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Through the Midnight Door
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.
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.
Also By Katrina
They Drown Our Daughters
Graveyard of Lost Children
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.
Also By Katrina
They Drown Our Daughters
Graveyard of Lost Children
361 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 13, 2024
72 people are currently reading
14918 people want to read
About the author
Katrina Monroe
11 books393 followersKatrina Monroe is the author of They Drown Our Daughters; Graveyard of Lost Children; and Through the Midnight Door. A private investigator by day, she lives in Minnesota with her wife, two children, and Eddie, the ghost who haunts their bedroom closets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 304 reviews
August 29, 2024
2.5 stars, maybe? It's clear that this book gained a lot of inspiration from The Haunting of Hill House, whether from the original Jackson novel or Flanagan's television adaptation. By "inspiration" I mean that it ripped off a lot from Hill House and I sniffed it out through multiple clues by the first chapter. Still I continued and found myself, surprisingly, enjoying the story.
It is certainly slow like other reviewers have mentioned... While I don't mind slow burns, I wished that Monroe would have given readers just a little more to hold on to because by the time I got about 60% of the way through, I was growing extremely bored and ended up not even caring how it ended. Overall, this one was a miss for me but I think readers who aren't so steeped in the world of Hill House may enjoy it more.
It is certainly slow like other reviewers have mentioned... While I don't mind slow burns, I wished that Monroe would have given readers just a little more to hold on to because by the time I got about 60% of the way through, I was growing extremely bored and ended up not even caring how it ended. Overall, this one was a miss for me but I think readers who aren't so steeped in the world of Hill House may enjoy it more.
May 13, 2025
“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
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
May 7, 2024
I absolutely love the horror genre when it blends with psychology because what authors do in this case is manifest one's darkest fears, devastating experiences, or severe trauma into a being out of nightmares.
⚜Genre: Psychological Horror
⚜Targeted audience: 13+
⚜Characters: 3 sisters "Meg, Esther, Claire", haunted house, Donny
⚜Representation: mental illness, depression
⚜TW: child loss, suicide, self-harm, kidnapping, alcoholism
⚜ POV: multiple third person
⚜ rating: 3.5 🌟🌟🌟 🔅
First a thank you to the author and Netgalley for this EARC
There is no doubt that the story here is heavily influenced by Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
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from the dedication at the beginning of the page to the number of the main characters involved, which is four, to the use of the name Hill for the street where the haunting house resides, to the creepy House itself and the darkness that lurks inside.
Monroe's "Through the Midnight Door" is a poignant and chilling narrative that delves into the complexities of sisterhood and the haunting echoes of intergenerational trauma. It is a testament how hidden secrets and miscommunication among families can be the reason to break them apart.
We follow the three Finch sisters' journey through their past and present to see how their adventure into the heart of an enigmatic house and it's creepy keys led by a mysterious boy named Donny has brought out the darkness within them and haunted them throughout their adulthood.
The novel masterfully intertwines the sisters' present-day struggles with the unresolved mysteries of their family history, culminating in a harrowing examination of loss and the indelible impact of shared experiences. Monroe's prose is both evocative and lyrical, crafting a story that is as much about the strength found in familial bonds as it is about the terror of facing the ghosts that linger in the shadows of their lineage.
The writing style is not complicated. It is a page-turner book suitable for 13 and above. I was hooked from the beginning and kept intrigued until the last page.
However, I felt that the timeline was a bit off because the ages of the characters were not stated directly. Other than Meg, who says she is 35, the other sisters were not given a direct age. They are referred to as close to 30 or older than Claire by a bit. Even Donny's age was not mentioned directly. He was described as "At first, he looked a little older than Claire, maybe ten or eleven....which meant he was probably older. Thirteen or fourteen.
If he was fourteen when we first see him, this makes him about 8 or 9 years older than Claire, but that means that he did what he did when he was 8 or 9!!!! which would be ridiculous! even if he were older, let's say ten, this is still impossible.
I did not like how the mother was left off the hook and blamed so many times. I am not spoiling, but there was a scene where she beat the shit out child- Claire because she was grieve-stricken and everyone just swept this under the rug!!!
A past POV from Donny could have enriched the book's mystery, offering a deeper dive into the house's eerie lore. While the narrative stretches thin in places and treads familiar ground in others, incorporating Donny's viewpoint might have tightened the tension and enhanced the overall intrigue of the story.
other than that, this book is a compelling read for those who are drawn to stories that probe the depths of human emotion and the specters of the past that shape our present.
⚜Genre: Psychological Horror
⚜Targeted audience: 13+
⚜Characters: 3 sisters "Meg, Esther, Claire", haunted house, Donny
⚜Representation: mental illness, depression
⚜TW: child loss, suicide, self-harm, kidnapping, alcoholism
⚜ POV: multiple third person
⚜ rating: 3.5 🌟🌟🌟 🔅
First a thank you to the author and Netgalley for this EARC
There is no doubt that the story here is heavily influenced by Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
[image error]
from the dedication at the beginning of the page to the number of the main characters involved, which is four, to the use of the name Hill for the street where the haunting house resides, to the creepy House itself and the darkness that lurks inside.
Monroe's "Through the Midnight Door" is a poignant and chilling narrative that delves into the complexities of sisterhood and the haunting echoes of intergenerational trauma. It is a testament how hidden secrets and miscommunication among families can be the reason to break them apart.
We follow the three Finch sisters' journey through their past and present to see how their adventure into the heart of an enigmatic house and it's creepy keys led by a mysterious boy named Donny has brought out the darkness within them and haunted them throughout their adulthood.
The novel masterfully intertwines the sisters' present-day struggles with the unresolved mysteries of their family history, culminating in a harrowing examination of loss and the indelible impact of shared experiences. Monroe's prose is both evocative and lyrical, crafting a story that is as much about the strength found in familial bonds as it is about the terror of facing the ghosts that linger in the shadows of their lineage.
The writing style is not complicated. It is a page-turner book suitable for 13 and above. I was hooked from the beginning and kept intrigued until the last page.
However, I felt that the timeline was a bit off because the ages of the characters were not stated directly. Other than Meg, who says she is 35, the other sisters were not given a direct age. They are referred to as close to 30 or older than Claire by a bit. Even Donny's age was not mentioned directly. He was described as "At first, he looked a little older than Claire, maybe ten or eleven....which meant he was probably older. Thirteen or fourteen.
If he was fourteen when we first see him, this makes him about 8 or 9 years older than Claire, but that means that he did what he did when he was 8 or 9!!!! which would be ridiculous! even if he were older, let's say ten, this is still impossible.
I did not like how the mother was left off the hook and blamed so many times. I am not spoiling, but there was a scene where she beat the shit out child- Claire because she was grieve-stricken and everyone just swept this under the rug!!!
A past POV from Donny could have enriched the book's mystery, offering a deeper dive into the house's eerie lore. While the narrative stretches thin in places and treads familiar ground in others, incorporating Donny's viewpoint might have tightened the tension and enhanced the overall intrigue of the story.
other than that, this book is a compelling read for those who are drawn to stories that probe the depths of human emotion and the specters of the past that shape our present.
October 11, 2024
There was definitely a lot of mystery and intrigue that propelled this story onward, but when the ending with its answers came, it was still too vague and there were still too many questions left unanswered.
I really don't like when a book does that, hence the lower rating.
I really don't like when a book does that, hence the lower rating.
September 14, 2024
A strange and unnerving haunted house story. Three sisters, three different doors, and three different experiences behind those doors that they don't want to share. A darkness that follows them throughout their lives that doesn't want to let go.
A fantastic spooky book just in time for haunted house season. Atmospheric, strange, and darkly disturbing.
A fantastic spooky book just in time for haunted house season. Atmospheric, strange, and darkly disturbing.
January 6, 2025
This is one of those books that is just very okay. I don’t regret reading it and I can see people liking it, though for some reason it doesn’t seem like it is getting much traction.
This is the type of haunted story I tend to like, and even though they aren’t all winners I will always pick them up.
In this one I really loved the exploration of sisterhood and trauma. I really liked seeing the complexities, they all struggled with. And how they handled it in adulthood together.
However I found the way the haunting was portrayed and the discussion on mental health more shallow than I would have expected. The OCD rep started strong but fell off a little as if it was just a device to push things along and make one of the sisters more interesting.
It kept my attention, and while I liked the mystery, it was also super predictable.
Caution if you’re sensitive to kidnapping and harm to children storylines though.
Again not bad but just kinda okay. Didn’t put this author on my radar but didn’t take her off either.
This is the type of haunted story I tend to like, and even though they aren’t all winners I will always pick them up.
In this one I really loved the exploration of sisterhood and trauma. I really liked seeing the complexities, they all struggled with. And how they handled it in adulthood together.
However I found the way the haunting was portrayed and the discussion on mental health more shallow than I would have expected. The OCD rep started strong but fell off a little as if it was just a device to push things along and make one of the sisters more interesting.
It kept my attention, and while I liked the mystery, it was also super predictable.
Caution if you’re sensitive to kidnapping and harm to children storylines though.
Again not bad but just kinda okay. Didn’t put this author on my radar but didn’t take her off either.
August 14, 2024
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.
Pub Date: 8/13/24
Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Katrina Monroe for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: 8/13/24
August 16, 2024
3.5 rounded up
Overall I really liked this, it was just really really slow.
Overall I really liked this, it was just really really slow.
August 24, 2025
5★
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: Depression, Anxiety, and Paranoia
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.
Once upon a time, the three sisters were close. That ended one summer when they were kids, as a terrifying encounter with a decaying house and its impossible hallway changed their lives forever. Each girl chose a door. Each girl was given an awful burden. Claire’s was perhaps the most viscerally felt:
Afterward, none of them want to talk about what happened in the house or what they saw or experienced. As they grow older, guilt and shame–some of it entirely unearned–push them further and further apart. But then Claire calls her eldest sister one night, saying she’s tired of the pain and is ready to put an end to it all. A frantic Meg races to the abandoned house to find her sister dead, swinging from a noose in a room at the end of that terrible hallway.
Neither Meg nor Esther can accept the verdict that Claire committed suicide. Driven by grief, they begin to investigate Claire’s life, both together and separately, as their own hurtful history causes them to lash out at one another. Meg, being more introspective but also more passive than her paranoid, impulsive sister, wonders why they’re really making these choices, especially when their inquiries could be putting another at-risk family through unwarranted agony.
As they begin to unearth what really happened to Claire, they discover, too, the solution to the mystery that festers at the heart of their family’s shaky foundation. Will the truth finally allow the sisters to grant each other absolution and grace? Perhaps just as importantly, will it allow them to forgive themselves?
The almost-physical manifestations of depression, anxiety, and paranoia in this book make perfect monsters for the sisters to battle, even as they find themselves solving far less supernatural crimes. Their prickly relationship, especially, reads so true to life. As an eldest child, I found myself rolling my eyes at Esther in the exact same way I would at my own middle sibling. Perhaps most gratifyingly, I, like Meg, came to appreciate her sister in the end.
While I had some minor issues with the plot, I did really enjoy the creepy atmosphere enough to give it a 5-star rating and recommend it to anyone that loves dark, creepy old houses and a really good mystery.
POSSIBLE TRIGGERS: Depression, Anxiety, and Paranoia
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.
Once upon a time, the three sisters were close. That ended one summer when they were kids, as a terrifying encounter with a decaying house and its impossible hallway changed their lives forever. Each girl chose a door. Each girl was given an awful burden. Claire’s was perhaps the most viscerally felt:
Afterward, none of them want to talk about what happened in the house or what they saw or experienced. As they grow older, guilt and shame–some of it entirely unearned–push them further and further apart. But then Claire calls her eldest sister one night, saying she’s tired of the pain and is ready to put an end to it all. A frantic Meg races to the abandoned house to find her sister dead, swinging from a noose in a room at the end of that terrible hallway.
Neither Meg nor Esther can accept the verdict that Claire committed suicide. Driven by grief, they begin to investigate Claire’s life, both together and separately, as their own hurtful history causes them to lash out at one another. Meg, being more introspective but also more passive than her paranoid, impulsive sister, wonders why they’re really making these choices, especially when their inquiries could be putting another at-risk family through unwarranted agony.
As they begin to unearth what really happened to Claire, they discover, too, the solution to the mystery that festers at the heart of their family’s shaky foundation. Will the truth finally allow the sisters to grant each other absolution and grace? Perhaps just as importantly, will it allow them to forgive themselves?
The almost-physical manifestations of depression, anxiety, and paranoia in this book make perfect monsters for the sisters to battle, even as they find themselves solving far less supernatural crimes. Their prickly relationship, especially, reads so true to life. As an eldest child, I found myself rolling my eyes at Esther in the exact same way I would at my own middle sibling. Perhaps most gratifyingly, I, like Meg, came to appreciate her sister in the end.
While I had some minor issues with the plot, I did really enjoy the creepy atmosphere enough to give it a 5-star rating and recommend it to anyone that loves dark, creepy old houses and a really good mystery.
July 31, 2024
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
Video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNXy2j4T/
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
Video: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNXy2j4T/
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April 20, 2025No rating - I gave up on this one after the first few dozen pages. Not attached to the writing style at all and the sister plot line is rubbing me the wrong way. Onto the next!
February 19, 2025
2.5
Just very okay
Just very okay
August 28, 2024
3.5 stars. In Katrina Monroe’s previous novel, Graveyard of Lost Children, I really enjoyed how she combined elements of horror and domestic drama to create novel that was just as emotionally resonant as it was chilling. In Through the Midnight Door, she combines those genres again, but, for me, not quite as successfully.
Through the Midnight Door is at its heart a book about sisters. In childhood, Meg, Esther, and Claire loved exploring abandoned places throughout their downtrodden town – until, that is, they had horrific experiences in a spooky, derelict house. Those experiences haunt them, in ways specific to each of them, into adulthood…culminating in a distraught Claire calling Meg in the middle of the night, before being found dead in that same house of nightmares.
Using horror elements, Monroe explores the devastating effects of intergenerational trauma, destructive family secrets, deep and dark and visceral fears, and the complexities of sisterhood. Her characters are vivid and interesting, and she delves deeply into the psychology and inner lives of each of the sisters. I felt like I really understood their motivations and desires, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with all of their choices (or, in the case of Esther, like them very much at all). I also liked the fact that Monroe set the story in a dying industrial town in the Midwest, which added to the atmosphere and served as a backdrop for the desperation and desolation felt by many of the characters.
I just feel like the balance was a bit off here. I was hoping for more of a haunted house vibe in the vein of The Haunting of Hill House (Monroe chose to place the abandoned house on Hill Street, after all). I haven’t read House of Leaves yet (I just need to find the energy for it, LOL), but I feel like the house’s impossible architecture could’ve been inspired by that novel as well. Instead of leaning into those frightening inspirations, though, much more focus of the novel is placed on the sisters’ relationships and the ways they try to heal from childhood trauma. It’s thoughtful and emotionally rich – it’s just not nearly as scary as I had hoped. There was a missed opportunity to spend more time in that unsettling house, with those magic keys and those doors that lead to the key bearers’ greatest fears.
As a whole, Through the Midnight Door works as a compelling family drama, using a horror lens as a metaphor for trauma. It just wasn’t the horror novel I expected or hoped it would be. But Katrina Monroe has such interesting ideas and such a unique perspective that I know I’ll be drawn to her future novels. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary reading opportunity.
Through the Midnight Door is at its heart a book about sisters. In childhood, Meg, Esther, and Claire loved exploring abandoned places throughout their downtrodden town – until, that is, they had horrific experiences in a spooky, derelict house. Those experiences haunt them, in ways specific to each of them, into adulthood…culminating in a distraught Claire calling Meg in the middle of the night, before being found dead in that same house of nightmares.
Using horror elements, Monroe explores the devastating effects of intergenerational trauma, destructive family secrets, deep and dark and visceral fears, and the complexities of sisterhood. Her characters are vivid and interesting, and she delves deeply into the psychology and inner lives of each of the sisters. I felt like I really understood their motivations and desires, even if I didn’t necessarily agree with all of their choices (or, in the case of Esther, like them very much at all). I also liked the fact that Monroe set the story in a dying industrial town in the Midwest, which added to the atmosphere and served as a backdrop for the desperation and desolation felt by many of the characters.
I just feel like the balance was a bit off here. I was hoping for more of a haunted house vibe in the vein of The Haunting of Hill House (Monroe chose to place the abandoned house on Hill Street, after all). I haven’t read House of Leaves yet (I just need to find the energy for it, LOL), but I feel like the house’s impossible architecture could’ve been inspired by that novel as well. Instead of leaning into those frightening inspirations, though, much more focus of the novel is placed on the sisters’ relationships and the ways they try to heal from childhood trauma. It’s thoughtful and emotionally rich – it’s just not nearly as scary as I had hoped. There was a missed opportunity to spend more time in that unsettling house, with those magic keys and those doors that lead to the key bearers’ greatest fears.
As a whole, Through the Midnight Door works as a compelling family drama, using a horror lens as a metaphor for trauma. It just wasn’t the horror novel I expected or hoped it would be. But Katrina Monroe has such interesting ideas and such a unique perspective that I know I’ll be drawn to her future novels. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for the complimentary reading opportunity.
January 8, 2025
nothing about this story made sense. i kept reading in hopes of figuring out what the point was. it wasn’t even really horror, it was just kind of annoying…? the characters, the “plot”. maybe i completely missed everything this book was supposed to be but im disappointed, to say the very least.
September 9, 2024
I jumped into this book because I wanted to try something different. I normally don’t read horror so this was a bit out of my comfort zone.
This is first and foremost a story about sisters. The Finch sisters follow a neighborhood kid into a creepy house. The house is abandoned and feels haunted. They use an old skeleton key to enter a creepy room and they feel the darkness for the first time.
Years later the sisters are haunted by a depression. Claire commits suicide in the old house that they explored as children. Was it murder? Was it suicide? Or was it a darker force at hand?
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was atmospheric and the pacing was good. I liked the back story of the sister’s childhood.
This is a perfect book for people that like the show Stranger Things.
Thank you to netgalley for a chance to read this book.
This is first and foremost a story about sisters. The Finch sisters follow a neighborhood kid into a creepy house. The house is abandoned and feels haunted. They use an old skeleton key to enter a creepy room and they feel the darkness for the first time.
Years later the sisters are haunted by a depression. Claire commits suicide in the old house that they explored as children. Was it murder? Was it suicide? Or was it a darker force at hand?
I enjoyed this book. I thought it was atmospheric and the pacing was good. I liked the back story of the sister’s childhood.
This is a perfect book for people that like the show Stranger Things.
Thank you to netgalley for a chance to read this book.
February 7, 2024
I generally don't read creepy books about haunted houses where murders have occurred, but I was yanked THROUGH THE MIDNIGHT DOOR into the lives of three sisters and the horrors they experience in an abandoned house. When one is later found dead there, the story becomes so intense that I could barely keep reading. But I couldn't stop, entranced as people are when they pass gory accidents. Wow!!
May 24, 2024
Psychological thriller about 3 sisters that go through loss and trauma. Check triggers. The cover drew me in, and I was not disappointed.
May 15, 2024
Through The Midnight Door is a very dark and spooky psychological thriller/ horror with the classic haunted house concept, but with a creative twist. It is very dark and twisted, with several spine-chilling moments throughout the book.
One day, the Finch sisters meet a local boy who convinces them to check out an abandoned home with him. When they enter the home, they are met with an endless number of doors. Mysteriously, a key appears to each sister and being filled with curiosity, they enter their chosen rooms and into something unspeakable. Each sister witnesses something horrifying and haunting in their room, something so terrible, they dare not speak of it ever again.
Years later, the youngest Finch sister, Claire, is found dead in the abandoned home. It appears she has taken her own life, however Meg and Esther know there is more to the story. This is confirmed when they are suddenly haunted by the ghost of their sister. Claire shares things with her sisters, while haunting and tormenting them. However, Meg and Esther know it's not their sister- it is the shadow creature that they first saw in the house years ago, trying to drag them into the darkness..
This book is frightening, eerie, disturbing, terrifying.. everything a horror should be! Although it did not seem evenly paced throughout, with some parts being slower than the rest, when it did pick up, it was jarring to say the least! There were moments where I got literal goosebumps and had to put my phone down for a bit, just to regroup and continue on. This is what makes a great horror for me! 4 stars!
Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Katrina Monroe for this ARC!
One day, the Finch sisters meet a local boy who convinces them to check out an abandoned home with him. When they enter the home, they are met with an endless number of doors. Mysteriously, a key appears to each sister and being filled with curiosity, they enter their chosen rooms and into something unspeakable. Each sister witnesses something horrifying and haunting in their room, something so terrible, they dare not speak of it ever again.
Years later, the youngest Finch sister, Claire, is found dead in the abandoned home. It appears she has taken her own life, however Meg and Esther know there is more to the story. This is confirmed when they are suddenly haunted by the ghost of their sister. Claire shares things with her sisters, while haunting and tormenting them. However, Meg and Esther know it's not their sister- it is the shadow creature that they first saw in the house years ago, trying to drag them into the darkness..
This book is frightening, eerie, disturbing, terrifying.. everything a horror should be! Although it did not seem evenly paced throughout, with some parts being slower than the rest, when it did pick up, it was jarring to say the least! There were moments where I got literal goosebumps and had to put my phone down for a bit, just to regroup and continue on. This is what makes a great horror for me! 4 stars!
Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Katrina Monroe for this ARC!
March 5, 2024
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.
“ 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.
December 4, 2024
This book was seriously creepy and definitely kept me up at night. However, underneath the horror was a story about loss, grief, family drama, and the complex relationships between sisters.
I loved how the secrets unraveled and the dynamics shifted and changed. Through the Midnight Door was scary but also emotional. I highly recommend it even if horror isn't your typical genre.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I loved how the secrets unraveled and the dynamics shifted and changed. Through the Midnight Door was scary but also emotional. I highly recommend it even if horror isn't your typical genre.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
September 2, 2024
3.5⭐️ I felt this started off really strong and although the story was still a good one, it felt a little slow after about the first 3rd. Still a good one overall.
July 7, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of Through the Midnight Door.
I rated this 3.5, rounded up to 4.
When Claire tragically passes away, her two sisters Meg and Esther try to deal with their grief while also investigating her death further, as they believe it wasn't self-inflicted, and might be tied to supernatural events that happened when they were children.
Through the Midnight Door felt heavily influenced by both the book and TV show versions of The Haunting of Hill House. Mental illness and grief/guilt were major themes, focusing a lot on severe depression and OCD. I am not well-versed with OCD, but overall the depictions seemed to be well-researched and I felt the toll these illnesses took not only on the characters themselves, but on their other loved ones. I felt it was really well-written that way. I also enjoyed the creepy/supernatural feel with the flashbacks into their childhoods, leading up to present day. Those parts of the story were gripping and it was hard to put the book down.
I did feel that this book went on a bit too long. The first 25% was really fascinating and the pacing was great, but then the next 50% focused heavily on the traumas this family was experiencing, and the investigation into Claire's death dragged on way too long. It felt like there wasn't much that happened, and the pacing really slowed down. The supernatural aspect was also put on the backburner until the last 25%, where it picked up again. If there had been less of that, or more of the supernatural elements sprikled in, then maybe it would have improved the pacing a bit.
I think what really took me out of the story was my dislike for Esther. She just seemed so cold and self-serving, however she did have a decent redemption arc that I appreciated. After the incident with her son was when I really started to lose interest in her as a character, because she knew the impact of her actions but didn't want to try to get help, and she thought everyone was being unreasonable. On the other side of things, the way Meg was guilt-tripped by her entire family her whole life (particularly her mother) to me was also excessive and I felt horrible for her. She got a lot of hate she didn't deserve. Were these depictions accurate considering the circumstances? Realistically, probably yes. However, I still felt frustrated enough that it made me enjoy the story a little less. It was very bleak, but not even in a fun or jarring way. It just felt too realistic in that sense.
Overall, this was well-done and entertaining. The commentary on mental illness and dealing with grief, as well as the impact on everyone touched by these things was handled well. It's an important message, and whether or not this was a favorite of mine, I feel like everyone could benefit from reading this.
I rated this 3.5, rounded up to 4.
When Claire tragically passes away, her two sisters Meg and Esther try to deal with their grief while also investigating her death further, as they believe it wasn't self-inflicted, and might be tied to supernatural events that happened when they were children.
Through the Midnight Door felt heavily influenced by both the book and TV show versions of The Haunting of Hill House. Mental illness and grief/guilt were major themes, focusing a lot on severe depression and OCD. I am not well-versed with OCD, but overall the depictions seemed to be well-researched and I felt the toll these illnesses took not only on the characters themselves, but on their other loved ones. I felt it was really well-written that way. I also enjoyed the creepy/supernatural feel with the flashbacks into their childhoods, leading up to present day. Those parts of the story were gripping and it was hard to put the book down.
I did feel that this book went on a bit too long. The first 25% was really fascinating and the pacing was great, but then the next 50% focused heavily on the traumas this family was experiencing, and the investigation into Claire's death dragged on way too long. It felt like there wasn't much that happened, and the pacing really slowed down. The supernatural aspect was also put on the backburner until the last 25%, where it picked up again. If there had been less of that, or more of the supernatural elements sprikled in, then maybe it would have improved the pacing a bit.
I think what really took me out of the story was my dislike for Esther. She just seemed so cold and self-serving, however she did have a decent redemption arc that I appreciated. After the incident with her son was when I really started to lose interest in her as a character, because she knew the impact of her actions but didn't want to try to get help, and she thought everyone was being unreasonable. On the other side of things, the way Meg was guilt-tripped by her entire family her whole life (particularly her mother) to me was also excessive and I felt horrible for her. She got a lot of hate she didn't deserve. Were these depictions accurate considering the circumstances? Realistically, probably yes. However, I still felt frustrated enough that it made me enjoy the story a little less. It was very bleak, but not even in a fun or jarring way. It just felt too realistic in that sense.
Overall, this was well-done and entertaining. The commentary on mental illness and dealing with grief, as well as the impact on everyone touched by these things was handled well. It's an important message, and whether or not this was a favorite of mine, I feel like everyone could benefit from reading this.
June 9, 2024
My first Katrina Monroe book and I'm sad to say I wasn't super impressed. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but I think I was expecting to be more spooked and freaked out and I really wasn't. The door thing confused the you know what out of me and even after finishing I still don't fully understand it. I honestly hated the character Esther and I dreaded anytime I was reading a chapter from her POV. I understand that each sister was dealing with her own mental illness which I can appreciate but some of the things she said and her actions I couldn't stand. There really wasn't much thrilling to me at all and there were a few times I found myself skimming to get this book read faster. The big plot twist at the end, if you can even call it a plot twist, was not surprising at all, you could see it coming a mile away. I don't know if this author's writing style is really for me unfortunately.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy!
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for the review copy!
April 21, 2024
This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
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.
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.
May 25, 2024
After reading the description and some of the reviews of this book I was really excited to start it.
Unfortunately that excitement turned into I’m not sure if I can finish. But I kept reading and did finish.
I found it very slow and not thrilling at all. I enjoy a good horror but I didn’t find this enjoyable.
A story about 3 sisters who once very close drift apart but a house keeps them bonded
I have read so many great reviews so you just have to try it for yourself. Unfortunately it just wasn’t a novel for me.
Unfortunately that excitement turned into I’m not sure if I can finish. But I kept reading and did finish.
I found it very slow and not thrilling at all. I enjoy a good horror but I didn’t find this enjoyable.
A story about 3 sisters who once very close drift apart but a house keeps them bonded
I have read so many great reviews so you just have to try it for yourself. Unfortunately it just wasn’t a novel for me.
April 20, 2025
This was a like but not a love. I wanted more explanation for the supernatural things that were happening. The story became repetitive as we go through everybody’s hallucinations. It made the book feel overly long. It could have been shortened a lot.
August 13, 2024
1.5* Personal opinion: There should be a prize for seeing horrible books through to the last page to see if they become less horrible by the end. Just sayin'...
August 14, 2024
This is a riveting, and in fact occasionally stunning, horror read. The writing is, of course, flawless and absolutely compelling, but what stands out is the imagery: some of the descriptions of the haunted house reminded me of early King, but there were many times the narrative became so darkly atmospheric it clearly stood on its own two feet and brought to mind no comparisons. The relationship of the sisters was deftly handed, though several situations between them were clearly inspired by the well-known Flanagan show. Trauma was tied with knowledge a bit too close, and many choices and decisions were grounded on logic and thought rather than emotion - I confess I found that refreshing, since so many novels seem to be driven blindly by strong feelings, instead of attempts to think things through soberly and rationally. Although not my favorite Katrina Monroe book (it borders too much on fantasy), I enjoyed it and gladly recommend it to all horror fans who enjoy terrific writing, perfect pacing, and a nicely wrapped up plot with a satisfying ending.
August 15, 2024
A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!
Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe hits melancholic tones of familial trauma, strife, and darkness that have have a unique resonance through the spectrum of grief. Following the death of their sister Claire, Meg and Esther attempt to navigate the confounding maze of grief. As we all know, the past has teeth and the art of moving on becomes even more layered with difficulty for the sisters for different reasons. Looming large in their memories and their current emotional state is a worn down house from their childhood, one with ever changing doors, keys, and darkness. A lingering look into desperation for closure, Through the Midnight explores the subgenre of grief horror through familiar ideas and tropes, delivering a sense of profoundly emotional dread.
In many ways, this novel feels like a deep character study of Claire, Meg, and Esther as perspectives and timelines shift quite a bit. Dark family secrets that explain Meg and Esther’s current anguish slowly reveal themselves as the plot progresses. We spend a lot of time with Meg and Esther specifically as parts of their childhood haunt them, especially through the house on Hill Street (yes, that does feel a *little* on the nose to me). These are all thematic pieces we have come to recognize in stories marred by grief, and Through the Midnight Door is no exception when it comes to tried and true scenes of emotional horror. Normally this kind of thing is right up my alley. However, these aspects felt slightly repetitive. Make no mistake, this is very much a “me” issue, and not a book issue. Meg and Esther’s story is deeply traumatic and details the harshness of healing in the face of intense loss. It’s raw and painful, but necessary growth that comes with finding closure, ideas that hit the nail on the head but fell slightly short in execution. I still highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a deep examination of familial grief horror.
Through the Midnight Door by Katrina Monroe hits melancholic tones of familial trauma, strife, and darkness that have have a unique resonance through the spectrum of grief. Following the death of their sister Claire, Meg and Esther attempt to navigate the confounding maze of grief. As we all know, the past has teeth and the art of moving on becomes even more layered with difficulty for the sisters for different reasons. Looming large in their memories and their current emotional state is a worn down house from their childhood, one with ever changing doors, keys, and darkness. A lingering look into desperation for closure, Through the Midnight explores the subgenre of grief horror through familiar ideas and tropes, delivering a sense of profoundly emotional dread.
In many ways, this novel feels like a deep character study of Claire, Meg, and Esther as perspectives and timelines shift quite a bit. Dark family secrets that explain Meg and Esther’s current anguish slowly reveal themselves as the plot progresses. We spend a lot of time with Meg and Esther specifically as parts of their childhood haunt them, especially through the house on Hill Street (yes, that does feel a *little* on the nose to me). These are all thematic pieces we have come to recognize in stories marred by grief, and Through the Midnight Door is no exception when it comes to tried and true scenes of emotional horror. Normally this kind of thing is right up my alley. However, these aspects felt slightly repetitive. Make no mistake, this is very much a “me” issue, and not a book issue. Meg and Esther’s story is deeply traumatic and details the harshness of healing in the face of intense loss. It’s raw and painful, but necessary growth that comes with finding closure, ideas that hit the nail on the head but fell slightly short in execution. I still highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a deep examination of familial grief horror.
November 27, 2024
I Really really loved this. It made me want a sister.
It screamed Haunting of Hill House in the best way.
I had a few questions left unanswered.
I think it would’ve been more successful if it leaned fully into paranormal or mental health. It walked the line of both but not quite successfully, leaving it a mash up of both that left me wanting more of both. I think more paranormal would’ve been more fun personally but it was still heartwarming.
I also really struggled with Esther being so insufferable.
It screamed Haunting of Hill House in the best way.
I had a few questions left unanswered.
I think it would’ve been more successful if it leaned fully into paranormal or mental health. It walked the line of both but not quite successfully, leaving it a mash up of both that left me wanting more of both. I think more paranormal would’ve been more fun personally but it was still heartwarming.
I also really struggled with Esther being so insufferable.
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