I received a gifted audiobook copy of MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Riley Sager from LibroFM and PRH Audio.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Publication Date: 7/2/2019
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is a thriller story following Ethan. When Ethan was ten, his best friend Billy was taken in the middle of the night while the two were camping in Ethan’s backyard. No answers to who took him or where he wound up were ever found. Now, thirty years later, Ethan is back living in his childhood home. Ethan is dealing with insomnia and nightmares on top of the unanswered questions about what happened to his friend all those years ago. When strange things start happening like baseballs appearing in his yard just like how Billy used to signal him when he was a kid, Ethan is determined to investigate.
I saw a lot of mid range reviews for this book, so I went in with fairly tempered expectations and I think that really helped my enjoyment of the book. This is a book that takes a while to get rolling and it almost at times leans more mystery than thriller in my mind. I did really like Ethan’s character and how we’re seeing the long term impact of trauma on his life. He’s not only dealing with the trauma of his youth, but also issues within his marriage and the fact that he’s had to move back to his old home to get back on his feet.
The spookier elements of the book with the idea of whether Billy is still around and the baseballs appearing in his yard did have me intrigued, though I was hoping for a bit more spookiness possibly. There were some situations that felt like they could have been a bit more scary that didn’t quite land for me.
Overall I found this an entertaining read and I liked the audio narration. While not my favorite Riley Sager, I think going in expecting a slow burn with some good twisty payoff make this an enjoyable read!
For more thoughts on this one and more, I read it during this vlog:
DG Reads 