Reviews tagging 'Kidnapping'

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

77 reviews

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.

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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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Car accident and Alcohol

ivykennerauthor's review

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, and Car accident

issymaae's review

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Dementia

Minor: Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent

abernathy_33's review

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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Dementia

Minor: Kidnapping, Car accident, and Death of parent

asteinke's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Murder

Moderate: Kidnapping and Car accident

tspice24's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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? No

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Suicide, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

literarypenguin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.0

As one of my anticipated reads for 2024, this was also my first Riley Sager novel as well. After finishing the book I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story!

The use of the small suburban town as a setting was really brilliant in my opinion. I really loved the feel of living on a street where everybody knows everyone and how information can spread like wildfire in these communities. I cant begin to tell you how accurate that is for small towns, everybody knows what happens to everyone especially when something big happens. The setting does add that nostalgia feel and brings back memories for our main character as he struggles with reconnecting with his hometown.   

The characters were one of the most interesting and best parts of the book. Ethan was our main character and the more you read the more you could easily sympathize with him. He went through a lot when he was young, watching his friend disappear and feeling the extreme guilt of being the one who survived while his best friend didn't. He also has problems sleeping and other horrible traumas that happened in his life. Seeing Ethan overcome these tragedies by the end and growing as a person was so earned for him. 

The other characters were also interesting to me. How most of the characters grew up with Ethan, how some were a good presence in Ethan's life and others weren't. Even some who became a positive in Ethan's life who you never would have thought would be one by the end. The addition of supernatural elements thrown in too, explaining ghosts and different types of them added more to the story. 

I really enjoyed this book and I am glad that I took a chance on reading this one! Glad to have more thriller novels in my life like this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction and Drug abuse

Minor: Kidnapping and Car accident

mollyb13's review

dark mysterious tense fast-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

4.75

My second Riley Sager book and I liked it just as well as the first (The Only One Left)! It checked all the boxes for what I like in a thriller - fast moving, twists that I don't guess, chilling bits throughout, non-disappointing ending. There were some surprisingly touching moments included as well. Definitely recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Death of parent

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