My parents, immediately concerned about how I’d be affected by my friend’s abduction, made sure to cut me out of the snapshot before it was released to the press. In doing so, they created an ironic reversal of the situation.

Billy, the Lost Boy, was seen literally everywhere, his image almost as prominent that summer as O. J. Simpson and the white Bronco. And I became invisible.

Tonight’s review concerns a novel by Riley Sager, an author I wasn’t familiar with. But he knows his business. The novel is called Middle of the Night.

Ethan Marsh, the narrator, is back (this is another first-person, present tense novel, alas) living in his boyhood home, and not happy about it. But his parents have decided to retire to Florida, and his broken marriage has left him needing a place to stay, so here he is, at least for a while.

It’s not that it’s a bad place to live. Hemlock Circle is a lovely cul-de-sac in a leafy suburb near Princeton University. The neighbors are friendly and engaged with one another.

But this is where, when he was ten years old, Ethan had the worst experience of his life. He was “camping” in a tent in his back yard with his best friend Billy one night, and woke the next morning to find the tent wall slashed open, and Billy missing. Never to be seen again.

Ethan has been haunted by nightmares ever since.

Now, back in Hemlock Circle, he’s constantly reminded of that night. Now and then, in the dark, he has a fleeting impression of Billy’s spectral presence. Some invisible visitor seems to be wandering the circle at night, triggering motion sensors on security lights. And, most troubling of all, from time to time he finds a baseball in his back yard – that had been Billy’s secret summons to get together when they were boys. Nobody knew about it but the two of them.

Perhaps, Ethan thinks, Billy is speaking to him from beyond, asking him to solve the mystery of his murder. Or maybe he’s still alive, playing a vengeful game because he blames Ethan for something – something he himself can’t remember.

Middle of the Night is a well-written and immersive book. It brushed up against the topic of spiritualism, but only brushed it lightly. I found it moving and fascinating to read. As it happens, I figured out whodunnit ahead of time, but only on structural grounds, not because I figured out the clues.

Recommended.