Middle of the Night: A Novel (Unabridged)
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3.9 • 320 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In the latest jaw-dropping thriller from New York Times bestselling author Riley Sager, a man must contend with the long-ago disappearance of his childhood best friend—and the dark secrets lurking just beyond the safe confines of his picture-perfect neighborhood.
The worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh’s backyard. One July night, ten-year-old Ethan and his best friend and neighbor, Billy, fell asleep in a tent set up on a manicured lawn in a quiet, quaint New Jersey cul-de-sac. In the morning, Ethan woke up alone. During the night, someone had sliced the tent open with a knife and taken Billy. He was never seen again.
Thirty years later, Ethan has reluctantly returned to his childhood home. Plagued by bad dreams and insomnia, he begins to notice strange things happening in the middle of the night. Someone seems to be roaming the cul-de-sac at odd hours, and signs of Billy’s presence keep appearing in Ethan’s backyard. Is someone playing a cruel prank? Or has Billy, long thought to be dead, somehow returned to Hemlock Circle?
The mysterious occurrences prompt Ethan to investigate what really happened that night, a quest that reunites him with former friends and neighbors and leads him into the woods that surround Hemlock Circle. Woods where Billy claimed ghosts roamed and where a mysterious institute does clandestine research on a crumbling estate.
The closer Ethan gets to the truth, the more he realizes that no place—be it quiet forest or suburban street—is completely safe. And that the past has a way of haunting the present.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Riley Sager knows how to deliver a gripping psychological thriller—and this time, he tops himself. In Middle of the Night, Sager adds a hit of ’90s childhood nostalgia, evoking an eerie suburban-nightmare atmosphere that’s equal parts Stephen King and Steven Spielberg. Seriously, it’s that good. On a hot New Jersey night in the summer of 1994, 10-year-old best friends Ethan and Billy camped out in Ethan’s backyard. In the morning, their tent was found sliced open, and Billy was gone. Forever. Thirty years later, an insomnia-plagued Ethan is back on his childhood cul-de-sac, and strange things seem to be happening around him. Sager cleverly builds the emotional tension by telling the story through multiple viewpoints that shift back and forth between 1994 and the present to gradually reveal what happened that night. Santino Fontana’s narration keeps the multiple voices and timelines clear while conveying adult Ethan’s growing confusion and anguish. This is a deliciously creepy, under-the-covers kind of listen.
Customer Reviews
Good story
Narrator is not good but over all a good book.
Much better Riley Sager books out there. 🫣
I love Riley sager, but I think this was my least favorite book of his yet & I’ve read all of them except 1…which I’m starting now that this one ended. The story wasn’t bad, I just had it figured out halfway through the book and kept waiting for the ending.
Kept me guessing!
Interesting read/listen. Good story line with lots of twists and turns. Enjoyable. My only complaint was with the narration. After the cringy way the narrator changed voices to accommodate for the different characters it was clear to me that I’d either have to quit listening because it was so off putting OR continue on and just deal with it because the storyline was interesting enough. I rallied on and had a fun ride.