Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

12 reviews

emsiemuffin's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Car accident

polinarmsh's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I guessed all plot twists from the beginning, so the rest of the book seemed pretty dragged out. For me, this is one of the worse Riley Sager's books.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

lennie_delennie's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Car accident

abbysingh's review

emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Dementia, and Car accident

kelisabeth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Quick Synopsis:  Ethan is back at his childhood home 30 years after his best friend Billy disappeared from his backyard. Ethan, still having nightmares from that night, begins to think Billy is trying to communicate with him.

Quick Review:  I almost wish the book had supernatural elements, I think that would have made the ending more satisfying. I figured out part of what had happened to Billy, by about halfway through the book. I know Riley Sager's books tend to be ones I either love or I just feel meh about, but this one was a meh book. I think part of the problem was Ethan wasn't that likable.

Narrator Rating: 4.0 stars
  The narrator did an excellent job, though some of his tonal shifts for the flashbacks were irritating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Death of parent

While a child is killed in the book, I don't think it would qualify as graphic as it was relatively quick and not vividly described, though it's talked about quite a bit.

I would not use the "murder" content warning as no one is actually murdered even if is suspected to have happened.

laneyjane4's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

throwback682's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was a tearjerker for me. A lot of twists I didn’t predict (and one I did), although you may figure things out more quickly. It felt a bit long but overall very enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Mental illness, and Dementia

Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

minimicropup's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Low on spooks, but I still loved this. Recommend checking it out if you’re a fan of contemporary fiction with paranormal undertones, coming of age friendships, or cozy (but heartbreaking) horror. 

 

Energy: Worried. Vigilant. Grieving.  

Scene: 🇺🇸 Suburb of Hemlock Circle, New Jersey in the summer of 1994 and in modern day. 

Perspective: Our main character (40-something) staying in their childhood home after their parents move south to retire. Our MC at 10 years old in 1990s, as well as the other neighbours of various ages in the ‘90s. 

 

🐕 Howls: Unexpected sadness and heartbreak (but if I knew it was sad I wouldn’t have read it, so no regrets). 

🐩 Tail Wags: The nostalgia and memories the writing invoked. Preteen friendship dynamics. A suburban setting that feels real. How kid viewpoints were written.  

 

🤔 Random Thoughts: 

This is more contemporary fiction than horror/thriller. The writing captured growing up in the 90s so vividly for me. And I didn’t even grow up in suburbia!

 

The kid POVs transported me back to kid-logic days…excited to grow up but it comes with friendship changes, and realizing your parents are fallible in a way that make you want to stay a kid. 

 

The 1990s chapters allow us to have the same memories as Ethan and other characters for the way things were. In the modern chapters we spend a lot of time exploring that as an adult, so it can feel slow if you just want to get on with the plot. Ethan mulls over all the theories and possibilities for everything from paranormal activity to What Could Have Been. 

 

Horrific things happen but not much horror. If you aren’t invested in the characters and loving the vibe I see how this would be uninteresting. 

 

🤓 Reader Role: Time jumping and off to the side watching while the narrator fills us in.

🗺️ World-Building: Nostalgic, sensory, and a little tranquil. 

🔥 Fuel: Relatable Layered secrets and dynamic relationships. Who took Billy? Why? What would life be like if Billy were never taken? Is he still alive?   

📖 Cred: Realistic with paranormal realism

 

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Grass. Sweat. Bug spray. Weathered baseball. Lawnmowers. Leafblowers. Garden hoses. Summer sun. Crickets. Leaves rustling. Fireflies. Page turning. Security cam thumbnail pings. Mausoleum. Chain link fence. 

• Cozy grief horror
• Dual timelines
• Neighbourhood study
• Growing up in the 90s, childhood summers nostalgia
• Stephen King coming-of-age meets grown up Goosebumps coming-of-age
• Mysterious private research institute in the woods
• Suburban neighborhood that isn’t fully unhinged
• Loveable mishmash of characters you can root for
• Jump scare & eerie security camera footage
• Non-convoluted sleuthing in the neighbourhood 
• Fascination with ghosts and monsters
• Heartwarming moments with heartbreaking hits
• Sprinklings of paranormal realism
• Recovered memory trope

 

Content Heads-Up: Missing child. Loss of child (teen, preteen). Loss of childhood friend. Anxiety. Insomnia. Childhood bullying (brief; teasing, namecalling, prejudice). Peer pressure. Relationship break-up. Drug use (teen). Overdose/suicide (recall, grief). Grief. Drunkenness. Guilt. Dementia. 

 

Rep: White, Chinese, and Diwali-celebrating Americans. Cisgender. Heterosexual. Gay. Lesbian. Diverse skin tones.

 

📚 Format: Libro.fm

 

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, and Suicide

bookdrunkard78's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol