When you look behind you there's nothing there to see: MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager


I started this one on audio thanks to a work trip and will say that I quite enjoyed the audio (not always the case for me). I finished it via hardcover because I had to know what happened--this is a true page turner!

As with many Sager books, MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT exudes eerie tension. Now 40, Ethan Marsh returns to his childhood home to lick his wounds after his marriage ends. He's living in his parents' old house as they have fled the coop to Florida. Ethan has never loved the place--ever since, at age 10, his best friend Billy was snatched from a tent in Ethan's backyard while the two were camping. Billy was never seen again. Ethan has been unable to remember any events of that night, but he's haunted by dreams and insomnia, even thirty years later.

Being back on Hemlock Court, a small, exclusive neighborhood where all the families know each other--and each other's business--isn't the best for Ethan's mental health. How reliable of a narrator is this exhausted 40-year-old man, we wonder?

The story unfolds between Ethan's present-day perspective, as suspicious events begin happening in the neighborhood, and the past, with various POVs from the folks of Hemlock Court relaying the events the day before Billy's disappearance. I found this format nearly impossible to put down--it was incredibly effective at raising suspense and tension.

As with many a Sager book, you'll find yourself wondering if the supernatural or ghosts are at play, or just sinister forces. There are plenty of suspects and the story kept me wondering and guessing until the end. The ending was a little less robust than I'd hoped, but this was still an enjoyable thriller, and it was nice to find such a hard-to-put-down read! 4+ stars.

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J, A to Z Challenge: JUST ONE LOOK.

Just One Look by Harlan Coben
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A truly twisty mystery

This is the tenth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

When Grace Lawson picks up a set of photos from the store, she finds a strange photo in the envelope. It shows a group of four people she doesn't know. But one, she does: her husband, long before she knew him. When she shows him that evening, he leaves their home mysteriously. Soon a crazy series of events kicks off, and while Grace doesn't realize it, there are people who would do anything--even kill--to keep that photo from seeing the light of day.

This was my first Harlan Coben read--I have a bunch of Coben books I've collected sitting on my shelves, so it seemed like a great choice for my challenge. This was the supreme page turner. I had no idea where this book was going most of the time! It's filled with twists and turns, and it kept me guessing! There are a few real "coincidences," but they didn't diminish my enjoyment of the story at all. This was one of those plain 'ol good mysteries. I hadn't realized it was set in the mid-1990s (the development of film should have been a dead giveaway, ha), but it stood the test of time. There are creepy bad guys who fight the good guys. Sometimes you just need a tale of good versus evil with lots of twists to take your mind off of things.

Overall, an enjoyable and puzzling read. 3.5 stars. I'll definitely need to read more of the Coben books on my shelves.

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You can read more about the #atozchallenge here.

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So how did you decide to give me so much love: THE FAMILIAR DARK.

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars


Eve Taggert grew up poor in Barren Springs, Missouri. Her mother was a meth user and dealer, a hardened woman who had little love for Eve or Eve's brother, Cal. When Eve became pregnant with her own daughter, Junie, she resolved their life would be different. While they might not have gotten out of Barren Springs--and they are still poor--Eve loves Junie fiercely. So when Cal, now a policeman, comes into the diner where Eve works with the worst of news: Junie is dead, found murdered with her best friend, Ivy Logan, Eve's world is shattered. And she resolves that she will stop at nothing to seek justice for her daughter.


"They died during a freak April snowstorm, blood pooling on a patchy bed of white. Afterward, some people said the killer must have had one eye on the gathering gray clouds. Taken the weather as a cue to strike and picked the moment when everyone else was huddled indoors, shivering in their optimistic shirtsleeves and muttering about global warming."


This book was powerful and utterly absorbing. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it after reading Amy Engel's previous novel, The Roanoke Girls, which is one of my favorite of books. It's one that I recommend to everyone. The Familiar Dark has much of the grittiness of The Roanoke Girls and, man, Engel is an amazing writer who excels at creating these worlds that just suck you in and, in some ways, spit you right back out.


"It had happened now, finally. The disaster I'd been anticipating from the second Junie was born. And I had never even seen it coming."


The title of the book simply doesn't cover it. This is a dark story. Engel captures the small town of Barren Springs perfectly. Our story is told completely from Eve's perspective, which I loved, and things unwind and unfurl as she figures things out. As mentioned, this is a dark tale, as Junie and Izzy's deaths are terrible. Eve's grief just pours off the pages. She is quickly pulled back to the horrors of her childhood and all that she endured. We see immediately that she's going to seek vengenance for what happened to Junie--no matter what. In any fashion, in any way.

I felt as if I almost became one with Eve as I read this book. She is riveting. As a mom, this book broke my heart, and the novel was a testament to a mother's love. It's oddly tender despite its horrifying and sad moments, and I defy you not to love Eve, despite her flaws. The book shows how her childhood formed her, and her brother Cal, whom is really the only person Eve has left after Junie's death.

I could rave on and on, but I don't want to risk spoiling anything. This book isn't for the faint of heart and it's not exactly an uplifting read, but as mentioned, it still resonates as a read about the power of family and love, despite its tense, uncomfortable moments. I am wowed by Engel's writing and can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Dutton in return for an unbiased review.

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Now's the time for us to begin: LOCK EVERY DOOR.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book wasn't what I was expecting, but, pleasantly, in a good way. Jules is hired as an apartment sitter (apparently those exist) at the ritzy Bartholomew in New York City. She's incredibly broke and down on her luck, so getting paid to stay in a beautiful apartment seems like a dream come true. But the job comes with a lot of rules: no overnight guests, spend every night at the apartment, don't bother any of the other residents, and more. Jules finds a friend in another sitter, Ingrid, who tells her everything isn't as it seems at the Bartholomew. Jules figures she's just exaggerating. Until Ingrid disappears. Hunting for her friend, Jules finds out some dark secrets about the Bartholomew--and starts to believe Ingrid was right.

LOCK EVERY DOOR is a total page-turner. Jules is an engaging, if occasionally frustrating protagonist, who is easy to like. The premise of this one is certainly interesting and just when you think it's going off on in one direction, it completely surprises you. Sager nails the creepy atmosphere coupled with the NYC setting, allowing you to get completely lost in the book for a couple of hours. 4 stars.

I received my copy of this book through one of my favorite websites, Paperbackswap.com, where you can swap copies of all your favorite books (hardcover, paperback, and more).

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And I've been kicked by the wind: THE LAST TIME I LIED.

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Fifteen years ago at Camp Nightingale, three of Emma's fellow campers disappeared, never to be found again. Ever since then, Emma has felt guilt about the incident and her actions that night. She idolized the three girls, especially beautiful Vivian, the leader of the pack, who bossed around Emma and the other two campers, Allison and Natalie. Since then, Emma--now a painter--has been painting huge canvases of landscapes, where she (secretly) paints the girls within each scene. She holds a successful show of her works, but now she's stuck, unable to paint anything else but "the girls," as she calls them. So when the owner of Camp Nightingale, Francesca Harris-White, turns up at Emma's show and tells her she's reopening the camp and she wants Emma to come back as an painting instructor, Emma agrees. Perhaps this will give her the closure she has always lacked and a chance to move on, to begin painting something else. But once back at the Camp--in the same cabin where her friends disappeared-Emma feels watched. Strange things begin happening and Emma starts to wonder more and more about what really happened fifteen years ago.

Well, this was just a fun thriller and a completely engaging read. I'm so glad I gave it a chance, as--unlike most of the reading population, I actually wasn't a huge fan of Sager's FINAL GIRLS and I wasn't entirely sure I was going to read this one. But it was definitely worth the read! This is a quick read and really enjoyable.

Sager populates the novel with a bunch of mysterious pieces that begin to add up across the story--clues, if you will--but you are left constantly wondering as you read. I personally was guessing up until the end, which I really liked. I am always a fan of a thriller that isn't utterly predictable. The novel is told from Emma's perspective, but flips between the present and the past (fifteen years ago, when the three girls went missing initially). This turns out to be an amazingly effective and compelling storytelling format: I read the entire book in about 24 hours and the first half in one setting. You can't quite pinpoint what draws you in, but you find yourself compulsively turning the pages.

Emma is a wonderful unreliable narrator. I enjoyed that she wasn't the requisite annoying unreliable narrator that we seem to see so often: she's tough, engaging, and just happens to be fairly untrustworthy at times to boot. Just when you start to get a bit frustrated and ready to truly know what Emma lied about, Sager spills the beans and the saga continues, with more crazy reveals.

The scene setting in this one is great; while I've never actually been to camp, Sager sets the stage so perfectly: you can just picture everything. The entire novel has this wonderful layer of creepy and mysterious on top of it all. So much of it seems foreboding, which adds to the suspense. And, as many have mentioned, there is a great twist to the ending, which I personally liked.

Overall, I really enjoyed this thriller. It's foreboding, quite readable, and features a main character who draws you in. Between not enjoying FINAL GIRLS and then seeing so much hype for this one, I was ready to be disappointed, but THE LAST TIME I LIED proved me wrong: it was a really engaging and suspenseful read. 4+ stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).

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Just keep on moving and grooving to the daylight: UNQUALIFIED.

Unqualified by Anna Faris

My rating: 3.5+ of 5 stars


Anna Faris' memoir is based mainly on the premise of her podcast, also entitled Unqualified, in which she doles out advice to strangers whom she calls on her show. The idea is that Anna is, in fact, "unqualified" to give advice, but she'll do so anyway based on her life experiences. If you actually listen to her podcast, though, you quickly learn that she's pretty good at giving advice, and that she's also a funny and enjoyable person. The book expands on this, allowing Anna to answer some of the questions posed on her podcast (e.g., Dealbreakers), talk about her childhood and experience breaking in acting, and, yes, of course, her various relationships.

Overall, the book feels pretty real and authentic. You quickly get an idea of the kind of person Anna seems to be--kind, funny, talented, and perhaps a little insecure. I'll admit that since I started listening to Anna's podcast, I've felt a kinship to her, and my review is obviously influenced by that. She's so down-to-earth and really damn funny on her podcast. I also love the idea that she lived in her head for much of her childhood, making up stories (it sounds a little familiar, you see). If you like Anna's podcast, it will be hard not to enjoy her book, although some of the chapters and stories will sound a bit familiar if you're a faithful listener.

My love of Anna was only deepened by reading her book, which is quite readable and broken into simple, short chapters. We get glimpses into Anna's childhood, her first big relationship, a little insight into her big break with "Scary Movie," and more. I relate to her on so many levels. We're both fascinated by other people's lives; never had a big group of female friends; have no patience for small talk; are not wedding people; possess an emotional defense built up from our parents; and enjoy calling the numbers on vehicles to report about truck drivers' good driving. She just happens to be a lovely, famous, wealthy actress, and I'm um, well, yes. Otherwise, we're the same, right? ;)

Of course, the elephant in this review is Anna's recent split from her husband, Chris Pratt, who wrote the foreword to the book, which was apparently revised somewhat for publication. It's hard not to psychoanalyze Anna in light of her recent marriage breakup. You read about her self-admitted inability to admit failure and her tendency to jump from one relationship straight to the next. So much of the book is about Chris and their relationship, and it's a shame that it's a distraction from an enjoyable memoir about a really smart and talented woman, who should stand on her own merit, apart from her (soon-to-be-ex) husband. It's also heartbreaking to read these chapters where it sounds like they truly love each other--and where they got through the premature birth of their son together--and know they are no longer married.

Overall, this is a fun, easy-to-read memoir. If you like Anna, her films, or her podcast, you'll probably enjoy this one. It's a quick read, full of lists, humorous moments, and short chapters, although there are definitely serious pieces, too. It really only made me like her more. 3.5+ stars.

I received my copy of this book through one of my favorite websites, Paperbackswap.com, where you can swap copies of all your favorite books (hardcover, paperback, and more). You pay postage for the books you send, and the books you receive are free! If you love books as much as I do, you should check it out - I've received 256 books through PBS - it's awesome! :)

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