Literally Dead Book Club discussion

This discussion is for chapter 20 through to the end.
Feel free to spoil your thoughts on the entire book here.

Could you predict the ending?
Were there reveals you enjoyed?
Did you recognize any themes the author wanted to touch on?
Are you left with any questions?
Will you read more from this author?

3.5 stars, rounded down. I really had a good time reading this story! While the random time jumps in the middle of the paragraphs were confusing, and while I found the killer to be way too predictable… This was still super fun, and I was genuinely invested in hearing how the story would play out. This wasn’t a literary masterpiece or anything, but I did quite enjoy the atmosphere that was created here (it’s sort of giving “The Body” vibes!). I felt connected to each character through their flashbacks, which is rare for me. This does get a little kooky at times, but I didn’t find it to be TOO over the top. I will read more from Riley Sager, as I have a few of his books on my TBR and this was the first one I actually read!

…I just can’t decide if I loved the ending for giving me the feels, or if the story was wrapped up way too nicely for my taste, LOL.

4 stars for me. I had trouble deciding if this would be a paranormal story, mental health, or just slasher vibes. I was thinking of Billy's brother for most of the book and when he showed up I felt a little upset that it would be predictable but I was not expecting the twist. I did at one point think "well maybe he just slept walk over the waterfall or something." I don't really have any questions. I feel like the book did tie up loose ends. I love the summer nostalgia of being a kid and camping out and ghost stories. This is the perfect book to read in the middle of summer. I love a good Riley Sager book and usually read anything he writes so I'm looking forward to the next one.

4.5 stars rounded down. I was entertained throughout and surprised enough to keep going. It got murky in the middle, with just wanting more to happen (which is hard seeing as the book covers like a week of time, right).
I enjoyed the different POVs with every flashback. I once again find myself wishing Sager had just leaned into the paranormal instead of dangling it out there. I enjoyed the book and the ending but I feel like it was an easy wrap up.

Side note: not crazy about the audiobook being voiced by one person. He did a great job considering he was voicing everyone in the neighborhood but it caused a lot of confusion early on.

4 stars

This book had to be the most heart wrenching piece of work Riley Sager has ever written. The overall tone of this story is so different than any of his other novels (usually campy fast paced thrillers).

The ending was alittle lack luster (for me) - wrapped up to neatly. Why couldn’t Billy have disappeared and no one knows how he got in the water? Think that would have been a better ending honestly.

I am going to give this 5⭐️!
I did suspect the killer BUT this book had me suspecting everyone and I really loved that! I really was tense in a few seasons and really enjoyed the atmosphere of this one.
Now, I am a sucker for grief horror and this really had a lot of underlying themes of guilt. I also felt like there was this focus on the everyday “monsters” and secrets of suburban neighborhoods. How there is so much danger all around you everyday that it could have been anyone at any time.
I will CERTAINLY read from Riley Sager again!

What's funny is, I was desperate for the answers about the mystery throughout the whole book, then when we started to get them in this third I found what I was enjoying most was the grief theme. I wasn't expecting it but it really did touch me and I wasn't expecting something like that from Riley Sager

I was expecting the reveal about Claudia to be that she was pregnant and that's why she was desperate for Ethan to change his mind. So I was surprised yet not surprised about her death reveal. The part with him saying goodbye and listening to his first voicemail to her really got me.

I didn't predict the ending. The only thing I had right was once it was revealed that Russ sliced the tent open I figured he wasn't involved in Billy's death. After all, at the time, Russ was really small and the same age as Billy, no way he would've been able to kill him and toss his body over the falls, even if he had managed to get him all the way there, through the woods, and through the wall hole. For a second, after it was revealed about what Ethan said in the tent argument, I thought Billy going over the falls might have actually turned out to be self-inflicted. That he in a moment of hurt and obsession with ghosts might have taken what Ethan said and ran with it. That Sager was really going to double down on the mental health aspect. I'm glad it didn't end that way though, I'm happy with the ending we got.

4 stars! I'll definitely be reading more Riley Sager.

Overall I quite enjoyed this; not the tone I was expecting from Riley Sager (much more muted and melancholic), and the scenes regarding the messages to Claudia were quite emotional (if a touch melodramatic) — excited to see I managed to predict this!

While I like the general turn of events, Riley Sager kind of did the thing where all the red herrings are more interesting than the truth (reminds me of The Last Time I Lied).

3.5 stars. I was a bit disappointed in this book as I really loved The Last One Left. I did not predict the ending. I was hoping he'd get together with Ashley but getting her son was fantastic. Did like the Claudia reveal. I already have my next book lined up as my daughter gave me one for Christmas. I also want to see if this book was a one off or if The Last One Left was the one off. I want to be a fan.

I picked out almost all the twists (outside of Russ) so I’m kind of proud of myself LOL. And early on I was really hoping this would skew towards the cult/paranormal side of things, but honestly this book really worked for me over all.

From the first page I kind of felt that this is RS’s most mature book. I’ve watched a few reviews where people found it distinctly boring but I felt like Sager really hit his stride. Because, outside of the “institute” a lot of this just felt really real. The sort of stagnancy of summer as a kid when you don’t know anyone or are stuck with the one kid that’s near by, in the suburbs, where you have to make your own fun. Gossipy neighbours. Etc.

NGL, if he had gone with the institute, the ghosts, the whole paranormal bag and really leaned in I probably could have given this a five star rating because I just love the stupid and over the top thrillers. I’m one of those people who loved House Across the Lake. But as it stands I think this is a high 4? I haven’t fully fleshed out my rating yet.

This is the 3rd book by Riley Sager that I have read and I gotta say, I liked the main character and the key side characters way more than in his other books. Maybe it came with the subject matter, childhood and friendship, I'm not sure. I was actually suprised by the Claudia twist, I liked that. The reveal about what happened to Billy was a bit disappointing, I would have prefered something more sinister. But I was glad that it was not anything paranormal, I don't like when thrillers go this route. Overall I really enjoyed the whole eerie atmosphere with the back garden, the baseball and so on.

I liked this! Usually Riley Sager just throws EVERYTHING in there and I appreciated that this time he showed some restraint. The timeline of the first baseball versus when Andy gets back to town is a little murky but other than that this was a tight, cozy thriller for me.

4 stars

I liked this a lot! I'm giving it 4 stars.

I had a good time reading this book and liked the time jumps because it wasn't hard to keep things straight. I became invested in the characters and wanted to see how Riley was gonna end this one.... but idk if I liked the ending. I'm glad that things played out well for mostly everyone but I almost thought that Billy may have taken Ethan's words to heart or that there was a malicious adult on the block or a ghost convinced Billy to join them. It may have brought a bit more spice to the ending. I predicted the reveal about Claudia even though I wished it weren't true, tbh it touched a chord when he was saying goodbye. I predicted Russ not having a hand in the murder/coverup of Billy. However I did not predict Ashley until Billy was walking through the forest, then it came together with the blanket, indicating care the person took when putting him in the falls. I'm left questioning if the institute had anything more to do with Johnny's story, I know it was denied but I guess I wanted to hear it from Johnny in a way.
This was my first Riley Sager, I'm rating this a 3.8. I have more of his stuff in my tbr and will be reading Home before Dark next :)

I gave this book 2 stars heres why the first 35% of this book I thought it was gonna go to where the Institute was the ones who went and slashed the tent n took bill but it never went there like it just was completely explained what that place was so fast like it never went anywhere with that then with the reveal of what really happened to Billy felt not believable like it just wasn't a big shock or twist or anything nothing made mi believe that this person did it bc it was never spoken about it hinted at until maybe 95% of the way through when there could have been at least a pov of the killer or a chapter leading up to it instead of that part just thrown in at 96% with no back story leading up to it I could go on and on about how much nothing made sense in this book

jazzs book nook wrote: "I gave this book 2 stars heres why the first 35% of this book I thought it was gonna go to where the Institute was the ones who went and slashed the tent n took bill but it never went there like it..."

My feelings exactly!

Really enjoyed this one, 4.5 stars! I agree with everyone saying it felt heavier/melancholic in comparison to Sager's previous books. I felt emotional for a lot of the characters. I also liked the little supernatural twist at the end and how things wrapped up.

I kept thinking the brother was definitely involved, but I was surprised by Russ's and Ashley's involvement. I also suspected something weird was going on with Claudia because she never answered his calls/texts.

I've consistently liked Sager's second, fourth, sixth, and now eighth release more than the odd numbered releases, so now I'm a little nervous for his next book lol.

3 stars for me. I had a good time reading it and I really enjoyed the characters, but I didn't like the ending and I predicted all the twists apart from Ashley's involvement.
I 'll keep on reading Sager's books because so far I haven't disliked any of his books.

This is my second Riley Sager book, I read Final Girls previously and really enjoyed it. I rated this book 4 stars, I listened to it on audible and I thought the narrator did a fantastic job of differentiating between the characters. I found the pacing of the story quite good and I had suspicions about Russ I really thought it might have been him!! I have other Riley Sager books at home and will definitely catch up and read them all!!

I have read every Riley Sager book and my current ranking with Middle of Night now finished is this:
1. The last time I lied
2. Lock every door
3. The only one left
4. Middle of the night
5. Survive the night
6. Final girls
7. Home before dark
8. The house across the lake


It was shockingly sad and my mom and I kept revising our theories as I read more and learned more about the night Billy disappeared. I was right that his death was an accident, but I thought the entire time that Ethan and Billy got in a fight by the waterfall and Billy fell in during the fight and then Ethan blocked the whole thing out because it was so traumatic.

I did have an inkling though that Andy was messing with him and it wasn’t a ghost once they revealed that both neighbors had a set of keys and I guess I assumed that Andy would know what quotes and sayings Billy liked to sa.

4 ⭐️’s

I predicted Andy was involved somehow, at least when it came to the balls. I didn’t expect Claudia passing away and that being the reason for not returning Ethan’s phone calls. The thought that all that Ethan was seeing about Billy was because he couldn’t accept or let go of Claudia, this was all the process of his grieving. I was surprised at the end of the killer reveal, I believe it was nicely revealed, but a little bit of a let down. Very “Lifetime Movie” type ending. I would read another Sager book

She only got 10 years?!?! That's crazy

Lourdes wrote: "She only got 10 years?!?! That's crazy"

I know! lol

Alesha wrote: "Really enjoyed this one, 4.5 stars! I agree with everyone saying it felt heavier/melancholic in comparison to Sager's previous books. I felt emotional for a lot of the characters. I also liked the ..."

Totally agree. I had such a nice time with this one, and really felt for the characters. I haven't read a Riley Sager in so long, or a mystery/thriller (other than the occasional Agatha Christie) and it was kind of nice being back in his twisty writing. I can see why people might not like it but it. totally worked for me!

I’m new here. I’ve been thinking about joining this book club for a while; been watching Kayla for over a year. I procrastinate. Anyways, this was my first Riley Sager book. I have some thoughts. There were things I was able to predict and some elements that slapped me across the face and flipped me upside down - like Claudia being literally dead. I was not ready for that and was not prepared. I had the physical copy and was also listening to use some minutes of my Spotify audiobook time for the month. This part I was listening to while making pizza. My teenage son walked in while I was processing this information and he was dealing with the grief. Try talking to you teenage son about his pizza while holding back tears; then, explain it’s from the book your listening to through one AirPod. It’s okay, he knows his mom 😉. Idk if that a good or bad thing some days. Looking back, I do see all the foreshadowing that was laid for her to not be actually alive. The word divorce and never said, my brain just filled in all those details. It was very masterfully done. All in all, I give this book a 4. I felt it ticked all the boxes. Although, he didn’t go with the paranormal, he did give us a well written story with those elements. Who doesn’t know a kid like Billy or Ethan or Henry? I do. One lives in my home. I mentor many of them on his robotics team. This helped me see my son’s teammates with even more compassion and how words can still hurt so deeply. Those finally words from Ethan to Billy that little Andy overheard helped define his whole life, along with his mother’s mental illness. A renewed goal of helping kids (and adults) learn how to be more kind with our words was not on my Bingo card for this book.

I’m on chapter 25, but for some reason I am thinking of Andy. Where is Andy? And he keeps being brought up so does he have something to do with something 🤔

I liked this book a lot more than Sager's previous release, The Only One Left. It's tonally completely different, more of a slow burn mystery than a Gothic dramatic thriller. It's also more realistic in it's ending/reveal. There were about 3 twists or surprise reveals that were satisfying although I did have a hunch about one of them from the very beginning.

I do get the complaints of this book being repetitive, there's a lot description of events and then recounts of the same event through flashbacks, but I didn't mind them much. Overall, it was a solid thriller (not that complicated or smart, but entertaining), just be warned, it is slower paced than is expected from a typical Sager book.

I didn't predict the ending and it did shock me. I was suprised Ashely was the killer all along. I was also surpised and confused on why Russ cut the tent. Themes of grief, heartbreak, loneliness and feeling like an outsider were present throughout the book. I felt for Ethan after finding out what happened to Claudia. I think most of the information on the Hawthorn Institue could have been removed. It made the book's pacing slow significantly. For this story, it wrapped up and left no questions. I really enjoyed the ending.I loved Ethan's and Henry's relationship. I have read all of Sager's books to date and will continue one he writes a new one.

4.0 read for me. I enjoyed this a lot. I did not guess the ending. And the Claudia situation was not obvious to me. But the experience was done well. The relationship between the boys and the neighbors was interesting. The whole Hawthorne Institute plot, kinda was hoping for more on that. This was slower paced but it worked for me. I’d recommend it, letting people know it’s more mystery than thriller/horror.

Gave this one 3 stars. I thought that Sager was going to end things with his usual paranormal twist so it surprised me that it was just a hit and run cover up. I also didn't expect the wrap up at the end. I did like how the past POV was passed around from neighbour to neighbour. It let you in on certain things that even the characters were unaware of. After reading all of Sager's novels, this one lands pretty low on the list but I still enjoy his writing and he will stay on my "auto buy" list.

2.5 rounded up.

I really loved the premise and it being a hit and run (quite mundane in the context) in the end only added to the fun for me. I just felt like it was too long and the middle section was honestly quite boring. Overally, this one landed somewhere between the other two I have read, Survive the night and The only one left.

I gave this 4.5 stars rounded down. The slow burn was good but made this feel more like a book meant for the fall. The ending did surprise me because I wondered if that could have been what happened based on one of the flashback chapters but then was like no that's too normal for a Riley Sager book lol. In the end I liked that it was normal and not that out there.

I also really liked how this book sort of had people dealing with grief. It was so much more than regular thriller/mystery book.

I gave this 3.5 stars. I figured that Claudia was dead before that was revealed. I found Johnny secret to be a little obvious before the reveal as well. I also thought it was Ashley early on, because of the emphasis that she had plans to get out of town and wasn't letting anything stop her, then second guessed myself especially when Billy's brother showed up. It was still an enjoyable read. I liked the past perspectives, but I was actually a bit disappointed that there wasn't actually anything supernatural involved.

I gave this 5⭐️. I thought it was a really solid thriller. It was obvious something was up with Claudia pretty early on but I couldn’t figure out the rest. By the end, I was really appreciating all of the foreshadowing weaved throughout the story.

From everyone else's comments I'm glad this Riley Sager was my first of his books. I haven't really read anything that could be considered a 'campy thriller' so I'm not sure if I'll like those as much as I liked this. I gave this a four. I really enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't read it again and I definitely don't feel the need to buy it.

Could you predict the ending?

Not the killer until only a couple of paragraphs before she was revealed. I never even thought about Billy's brother being around, I was stuck on Ethan's experiences being supernatural in some way. It also never occurred to me that the tent slasher wasn't the same person as Billy's killer and when Russ admitted to slashing the tent I thought he had killed Billy because he was jealous of his and Ethan's relationship. It was a slight disappointment that Billy's death turned out to be totally mundane (not even a murder), but I liked his little cameo in the waterfall.

Were there reveals you enjoyed?

I liked being proved right regarding Claudia's fate.

Did you recognize any themes the author wanted to touch on?

Guilt, I suppose? I'm not good at theme analysis (I hated it when we got to that part of the English lesson in high school).

Are you left with any questions?

Would it really be that easy for a convicted killer to decide who her child is adopted by? I would have thought the courts would have been much more involved and would have taken the decision out of Ashley's hands.

Will you read more from this author?

Absolutely. I already have five other books by him on my hold list at the library.