A review by gellyreads
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow, I'm not sure what all to say about this one. I'm an avid Sager reader and lover, and this one was not at all what I was expecting.
On one hand, I'm really disappointed because there was so much build up around the Hawthorne Institute that went absolutely nowhere. But the fact that it was just her as a teen, underage drinking, and a complete accident, feels so real? Like, that is what would happen in real life. That would be devastating. But it also feels like a bit of a cop out with the mystery. I'm okay with the way the ghost kid was involved in this one and saving their lives at the end; I really enjoyed the twist of the other neighbor kid being the one who cut the tent and that the "haunting" was done by Andy, which I actually did call! But wow.
This one was a wild and twisty ride and is honestly unpredictable as a reader, I think. Not my favorite work he's written, but not my least favorite under this pen name either. The switching of the point of views for the past tense was also a bit distracting for me when it was Ethan, and I enjoyed it more when we saw other characters' POVs in the past tense that way. Also, nice to see some diverse characters, finally! 
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