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The Between
When Hilton was just a boy, his aged grandmother saved him from drowning by pulling him out of a treacherous ocean current, sacrificing her life for his. Now, thirty years later, Hilton begins to think his borrowed time is running out. His wife, the only elected African–American judge in Dade County, Florida, has begun receiving racist hate mail from a man she once prosecuted, and Hilton's sleep is plagued by nightmares more horrible than any he has ever experienced.
As he battles both the psychotic stalking of his family and the unseen enemy that haunts his sleep, Hilton's sense of reality is slipping away.
As he battles both the psychotic stalking of his family and the unseen enemy that haunts his sleep, Hilton's sense of reality is slipping away.
320 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1995
407 people are currently reading
22618 people want to read
About the author
Tananarive Due
119 books6,439 followersTANANARIVE DUE (tah-nah-nah-REEVE doo) is the award-winning author of The Wishing Pool & Other Stories and the upcoming The Reformatory ("A masterpiece"--Library Journal). She and her husband, Steven Barnes, co-wrote the Black Horror graphic novel The Keeper, illustrated by Marco Finnegan. Due and Barnes co-host a podcast, "Lifewriting: Write for Your Life!"
A leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award, and her writing has been included in best-of-the-year anthologies. Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. She and her husband live with their son, Jason.
A leading voice in Black speculative fiction for more than 20 years, Due has won an American Book Award, an NAACP Image Award, and a British Fantasy Award, and her writing has been included in best-of-the-year anthologies. Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. She and her husband live with their son, Jason.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,034 reviews
February 7, 2019
I was reading this book as a part of the Ladies of Horror Fiction group read, and once again I'm an absolute terrible buddy reader. If I get caught up in a book, it's over. I'm reading until my eyes bleed. I started this one Tuesday night, read for most of the afternoon the next day, and then finished it last night. It's like I don't even realize I'm turning pages. When a book is this good, I get lost in it.
Firstly, I'm going to address the reviews that complain that this book isn't "horror". You could file this under "motorcycle repair manuals" and it wouldn't make a lick of difference to me. Great writing and a great story are all that matters. If you only picked this one up because you wanted a horror novel and you were disappointed, then your reading priorities are out of whack. A great book is a great book, no matter which genre you place it under. And I'm gonna shout that from the rooftops until the day I die with a book clutched in my fist.
This is one of those special books that right when I started reading it I knew it was going to be so good. I love those kinds of books so much. Flawless writing and a story that grabbed me from the very beginning and didn't let up until the very last word is something that I chase on a daily basis. When I find it I want to allow myself to make the experience last, but that's impossible with my personality. When I love something I devour it. And wow, did I love this novel. If you know me well, and you generally like the same books I do, buy this. Read it. It's only February, and I already know this is going to be on my "best books read in 2019 list". And I'm way late to the party, because this book was published in 1995. But It doesn't matter now. I've discovered a favorite new author, and I'm absolutely thrilled. And I have all of the Ladies of Horror Fiction to thank for it.
I would normally rehash a non-spoilerly bit of plot here, but just trust me. Things in this book don't make a lot of sense right away. As a matter of fact, Due will put just a few words between paragraphs that don't make any sense until later in the novel, when their importance comes crashing down on you. Those words a like whispers the protagonist hears, and eventually they all add up. She teases out this story perfectly. And I'm going to tell you to bring lots of tissues. I was silently sobbing in bed next to my sleeping husband when I finished it last night. This is a book that resonates and will definitely stay with me for a very long time. I'm still thinking about it, and I can't wait for the buddy read discussion this weekend.
I will say that Due tackles a lot of themes in this novel. Race, family, marriage, grief, death. I'm actually glad in retrospect that I didn't read this book until now. Reading this after marrying my soulmate made it an entirely different experience than if I had read it as a teen or a college student. I looked at my husband while he was sleeping last night, and I didn't think I could appreciate him more than I already did. But for a moment, I felt it. And that's because of Due's fantastic novel. Read this one, friends.
Firstly, I'm going to address the reviews that complain that this book isn't "horror". You could file this under "motorcycle repair manuals" and it wouldn't make a lick of difference to me. Great writing and a great story are all that matters. If you only picked this one up because you wanted a horror novel and you were disappointed, then your reading priorities are out of whack. A great book is a great book, no matter which genre you place it under. And I'm gonna shout that from the rooftops until the day I die with a book clutched in my fist.
This is one of those special books that right when I started reading it I knew it was going to be so good. I love those kinds of books so much. Flawless writing and a story that grabbed me from the very beginning and didn't let up until the very last word is something that I chase on a daily basis. When I find it I want to allow myself to make the experience last, but that's impossible with my personality. When I love something I devour it. And wow, did I love this novel. If you know me well, and you generally like the same books I do, buy this. Read it. It's only February, and I already know this is going to be on my "best books read in 2019 list". And I'm way late to the party, because this book was published in 1995. But It doesn't matter now. I've discovered a favorite new author, and I'm absolutely thrilled. And I have all of the Ladies of Horror Fiction to thank for it.
I would normally rehash a non-spoilerly bit of plot here, but just trust me. Things in this book don't make a lot of sense right away. As a matter of fact, Due will put just a few words between paragraphs that don't make any sense until later in the novel, when their importance comes crashing down on you. Those words a like whispers the protagonist hears, and eventually they all add up. She teases out this story perfectly. And I'm going to tell you to bring lots of tissues. I was silently sobbing in bed next to my sleeping husband when I finished it last night. This is a book that resonates and will definitely stay with me for a very long time. I'm still thinking about it, and I can't wait for the buddy read discussion this weekend.
I will say that Due tackles a lot of themes in this novel. Race, family, marriage, grief, death. I'm actually glad in retrospect that I didn't read this book until now. Reading this after marrying my soulmate made it an entirely different experience than if I had read it as a teen or a college student. I looked at my husband while he was sleeping last night, and I didn't think I could appreciate him more than I already did. But for a moment, I felt it. And that's because of Due's fantastic novel. Read this one, friends.
January 19, 2022
Ooooooh this was a good ‘un. Shame I can’t remember where the heck I heard about it. Growing old is a bitch, kids!
When Hilton was just a kid his grandmomma saved him from drowning – and then proceeded to die herself. Now a grown man, director of a rehab center and married to a judge who is receiving threats from an unknown source, Hilton’s past starts sneaking up on him via his dreams . . . . .
“How many times do you think you can die? Do you think you can keep dying forever?”
While usually a Kindle reader for the simple fact of the instant gratification aspect of downloading whatever I want/whenever I want it from the library, for some reason I waited for a hardback copy of this one. And then I read it cover to cover. The Between delivered allllllll of the disturbing and creepy vibes which make my favorite type of horror. I’m not in to over the top gross-out shenanigans or superbad baddies unless it’s a slasher story. Nope, give me an unreliable narrator, some social issues, a feeling of simply being disturbed throughout, and a “is it real or is it Memorex” vibe and I’m telling you, that’s what’s up. This would have made an excellent selection for the “Chills and Thrills” library challenge which features creepy rather than gory horror stories. I must have known what was coming before it even got announced . . . .
Highly recommended.
When Hilton was just a kid his grandmomma saved him from drowning – and then proceeded to die herself. Now a grown man, director of a rehab center and married to a judge who is receiving threats from an unknown source, Hilton’s past starts sneaking up on him via his dreams . . . . .
“How many times do you think you can die? Do you think you can keep dying forever?”
While usually a Kindle reader for the simple fact of the instant gratification aspect of downloading whatever I want/whenever I want it from the library, for some reason I waited for a hardback copy of this one. And then I read it cover to cover. The Between delivered allllllll of the disturbing and creepy vibes which make my favorite type of horror. I’m not in to over the top gross-out shenanigans or superbad baddies unless it’s a slasher story. Nope, give me an unreliable narrator, some social issues, a feeling of simply being disturbed throughout, and a “is it real or is it Memorex” vibe and I’m telling you, that’s what’s up. This would have made an excellent selection for the “Chills and Thrills” library challenge which features creepy rather than gory horror stories. I must have known what was coming before it even got announced . . . .
Highly recommended.
Read
February 19, 2022A banger debut novel! This book was released a year after I graduated from high school and I'm sad my young, horror-loving heart didn't know about it then. I know it would have blown my mind.
But I'm fine with finishing it this weekend in my 40s because it still blew my mind, I just already knew it would :)
More of a review to come.
But I'm fine with finishing it this weekend in my 40s because it still blew my mind, I just already knew it would :)
More of a review to come.
June 6, 2024
This was a slow burn, that was a bit repetitive at times. I could see where she was going, but it felt like it took a long time to get there. I usually love her books, but this one was sort of average. I didn't really care for the main character, a man who was hell-bent on protecting his family, if he had to abuse and treat them cruelly to do it.
March 11, 2025
Often quietly eerie and haunting this is a story that lingers at the back of your mind. It's a beautifully crafted book that still feels very current, I was quite surprised to realize it was published in 1995.
August 18, 2024
Death is this strange absolute that only exists in our mind.
It is something we can never experience.
Because to experience it would be to prove it is not real.
When we are dead, we are dead.
The dead can't experience anything.
That is what death is.
And if there is life beyond death, than death doesn't exist.
It is simply a transition.
So either way we can't experience death.
And never will.
So the concept of death that we fear is completely imaginary.
A door we must go through, but will never know.
The paradox of nothing. The strangest highway of reality. If you prove nothing exists, you disprove it. And if nothing doesn't exist, it therefore does. The untouchable unknown. Both finished and eternal.
And here we are.
Caught.
Between.
Tananarive Due's first novel deals with this sensation of both being alive and dead. Of instinctual reality. Where life feels like it ends but then it doesn't. Where things carry on, even when they should be over. And how this feeling translates to everything. Marriage. Family. Work. Friendships. Sex. Culture. All of the fundamental moving pieces of life. How the very feeling of existence can be so fluid, so ethereal. And yet solid.
In this story, life goes on. And on. And on. Choices made are unmade. Decisions that could threaten an existence disappear. We go through different doors, to walk different roads, unknowingly changing. Unknowingly moving. While the choices we made and the consequences of those choices become a dream.
Row, row, row your boat.
Yeah.
This book is entirely phenomenal.
It's a very quick read, a great story. It's not complicated. It's not difficult. It was not written to warp my fragile little mind. AND YET IT DID.
Oh it really did. Tananarive Due, why did you do this to me? I am unglued. Detached. Is it my shoes? Is it my pants? Are my Mini-Golf skills entirely trash?
Why?
This whole book gave me a sense of terror that goes beyond the feeling of something simply threatening me. Not to end my existence but to question everything about my existence. And truly, that is a more permanent end, isn't it? The demolition of preconceptions. The annihilation of the tradition of identity.
The more I thought about this story, the more I focused on a scene where a boy nearly drowns. This scene brought me back to so many moments in my own life. Near misses, bad decisions, wrong turns, that should have been more permanent, but somehow were not. That should have rippled through and changed everything in my life, but now feel more like a dream. And I wonder, did I really live it? If something happens to you and it is huge, but you don't feel the effect of it after? At all? Did it ever really happen?
And what if you could do that to death? What if you already have? What if those near misses, didn't miss?
What if you could pick a different door? What if you reached, instinctively for another tomorrow?
Is the life we live truly what is supposed to happen? Or is it the result of us running from the consequences of what did happen?
This is what great novels do. They plunge your head into the depths of imagination and let you taste the rainbow of the abyss. They ignite the fires in empty houses. So many lights, that may not be lights at all, but are simply dangling bioluminescent traps in the deep. Great novels make you see the shape of hidden doors around you in the shadows. They give you a glimpse of the mouths that wait to swallow you whole.
Tananarive Due's short fiction is spectacular, but this is entirely on a different level. This book left me in shambles. Maybe it will do the same to you?
Either way, I recommend the experience.
Come play with us.
Forever and ever.
In The Between.
10/10
It is something we can never experience.
Because to experience it would be to prove it is not real.
When we are dead, we are dead.
The dead can't experience anything.
That is what death is.
And if there is life beyond death, than death doesn't exist.
It is simply a transition.
So either way we can't experience death.
And never will.
So the concept of death that we fear is completely imaginary.
A door we must go through, but will never know.
The paradox of nothing. The strangest highway of reality. If you prove nothing exists, you disprove it. And if nothing doesn't exist, it therefore does. The untouchable unknown. Both finished and eternal.
And here we are.
Caught.
Between.
Tananarive Due's first novel deals with this sensation of both being alive and dead. Of instinctual reality. Where life feels like it ends but then it doesn't. Where things carry on, even when they should be over. And how this feeling translates to everything. Marriage. Family. Work. Friendships. Sex. Culture. All of the fundamental moving pieces of life. How the very feeling of existence can be so fluid, so ethereal. And yet solid.
In this story, life goes on. And on. And on. Choices made are unmade. Decisions that could threaten an existence disappear. We go through different doors, to walk different roads, unknowingly changing. Unknowingly moving. While the choices we made and the consequences of those choices become a dream.
Row, row, row your boat.
Yeah.
This book is entirely phenomenal.
It's a very quick read, a great story. It's not complicated. It's not difficult. It was not written to warp my fragile little mind. AND YET IT DID.
Oh it really did. Tananarive Due, why did you do this to me? I am unglued. Detached. Is it my shoes? Is it my pants? Are my Mini-Golf skills entirely trash?
Why?
This whole book gave me a sense of terror that goes beyond the feeling of something simply threatening me. Not to end my existence but to question everything about my existence. And truly, that is a more permanent end, isn't it? The demolition of preconceptions. The annihilation of the tradition of identity.
The more I thought about this story, the more I focused on a scene where a boy nearly drowns. This scene brought me back to so many moments in my own life. Near misses, bad decisions, wrong turns, that should have been more permanent, but somehow were not. That should have rippled through and changed everything in my life, but now feel more like a dream. And I wonder, did I really live it? If something happens to you and it is huge, but you don't feel the effect of it after? At all? Did it ever really happen?
And what if you could do that to death? What if you already have? What if those near misses, didn't miss?
What if you could pick a different door? What if you reached, instinctively for another tomorrow?
Is the life we live truly what is supposed to happen? Or is it the result of us running from the consequences of what did happen?
This is what great novels do. They plunge your head into the depths of imagination and let you taste the rainbow of the abyss. They ignite the fires in empty houses. So many lights, that may not be lights at all, but are simply dangling bioluminescent traps in the deep. Great novels make you see the shape of hidden doors around you in the shadows. They give you a glimpse of the mouths that wait to swallow you whole.
Tananarive Due's short fiction is spectacular, but this is entirely on a different level. This book left me in shambles. Maybe it will do the same to you?
Either way, I recommend the experience.
Come play with us.
Forever and ever.
In The Between.
10/10
April 13, 2022
THE BETWEEN is the first book I've read from Tananarive Due. It won't be my last!
I listened to this on audio and although it took me a while to warm up to the narrator, he did eventually grow on me.
I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
*I downloaded this through the Audible Plus program.*
I listened to this on audio and although it took me a while to warm up to the narrator, he did eventually grow on me.
I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.
*I downloaded this through the Audible Plus program.*
June 2, 2020
The Between is a story about a man on the verge of a breakdown. Is this breakdown caused by supernatural forces or is it all in his mind? Well, I’m not going to be jerk who spoils it all for you!
I bought this book years and years ago and I’m glad The Ladies of Horror Fiction finally forced me to unearth it, blow off the dust and read all of its pages. This book was their featured Community Wide Readalong and it was a good time. You should all join in on the next one.
When Hilton was seven he found his beloved Nana cold and dead on the kitchen floor. He ran to get help and when he arrived back home Nana was alive but she was never quite the same again. Many years later, Hilton is married with children and spends his work hours helping addicts get their lives back together but there is trouble brewing beneath the surface and his dreams are becoming increasingly more disturbing as the days pass. Here’s a little quote snippet that’ll either make you want to read more, make you run screaming or maybe do both!
“There’s no joy in fucking the dead.”
Still with me? If so, you need to know this is a books rife with stress, marital woes, suspense and a flawed protagonist who makes a lot of mistakes. I’ll be honest, Hilton made me a little crazy angry at times. There's one scene where he nearly lost me because I’m not a very forgiving type when it comes to that particular way of dealing with stress so it may not bother you but it bothered me. It bothered me so much. As the story went along he grew on me and his love for his family was apparent and strong but it was touch and go there for me for a few chapters, I cannot lie. In the end, it is a compelling read with some truly nightmarish and disturbing images and I thought it all ended exactly the way it should’ve ended. There are a lot of surprises that kept our entire group guessing and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a nail-biter with some chilling scenes and very strong characterization.
I bought this book years and years ago and I’m glad The Ladies of Horror Fiction finally forced me to unearth it, blow off the dust and read all of its pages. This book was their featured Community Wide Readalong and it was a good time. You should all join in on the next one.
When Hilton was seven he found his beloved Nana cold and dead on the kitchen floor. He ran to get help and when he arrived back home Nana was alive but she was never quite the same again. Many years later, Hilton is married with children and spends his work hours helping addicts get their lives back together but there is trouble brewing beneath the surface and his dreams are becoming increasingly more disturbing as the days pass. Here’s a little quote snippet that’ll either make you want to read more, make you run screaming or maybe do both!
“There’s no joy in fucking the dead.”
Still with me? If so, you need to know this is a books rife with stress, marital woes, suspense and a flawed protagonist who makes a lot of mistakes. I’ll be honest, Hilton made me a little crazy angry at times. There's one scene where he nearly lost me because I’m not a very forgiving type when it comes to that particular way of dealing with stress so it may not bother you but it bothered me. It bothered me so much. As the story went along he grew on me and his love for his family was apparent and strong but it was touch and go there for me for a few chapters, I cannot lie. In the end, it is a compelling read with some truly nightmarish and disturbing images and I thought it all ended exactly the way it should’ve ended. There are a lot of surprises that kept our entire group guessing and I can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a nail-biter with some chilling scenes and very strong characterization.
May 20, 2025
Wish I'd held onto the library book a few minutes longer, because now I can't remember Due's exact words about how Black horror is Black history (I think that's what was said in the note before the prologue). That really set the stage for me in how I read this book, and I cannot (nor do I want to) disagree. I think Due was spot on with that comment.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't actually live up to the expectation for me. It started out strong, but most of the book was about Hilton's nightmares. I think I would've liked this book a lot more if it had been about 50 pages shorter.
I mean, I did like it enough for 3.5 stars, but I just think it could've been better, because the other Due books I've read have been better.
The ending was great. So for me, it was a strong start and ending, but the stuff in between could've been a little tighter.
Unfortunately, the rest of the book didn't actually live up to the expectation for me. It started out strong, but most of the book was about Hilton's nightmares. I think I would've liked this book a lot more if it had been about 50 pages shorter.
I mean, I did like it enough for 3.5 stars, but I just think it could've been better, because the other Due books I've read have been better.
The ending was great. So for me, it was a strong start and ending, but the stuff in between could've been a little tighter.
November 10, 2021
between a 4 & 4.5.
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
"the systems from the mundane world are not equipped to deal with the metaphysical."
Oh, oh, and OH! So good, with what seems like to me a sort of delicious Turn of the Screw vibe.
I'm late to the party that is Tananarive Due's work, and as I often do when I find an author I like, I am absolutely kicking myself at the moment for not finding her sooner. This book, The Between, had me on serious pins and needles most of the way through. On the strength of this one, I bought her The Good House, and I'm sure there will be more after that.
This book disturbed me to no end. It was a bit like falling into a mind that seems to be unraveling right before your eyes and having no way to escape, with death at the center of it all. The author also explores grief and loss, mental illness, and the very real horrors of white supremacy and racist hate, which make their presence known throughout the novel in different forms. The back-cover blurb says that The Between "holds readers suspended between the real and the surreal," and that's exactly what happened with me. It is one of the most hauntingly creepy books I've experienced this year, with the main character's sense of shifting realities transferring directly from the book to my head so completely that I was thrown off throughout. Without any hesitation at all I can strongly recommend this book, but do yourself a huge favor beforehand and stay away from any book review that wants to give away the show.
full post here:
http://www.oddlyweirdfiction.com/2021...
"the systems from the mundane world are not equipped to deal with the metaphysical."
Oh, oh, and OH! So good, with what seems like to me a sort of delicious Turn of the Screw vibe.
I'm late to the party that is Tananarive Due's work, and as I often do when I find an author I like, I am absolutely kicking myself at the moment for not finding her sooner. This book, The Between, had me on serious pins and needles most of the way through. On the strength of this one, I bought her The Good House, and I'm sure there will be more after that.
This book disturbed me to no end. It was a bit like falling into a mind that seems to be unraveling right before your eyes and having no way to escape, with death at the center of it all. The author also explores grief and loss, mental illness, and the very real horrors of white supremacy and racist hate, which make their presence known throughout the novel in different forms. The back-cover blurb says that The Between "holds readers suspended between the real and the surreal," and that's exactly what happened with me. It is one of the most hauntingly creepy books I've experienced this year, with the main character's sense of shifting realities transferring directly from the book to my head so completely that I was thrown off throughout. Without any hesitation at all I can strongly recommend this book, but do yourself a huge favor beforehand and stay away from any book review that wants to give away the show.
January 17, 2023
Listened to the audiobook and definitely was a rollar Coster ride, was so invested in it. Don't think I've read anything from Tananarive Due before but will definitely pick up more if I can find. A rather addictive story line to listen to
November 21, 2021
As a horror aficionado, I’ve become a big fan of Tannarive Due and her horror criticism on Twitter, including her groundbreaking work on Black horror movies. So I was especially excited to read her own contribution to the genre.
Being more familiar with Due’s criticism and academic writing, it was a pleasant and delicious surprise to experience the beauty of her fiction. Her characters are richly drawn, and her descriptive prose is lovely.
It’s almost impossible to describe what this book is about. The soul of the book, as it were, is Hilton, a black man experiencing racism who begins to have a sleep disorder which makes his nightmares almost indistinguishable from reality. The horror of the book creeps in slowly, as you realize that his waking nightmares may in fact be something….more.
This is a beautifully written book with a deep and compelling message. It is a pleasure to read, even when it makes you sad and hurt. I’m so excited to read more of Tannarive Due’s work. (I’m also watching her horror series, Horror Noire, on Shudder.)
Many thanks to Harper and NetGalley for what I hope will be the first of many Tannarive Due reading experiences for me. Now, onto her backlist!
March 28, 2021
3.5 Stars
I liked that this novel addressed the challenges and stresses of marriage, while also giving insight into the experience of being black in modern America. At the heart of the story, this horror novel is a story of family and love. My biggest criticism is a personal one because I dislike dream sequences in fiction, particularly in horror, which was a large aspect of this story.
I liked that this novel addressed the challenges and stresses of marriage, while also giving insight into the experience of being black in modern America. At the heart of the story, this horror novel is a story of family and love. My biggest criticism is a personal one because I dislike dream sequences in fiction, particularly in horror, which was a large aspect of this story.
October 24, 2017
I know judging books by their covers often backfires, but I keep doing it anyway. I prioritize books with pretty covers and end up disappointed if their contents don’t live up to the window dressing. Worse than that, I avoid books with covers that either don’t grab me or outright repel me, and it makes me wonder, how many great books have I missed out on this way?
The Between is a book with what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate cover. Maybe because it was published in 1995—who knows what was going on in the world of book publishing back then? In 1995 I was a fifth-grader making some questionable fashion choices of my own, so who am I to talk? I gave this book the benefit of the doubt because I’d already read and enjoyed The Good House, another of Tananarive Due’s spooky novels, and I’m really glad I did.
Hilton is the director of a drug rehab center, married to a newly elected judge in Miami. When his wife starts receiving racially charged threats, Hilton’s dreams take a strange turn and he starts to lose his grip on reality. He wants desperately to protect his family, but he has visions and experiences that he can’t explain, and to the rest of the world he looks more like an unhinged maniac than a concerned family man.
How scary this book is to you will depend on how scared you are of ghosts. For me, the veil between the living and the dead has always felt opaque and immovable—once you’re dead, you’re dead. Thus, ghost stories typically are more fun than scary to me (with one possible exception). If you want to make me check all the closets and hide under the covers at night, tell me a story about the bad things humans do to each other, because that shit is real and happens every day. Interestingly, The Between has both aspects going on, the supernatural and the realistic, with a main character who is being persecuted by dreams that imply he is somehow dead already and a racist man who is very real and very motivated to hurt Hilton and his family.
Perfect for fans of unreliable narrators or characters spiraling into madness.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
The Between is a book with what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate cover. Maybe because it was published in 1995—who knows what was going on in the world of book publishing back then? In 1995 I was a fifth-grader making some questionable fashion choices of my own, so who am I to talk? I gave this book the benefit of the doubt because I’d already read and enjoyed The Good House, another of Tananarive Due’s spooky novels, and I’m really glad I did.
Hilton is the director of a drug rehab center, married to a newly elected judge in Miami. When his wife starts receiving racially charged threats, Hilton’s dreams take a strange turn and he starts to lose his grip on reality. He wants desperately to protect his family, but he has visions and experiences that he can’t explain, and to the rest of the world he looks more like an unhinged maniac than a concerned family man.
How scary this book is to you will depend on how scared you are of ghosts. For me, the veil between the living and the dead has always felt opaque and immovable—once you’re dead, you’re dead. Thus, ghost stories typically are more fun than scary to me (with one possible exception). If you want to make me check all the closets and hide under the covers at night, tell me a story about the bad things humans do to each other, because that shit is real and happens every day. Interestingly, The Between has both aspects going on, the supernatural and the realistic, with a main character who is being persecuted by dreams that imply he is somehow dead already and a racist man who is very real and very motivated to hurt Hilton and his family.
Perfect for fans of unreliable narrators or characters spiraling into madness.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
February 19, 2024
3.5 stars
For how much insane shit happens in this book, you’d think it would drag on less
For how much insane shit happens in this book, you’d think it would drag on less
May 23, 2022
I'll start a review with a quote, most of the time, something that felt right when I was reading through. But reading The Between gave me no opportunity - I was so absorbed in this that I wasn't pausing to realise something sounded like a good representation of the book.
Instead, I'm going to tell you as little as possible about it while also trying to let you know that you should definitely read it if you like horror, if you like your mind being poked and your heart being broken. Tananarive Due has got skill, but most importantly writes with heart - horror works best when you care about the characters, and she forged the kind of characters I'll be caring about long after I forget the details.
It's not straightforward horror, The Between, with jump scares or traditional suspense (though there's a storyline in here that certainly brings the "people are the real monsters" element). Instead, there's details peppered through the text that unsettle the reader, that leave you on edge and nervous for the protagonist, needing to know what's happening but with an awful feeling that you already know. You don't, entirely, the author's got tricks up her sleeves and she'll let you in on it once she's good and ready, but it's a really tangible dread.
I loved this - as mixed up and heartsore and worried as it made me, I loved every minute. What a book, and what an author - I'll be diving right into her back catalogue as soon as I recover.
Instead, I'm going to tell you as little as possible about it while also trying to let you know that you should definitely read it if you like horror, if you like your mind being poked and your heart being broken. Tananarive Due has got skill, but most importantly writes with heart - horror works best when you care about the characters, and she forged the kind of characters I'll be caring about long after I forget the details.
It's not straightforward horror, The Between, with jump scares or traditional suspense (though there's a storyline in here that certainly brings the "people are the real monsters" element). Instead, there's details peppered through the text that unsettle the reader, that leave you on edge and nervous for the protagonist, needing to know what's happening but with an awful feeling that you already know. You don't, entirely, the author's got tricks up her sleeves and she'll let you in on it once she's good and ready, but it's a really tangible dread.
I loved this - as mixed up and heartsore and worried as it made me, I loved every minute. What a book, and what an author - I'll be diving right into her back catalogue as soon as I recover.
October 1, 2022
2.5⭐
Comenzó fuerte pero luego fui perdiendo el interés en la trama.
Trata un terror sutil que no me ha convencido. Lo único que me ha conquistado ha sido el último párrafo porque no sabemos si todo fue real o no.
.
It started out strong but then I gradually lost interest in the plot.
It deals with a subtle terror that has not convinced me. The only thing that has conquered me has been the last paragraph because we don't know if everything was real or not.
Comenzó fuerte pero luego fui perdiendo el interés en la trama.
Trata un terror sutil que no me ha convencido. Lo único que me ha conquistado ha sido el último párrafo porque no sabemos si todo fue real o no.
.
It started out strong but then I gradually lost interest in the plot.
It deals with a subtle terror that has not convinced me. The only thing that has conquered me has been the last paragraph because we don't know if everything was real or not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2022
I adored The Good House, so I was excited to finally pick up a second book by Tanararive Due. While I enjoyed this slightly less it was still a thrilling read. It's premise of a white supremicist is still (unfortunatley) very relevant to 2022 even though this was written a while back.
April 5, 2025
i liked this!! it was a very well narrated audiobook, super captivating story telling. i like how this book makes you question reality, and the characters had depth that really
added to the book for me. my only complaint is it felt slow at times, but it certainly made up for it
added to the book for me. my only complaint is it felt slow at times, but it certainly made up for it
June 2, 2020
Due is a master of the craft, and I can’t wait to get into the rest of her catalogue.
The Between is a story about Hilton James, a man who loves his family, his powerhouse of a wife, and his job as the director of a drug rehab center. The problem is that he isn’t supposed to be alive—he should have drowned when he was just a boy, but he was saved in the nick of time by his grandmother.
First come the threats against his wife and family, then come the dreams—the bad ones. Then it seems like his whole life is falling apart and he can’t pick up the pieces fast enough to keep himself together.
A thoroughly engaging novel that transcends genre, I now consider The Between one of the most original, thoughtful, and powerful books I’ve ever read.
The elements of horror and the supernatural come through strongest in the strange and compelling dream sequences that slowly begin to blend with reality as the novel progresses. But can we trust Hilton as a narrator to tell us the truth, or can he only see the truth of his own unraveling?
Due takes on a lot of baggage with this book. Besides the horror of the supernatural occurrences, there are the real-life issues that center and ground the novel.
Marriage—it’s hard! Throughout the novel, Hilton struggles with fidelity, warring schedules keeping him and his wife apart, uneven expectations of everyday duties, and the stress only increases as he fears for the safety of his family almost to their detriment.
Mental Illness—this is obviously a theme not just because of Hilton’s job, but as the story goes on, he begins to question his own sanity. What is he dreaming about? Could it be real? It would be insane to think that, but at the same time, all these little pieces of insanity start fitting together. Stress from his job, home life, and the threats begin to crumble Hilton’s defenses. Can he even trust his mind anymore?
Grief/Loss—this is an underlying thread throughout the whole novel: Hilton’s loss of his grandmother in a traumatic way in his youth has adversely affected him and continues to rebound through his life, more than he really knows. Loss hangs on to us.
Racism—the reason for the threats against Hilton’s family also comes up all throughout the book: Hilton worries about the mostly-white neighborhood they live in, remembering how they were treated poorly when they first moved in. He contemplates the experiences of his children in a matter-of-fact way, reasoning that they’ll have to learn sooner or later, and it’s better to be prepared for how someone might treat you than be shocked by it. Though this book was originally published in 1995, it still feels relevant, as this is, of course, still a conversation that we have today—just look at real-life horrors like white nationalist extremist groups and the reflection of current struggles in pop culture like the movie Get Out.
That is some heavy stuff. But a bright light that I saw in Due’s book was the universality of the issues about life and identity. I say this not to take away from the fact that this book is about black people and they will probably resonate more keenly with its themes and characters than any other audience, but just to note that Due takes the very human fear about death and creates a world of “what if.” What if near-death is really just escape through another door, another reality? What does that mean for who we are? We cling so tightly to our perception of ourselves—what does it mean if we aren’t who we thought all along?
Brilliant, brilliant. Highly recommended—and not just for fans of horror. This is just a damn fine novel.
The Between is a story about Hilton James, a man who loves his family, his powerhouse of a wife, and his job as the director of a drug rehab center. The problem is that he isn’t supposed to be alive—he should have drowned when he was just a boy, but he was saved in the nick of time by his grandmother.
First come the threats against his wife and family, then come the dreams—the bad ones. Then it seems like his whole life is falling apart and he can’t pick up the pieces fast enough to keep himself together.
A thoroughly engaging novel that transcends genre, I now consider The Between one of the most original, thoughtful, and powerful books I’ve ever read.
The elements of horror and the supernatural come through strongest in the strange and compelling dream sequences that slowly begin to blend with reality as the novel progresses. But can we trust Hilton as a narrator to tell us the truth, or can he only see the truth of his own unraveling?
Due takes on a lot of baggage with this book. Besides the horror of the supernatural occurrences, there are the real-life issues that center and ground the novel.
Marriage—it’s hard! Throughout the novel, Hilton struggles with fidelity, warring schedules keeping him and his wife apart, uneven expectations of everyday duties, and the stress only increases as he fears for the safety of his family almost to their detriment.
Mental Illness—this is obviously a theme not just because of Hilton’s job, but as the story goes on, he begins to question his own sanity. What is he dreaming about? Could it be real? It would be insane to think that, but at the same time, all these little pieces of insanity start fitting together. Stress from his job, home life, and the threats begin to crumble Hilton’s defenses. Can he even trust his mind anymore?
Grief/Loss—this is an underlying thread throughout the whole novel: Hilton’s loss of his grandmother in a traumatic way in his youth has adversely affected him and continues to rebound through his life, more than he really knows. Loss hangs on to us.
Racism—the reason for the threats against Hilton’s family also comes up all throughout the book: Hilton worries about the mostly-white neighborhood they live in, remembering how they were treated poorly when they first moved in. He contemplates the experiences of his children in a matter-of-fact way, reasoning that they’ll have to learn sooner or later, and it’s better to be prepared for how someone might treat you than be shocked by it. Though this book was originally published in 1995, it still feels relevant, as this is, of course, still a conversation that we have today—just look at real-life horrors like white nationalist extremist groups and the reflection of current struggles in pop culture like the movie Get Out.
That is some heavy stuff. But a bright light that I saw in Due’s book was the universality of the issues about life and identity. I say this not to take away from the fact that this book is about black people and they will probably resonate more keenly with its themes and characters than any other audience, but just to note that Due takes the very human fear about death and creates a world of “what if.” What if near-death is really just escape through another door, another reality? What does that mean for who we are? We cling so tightly to our perception of ourselves—what does it mean if we aren’t who we thought all along?
Brilliant, brilliant. Highly recommended—and not just for fans of horror. This is just a damn fine novel.
January 26, 2024
I loved The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. It was one of my top reads last year, and upon completing it I decided I had to read everything by this lady.
So I started with The Between, her first.
I didn't like it as much as The Reformatory, which is a bit unfair to it as this is a pretty high bar to set, but it was pretty okay.
I will say that unlike The Reformatory, she didn't manage to engage me with these characters. I don't know exactly why; it just didn't happen for me this time.
For this reason I was getting antsy for it to resolve because the story got to be quite slow moving and repetitive. I like slow burns as long as I have characters I am thoroughly interested in, but without that, it can wear on me.
I was happy that I read it, and appreciated the story as a whole. I wonder if she had the movie Burnt Offerings in mind when she wrote about this.
There a few things creepier than a grinning hearse chauffeur and thanks to that movie I was well creeped out by some scenes here!
I'm feeling 3-star energy for this one. I'm glad I read it, and I'm still looking forward to reading The Good House one of these days.
So I started with The Between, her first.
I didn't like it as much as The Reformatory, which is a bit unfair to it as this is a pretty high bar to set, but it was pretty okay.
I will say that unlike The Reformatory, she didn't manage to engage me with these characters. I don't know exactly why; it just didn't happen for me this time.
For this reason I was getting antsy for it to resolve because the story got to be quite slow moving and repetitive. I like slow burns as long as I have characters I am thoroughly interested in, but without that, it can wear on me.
I was happy that I read it, and appreciated the story as a whole. I wonder if she had the movie Burnt Offerings in mind when she wrote about this.
There a few things creepier than a grinning hearse chauffeur and thanks to that movie I was well creeped out by some scenes here!
I'm feeling 3-star energy for this one. I'm glad I read it, and I'm still looking forward to reading The Good House one of these days.
July 17, 2024
3.5 stars. This was a really captivating black horror novel which follows a man and his family who are being terrorized by a white supremacist. But the horror begins to extend out of reality and into his nightmares and psyche. I loved how this tackled racism and mental health and thought it was written really well. I am super excited to read the new book from this author.
March 13, 2023
This one took me a bit to actually get into, but I really love Tananarive Due’s writing and how she tells a story.
Didn’t love it as much as The Good House, but I still really liked it.
Didn’t love it as much as The Good House, but I still really liked it.
October 11, 2019
I found it intelligent, well put together, and a fairly solid read, but as a psychological thriller more than a horror, it didn’t quite make it into my list of unforgettable reads.
February 18, 2026
When Hilton was a child, his grandmother pulled him from a deadly ocean current, giving her life so he could live. Thirty years later, he can’t shake the feeling that he’s living on borrowed time. His wife—the only elected African American judge in Dade County—is being targeted with racist hate mail from a man she once put away. At the same time, Hilton is tormented by nightmares so vivid and violent they start bleeding into his waking life.
As the threats against his family escalate and his grip on reality weakens, Hilton is forced to confront whether the danger is outside his home… or inside his mind.
This was Tananarive Due’s debut novel, and you can see the promise. The writing is beautiful and layered, with a strong emotional and psychological core. I really enjoyed her later work, especially The Reformatory, which hit harder for me. The Between is a solid read with a powerful message, but it felt a little longer than it needed to be.
The audiobook narration was excellent and added real weight to the tension. Not my favorite of hers—but still worth the time.
As the threats against his family escalate and his grip on reality weakens, Hilton is forced to confront whether the danger is outside his home… or inside his mind.
This was Tananarive Due’s debut novel, and you can see the promise. The writing is beautiful and layered, with a strong emotional and psychological core. I really enjoyed her later work, especially The Reformatory, which hit harder for me. The Between is a solid read with a powerful message, but it felt a little longer than it needed to be.
The audiobook narration was excellent and added real weight to the tension. Not my favorite of hers—but still worth the time.
November 4, 2021
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.
I liked this book by Tananarive Due. I got this pretty late via NetGalley though so I didn’t get it read and done before it was published, and I am sad to say it would have been perfect for Halloween Bingo. Sigh. This story really focuses on an unreliable narrator that it appears to be going slowly mad. At times I thought of it as a longer form of “The Raven” when you start off with someone that seems quite reasonable and you go okay….there’s something wrong here. The main reason why I gave this 4 stars though is that I thought some of the dream sequences dragged a bit. This reissue though has a great foreword by Due and I loved the focus of a well to do African American couple and how even though they are doing much better than others in the country at that time, white supremacy still comes knocking and makes them feel scared. You would think that this book could have been written today with everything going on in the United States. I also thought she did a great job tackling marriage, death, grief, mental health, and death.
“The Between” takes place in Florida and follows a well to do African American couple, Hilton and Dede. Hilton is happily married with children and runs a drug treatment center. His wife is a judge. However when his wife starts to get racist death threats and he starts to have nightmares where is he is left wondering what is real and not real.
So Hilton is intriguing. You start to realize that Hilton thinks that due to an incident early in his life, that he cheated death, and perhaps death is finally coming to take him forever. You don’t know what is real or not real and you start to wonder if there is something going on with him mentally. And I love that Due focuses things on how the African American community as a whole is loathe to seek psychiatric help. I have said before back in the Booklikes days, I finally went forward to seeing a therapist and then a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with severe depression. I felt ashamed and like I had did something wrong. It took several months before I believed them when they said I should not feel this way, and I had lot that happened to me that would have hit anyone hard. I of course am glad I sought help, but it’s still a big taboo subject I noticed among my Black friends and family.
I do like that this is African American speculative fiction. One of the reasons why I enjoyed Octavia E. Butler so much was that she wrote science fiction but with speculative fiction and science fiction themes.
I think this is the second book of Due’s I read where things take place in Miami, Florida. I am curious why she sets her books in Florida, since to me it does not seem like a typical African American state, but I went reading and realized that there is a huge African American history component to Florida.
Things come together though in the last few pages which some may think takes too long to bring everything together.
I liked this book by Tananarive Due. I got this pretty late via NetGalley though so I didn’t get it read and done before it was published, and I am sad to say it would have been perfect for Halloween Bingo. Sigh. This story really focuses on an unreliable narrator that it appears to be going slowly mad. At times I thought of it as a longer form of “The Raven” when you start off with someone that seems quite reasonable and you go okay….there’s something wrong here. The main reason why I gave this 4 stars though is that I thought some of the dream sequences dragged a bit. This reissue though has a great foreword by Due and I loved the focus of a well to do African American couple and how even though they are doing much better than others in the country at that time, white supremacy still comes knocking and makes them feel scared. You would think that this book could have been written today with everything going on in the United States. I also thought she did a great job tackling marriage, death, grief, mental health, and death.
“The Between” takes place in Florida and follows a well to do African American couple, Hilton and Dede. Hilton is happily married with children and runs a drug treatment center. His wife is a judge. However when his wife starts to get racist death threats and he starts to have nightmares where is he is left wondering what is real and not real.
So Hilton is intriguing. You start to realize that Hilton thinks that due to an incident early in his life, that he cheated death, and perhaps death is finally coming to take him forever. You don’t know what is real or not real and you start to wonder if there is something going on with him mentally. And I love that Due focuses things on how the African American community as a whole is loathe to seek psychiatric help. I have said before back in the Booklikes days, I finally went forward to seeing a therapist and then a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with severe depression. I felt ashamed and like I had did something wrong. It took several months before I believed them when they said I should not feel this way, and I had lot that happened to me that would have hit anyone hard. I of course am glad I sought help, but it’s still a big taboo subject I noticed among my Black friends and family.
I do like that this is African American speculative fiction. One of the reasons why I enjoyed Octavia E. Butler so much was that she wrote science fiction but with speculative fiction and science fiction themes.
I think this is the second book of Due’s I read where things take place in Miami, Florida. I am curious why she sets her books in Florida, since to me it does not seem like a typical African American state, but I went reading and realized that there is a huge African American history component to Florida.
Things come together though in the last few pages which some may think takes too long to bring everything together.
"We’re always closest to death when we’re asleep."
June 18, 2014
Tananarive Due's debut novel most definitely heralded her acclaimed career as a novelist.
The Between tells the story of Hilton James, a man who suffers from a severe sleep disorder - and vivid, often terrifying dreams. As the line between reality and his dreams blur, Hilton's storybook life begins to crumble. He even begins to question his sanity. But when his family is placed in very real danger, Hilton fears something other-worldy is happening to him.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ms. Due is quite deft at creating complex characters you quickly become invested in. She also has a beautiful grasp of language that is both engaging and endearing. The plot is compelling because like the protagonist, you are uncertain if what is happening to him is due to mental illness - or if supernatural forces are at work. You won't find out until the book's bittersweet conclusion. I highly recommend this novel - especially to those who are looking for more unique voices in speculative fiction.
The Between tells the story of Hilton James, a man who suffers from a severe sleep disorder - and vivid, often terrifying dreams. As the line between reality and his dreams blur, Hilton's storybook life begins to crumble. He even begins to question his sanity. But when his family is placed in very real danger, Hilton fears something other-worldy is happening to him.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ms. Due is quite deft at creating complex characters you quickly become invested in. She also has a beautiful grasp of language that is both engaging and endearing. The plot is compelling because like the protagonist, you are uncertain if what is happening to him is due to mental illness - or if supernatural forces are at work. You won't find out until the book's bittersweet conclusion. I highly recommend this novel - especially to those who are looking for more unique voices in speculative fiction.
March 17, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised by The Between! I have had Tananarive Due on my TBR for so long. The Ladies of Horror Fiction team decided to choose her debut novel for our Women in Horror Month readalong and wow! If this is her debut, I am in for a treat with the rest of Due's catalog!
There were so many layers to The Between and they were all expertly woven together. It's a relatively short book at a little less than 300 pages. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say this is an excellent place to start if you haven't read anything by Tananarive Due yet.
There were so many layers to The Between and they were all expertly woven together. It's a relatively short book at a little less than 300 pages. I don't want to give anything away so I'll just say this is an excellent place to start if you haven't read anything by Tananarive Due yet.
October 20, 2023
2.5
Apparently I'm in the minority on this as this book seems to be very well loved by many. I did enjoy the introduction and writing style. I also liked the overall concept and where the book went but in general it just didn't work for me. I found it to be very slow, confusing at times, and personally I am not a fan of extensive dream sequences in books (but that's more of a personal issue than it is the books issue).
Overall, I do understand why people love this book but I guess it was just different from what I was hoping for and did not work for me. :/
Apparently I'm in the minority on this as this book seems to be very well loved by many. I did enjoy the introduction and writing style. I also liked the overall concept and where the book went but in general it just didn't work for me. I found it to be very slow, confusing at times, and personally I am not a fan of extensive dream sequences in books (but that's more of a personal issue than it is the books issue).
Overall, I do understand why people love this book but I guess it was just different from what I was hoping for and did not work for me. :/
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