One July evening, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend, Billy, have a sleepover in a tent set up in Ethan’s backyard. When Ethan wakes the next morning, he discovers that the tent had been sliced open with a knife and Billy is nowhere to be found.
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Thirty years later and still no answers, Ethan returns to his childhood home and notices signs of Billy’s presence in the neighborhood. Is someone playing a bizarre prank or has Billy somehow returned? Determined to uncover the truth, Ethan reconnects with old friends and ventures into the eerie woods behind his backyard that Billy once feared, where a secretive and mysterious institute sits.
Middle of the Night was my most anticipated read for the summer; however, it was tough getting through this book because it was so slow. I had reached 200 pages out of 367 and was ready to throw in the towel since nothing was happening, but I ultimately decided to stick it out and unfortunately it didn’t pay off.
The chapters jumped back and forth between the past and the present, and the way it was executed made it difficult to stay focused and engaged. Some descriptions in the book were unnecessarily complex, like the cul-de-sac that Sager dissected from every angle, leading to confusion. On the other hand, The Hawthorne Institute, which was the main focus for his story, was just given a basic description.
There was also too much repetition for my liking, such as Ethan having “The Dream”, the security camera going off, and the mysterious Hawthorne Institute. The constant reputation took away from the reading experience. It felt like I was watching a movie that kept showing the same flashbacks every 10 minutes.
In conclusion, I’ve found that Riley Sager’s books can either be a hit or a miss. The twists and turns in this story felt cheap and the conclusion was incredibly disappointing. If you enjoy Sager’s work, it wouldn’t hurt to pick this up for the summer, but I personally wouldn’t recommend it. I would however recommend his last two releases The Only One Left and The House Across the Lake.
Middle of the Night by Riley Sager
Genre: Mystery/Thriller, Horror
Pages: 367
Rating: 2.5/5
RELATED POST: The Only One Left by Riley Sager
What a shame this didn’t deliver, it sounds like it’d be great.
I stubbornly stick with books that aren’t working for me too, I need to learn when to give up.
I understand the feeling! I’m usually pretty good at marking a book DNF, but I forced myself to finish this one since I bought the physical copy haha. Thank you for reading Sarah!
Its a shame this book was a miss for you, but at least the other two were winners. Who done its can be tricky unlike a TV show or movie there is too much time to figure things out. I figured out Gone Girl and Into The Woods (or Deep in The Woods) and it was super annoying.
Allie of
http://www.allienyc.com
I agree, a book usually has to be more obvious about what they want you to pay attention to, which can sometimes give it away or take away from the experience. Thank you for reading Allie!
I loved Final Girls by Riley Sager, and I’ve been curious about his other books. It’s a shame that Middle of the Night was slow and repetitive, so I’ll pass on it. I’ll have to check out The Only One Left and The House Across the Lake though!
I’m looking forward to reading Final Girls soon! Thank you for reading Karalee.
Too bad that the book wasn’t very well written because the plot was so promising! 🙁
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I agree! There were promising moments in the book, but overall it didn’t deliver. Thank you for reading Jelena!
You know, when I started reading this and revisited the title, thought ooh, I’m gonna like this. But alas!
It had such a captivating premise, it’s too bad it fell short. Thank you for reading!
Such a bummer that the story had a disappointing ending, sounded like it was a real thriller from the start. Hopefully the next one you read will be a good one! Thanks so much for sharing, and I hope you have an amazing rest of the summer beauty!
xoxo, Midori
https://www.midorilinea.com/blogs/midori-linea/panda-village-koala-world
Thank you so much Midori! I hope you’re enjoying your summer!
It’s a shame to hear that this was such a disappointing story, even though it started off strong! I understand that annoying feeling of pushing through to finish a tough book like this and it not paying off in the end. I always appreciate your honest reviews! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
https://melissakacar.com
Thank you for reading Melissa!
It’s a shame when a book is so slow to develop and then does not pay off if you stick with it. The premise of this story sounds really, really good, but the author did not utilize that in any way. A missed opportunity to have something gripping. Thanks for the review!
I agree, I was looking forward to this story because this author’s known for his twists and turns. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off with this one. Thank you for reading Molly!
Gracias por la reseña. Que pena que no te gusto Lo dejo pasar. Te mando un beso.
Thank you for reading Citu!
oh no! I’m so glad to hear that you didn’t like this one. This is my book club book for the month (which I haven’t started yet). To hear that you rated it so low is definitely a bit disappointing. Well, at least I can go into this with low expectations aha! Great review 🙂 xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
It was a shame because it started off strong, but ultimately ended up falling flat for me. I hope you’re able to enjoy it for your book club. Thank you for reading Melina!
The plot of the book sounds like a page-turner. Too bad the author included the interesting plot points later in the book.
I agree, the plot is so intriguing and left me wanting more. Unfortunately, it went in an unexpected and underwhelming direction. Thank you for reading Lanae!
Thank you for your well-written and honest review Winnie. I was on the fence about reading this one and I think I will instead choose one of the author’s earlier books as you’ve suggested.
Thank you Jodie! I was so excited for this book, but unfortunately it missed the mark. I hope you enjoy the other two!