The Big Thrill Recommends: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Riley Sager
Recommended by Abbey Peralta
It’s 1994, and 10-year-old best friends Ethan and Billy are having a typical childhood summer. That is, until the fateful night when the boys have a backyard sleepover at Ethan’s house, only for Ethan to wake up to a slashed tent with Billy nowhere to be found. The neighborhood, filled with families, searches high and low for Billy. The police question Ethan on multiple occasions, but he swears he didn’t hear a thing. Fingers are pointed, but no answers are ever found to unlock the mystery of that night on Hemlock Circle.
The story alternates between that summer and the present day. Ethan is all grown up and has since moved back into his family home after his parents retired and moved away. Even as an adult, Ethan hasn’t come to terms with the fact that Billy was never found. Until suddenly, shortly after Ethan’s return, the remains of a child are found nearby, and everyone is dropped back into that July night. Add to that some things that Ethan can’t quite explain: streetlights turning on when no one is around, a baseball that keeps appearing in his yard—something Billy used to leave to signal he wanted Ethan to come out and play—and some mysterious movement on his outdoor camera, and Ethan begins to question whether Billy may still be around somehow after all these years.
There’s no one better than Riley Sager at creating an atmosphere that places you into the story and makes you feel right there with the characters. And, of course, there are plenty of twists. MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT is the perfect summer read.
The Big Thrill Recommends: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT by Riley Sager
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