Book Review: In The Dark of Night

"In The Dark of Night" by John Saul

This book is what I would call a "psychological thriller" - always throwing you for a loop and leaving you second guessing your assumptions.

"In The Dark of Night" is based in Wisconsin, so I found myself connecting the places and happenings to real places and events. That really helped make the story come alive for me, I wish more books were this way!

The book is based around three teenage boys - Eric, Tad and Kent - who are on summer vacation with their families, staying at lake house rentals in the WI Northwoods. They had big plans for the summer, the plans mostly including partying and girls - none of which really worked out.

Eric and his family wind up renting a house (Pinecrest) that has been vacant for 7 years since the previous owner just up and vanished - he was never found. Eric's worry-wort mother is apprehensive about everything at first, and she has every right to be. Eric's friends were in the next two houses down, so they spent every waking minute together.

In a time of boredom, the three boys decide to search the old carriage house that lies on Pinecrests' property. Inside, they discover a strange storage room that leaves them wanting to search for answers about what's hidden inside. The stumble across a bricked up hidden room that contains odd items that really don't make any sense. While in this hidden room, time has no meaning and they wind up spending endless amounts of time in there trying to make sense of it's contents.

Once things start coming together, strange things start happening in town. The happenings correlate with vivid dreams that the three boys are having, leaving them wondering if all of it was real or not. After some research, they discover that the houses previous owner, Dr. Hector Darby, had some strange habits. He worked a facility with the criminally insane - which they in turn believed made him insane himself. When the boys realize what is happening, they try to stop it before it's too late.

I will say, the beginning of this book is a bit dry and boring, but once you get into it and start understanding what's going on - it gets really good!