Every time I see Romania mentioned in foreign fiction it makes me laugh. Please check your facts. Romania was never part of USSR among many other inaccuracies.

However, I liked the thematic of the book and obviously John Saul never disappoints with his stories.

I would actually list this among my favorite John Saul books. It's just so interesting to me.

Making up his mind, Ryan sucked his lungs full of air, then began running toward the precipice.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
His right leg stretched forward, raised high, and his foot found the top of the rampart. He swung his arms back, heaved himself forward, and led off into the air with his left foot.
His right foot left the rampart, and he was suspended in mid-air.
And time seemed to stop, stretching into eternity......
-Chapter 36

"You can't run away from memories, no matter how hard you try."
-Epilogue

I’ll start my review of “Midnight Voices” by saying I generally don’t read this type of genre. I prefer suspense/thriller, mysteries, police procedurals, etc…The authors I like are Box, Connelly, Eisler, Gripando, Scottoline, Gerritsen and others along those lines.

However, once in a while I’ll read something out of the norm and decided to read Midnight Voices. I’ve read John Saul before and found his novels…okay. Not great, but considering this isn’t a genre I read often, it always accomplished that need to read ‘something a little different.’

However, this novel just never pulled me in. To me, Saul is a watered-down Koontz. I’m not a HUGE fan of Koontz. I feel sometimes he gets too wordy. However, the underlying stories are ALWAYS good. The basic premise of Midnight Voices is: widow, mother of 2 kids, remarries and moves into a haunted apartment building. Meh…

Midnight Voices, to me, was a struggle to get through. The first third of the novel was okay. It kept me interested. The middle third is when it became very predictable. The final third was outright boring and overly wordy.

I know in these types of books, it’s necessary to be heavy on description. Again, this is just my personal preference but I’ve never been a fan of that. I want the story to move forward, to keep me engaged. I’m not a fan of an author who spends an entire page describing how old a lobby is or how musty it smells. I don’t like when I have to read2 [ages describing how antiquated an apartment is or three pages explaining how gloomy and ‘creepy’ an attic is. I think Mr. Saul went far too heavy on describing people’s thoughts. Is it a dream? It couldn’t have been a dream. But it felt like a dream. But, no, that’s not possible. Back and forth and back and forth. Ugh.

Again, I know this is necessary for these types of books. But I’m not a fan of this genre.

I would have possibly been okay with the ‘wordiness’ if I felt some type of connection to the characters. I didn’t. I found the mother, Caroline, a pretty good protagonist early on. However, the fact she was so blind to her new husband and that he was no good became maddening. One thing that another reviewer pointed out was one scene which really made the story-and Caroline—unbelievable. She realizes something isn’t right. Her neighbors are crazy and nuts. People are missing. Old people appear young. Everyone is staring at her and her children. Her new husband suddenly becomes enraged over every little thing. Her daughter is frightened. Her son is frightened.

And what does our hero do? “Okay, we’ll leave in the morning. What more can happen in one night?” Really? REALLY???

I think what I learned is that I should perhaps just stick with genres I like.

2.5 ⭐️

I've read several John Saul books over the past 10 years. In the spring of 2013, My wife picked up Midnight Voices, published in 2002, at a local library sale. I added it to my to-read list and I am glad I did. In my humble opinion, this was one of Saul's better offerings.

A mother, Caroline, meets and marries Tony after her husband was killed while jogging in Central Park in NY. With two kids in tow, the new family takes up residence in hubby's apartment in a haunting old building beside the park. Immediately, the kids start hearing strange voices at night. The son and his new dad don't get along. The daughter becomes sickly. And dad doesn't like people snooping around in his study, which he keeps locked. What's going on? Why is an otherwise "great catch" acting so odd?

I gave Midnight Voices 4 stars, though I think it's more of a 3.5 to 4.0. Good story, but it starts slow and somewhat predictable. Halfway through the book, I was caught up and enjoyed reading it.

I really enjoyed this book I stared it on Monday and I was done reading it Thursday I have never read a book that quick in my life.I had to quite reading it at night because it was so creepy.

Great book from beginning to end! I stayed up extra late to finish this one, couldn't put it down with 40 pages left to finish. Highly recommend, keeps you guessing. Love John Saul books, this one doesn't disappoint

Keeps you guessing and is a bit unsettling.

Entertaining and strange.

I've been a fan of John Saul's books for several years; honestly, I turn to his stories when I'm in the mood for Stephen King, but may not have the time to read a longer, more involved story. Midnight Voices was one of his more interesting novels. I've seen it compared to Rosemary's Baby, which is one of my all time favorite horror movies. I could see the comparison, but it didn't scare me as much as Mia Farrow finding out that she had been impregnated with the Devil's Spawn.

Midnight Voices is an easy read, which would strike fear in the heart of any single mother returning to the dating world. Caroline Evans' husband was killed during a mugging, she is left with two young children and a demanding job. Struggling to make ends meet as a decorator, please her demanding boss, and help her children heal from the loss of her father, she meets a friendly older lady in the park one day. The lady shares that she lives in The Rockwell, an old building near Central Park, which is rumored to be haunted. When the lady shows up at the antique shop where Carolyn works and purchases a hideous vase, Caroline assumes she just has bad taste in art. Little does she know that this meeting was no accident. When Caroline delivers the vase to the Rockwell, she meets Tony Fleming, a handsome and charismatic man who sweeps her off her feet.

After a whirlwind courtship, she marries the handsome, wealthy Anthony Fleming and her life seems perfect. Until they move into the Rockwell. There she meets the rest of the residents of the building, an eccentric and strange bunch, who seem strangely interested in her children. Shortly after moving in, her daughter Laurie starts having unsettling nightmares and her son Ryan exhibits animosity toward Caroline's new husband. Excusing her children's behavior as difficulty getting used to the changes in their lives, she does everything to please her husband, including visit with the neighbors who begin to show an unhealthy interest in her children.

Before long, Caroline realizes she has made a huge mistake. Nothing is as it seems...and there might be no one she can trust. Except maybe the voices in her head--the ones that tell her that her new home hides a terrible secret.

This is a creepy and interesting tale that held my interest from beginning to end.

Basically a clone of Rosemary's Baby, but for Saul, this was pretty good. The ending was very underwhelming though.

This book...well, IT WASN'T HORRIFYING at all! The action was mostly dull and it didn't raised my interest in any kind. Then, the Romanian link (Transylvania) was not good enough to mention it in this book.
The characters were not particulary described and they were put in this novel just to make some action in order to 'create' a book. This was NOT a well written horror story!