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monettem97's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It is not a bad attempt at the male perspective for the author but the female characters were a bit underwritten
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Kidnapping
_pauline's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
this is going to be a long review; the short version is: perfect, loved it.
this is my 4th riley sager book & he’s already become one of my favourite authors. it might take a little while to get into his books but then I can’t put them down.
this is my 4th riley sager book & he’s already become one of my favourite authors. it might take a little while to get into his books but then I can’t put them down.
I think this had the perfect balance of unpredictability (if that’s a word) & clues/logic - it kept me guessing the entire time, but in hindsight everything made so much sense. I feel like I should’ve seen the signs (like russ being left out + his anger issues, that billy didn’t scream bc he knew the person - but apart from his parents that could also be one of his friends - or the mention of the second key that was given to the barringers, or how nobody knew where billy’s brother was & whether he’d been informed of the discovery of billy’s bones, and that he could know things that seemingly only billy knew, or how “the barringer boy“ could also mean him & not billy, or what ashley said about the party that day & how she’d find a way to get there + that she was driving at 15 w/o a license - by the end I’d completely forgotten about that; also how the slash in the tent ended up being only indirectly connected to billy’s disappearance, bc who tf would cut open a tent to grab sb instead of simply opening it ). but despite all of that, there were many surprising (to me) twists. pretty much the only thing I predicted was that henry would disappear at some point
I was also positively surprised that in the end there was no big supernatural explanation (which I know riley sager has done before & I liked it in the house across the lake, + it did play a role again in the lake/drowning scene at the end, but I kind of wanted the baseballs etc to have a different explanation & they did). I also liked how many people were involved in billy’s death in some way (instead of a simple solution with one villain) & the way the story was told from different perspectives but with one dominant pov/mc
my ranking so far:
- middle of the night (5⭐️)
- last time i lied (5⭐️)
- the house across the lake (4.75⭐️)
- lock every door (4.5⭐️)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Violence, Dementia, and Kidnapping
Minor: Homophobia and Car accident
thereadingnookau's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Murder
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is definitely an average thriller in my eyes. It's not the worst one I've ever read, but it's also not the best.
Thirty years ago, Ethan is having a sleepover in his backyard with his best friend, Billy. But when Ethan wakes up the next morning, Billy is gone, and his body has still never been found all these years later. Now Ethan is back in his childhood home in the seemingly calm suburban cul-de-sac full of normal, boring people. Or so everyone thinks. While living in the house, Ethan sees signs of Billy everywhere and has to wonder whether it's a cruel prank or maybe even something supernatural. Ethan starts to dig into Billy's disappearance and starts to find out that not everything is as it seems and that his neighbors might have more secrets than meets the eye.
This book was truly just fine. I enjoyed the dual timeline and the way the author showed the POV of everyone in the neighborhood at one point or another, and the premise had a lot of potential. However, I think the author had a swing and a miss when it came to the ending.I know the point of the novel was that even though there was nothing spectacularly tragic that happened at the end, it still felt like a disappointing ending to me after spending so much build-up thinking it was more than that.
Thirty years ago, Ethan is having a sleepover in his backyard with his best friend, Billy. But when Ethan wakes up the next morning, Billy is gone, and his body has still never been found all these years later. Now Ethan is back in his childhood home in the seemingly calm suburban cul-de-sac full of normal, boring people. Or so everyone thinks. While living in the house, Ethan sees signs of Billy everywhere and has to wonder whether it's a cruel prank or maybe even something supernatural. Ethan starts to dig into Billy's disappearance and starts to find out that not everything is as it seems and that his neighbors might have more secrets than meets the eye.
This book was truly just fine. I enjoyed the dual timeline and the way the author showed the POV of everyone in the neighborhood at one point or another, and the premise had a lot of potential. However, I think the author had a swing and a miss when it came to the ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Dementia
Minor: Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent
allisonplus's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Murder
Moderate: Dementia and Car accident
Minor: Drug abuse
shedevls's review
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
it wasn't as fun as it could've been, i think, but it was still an enjoyable experience... and henry is so precious, i love him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Dementia
Minor: Bullying, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
2.5
Finished reading: November 5th 2024
"In my experience, men who say they want the truth end up wishing they had settled for the lie."
I guess it was too much to ask to actually enjoy two Riley Sager books in a row... His books can go both ways for me, and unfortunately Middle Of The Night turned out to be a bit of a dud for me. Don't get me wrong, the premise itself is more than solid and this story had SO much potential. I was hoping for a creepy thriller/horror read with a paranormal twist, but instead I got a total snoozefest... Oh yes, you read that right: I was utterly bored during most of the story, and I'm still not sure how I even made it to the end to be honest. There is SO much repetition going on; I've lost count of the times it was mentioned that Billy went missing. In the middle of the night. Sure, main character Ethan has no personality whatsoever... But Billy was kidnapped! In the middle of the night! And Ethan is traumatized even 30 years later! Sigh. On top of this, there were so many random POV switches and flashbacks, and it not only slowed down the pace but also halted any possible building up of suspense. To make things even worse, the so-called twists were both very easy to guess and underwhelming in general. That said, I can't say that I really cared about what happened to Billy by the time it was finally revealed... Which probably had a lot to do with the fact that the characters are basically cardboard cutouts and they struggle to win your sympathy. All in all Middle Of The Night turned out to be a surprisingly slow-paced, dull and tedious story that never managed to grab my attention. With its lackluster ending and constant repetitions, this is probably one of my least favorite Riley Sager books so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Homophobia and Pregnancy
killmoore_'s review
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
I loved this so much, and even more so that Sager stated exactly the truth - it was so unbelievably human. It both warmed and broke my heart at points. Sager never disappoints.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol
crazyras101's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Car accident and Alcohol