After Riley Sager’s abysmal The House Across the Lake, I kind of have trust issues with him, though his last book and the latest, Middle of the Night, have him squarely back in the same camp as before. Actually, I’d like to think that Sager was able to get just a little bit of the supernatural shoe-horned in here. A compromise I can live with.
This new novel also marked the first time that Sager was writing a male lead, and he did it well! A part of me wonders if he’s not written from the male perspective before for fear of it sounding too much like himself. Admittedly, when I was reading this book I could only picture Sager playing Ethan Marsh, but that’s more of a me issue. Anyway, overall, I really liked this book! It’s still not my favorite of his (here’s looking at you, Survive the Night), but this was a strong premise.
Ethan has recently moved back into his childhood home after his parents relocated to Florida. He plans for this to be as temporary as possible, but he seems to be living in an in-between status. Part of that has to do with all of the bad memories he has of this quiet little cul-de-sac. When he was just ten years old camping in his backyard, he wakes to discover that his best friend Billy is gone. Not gone as in for a walk, or to pee in the woods, or something just as innocent. No, Billy is gone, and it’s likely that someone took him. And given that he hasn’t been found in thirty years, he’s also likely dead.
And actually, not to spoil anything too major here, but Billy’s remains were indeed found. And that’s when things start getting creepy for Ethan. Things have already been a bit awkward as he reconnects with all of his former neighbor kids, like his kind-of friend, Russ, former bully and now local cop, Ragesh, and crush slash babysitter, Ashley. Now he’s got someone tossing baseballs in his yard, setting of security lights, and leaving him cryptic messages. Could this be Billy’s spirit trying to tell him something, or exact revenge? While Ethan has never quite believed in ghosts, the more he’s learning, the more he’s inclined to believe.
It doesn’t help that there’s a somewhat recently abandoned, secretive research facility practically in Ethan’s backyard woods! Given that it’s where Billy’s remains were found, it just makes it all that more curious and suspicious. Friends, that’s all I’m going to say to you because the twists and turns that get presented in this novel are just too delicious to ruin. I was pleasantly surprised by them all, and more importantly, satisfied. I know my sister was “shook.” Definitely check this new novel out, along with almost all of Sager’s prior works. You won’t regret it!