I love a good true crime psychological thriller and this was excellent! When her past comes back to haunt her, survivor of a college massacre and new novelist, Margot has to answer for the secrets she's been keeping while also fighting for her life when she returns to the scene of the crime. Perfect for fans of authors like Simone St. James and good on audio too. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review! This makes for a highly recommended spooky season read!

Margot is one of three survivors. Returning to the Midnight House will leave Margot confronting everything she thinks she knows about the night her friends died…and possibly put her in further danger.

Honestly, the suspenseful parts of this story are great. Margot is not the most likeable character but I think you can understand her position, having faced the trauma she has. The story is well paced and engaging, with reveals and information drip feeding in at just the right pace. As with many thrillers, I’m not sure if the ending quite lived up to the promise of the book but I was guessing until the end, so I appreciated that. Also, let’s be real, we love ourselves a final girl.

Overall, I solid kick off to my spooky season reading.

I honestly really loved this book?? I saw mixed reviews going into it, so I wasn't sure what to think, but this knocked it out of the park (to me).

We have a creepy old Victorian house on a college campus, which was the site of a mass massacre. Ten years ago, all but one of Margot's roommates were murdered in a brutal way. Her other friend was sent to jail for the crime. Margot survived, is now returning to the site of the massacre ten years later to revisit it/write a book about it. When she starts to receive threatening letters, she begins to wonder... did the wrong person get sent away for this crime?

This book had it all: a creepy old house, a mass murder which makes you wonder if the real bad guy is still out there, and a campus setting. The friend group were all ballerinas (hence the cover), which added an extra layer to it all. Growing up as a dancer, I loved this an extra amount! I believe this is the author's debut novel, and if it is - well done! I can't wait to read more by her!

Unfortunately not for me. In a world with SO many books being published, I just don't see this as a must in our collection.

Return to Midnight relies on some common horror tropes, namely the MC who does everything they shouldn't do, but it does it well.

The book is fast-paced and entertaining. There are a few questions to ponder as the story moves along. It's a murderous whodunit where the MC is both sleuth and victim.

You may want to scream at Margot and tell her to stop being so idiotic, but I think that's the mark of a good story, right? You're invested enough to be mad at the MC.

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀—𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲.

10 years ago, a murder occurred where 5 Ohio University students lose their life in an off campus Victorian home. Margot, a survivor of the massacre, returns to the scene of the crime to complete her novel.

Margot not only can reconnect with the other survivors but start to heal from her own trauma she still has to this day. Word spreads about Margot's novel and she starts receiving threatening notes. Margot is hiding something, and she only has a certain timeframe to reveal- 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
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This is an ARC review, a big thank you to NetGalley and Emma for the e-arc and audiobook copy! The narrator did a great job! This book was a great debut. Emma did a great job with writing dual timelines, at no point was I confused or felt something wasn't important to know. There were 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 characters in this book, and she made sure to give us 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 to know each character's personality. (Aaron is still my favorite). I will say, it took me about 50-80 pages before I got into it. Once I was though, I couldn't put the book down!

This is a great book to get your toes wet for the thriller genre if you haven't read many (like myself). This murder mystery did not disappoint. It had all the goodies, 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿; 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀. I felt the story was wrapped up nicely and it ended just right. Expect the unexpected when you read this!

Return to Midnight is now available! This is a perfect book to read with it getting chilly out and Halloween around the corner. Happy reading!

✨What to Expect✨
▶ Dual Timelines
▶ Traumatized Author
▶ Lies, secrets, and 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 lies
▶ Constantly wondering "who did it?"
▶ Toxic Ballerinas

I want to make ballet thrillers my personality. They’re just fun! Something about ballerinas being bad truly delights me. This was an excellent debut. I thought the characters were interesting and Dues’ use of the dual timelines was executed well. I kept guessing the villain and was completely wrong. The ending had me shook! I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Almost 10 years on from a brutal massacre at the house she shared with other students, Margot is returning to the scene of the crime in order to lay the ghosts of that terrible night. Five students were killed at Midnight House in Ohio on that occasion, in what was dubbed the Midnight Massacre.

One of Margot's intentions in revisiting the place is to connect with other survivors, to finally heal, and to write her version of events, supposedly to dispel the conspiracy theories and wild accusations from armchair sleuths.

Except that Margot is not a reliable narrator - so how much of her version can be trusted? And just what does the person sending her anonymous warning notes and accusing her of lying actually know about what really happened that night?

This is an enjoyable read written by an engrossing storyteller. If you are interested in hearing the (possibly fast and loose) version of this particular last girl's story of the night in question, check this book out. It gets 3.5 stars.

Return to Midnight is my favorite kind of thriller. It’s dark, gritty, and full of secrets. The dual timelines really worked to reveal the details slowly, so that we know the how, but not the why and the who. This is a strong debut, and I’m already anxiously awaiting Emma Dues’ next book. I have a feeling she’s going to become one of my next must-buy and immediately binge authors.

This book felt like a blend of Ashley Winstead's storytelling and Louis Duncan’s I Know What You Did Last Summer, which made it somewhat predictable in terms of originality. While it delivered a decent thriller experience, it didn't offer anything particularly groundbreaking. If you’re a fan of the genre, it’s an enjoyable read, but it might not stand out as particularly memorable.

Return To Midnight is an engaging and gripping debut thriller that will absolutely surprise you. It is intricately constructed with 2 timelines that connect flawlessly with twists that you won't see coming. From the start I was on the edge of my seat, the atmosphere was dark and chilling which I completely loved.

The characters for me were all unreliable, I couldn't trust anyone and you shouldn't either. They were all suspects, I kept changing my mind constantly. The author was great at throwing me off. I loved how the story progressed and where it went, it didn't feel like too much or ridiculous to me.

This was such a well written book with great descriptions that truly made it easy to portray the scene and events. For a debut novel this was absolutely a solid read and I can't wait to see what Emma comes up with next.

🎧 The narration by Emily Lawrence was really good. She was great at playing all the characters and giving a true sense of fear through her voice. The emotions and tones were right on point, she kept me hooked and engaged from start to finish.

✨️Thank you to @netgalley, @brilliancepublishing & @emmadues for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

“Return to midnight” is an excellent debut thriller full of mystery. Read if you enjoy:

- Dark Academia
- Spooky gothic Victorian homes
- Not so innocent Ballerinas
- Murder sprees
- Missing persons cold case
- Amateur sleuthing

10 years after the massacre of her best friends, Margot is still struggling to come to terms with things. Her boyfriend was arrested for the murders yet she’s always had niggling doubts that they really caught the correct person.

As a way to process her experience she is writing a book about ‘that night’. When she receives anonymous threats hinting towards her harbouring secrets she decides to return to the scene of the crime.

This book was truly great for a debut. It had an interesting plot filled with complex characters, fast pacing and a creepy setting. Additional to the murder of her school friends, there was an additional side mystery that we get to see unravel as events are explained.

The book switches between her present day investigation and flashes to the past where we get to see the dynamic between her and her friends along with a count down to the big murder.

My only criticism is that the whole book seemed to lead to the big show down where the reader gets to see how everything went down that night, but when we reached the night in question, the scene seemed to be very rushed and we didn’t get much detail at all into the original murders. Likely the author wanted to steer away from the gore and stick with Margot’s POV who couldn’t have physical seen it all happen, but I would have loved to get a Birds Eye view of the events and see everything first hand.

Otherwise I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to more of this authors work!

If you listen to the audiobook it is narrated by Emily Lawrence who did a great job of bringing the story to life.

Thank you to Emma Dues, Brilliance Audio and Thomas & Mercer for the ALC EARC

Publish date: August 27th 2024

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this audiobook, I was very intrigued by this story. The layout how this author started the book already knowing that there was a mass murder but then doing an hour count down to what actually happened was very suspenseful. The current storyline was really slow moving and uneventful. I found myself getting bored during those portions of the book.

This is a solid thriller and a great choice for going into the fall season. It is a murder mystery storyline that slowly reveals more little by little and includes college friendships, a interesting Victorian house with a dark past, and a troubled MC looking for answers and digging through clues.

It isn't going to be the most memorable book for me, and is more of a popcorn thriller. I thought the narrator of the audio did a good job. This was easy to listen to and I flew through it in about a day.

Return to Midnight is a fantastic debut thriller that will keep you intrigued and guessing until the end. I loved the mystery of this story, with the impending threats and so many secrets. The characters are well developed and jump off the page. I felt all the emotions of the main character, Margo, and loved going on this journey with her.

I definitely recommend this thriller!

I also listened to the audiobook version of this story. I absolutely love the narrator. She was perfect for this story. I listened at 1.75x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75-2x speed).

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, Brilliance Audio, and Emma Dues for entrusting me with the ARC and ALC. I greatly appreciate you allowing me to read and review.

I couldn’t step away! I definitely stayed up past my intended bedtime… and then got up at 5am to run just so I could finish it (I listened to the audiobook) before my daughter woke up. So good!!!

10 years after she survives a mass murder event, Margot returns to the site of the crime. Trauma or no, a girl’s got to eat and tragedy sells - Margot, a writer, knows this. She sets out to take control of the narrative with an inside tell-all book, with the hook that she’s re-immersed herself in the creepy Victorian home, Midnight House, where her friends died that horrific night.

Of course, it can’t possibly be that easy. Shortly after her arrival, Margot receives a threatening note. Someone knows she’s been lying all these years… and protecting the secrets of that night might cost her her life.

This was so fun! All the messy drama of a college slasher flick, with characters I got truly invested in and the high-stress, type A context of competitive ballerinas (and their creepy, controlling teacher).

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Emily Lawrence. Lawrence does a great job bringing Dues’ text to life! I don’t believe I was familiar with either the author or the narrator prior to listening to The Midnight House, but I’m a new fan of both.

Thanks, NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing, for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book had such a spooky cozy setting. An old dark Victorian mansion. 🖤 I had a fun time reading this and trying to piece together who the killer was. I loved how the suspicion shifted constantly. 🔪🩸 The narration was great. Also the cover is so beautiful I kept staring at it while I was listening. 😍