“I’ve grown accustomed to those dark, quiet hours in the middle of the night, when it feels like I’m the only man in the world not asleep.”
“Middle of the Night” author Riley Sager’s eighth thriller novel was released this summer. In this novel the reader follows Ethan Marsh and the disappearance of his best friend, Billy. One summer night Ethan and Billy camp out in Ethan’s backyard. The next morning Ethan wakes up alone. Billy is missing and there is a slash in the side of their tent. Ethan has no memory of what has happened and Billy has disappeared without a trace. Flashforward twelve years Ethan is back living in his childhood home and is beginning to work through what happened that night. Billy is still missing. Ethan begins to seek answers and uncover secrets of what is really going on in his small town.
The book itself is set in Hemlock Circle. It’s your typical suburban cul-de-sac where the kids play together, while the moms gossip, and the dads grill. All of this until Billy goes missing. This novel delves into small town culture, the 90’s, and the effects trauma has on character development. The book was spooky. There were noises in the night, notes appearing from seemingly beyond the grave, and baseballs appearing in only a way Billy could have done. It also really keeps the reader guessing. Particularly about what really happened to Billy. Did he wander off? Did someone take him? Everytime it seemed there was a logical answer something new would be revealed. Sager does a good job of capturing the feeling of stepping outside in the dark and getting that odd feeling you’re not alone. He describes not only the night but also the urgency of waking up at 2am and finding things different than you left it. That creepy feeling of being alone but feeling like someone is lurking in the dark when you go to let out the dog in the middle of the night.
With every release Riley Sager adds a bit more of a paranormal aspect to his books, something that’s either hit or miss. This time though it fits very well, and helps move the plot forward. In one of his first novels “Lock Every Door” there is an off putting apartment where unexplainable things happen. It’s hinted that the apartment itself is its own entity and is the reason for the deaths in the building. In one of his most recent releases “The House Across the Lake” a reclusive woman thinks she witnesses a murder across the lake. As she goes on to solve this mystery her dead husband’s ghost seems to be appearing and helping her in the quest. Both of those only glossed over the topic of the paranormal this novel though leans into it. Making the reader wonder if Billy himself is helping Ethan piece everything together.