Reviews with content warning for Dementia - Mitt i natten

Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

Mitt i natten by Riley Sager

74 reviews

bamitstamz's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Ethan returns to his childhood home thirty years after his best friend Billy disappeared without a trace from Ethan’s own backyard.

This was a fun and fast read that I devoured in two days and really enjoyed! I’m a big Riley Sager fan, and I think this one is in my top three of his—it’s the perfect creepy summer thriller with a hefty dose of childhood nostalgia and a hint of spookiness. I really enjoyed the characters, and thought the multi-POV flashbacks added a lot of really interesting context as well!

I guessed a couple of the reveals, but didn’t actually figure out the ending ahead of time, and I really appreciated seeing how all the breadcrumbs ultimately came together. In thrillers I’m usually looking for a bit of surprise mixed with “oh of course” and that’s exactly what I found here! The author’s note/essay at the end of the B&N exclusive edition was also super interesting, and I loved reading about Sager’s process in putting this one together.

Overall, this is one I’d definitely recommend!

CW: Death/child death; grief; dementia

Content Warnings

carlymarie17's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

truequeenofchaos's review against another edition

3.0

mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read this for my monthly book club! This was a nice change of genre, but like every Riley Sager book I've ever touched, this was incredibly okay. I have read far worse thrillers and I have read far better. What I really enjoyed were the flashback chapters from the night of the disappearance from each person's POV, slowly getting closer to the time of the crime, and painting every one in a suspicious light. I liked the way that grief & guilt were handled, and there was a particular scene towards the very end that felt so bittersweet.

As for the things I didn't like, there's a lot. There were several major plot-holes once everything was laid bare, which for a mystery thriller, is a pretty big problem that you cannot ignore. The plot itself was fairly predictable. And the ending felt sooo unimaginably bad. The author clearly wanted the story to end on a happy note, but there are some things that just can't be reconciled. But what really gets me is that in true Riley Sager fashion, there were several moments where the author had to mention that certain women "weren't like other girls", or where it's heavily implied that an elderly neighbor was flirting with the MC and he should seek out her husband on how to react. Like be serious. She is 80, she watched you grow up as a child, and was excited to see a former neighborhood child visiting as an adult. This minor scene served no purpose whatsoever. Just included to be cringe and weird.

Per usual this author has left me unimpressed and feeling a particular ick against them. If you ask me, the world was better off before he started using a pen name and everyone hated his books :)

Content Warnings

alloutofwords's review against another edition

3.75

dark mysterious sad 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: Yes

I was a bit underwhelmed by the ending, I liked the creepy red herrings better than the actual twist.

Content Warnings

cinnamonsweetpotatofries's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

karynrl's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional 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: Complicated

OKAY never have I ever CRIED over a thriller, but this one proved that I can indeed have happy tears over a chilling story. I enjoyed the twists at the end and how the author decided where each character would end at. It's not a 5⭐️ for me because personally I don't love having every chapters take place in different time periods. I understand the need for flashbacks and stuff but the fact that it switched from present to 30yrs in the past EVERY OTHER chapter was too much for me. I enjoyed the storytelling and how things (at least for me) did not feel predictable. This feels like a fun summer spooky book, highly recommend.

TW⚠️:
-Death of a child, parent, spouse and sibling(s)
-Findings of human remains
-Kidnapping
-Drug Abuse
-Death via OD
-Dementia
-Mentions of occult rituals and the paranormal

Content Warnings

lindzboots's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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: Yes

That was exquisite. Gut-wrenching and hair-raising and heartbreaking and horrifying. Terrible but not depressing, beautiful but not aloof, raw and nostalgic but fast-paced. The characters were deep and the story was rich and interesting. I very much enjoyed pretty much everything about this, and even found myself looking over my shoulder and brushing down goosebumps at certain points.

Content Warnings