’, in actuality it creates a very uneven pacing. Instead of using this technique to reveal critical information, the novel uses it to flesh out various character’s backstories. While the intent is a valid one (characterization is definitely this novel’s strength), these lengthy inserts completely fracture the tension of the book’s primary event. Without going into spoiler territory, I was pleasantly surprised around the 60% mark when a certain character showed up. Unfortunately that ended up being an under-utilized red herring, and the actual culprit was head scratching in both the who and the why—as if the author simply picked the least likely character and retrofitted this person as the villain.
The thesis of Midnight on Beacon Street is a strong one: how do children digest trauma, when they have not yet had a holistic grasp of the world, but the execution feels labored (especially when evaluated as a thriller). Perhaps it would’ve fared better going into this expecting a drama with nods to horror film tropes, rather than a full-on horror thriller.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
A well-meaning effort fusing 90s nostalgia, horror films, and childhood trauma, with its home invasion premise and the gorgeously ominous cover art, I was expecting a fast and lean thriller in the vein of movies such as Panic Room, or even Home Alone. Turned out this is yet another incident where the word ‘thriller’ in its promotional material felt intentionally misused, aimed to draw in a specific audience, but eventually led to disappointment when the material didn’t match up—Midnight on Beacon Street is objectively decent with a focused goal, but it’s much more subdued and serious, more character study than an adrenaline-filled game of cat and mouse.
In contrast to the minimalist setup (1 house in the span of an evening), Midnight on Beacon Street is told non-linearly, jumping back-and-forth in time at irregular intervals. Even though this added complexity feels ‘thrillery’, in actuality it creates a very uneven pacing. Instead of using this technique to reveal critical information, the novel uses it to flesh out various character’s backstories. While the intent is a valid one (characterization is definitely this novel’s strength), these lengthy inserts completely fracture the tension of the book’s primary event. Without going into spoiler territory, I was pleasantly surprised around the 60% mark when a certain character showed up. Unfortunately that ended up being an under-utilized red herring, and the actual culprit was head scratching in both the who and the why—as if the author simply picked the least likely character and retrofitted this person as the villain.
The thesis of Midnight on Beacon Street is a strong one: how do children digest trauma, when they have not yet had a holistic grasp of the world, but the execution feels labored (especially when evaluated as a thriller). Perhaps it would’ve fared better going into this expecting a drama with nods to horror film tropes, rather than a full-on horror thriller.
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated!**
catburps's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
thygreatpumpkin's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Enjoyed this book. Definitely not a fast pace thriller and the big reveal was very low impact due to no real build up but overall I still enjoyed. I recommend as audio
songcatchers's review
4.0
'The Fog. Elm Street. No good can come from running upstairs. If nothing else, movies have taught her that.'
It's October 15, 1993, and Amy is about to have one hell of a night babysitting! The tension builds so slowly, and then bam! It has a great ending. I didn't fully appreciate it until I finished because the whole story is so much better than the sum of its slowly moving parts.
'He might as well be little Tommy Doyle asking Laurie Strode about the boogeyman in Halloween. Ben stares at her expectantly. Only she doesn’t know what to tell him.'
It's October 15, 1993, and Amy is about to have one hell of a night babysitting! The tension builds so slowly, and then bam! It has a great ending. I didn't fully appreciate it until I finished because the whole story is so much better than the sum of its slowly moving parts.
'He might as well be little Tommy Doyle asking Laurie Strode about the boogeyman in Halloween. Ben stares at her expectantly. Only she doesn’t know what to tell him.'
zakura317's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
jflynn0902's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bribrilin's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was not at all what I was expecting. Which is disappointing. I was expecting something far more from this book. It built it up to be this “when a stranger calls” type book and then it gives you the ending it does? That’s it? BOOOOOOO *throws rotten food at the book* so lame
thatblushingbookgirl's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0