Middle of the Night LIVE DISCUSSION

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[@Hillary429]

Rob would hear all about the human sacrifice Kayla witnessed 😂

[@chelseybun]

The RLU (riley literary universe) has a tie in to The House Across the Lake also. I feel like everyone has missed this? Billy's spirit is in the lake.. that means.. he died in the lake. So he was alive when Ashley threw him in.

[@BooksandLala]

@@chelseybun brooooooo 😳

[@chelseybun]

@@BooksandLala how has everyone missed this?!? I'm shocked

[@BooksandLala]

@@chelseybun hahah well the books *do* take place in completely different States, so your theory would mean that ALL lakes in the RLU have this magical ability. Maybe we could tie it in with what the institute is researching, and we'll get a whole book about it one day 👀

[@chelseybun]

@BooksandLala that's what I wondered when you mentioned a spinoff. But yeah, In the middle of the night, they talk about not swimming at night because there is a belief that any reflective surface could trap a soul. And Casey makes a note of saying she can see her reflection still at night. Eli talks about how the Victorians, eastern Europeans and the tribes in the (lake Greene) area also believed this. So potentially.. Billy could possess someone. He's trapped in the lake. I don't think the institution is old enough to have caused this, but they were likely looking into scrying, possessions, and ghosts. Plot twist. Billy is possessing Henry, and that's why he was into Billy's book. Lol jk. But I mean.. Riley could have done that. And like Ethan said.. Billy became a ghost.

[@marymik7372]

I'm in the same boat as Loc'D Booktician! I've read all but one (Survive the Night) of Riley Sager's books and this was my only 5 star so I was so excited for this live show thinking I would finally be able to share in the gushing LOL. I will say though Kayla's comparison/ rec for The Last Time I Lied is spot on because that's the only other Riley Sager book that I've liked enough not to unhaul 😂

[@Jsfali]

This book put me in such a slump that I haven’t finished a book since.

[@themusicsnob]

As far as a storyline I wish had been more fleshed out, I was interested in knowing more about Russ’s brother and wanted there to be more information about him and his death and time at the institute before his death. That was a big question mark for me and I didn’t love the way it was brushed over in the book

[@theotherveronica]

i was so looking forward to more about Johnny and so let down that it didn’t come. it felt pointless to even include so much buildup for him just for it to never be fleshed out.

[@covergirlbooks]

First ever Sager, 3.5⭐️ I also guessed all the “twists” except Claudia being dead, but 10/10 would adopt Henry. ⛺️📖🔦 The ping of the trailcam notification would be *so* good in a series adaptation as a anxiety inducing thing that just keeps happening in each scene.

[@meltingpages2028]

I’m just watching the Liveshow back now since I was traveling, I think I’m going with a 4-4.5! I saw most of the twists coming, and it felt more like just tragic circumstance/slice of life kind of? I enjoyed it!

[@jacublabra]

omg I missed it and I was literally doing nothing for an hour…

[@debbaker9516]

I actually really liked this one. I read mysteries and thrillers far more than any other genre. So much so that in June and July I took a break and read fantasy and romance. This was my return to my favorite genre. Maybe that played into my feelings to some extent. Also, in the past I lived just south of Princeton and recognize these types of neighborhoods.

[@jamieserrano827]

I gave this a 4.5 on my Goodreads. There was one particular moment that was a reveal, but I won’t expand on it, but it featured what happened to the protagonist wife and why he moved back into his old house.

[@elizabethbarnes3617]

Watching this late because I just finished the book today. I must be the unpopular opinion, but this is my favorite Riley Sager I've read! But to be fair, I enjoyed it more just as a story about grief than the twisty mystery aspects

[@erinmaggio5620]

I read what Lies in the Woods

[@Agirlhasnogame]

Idk if you can hide spoilers in comments so don’t read this if you don’t want spoiled.. BUT Ashley had a brand new car in the past and thats why the damage wasn’t investigated! When she picked up Ethan saying they were going to get ice cream. I knew exactly what happened as soon as a new car was mentioned.

[@SheeshAleesh0718]

I also wanted the main character to be the hot handy man 😂

[@meganbilbrey4831]

I gave it a 4.5 since I found the whole book really fun and interesting until the end which I though was super anticlimactic

[@juleh4592]

I missed the live stream, but I'm putting in my two cents here: I gave this a 3,75. Positives: the atmosphere, I liked the characters more than in TOOL and HBD.... . . . . . I liked that there was no stupid romance, I liked that it was playing with the idea of the paranormal but that it actually was NOT paranormal. I would have been so mad otherwise. I choose to believe that Billy, the "ghost", saving them at the end, was just a psychological phenomenon instead of an actual ghost Negatives: a tad too slow, the twist of what happened to Billy was kind of a let down.

[@muddywatersbookshelf7758]

I missed the live, but this book was such a miss for me. I really enjoyed Riley Sagers previous books but Middle of the Night was so slow. Ending was uninspired.

[@nyayuri]

I gave this a two. And that’s generous. It was so boring and completely without reward. Great show as always!

[@erinmaggio5620]

Read all his books!

[@WishAtElevenEleven]

I thought this book was just ok, not as bad as most people seem to think. I didn’t really like the occult aspect, having no real meaning to the story though.

[@avsambart]

Sounds like Riley Sager wants to be a mid Stephen King 🤣

[@jkreading2693]

This book should have been named "middle of the road" it was so MEH. But what I did enjoy is that it seemed very inspired by stranger things. The 80s, the kids, and the institution? Come on!! So close but failed.

[@llumpiah]

hmn this is 3,5 stars for me. i still enjoyed it but the big reveal was bad

[@GothicBookLover]

4 star book for me...but I tend to like books that aren't over the top nor paint men as evil 🤷‍♂️

[@ChanelChapters]

It was very mid and flat

[@desireemclaughlin1455]

This was a 2 for me, and most of that is from the scenes near the end that are dealing with grief. Particularly the scene where he goes through his wife’s phone and listens/reads all the messages he’s sent her since her death. That hurt, even though I figured from very early on that she was dead. I think the most shocking thing about this book was that there was nothing shocking. I’ve read all Riley Sager’s books and even when I have pieces figured out he always manages to throw in like 3-4 twists that I don’t see coming. Not this time. I felt like EVERYTHING was pretty obvious. I was mostly bored with this. The only reason I didn’t DNF is that I expected some craziness at the end, and then I didn’t get it. 🫤