Middle of the Night

Middle of the Night (2024) is a psychological thriller by American author Riley Sager. The novel’s protagonist, Ethan Marsh, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his childhood best friend, Billy Barringer. When Ethan returns to his childhood home 30 years later, he becomes consumed by the unresolved questions surrounding Billy’s vanishing and is determined to uncover the truth, no matter how dark or disturbing it may be.

The narrative follows Ethan’s obsessive quest for answers, weaving together his memories of their childhood in a quiet, seemingly idyllic town and the growing sense of unease that surrounded Billy in the days leading up to his disappearance. Through Ethan’s journey, Middle of the Night explores The Long-term Effects of Childhood Trauma, The Importance of Trust in Friendship, and Haunting as a Form of Memory.

Sager’s narrative style, which alternates between first-person reflections and third-person flashbacks, immerses readers in Ethan’s increasingly fractured psyche as he confronts the dark truths of the past. The novel is a gripping exploration of memory, guilt, and the darkness that can lurk within even the closest relationships.

This guide refers to the 2024 Dutton e-book edition.

Plot Summary

Set in the fictional neighborhood of Hemlock Circle, Middle of The Night explores the mysterious disappearance of a young boy named Billy Barringer in 1994 and the impact of this event on his community. In keeping with Sager’s typical style, the story is structured around multiple timelines and narrated from the perspectives of multiple characters, gradually unveiling the truth behind Billy’s fate while exploring the lives of those left behind.

The story begins with a prologue set on July 16, 1994, when Billy and his friend Ethan Marsh are having a sleepover in Ethan’s backyard. The boys are around 10 years old, and their sleepover is a typical childhood event filled with excitement and spooky stories. However, the night takes a tragic turn when Billy disappears without a trace. The neighborhood is thrown into chaos, and a search for Billy ensues, but he is never found. This incident leaves a permanent scar on everyone involved, especially Ethan, who was Billy’s best friend.

The story then shifts to the present day, where Ethan is now an adult in his late thirties. He has returned to Hemlock Circle after years of trying to move on from the traumatic events of his childhood. Despite his efforts, Ethan has never truly recovered from Billy’s disappearance, and the unsolved mystery continues to haunt him. His return to the neighborhood stirs up old memories, and he finds himself drawn back into the past, particularly when he discovers that another childhood friend, Russ Chen, is still living in the area with his family.

Ethan’s obsession with Billy’s disappearance deepens when strange events begin to occur. He feels as though he is being haunted by Billy’s ghost, and he becomes convinced that Billy wants Ethan to solve his murder. As Ethan delves deeper into his memories and the neighborhood’s history, he begins to uncover unsettling details that suggest foul play. He becomes increasingly suspicious of multiple neighbors, including Russ and Fritz and Alice Van de Veer, believing that all of them were involved with Billy’s disappearance.

Interspersed throughout the present-day narrative are flashback chapters narrating the day of Billy’s disappearance. These chapters are marked as “Interludes,” and each is narrated from the third-person perspective of a different character, including Russ, Billy’s younger brother Andy, his mother Mary Ellen, and Billy himself. These flashbacks reveal the complex relationships between the children on Hemlock Circle, the secrets within their families, and the truth about Billy’s disappearance, which has been buried for decades.

As Ethan’s investigation intensifies, he learns that Billy’s younger brother, Andy, has been lurking in the shadows of Hemlock Circle for years. Andy, who was only seven years old when Billy disappeared, has spent his life tormented by the loss of his brother and the belief that someone in the neighborhood is responsible. In a shocking twist, it is revealed that Andy has been impersonating Billy’s ghost to torment Ethan, hoping to force a confession from him or to uncover the truth about what really happened.

The novel’s climax occurs when Andy kidnaps a young boy named Henry. Henry is the son of Ashley Wallace, another childhood friend who grew up on Hemlock Circle and has since returned to the area. Andy holds Henry hostage above the waterfall where Billy’s body was found and threatens to hurt Henry unless Ethan admits that he murdered Billy. The tension reaches a breaking point when Ashley unexpectedly confesses that she is the one who killed Billy.

Ashley reveals that, on the night of Billy’s disappearance, she was driving home from a party. She was underage, did not have a driver’s license, and had consumed alcohol. In her haste to get home without being caught, she accidentally hit Billy with her car. Panicked and overwhelmed with guilt, she tried to cover up the accident by hiding Billy’s body under the waterfall. For years, she lived with the secret, believing that her actions would remain hidden forever.

An Interlude from Billy’s perspective confirms Ashley’s story: Billy’s search for proof of the supernatural leads him to sneak out of the tent and venture alone into the woods, where he is ultimately struck by a car and killed.

Ashley’s confession brings a sense of closure for Andy, who has been searching for answers for decades. However, it also devastates Ethan, who feels betrayed by someone he considered a friend. The revelation that Billy’s death was not the result of a sinister plot but rather a tragic accident underscores the novel’s exploration of how trauma and guilt can fester when the truth is buried.

The story concludes with the Epilogue, set one year later. Ethan reflects on the events that transpired and the changes in his life. Ashley has turned herself in and is serving time in prison, while Ethan has taken over custody of Henry. The neighborhood of Hemlock Circle has also begun to heal, with new families moving in and a sense of renewal taking hold. Despite the pain and loss, Ethan finds a measure of peace in knowing the truth and in his newfound role as a father figure to Henry.