This was a heavy one. It took me awhile to get through it partly because of the dark themes, but also because it was a little slow. For most of the book, I struggled with if certain things were actually happening, or if they were hallucinations. I felt like some of the characters' reactions to what was happening seemed a bit unrealistic. The horror elements were really well written, and I could envision things perfectly. Certain aspects of this tragic story really hit home and I know I'll be thinking about it for days to come.

Through the Midnight Door is such an interesting play on different genres and family dynamics. It's a little bit horror, thriller and fantasy all at once.

This is a story of fears and the way they manifest. I just wish the house and doors were more fully realized. I found myself captivated by them, but at the end unsure of the house, its purpose and what happened to it. Katrina Monroe did familial relationships so well, the sisters and their relationship with each other and their parents was so nuanced. There were so many layers to how they reacted to each other.

Overall - creepy setting, solid horror entry!

I am very unsure how to rate/review this book, ultimately rounding up to a 3. I kept reading, because I felt something special just under the surface of this story - but it just never really came together for me. I couldn't quite figure out why the MCs were doing what they were doing. It kind of made sense in the end, but I feel like we needed more of that information earlier in the story to really get invested. There are important ideas in here about grief and loss but ultimately, it just didn't totally work for me.

4.25 stars - Thank you Sourcebooks and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story is told from the 3 sister’s POVs in past and present timelines. This book’s vibes immediately intrigued me. The setting is creepy and there’s a sense of heaviness and dread throughout. I love the idea of a past coming back in a mysterious way and having to relive a past the characters thought they escaped. I also really enjoyed the sister aspect of this story and the ways the characters interact with each other and begin to come together since growing apart after a traumatic childhood. I thought the weaving of the multiple timelines and character’s perspectives was so well crafted and I didn’t want to put this book down. There wasn’t anything specific that I didn’t enjoy in this book, it just didn’t give me that five star feeling

As a reader who gravitates toward thrillers and supernatural horror, Through the Midnight Door was one I was very excited to read. Sisters Meg, Esther, and Claire Finch visit an abandoned house with impossibly long hallways and mysterious doors. Each door has a key, and each girl chooses a door to walk through. After facing an unimaginable horror behind the doors, we follow the three Finch sisters through multiple POVs and flashbacks to see how their lives have been affected by that house. As a supernatural horror lover, the supernatural elements throughout this story were very well done and had me pretty spooked!

I loved the idea of this mysterious abandoned house with unimaginable terrors within its walls, and I was left wanting more backstory on it. I would have loved if there was more lore about how this house became such a sinister force and how it was able to influence people. I thought the author did a great job of exploring trauma, fear, grief, and guilt through the lens of horror and how all of these things can put a strain on family relationships.

Despite wanting more, I did enjoy this and liked the idea! It had some amazing supernatural elements making this a quick read. This book really gave me Mike Flanagan’s Haunting of Hill House vibes, so if that was something you liked too, then I would absolutely recommend giving this a read!

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

When a great horror read blends its story together with hair raising psychological components, it makes for a wild ride, and that is precisely what Katrina Monroe has done with Through the Midnight Door.

The story seems to be influenced by Shirley Jackson's classic, Haunting of Hill House, but takes on a life of its own. Exploring themes of inter-generational trauma and the family bonds between sisters, this story will leave you guessing and trying to determine just what is going on and what will happen next.

"Through the Midnight Door" by Katrina Monroe is a captivating and atmospheric read that will keep you turning the pages. Monroe blends suspense and supernatural elements, crafting a story that is as emotionally impactful as it is thrilling. The characters are well developed, and the plot is engaging, with unexpected twists that keep you on the edge of your seat. This novel is a must-read for fans of atmospheric thrillers.

"Three sisters. Three keys. Three unspeakable horrors.

The Finch sisters once spent long, hot summers exploring the dozens of abandoned properties littering their dying town - until they found an impossible home with an endless hall of doors...and three keys left waiting for them. Curious, fearless, they stepped inside their chosen rooms, and experienced horrors they never dared speak of again.

Now, years later, youngest sister Claire has been discovered dead in that old, desiccated house. Haunted by their sister's suicide and the memories of a past they've struggled to forget, Meg and Esther find themselves at bitter odds. As they navigate the tensions of their brittle relationship, they draw unsettling lines between Claire's death, their own haunted memories, and a long-ago loss no one in their family has ever been able to face. With the house once again pulling them ever-closer, Meg and Esther must find the connection between their sister's death and the shadow that has chased them across the years...before the darkness claims them, too.

As emotional as it is haunting, Through the Midnight Door explores the sometimes-fragile bonds of sisterhood and the way deeply rooted trauma can pass from generation to generation."

Trauma, mystery, yeah yeah, this house totally eats people right?

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but right off the bat, it sucked me in with its "Haunting of Hill House" vibe. If you're a fan of family drama and dark, eerie mysteries with a touch of supernatural horror, then this is the book for you. This novel follows the Finch sisters, Claire, Meg, and Esther, as they are drawn back to the old abandoned house that holds the key to disturbing secrets from their past.

The story begins with the tragic death of the youngest Finch sister, Claire, who is found hanging from the rafters in a decrepit house that the sisters used to explore as children. As Meg and Esther delve into the mystery surrounding Claire's suicide (or was it?), they are forced to confront their own haunted memories and the long-buried secrets that almost ripped their family apart.

I really enjoyed watching the sisters uncover the dark truth behind Claire's death. Flashing back and forth in time between all three of the sister's points of view, we slowly begin to unravel the events that fractured the bond between these once close-knit siblings. From the book's first lines, we're pulled into the mystery when Meg receives a haunting call from a distressed Claire. Meg knows exactly where Claire is, and she knows something has pulled her back to this creepy old house, but when she finds Claire dead, she fears that whatever lurks in the walls will likely come for her and Esther next.

The complex family dynamics and the unique personalities of each character were a highlight for me. It made it easy to keep track of who we were hearing from in each chapter. The house, with its endless hall of doors, is a character in and of itself, providing a chilling backdrop to the sisters' journey into the unknown.

Monroe's writing style is immersive and atmospheric, drawing readers into the world she has created and keeping them engaged from start to finish. The worn-out town and its financially struggling citizens were easy (though a little uncomfortable) to settle into. I felt the citizens' depravity and hopelessness and understood the adverse effects of poverty on the Finch family.

What really makes this book work is the complex and nuanced relationship between Meg and Esther. Their bond is fractured by years of guilt, grief, and resentment over an event that nearly destroyed the family - an event Meg feels responsible for - and Monroe perfectly captures the raw emotions that simmer beneath the surface of their interactions. As the sisters race against time to solve the mystery before the darkness claims them too, readers will find themselves rooting for the sisters to overcome their differences and confront the demons of their past, stopping the house and the darkness inside it once and for all.

While I enjoyed the book, I felt the situation that nearly pulled the family apart could have delivered a stronger punch if there had been a more impactful reason behind what transpired. It all felt a little weak. I also felt the "big bad" was obvious, and some of the scenes felt as though they were lifted right out of familiar ghost stories we've seen (or read) before. Still, none of these issues were enough to completely ruin the overall story for me.

While I had minor issues with a few plot points, I still enjoyed the creepy atmosphere and complex family dynamics within the pages. This is a chilling read that will appeal to fans of horror, mystery, and supernatural fiction. If you are a fan of the Mike Flanagan "Haunting of Hill House" series, I would recommend checking this out.

Told in three voices and two timelines, Through the Midnight Door is an interesting study in horror and psychology. Three sisters made a choice to enter a house as children/teens and the aftermath follows them into adulthood.

I tend to be drawn to sister stories. It's my own life, with 4 sisters of my own. There's a way that sisters talk to each other, the shared history and long-standing fights. The Finch sisters are sharing many secrets, including a loss that no-one in the family will discuss.

This is a heavy book, it left me unsettled and uncomfortable. And I think that's the point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

Thank you @poisonedpenpress @netgalley #partner for the gifted copy of this eARC!

Looking for a haunted house book for your spooky season? Well look no further! This book isn’t just a typical scary horror story it actually has a lot of familial elements and depth within each character. Three sisters grow up in a small town with abandoned houses. In an effort to stifle boredom they stumble upon an empty house and become curious and decide to explore. Inside they each find a key and behind each door they discover unspeakable horrors that stick with them their entire lives. 💀 When one sister ends up committing suicide, in none other than the haunted house from when they were children, it leaves the other two questioning what happened. They must piece together the details to stop their dark spiral downward from continuing on!

This was a first time for me to read this author and I’m surprised I’ve not heard of her before! Her writing is stellar and the plot just felt unique and really drew me in from early on in the story. This book was eery and left a very haunted feeling but at the same time left me with more emotions than I had expected. These characters experienced a lot of trauma in their lives and as I mentioned before it was this past that made this book more interesting than just a regular horror book. If you are a lover of spooky season and love a haunted house story make sure to add this one to your TBR!

Through the Midnight Door was a chilling and memorable horror tale with a great mix of supernatural elements and real-life "adult fears." The three sisters are strongly written and the family is a powerful portrait of people dealing with incredible grief and trauma in different ways. Towards the end, we learn more about the supernatural elements of the story, but I wish we got a little more information about what exactly they were up to and what they wanted. However, if you like horror with complicated characters and sibling drama, this is a great read for you.

Through the Midnight Door was a genre-bending book that started a horror story but morphed into more of a thriller with a supernatural twist.

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for supernatural elements in a book, and these ones were SO GOOD. They were genuinely scary, and really helped to elevate the story. There wasn’t a shortage of supernatural moments by any means, but I still wish there had been more.

My favorite part of the book was the creepy house from the Finch’s childhood!! It made this book feel super unique and I was dying to know more about it. Unfortunately, it didn’t feel like it was a central part of the storyline, which felt like a bit of a missed opportunity for me.

The author did a great job portraying the family’s grief over Claire’s death. It was almost as if I could feel their pain too. With that being said, I didn’t feel much of a connection with the main characters.

Read if you like:

✨Creepy houses
✨Stories about sisterhood
✨Supernatural reads
✨Female dominated books

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Through the Midnight Door far exceeded my expectations! I was sucked into the lives of Claire, Esther and Meg and their struggles dealing with the darkness from the abandoned house. This was a mind bending novel that had you guessing if the darkness was real or a figment of imagination and emotional trauma.

I do have a couple gripes. First being the mom was completely let off the hook. She deeply struggled with grief, to the point where her behaviors should have landed her behind bars an with her kids taken away, yet nothing happened. Second, the representation of nurses is atrocious. Granted I am a nurse, so I'm partial. But damn, the way Monroe wrote the nurses I'm guessing she has beef with one in her personal life.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

This book blended a variety of genres including horror and psychological thriller. Three sisters in their childhood visit an abandoned house that shows them horrors beyond imagine that haunt them to the present day. When one sister is found in the house dead, the other two have to process past trauma. This book was amazing and I will be looking forward to more books by this author!

I was a little nervous jumping into this book when I read that it fit into the “horror” genre but I’m glad I gave it a chance! It’s the perfect mix of horror, psychological thriller and fantasy!

This book is about 3 sisters who discover a haunted house that keeps luring them back in. It was super creepy but kept the horror to a minimum. The author does an amazing job keeping us engaged through multiple POV’s and timelines (past, present and future). I also loveddddd the trigger warnings in the beginning.

My only wish was that they included more background on Donny.

A gripping and anxiety book, kept me wondering what is going to happen next. It really kept me reading until the end to found out about what they saw in that house.

If you like your horror novels with a little meat on their bones, you're in luck. Through the Midnight Door is a whole meal. This book defies neat categorization, but will scare the pants off you while you're wiping your tears.

The three troubled Finch sisters have never been the same since their childhood visit to a long abandoned house. In that house they experienced something as impossible as it was terrifying and each came away with their own trauma. Years later, Claire, the youngest, would be discovered in that same abandoned house, lifeless. Now Meg and Esther, the remaining sisters, will have to try and put aside years of resentment to work together. Because the darkness that took Claire isn't finished, and it's hungry to devour the Finch family whole.

If you've ever struggled with depression or any other mental health issue, I think this book will resonate and speak to you. It's not just a bloody good time, it's also deep and meaningful, exploring family and the ties that bind. Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy.

I rated this 3.5 stars and honestly initially thought I would rate this book higher. I loved some of the major themes of family trauma, mental health/illness, haunted house, and reality vs. supernatural. I thought the pacing started off really well but unfortunately in the middle the story lost momentum. I think what possibly happened was the author became more focused on the traumas experienced by the family rather than leading the reader to the answers we needed about the two crimes we had become aware of. I think the crimes and trauma could have been explored in unison somehow, as the reader is questioning the reality of the situation or if the family has serious MH issues (or both). I agree this needed to be explored and think she did this really delicately given the material, however, i think with more focus it could have been executed better and brought more punch. The characters were also (sorry) extremely unlikeable and while I understand why this was done, I think possibly it is still important for readers to connect with one character.

I can tell this author was influenced by stories like 'The Haunting of Hill House' and I think she is off to a great start, with some more executing and editing on her next story, I believe she could write a really fantastic and gripping story.

I really enjoyed the element of the missing sibling and did thing that this was revealed well, however, I wasn't sure the reveal of the killer was woven well enough into the story to be shocking or unexpected. I did really enjoy the realism of child services being involved and hos this theme linked with the antagonist traumatic experience as a child

One other recommendation, I don't remember every reading about 'The Midnight Club' more than twice in the book, it is mentioned briefly in the beginning but not explained that this is where the girls will go and explore together. Given the siginifnace to the story, I think more needed to be done in this area, to demonstrate how close the girls were before this haunting incident altered their relationships forever.

This had really good bones and I really enjoyed the authors writing style and her foreboding and spooky descriptions were perfect for this genre. The narrative and prose was well done and I found the language easy to follow and understand, which is great because I think the use of overly analytical or complex language will lessen your prospective audience.

I will be editing this review and posting on Goodreads and Instagram today to include the more positive feedback!

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book.

🏚️ T R A U M A T I C T H U R S D A Y review 🏚️ featuring “Through the Midnight Door” by Katrina Monroe!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤/5

Three sisters (Esther, Clare and Meg) spent their childhood playing in abandoned buildings in their destitute small town. One day they discovered an old house that is unlike any other: there is an endless hall of doors and 3 keys left waiting for each of them. The sisters unlocked “their own” rooms and experienced something so horrifying that they never spoke of the house again. But the darkness seemed to still follow them around …

“In her nightmares she went back to that house, opened the door to that impossible hallway, and went inside knowing what she would see. What would be burned into the backs of her eyelids for the rest of her life”.

Now in present times, one of the sisters is found dead inside THE house and the remaining sisters are desperate to seek out the connection between the house and her death. Together they must face the trauma of their past and present while navigating around the evil that has haunted them since childhood.

Thank you kindly to @katrinamonroeauthor @poisonedpenpress @bookmarked @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 13, 2024!