This novel is a poignant exploration of sisterhood and the lasting impacts of generational trauma. It captivates readers with its chilling atmosphere and delves into the delicate dynamics between sisters. The story follows how deeply rooted trauma can permeate through generations, shaping the lives of its characters.

The sisters' relationship takes a dramatic turn after they stumble upon a mysterious hallway filled with various doors. Some doors appear ordinary, resembling those found in any home, while others seem like mere voids with faint outlines. Each sister keeps their door's secret to themselves. In the present day, Meg and Esther regularly encounter keys that seemingly materialize out of thin air.

The heart of the conflict in this book lies in the Finch family's reluctance to communicate openly, opting to bury their darkness instead of exposing it to the light. Although a tragedy, the death of Claire ultimately compels Meg and Esther to confront the fractures in their once-tight bond.

In terms of characters, the novel primarily explores the intricate bond between the sisters, unearthing the complexities and vulnerabilities inherent in such relationships. The characters are portrayed as multi-dimensional, each with their struggles and perspectives.

Among the sisters, Esther undergoes the most significant transformation from childhood to adulthood. Her personality takes on obsessive and paranoid tendencies. While Claire and Esther envision harm befalling themselves, Meg's vision reveals the demise of her sisters, leading her to view herself as a threat rather than their protector. As the eldest, this dynamic proves particularly detrimental to their sibling bond.

Although Donny serves as the novel's antagonist, he too becomes a victim of the darkness that haunts the sisters. His victimhood shapes his character, while his envy of the Finch family stems from his connection to the darkness.

The writing style of this novel evokes an emotional and haunting tone, leaving readers with a profound sense of unease and suspense throughout the narrative.

The story culminates in the burning of the house, along with the assumed eradication of the darkness. The shadow creature embodies despair, heartache, regret, anger, jealousy, fear, and guilt.

However, one can't help but wonder if the darkness could find a new manifestation elsewhere.

If you enjoy books that delve into deeper meanings and keep you engaged with their ever-evolving narratives, then this book will likely be captivating.

This book was really disappointing to me. I was so excited when I read the synopsis, who doesn't love a good haunted house story but I didn't really feel like that's what this book was. I feel like there were 2 different plots going on in this story that should have been 2 different books. I did finish it because I was curious to know what happened and the writing was good but I can't say that I enjoyed the book very much.

I just finished reading this book no more than 10 minutes ago. I don't know whether I need to take more time to absorb it before writing my review or just to go for it when my reaction is fresh. I have SO many mixed feelings about this book. I almost DNF'd it several times, but kept going because the story, despite the fact that it was dragging, held my attention. I actually liked the sisters and their stories. Esther was my favorite sister, and I think she is the reason I continued to muddle through. I am still baffled at what the book really meant, honestly. I believe it was that a darkness hangs over each of us, and if we don't rise above it, it eventually will eat us alive. Meg, Esther and Claire all went through their own path with "the darkness" that was hidden in a neighborhood house. I did not love this, but I didn't hate it either. I am giving it 3 stars. It was not scary by any means, and fell along the lines of an intense family drama. The author's writing was so enjoyable. It was descriptive, very high on character development and quite nostalgic. I would read more by her in the future.

Having experienced an abandoned house and the horrors within growing up, three sisters are forever haunted by this incident. The story moves between the present day and the past, including multiple points of view. It all comes together to help the reader understand the events that start the book and the family dynamic throughout. Through the Midnight Door is an atmospheric story involving an abandoned house, three sisters, their trauma, and their relationship. The darkness throughout the book is encompassing. I found the story hard to read at times due to the deep emotions, trauma, and tragedy involved in addition to the horror elements.

I will be thinking about this one for a while.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader copy.

This was such a haunting read as you delve into this skewed family dynamic that is so vivid and encompassing. Powerful read overall.

“Through the midnight door” touches upon multiple genres, horror, psychological thriller, fantasy, surrealism etc. It’s hard to pin point one genre or theme and the writing style is so fluid and keeps on blending and merging into something different page after page.

The chapters alternate between past and present timelines as well as possible future outcomes, as shown across multiple POV.

Three sisters find themselves at a creepy abandoned house and experience terrors that then follow them throughout their lives.

The evilness within these pages is personified and represented as almost a physical being as well as metaphors for mental illness, traumas and psychological struggles.

If you enjoy books with underlying subtext and ever changing chapters that make you question everything then you will likely enjoy this book!

Thank you to Katrina Monroe, Poisened Pen Press and NetGalley for the EARC!

Publish date: August 13th 2024

I loved the premise, but there wasn’t enough horror to be a great horror story, and there wasn’t enough psychological thriller to be a great thriller. It’s like the author tried to do both, and didn’t quite succeed at either.

The shadow creature reveal came too late in the book for it to have that atmospheric, creeping, building terror. It did have a handful of decent horror descriptions throughout the book, but they felt more like descriptions, and less like vital parts of the story. There just wasn't enough inner dialogue from the characters - like, "hey, I'm throwing up leaves and grave dirt. Am I crazy or is this real?"

For me, this story would’ve packed a lot more punch as a psychological thriller, with the real evil being what humans are capable of. This book will find fans, but libraries looking for unique picks for their horror collection may want to look elsewhere.

One can safely say that this book is going to be one of the best books of this year. Equal parts heartbreaking, reflective, and atmospheric, this story will make your heart bleed. This is not just a horror novel but a wonderful deconstruction of a very special bond — sisterhood. It was wonderful, an experience that I won't forget for a long time to come. Recommend this with all my heart.

This was my second book by Katrina Monroe and I am not disappointed. It’s a very emotional and haunting story that dug its claws in and didn’t let go. This book grabbed me from the very beginning. I was thinking it might be a slow build but, for me, that wasn’t the case.

We have the POV of each of the three sisters with some going back in the past explaining what happened then. I loved getting to know each of them, and they all had very different voices. The story centers on a creepy old house the girls find when they are kids and some pretty scary stuff happens to each of them. The mystery of it all kept me guessing until the end.

Katrina Monroe is an excellent author and I really enjoy her atmospheric writing. This was definitely a winner for me, I can’t wait to read more from this author. 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

This book had such an interesting premise, a creepy house with impossible hallways and rooms and a secret that both bound and broke the sisters that experienced it. But it felt like it did not quite live up to the promises it made.

It certainly had some odd pacing. You get ramped into the creepiest part of the story way too early, before you can really settle into the world, and it felt rather jarring. I wanted to savor the slow build up into the world and the supposedly most traumatic part of the girls lives but it was just too fast and peaked far too early. Then after that the middle dragged for far too long without much progress as well which really emphasized the weird pacing.

There were some decently creepy parts spread thinly throughout but overall it was not that exciting as the sisters mostly bickered and made bad decisions. Even the end was fairly bland right up until the last chapter where it finally came together. The best parts were certainly the beginning and end.

The theme of the book was rather blunt in how it was presented to the reader as well. There was very little subtlety in its messaging and what it was trying to convey, so much so that the final reveal was not at all surprising or even a reveal at all.

I think there was a good idea here but not quite executed to its full potential.

Haunting, atmospheric and breathtaking. I could not wrap my head and heart around some of the passages because they were all encompassing. As a reader I could see, hear and feel what she wrote. From the love inside of a family, between the sisters and on to the secrets that each person held trying to protect the others. Simply amazing.
“ The foyer reminded her of an open mouth, the molding along the entrance archway like sharp teeth.”
‘…damp and heavy. It smelled like lonely places.’
‘…velvety touch move from her neck to her ears, to her nose. It climbed inside and slithered down her throat.’
“The shadow creature was despair. It was heartache and regret and anger and jealousy. It was fear. It was guilt.’
The best part was that while I know that sisters are real, and family is real and all of the things that were concrete are real, as a reader I could float right into the darkness and believe everything I read.

3.75/5 (rounded up)

This book is on the heavier side, and I couldn’t get fully invested into the story. I did find parts of it enjoyable, but not all.

Horror, Fantasy, Thriller, Adult Fiction


“She knew that, but the dark things inside her had grown fat with her failures, taking up what little space she had.”

Through the Midnight Door bounces back and forth between the past, the present, and possible futures. Not only do you travel through different timelines you also read multiple perspectives throughout the book. Three sisters are led to an abandoned house and soon experience the unimaginable. After their mysterious encounters within the house, the horrors follow them throughout their lives. Growing up is hard enough but add something spooky to the mix and it won’t be hard to imagine the girls had a hard time adjusting to their new normal.

Katrina Monroe has a way of personifying darkness as well as mental illness. I loved how Monroe created this imagery of darkness feeding off of the sisters and toying with them. Nowhere was safe. The journey you’re taken on with the sisters is winding, it made me think about my time growing up with my sisters. If we were in this haunted house story, would we have told each other everything? Or would we have kept it to ourselves and suffered in silence?

Through the Midnight Door will make you think about a lot of things, including mental health, sibling relationships, past trauma, and how can you move through it when it feels like everything is closing in on you.

I will be thinking about the book for a while. It was haunting because even without the spooky strained sibling relationships happen all the time. Sometimes real-world connections or lack of connections are scarier than the monsters we dream up and that’s what Katrina Monroe leaves you with.

When their younger sister Claire is found dead in an old house, siblings Meg and Esther must once again face a darkness that has haunted them since they entered the strange house as children many years before. This was an enthralling novel with a unique take on the scary old house theme. It had fleshed-out characters with a full family dynamic that was central to the story, and a haunting horror at its core that slowly, but steadily unveils itself throughout. I lack the writing ability to adequately express just how excellent the novel was, but if you're looking for a solid horror tale that will keep you riveted, look no further.

This was a good book. I thought there were good twists in this book. the one thing I did not like were the long chapters. I felt like it took forever to make progress.

I unfortunately can't finish this book. I'm rating it two stars because the premise is really good. I like the idea of some spooky house that cause twisted things to happen. However I recommend the chapters being shorter. Due to them being as long as they are, it just couldn't hold my attention. I feel some of it that I did read dragged, some things have been repeated like I understand Meg clearly is not doing well in the responsible adult sense, it doesn't need to be dragged out as much as it is. Esther seems to be falling apart but is so hard on Meg when she doesn't have her shit together either. That being said, I think I'd read more of this author in the future, I just wish the chapters were way shorter, otherwise it feels like it drags.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Through the Midnight Door pulled me in right away. Three sisters (Meg, Esther, Claire) get dared to go into an old abandoned house as kids, and they each have their own horrific experience there. It never leaves any of them, but especially Claire, who never moved away and had contact with the boy who had dared them to go in as children.

Nothing was ever the same after that, and all 3 sisters grew up with their own darkness inside of them. When Claire is found dead hanging in the house, Meg and Esther have to drag out old family secrets that bring everything to a head.

Well written and a sad and harrowing read - I cannot imagine the guilt these girls lived with, so it's no wonder the issues they all have as grown women. Eventually a tale of forgiveness, this mixes real relationships into a haunted house story that had me reading mostly during the day.

Recommended

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6299900739

I gave this a 3.5/5 stars! It was spooky, the writing was great, and I liked the characters. The ending felt a little rushed, but overall, this was a great story.

Through the Midnight Door is a wonderfully written read that heavily explores trauma, how it stays with you and how it shapes you as a person. Told in multiple POVs and timelines made it easier to understand the events that led up to Claire's fate and why the relationship between the family was how it was. There aren't many twists but the story itself its heartbreaking, filled with tension, mystery and some very frightening moments.
In my opinion there are some things left to the readers interpretation but regardless, it's the type of story that stays with you long after you finished.
Thank you to #Netgalley and #PoisonedPenPress for the opportunity to read this ARC, opinion is my own.

I may be an outlier here but I thought this book was just ok. I know many readers will absolutely love this one and I do understand why, but it just wasn't really for me. I do think it is well written and who doesn't love a creepy old house? It is emotional and mysterious and I think readers will connect with it for sure, I just think it was a bit outside of my genre preferences.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Katrina Monroe for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.