Riley Sager is one of my auto-read authors, having read nearly all of his work minus Final Girls.

Middle of the Night starts off quite slowly as Ethan establishes himself back in his childhood home which is filled with the bad memories of his best friend going missing.

10 year old Billy was suspected of being abducted from Ethan's backyard after a night of camping together. With very little evidence and no leads it continues to plague a guilt ridden Ethan for 30 years as he was the last one to see his friend alive.

Admittedly in the first half I didn't think that I was going to like the book very much as there wasn't really a lot going on but at the halfway mark things got moving.

I loved that the book changed from past and present and really honed in on Ethan's grief and trauma of the fateful night that changed everything.

The story has twists, turns and emotional moments that really make you feel for those involved.

The conclusion does have a lose thread that could easily unravel the plot but we aren't going to pull it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc.

Middle of the road for me rather that ‘middle of the night’.

Was very excited to read and I love the cover.

Have read and enjoyed several other books by the author.

I really liked the ‘ghost’ parts and stories and liked Henry as a character. Also enjoyed the premise and the settings - the Institute and Hemlock Circle.

What I felt was less effective was the story (predictable to me) and the characterisation. Ethan was frustrating as a character and the sections reflecting the earlier time period a little cheesy. The ‘bow’ at the end was a bridge too far in reality. Hard to comment without any spoilers but overall a lot of development for a small fizzle ending.

Overall, the writing is fast-paced and enough to engage most readers but not enough ‘wow’ for me and too many minor annoyances to rate any higher than average.

Thanks to Netgallery/author and publishers for the e-book advance copy.

I’m a HUGE Riley Sager fan so I was excited to be asked to read an ARC of this book. I anticipated a gripping storyline and boy, did I get it! From page one I was sucked into this unputdownable thriller.

We start with 10 year old Ethan and his best friend Billy, camping out in the backyard. However, the next morning, the tent is slashed open and Billy is nowhere to be found. Ethan doesn’t remember anything and can’t help – Billy is gone – missing without a trace.

The story jumps between the past and present time, when Ethan is now living back in his old childhood home. Weird things have started to happen – he senses a presence which he is certain is Billy. Baseballs are tossed into the backyard, reminiscent of his secret code with his old best friend for when he wants to play.

Besieged by nightmares of that fateful night, Ethan tries to get to the bottom of the decades old mystery. What happened to Billy? And did the mysterious Hawthorne Institute have something to do with the disappearance?

Riley Sager once again has crafted a tantalising mystery, that keeps you guessing right until the end.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this outstanding story. I predict a huge bestseller!

This book had everything from Sager that I love, great writing, intriguing plot and a touch of the supernatural. One of my favourite books by him is Home Before Dark and this was exactly the kind of story I was yearning for by him. Absolutely loved it and delighted I got to read it early! Sager will always be an auto buy author for me!

Really enjoyed this easy to read creepy thriller. Dual timeline, good interesting plot line and could see this doing well as a tv spooky thriller. Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the advance copy.

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager is a creepy tale about a child, Billy, that goes missing. Years later, a badly decomposed body is discovered. Is it Billy? Who killed him? I enjoyed this novel but it didn't grip me like a normal Riley Sager book. 3 stars

Riley Sager does it again. He is fast becoming one of those authors who you can count on the deliver time and time again.

In Middle Of The Night, we follow the disappearance of Billy, missing after spending a night camping in his friend, Ethan's, garden in what is supposed to be a quiet, safe neighbourhood.

The story largely follows Ethan who has moved back into his parents house after thirty years which brings back memories of Billy going missing all those years ago.

It's difficult to say anymore about where the story goes next for fear of spoilers however be prepared for an unnerving, twisty, supernatural story to keep you guessing up until the final, satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Riley Sager is a very hit or miss author for me. Some of his thrillers were a lot of fun to read, some didn't work at all, and most are kind of middle of the road. His newest thriller, "Middle of the Night", falls more in the latter category.

This time around we follow a male protagonist, which I was actually excited about because I don't think Sager is the absolute best at writing his female protagonists and it was something new at least.

The mystery is an intriguing one: two boys camp in a garden in their very safe little suburban neighbourhood, but in the titular middle of the night, one of them gets taken right out of their tent - and the other has to grow up with the heavy burden of having to live with the fact that he might never know what happened right next to him in that fateful night. The setting is equally great: a small neighbourhood where everyone knows everyone yet really, noone knows anyone, and all around them a vast dark forest in which hides a mysterious, now closed institute where allegedly once eerie experiments took place. Are there paranormal elements at play? Is that why noone has ever found out what happened to poor Billy all these years ago? And not just that - when Ethan, the surviving boy, returns to the neighborhood as an adult, weird things start to happen. Things that slowly make him suspect that Billy's ghost might have come back to haunt him, to urge him to finally find out the truth about that night.

While the premise is intriguing and I was absorbed in the mystery for a while, I did struggle a bit with a few issues. For one, Ethan is just a terrible protagonist. He is bland, boring, has no personality at all really, and he's so very ineffective and passive through the entire thing. The pacing is also rather slow, and while I actually enjoyed the dual timeline narrative exploring both the present and the past leading up to Billy's disappearance, the fact that the latter is told from so many character's perspective really brought to light just how uninteresting these characters were. A lot of these chapters were just there to present pretty ineffective red herrings, they didn't contribute much to the plot if at all. The pacing really suffered from that.

Add to that the predictability of some of the revelations and an ending twist that could have been actually really great, but fell flat because of the bland characters and lacklustre lead-up, and this really wasn't that great of a thriller. It's not a bad one either, it's just very forgettable. So for that, it sits somewhere between 2 and 3 stars for me.

I'm so sad to say that this book just wasn't for me! I've really enjoyed other novels by the author but I just felt that this one was dragging me through the chapters, rather than me frantically reading to find out what was going on.

I found the main character very one-dimensional. He only seemed to have one single personality trait which was 'my friend was kidnapped from a tent in the middle of the night'. Which was a shame, because I haven't found that with other books this author has written.

That being said, I may not be the ideal target audience for this kind of thriller as I don't generally enjoy those which are centered around relationships and events in the characters past. I think I felt that a lot of clues and hints just turned out to the paranoia on the MCs part and the 'mystery' was actually not a mystery at all? When I read the 'truth' about what had happened I honestly felt a bit deflated.

I'll still pick up the next book Riley Sager publishes - this one just wasn't for me!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC

Another fairly quick read, telling the story of Ethan who is desperate to find out what happened to his childhood friend Billy, who disappeared when they were camping out in Ethan's back yard.

Had an almost Stranger Things vibe about it, with the creepy institute in the middle of the woods.

Yes, the police made a bit of a hash of the original investigation, but these things do happen in real life too!

4.5 stars from me

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC copy of this book to review before it's publish date.

Wow! Where do I start! Riley Sager has done it again!!! This time a thriller with a ghost story to boot. I read this book in a couple of days as it had me on the edge of my seat, with the twists and turns it kept providing. Sager always delivers a fantastic twist which is worth the wait. The story gives a modern day version of your 'typical' ghost story but it also touched upon other themes, including friendship, loneliness, grief and heartbreak. You cant help buy 'feel' for the main character, Ethan, and the struggles he faces throughout his life...

This is an easy 4.5 stars from me and I can't wait to read more from Sager. Fantastic!

Riley Sager is very hit and miss for me with his novels

Some are absolutely brilliant, and others just meh

Middle of the night falls in the latter category and did not scratch my thriller itch for me

10 year old Ethan and best friend Billy are camping in the back garden, but when Ethan wakes up the next morning, Billy has vanished and is never seen again. 30 years later, Ethan returns to the neighbourhood when messages are left for him like Billy used to when they were kids. Ethan questions if Billy is actually alive and tries to solve the mystery.
As with all Riley Sager books, you won’t be disappointed with this standalone offering. Detailed setting and characters build up a scene you can really see and feel. You long for Ethan to find out the truth of that fateful night. With flashbacks to Ethan and Billy as children and the events leading up to that night. You start to suspect all residents with some involvement, but the truth is finally revealed in the anticipated twist.. 5 star plot and writing style.

I agree with the other negative reviews. Apologies but I couldn't force myself to read the entire book because it was too slow and not thrilling at all. There's nothing new here, and nothing interesting either, unfortunately. Just repetitive sentences, phrases and scenes, over and over again. I dnf'd at about 60%. I was hoping it got better but I was having to force myself to read it, a sign a book is not for me.

30 years ago 10 yr old Ethan and his friend Billy were camping in the back garden . When Ethan woke in the morning there was a tear in the side of the tent and Billy was missing -never to be found .
Now Ethan is back in his old house along with his childhood memories . Can he eventually solve the mystery that has haunted his life ?
Absolutely Brilliant !

Thank You NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Brilliant. I loved this book. I have read one of this authors books before and didn't think that much of it, but loved this. The characters were relatable. I went through all the emotions with a sadness when finding out what had happened to Billy.
I love books when I do not expect the ending to be as it was. I will recommend this as a good read.

I’m a huge fan of Riley Sager, I typically find his books very engaging and entertaining, this one was just a bit of a let down - for me!

The premise was very interesting but the story was quite slow to get going, the chapters that covered the past were interesting but short, while the present day ones dragged on a bit. I felt the occult theme could have played a much bigger part.

Overall I thought it was an okay book, easy to read just not one I’d recommend to someone new to Sager.

A wild ride. I thought this was going to end paranormal which I wasn’t expecting but I’m glad it didn’t. The ending was unexpected but a little boring, couldn’t predict it though. I had hoped it would have more twists but overall, a good story.

In Middle of the Night we follow dual timelines:

1994 - Ethan and his friend Billy camp out in his backyard only for Billy to go missing, a slash down the tent and no trace of what happened to him, the only possible witness Ethan doesn' remember seeing anyone that night.

Present Day - Ethan has moved back to the family home where the disappearance occured, and something strange is happening. Ethan senses someone lurking in the cul de sac. Is Billy back? Is it paranormal? The mysterious institute in the woods? A neighbour?

This was a fun read for me and I love Riley Sager, you never know what kind of thriller you're going to get going in to one of his books. He keeps you guessing and looking for twists right to the end, and at this point, I'll read anything he releases!

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the chance to read Middle of the Night.

I’ve read all of Riley Sager’s books and am a big fan of his work and writing style. His books have ranged from 2-5 stars for me and I really enjoyed his last book but this one was a middle of the road 3 for me. The premise is interesting, I love a dual timeline and the involvement of the Hawthorne Institute. However, the latter wasn’t used to its full potential - I wanted it to be even creepier and darker to really ramp things up but the overall book was just a real slow burn and the ending was just a bit flat for me.

Also the police did a shitty job of investigating Billy’s disappearance the first time around and the kids kept a hell of a lot of vital information back considering they wanted their friend to be found.

Thanks to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.