Middle of the Night

How it reads

Middle of the Night is thriller (psychological thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in a suburban setting, in the present day, told in the first person by several narrators. Its central concerns are secrets, loss and grief and family. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 376 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.