I loved Riley Sager books when he first started putting stories out, but overtime I find most of his work to be predictable and not that well written. I decided to stay clear of his books, but FOMO got me again and I decided to give Middle of the Night a listen.
Ethan Marsh is back in his hometown and childhood home, as he tries to figure out what to next with his life. It’s been 30 years since his best friend Billy was taken from their camping tent in the middle of the night, and ever since Ethan’s life has revolved around the unanswered questions that came from that night. Now that he’s back home though, strange things are happening and Ethan can’t help but think Billy is trying to tell him something.
Gaslit women narrators is one of the tropes I am entirely over. Too many books use it as a major plot or twist and it gets old fast. One of the things that really drew me into this story, was our main narrator and protagonist being male. I’ve read most of Sager’s books and they tend to feature a women POV so it was a relief to get a male lead from a male author. Besides having a male lead, I listened to this book on audio and Santino Fontana is such an excellent narrator. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book as much without his voice.
*slight spoiler*
I was worried that Sager was once again trying to imitate Simone St. James, and veer into the supernatural realm again, but I was happy to see that not come to fruition. And while Goodreads has this listed as a ‘Horror’ story, this is a typical thriller/mystery. I didn’t find it creepy or scary and while it had a few plot holes, overall, it was a solid summer thriller.
Other Riley Sager Reviews:
final girls review | home before dark review
lock every door review | the house across the lake review
Middle of the Night is out now. Thank you to Dutton for my advanced copy and Librofm for my ALC in exchange for my review. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.
