What a slow burn, that pulls you deeper with every page. Tananarive Due’s spectacular novel is classified as horror, and in her preface to this edition, published 26 years after the original publication, she mentions how, at the time she wrote it, the books that combined Black protagonists and the supernatural were few and far between. With that as the primer going in, accompanied by the synopsis of the book, you can’t be blamed for expecting to confront the supernatural elements of the story sooner. In truth, it isn’t until the third or fourth chapter that Due really gives us a taste, and even then it is in the form of a dream. This is because what Due is doing, here, is setting a trap. This novel is painstakingly naturalistic, in many ways, not fantastical or unbelievable at all. Slowly, the liminal space between life and death, between dream and reality, grows and grows, invading everything, until you find yourself lost in a tense supernatural horror that begs questions about trauma, racism, class, and mental illness but refuses to give any easy answers.

All of the characters feel real, not stereotypes, not fill-ins, but living people who you know. All of the main characters that stay within the protagonist’s orbit are given interesting characterizations and lives, with flaws accompanying positive character traits. There is one character who feels a little “deus-ex-machina”-y, but even that is handled well enough that it avoids the grosser sins of the horror genre and doesn’t entirely beggar belief. These characters really drive the story, which is quite deliberately plotted, building in intensity as the fractures in our sense of reality grow. The writing itself is wonderful, again a very naturalistic style, giving us enough description to really see the scenes clearly but not overdosing on sentimentality or feeling forced or rigid in any way. Due is able to expertly build suspense, and the way she weaves a supernatural story within this naturalistic form is really impressive. In some ways it is just this, the way a supernatural horror exists for one person in what everyone else perceives as naturalistic, or mundane, that is the heart of the narrative. The writing parallels this idea beautifully, and the whole story is stronger for it.

This book is a quick read, in large part because you won’t want to put it down. It does start slow, but it is never boring. It is only “slow” in the sense that it isn’t overloaded with explicit supernatural occurrences, not that there isn’t important story and character work being done, so if you’re willing to really take your time finding your way into this family, and into the heart of the patriarch doing his best to keep them safe while struggling with a family/work balance, you won’t be disappointed. As do most great books, it leaves you with a lot to think about, ending with questions instead of answers. It is a really skillful and enjoyable book, and you will be richer for the time you spend with it.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers, who gave me a complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping, fast read, with marvelous prose and all the best elements of both ghost story and psychological horror. The south Florida setting and cultural elements are particularly well drawn, as is Hilton's descent into a man his family and friends don't recognize. Only the ending was a little anticlimactic to me; I felt that there were problems raised over the course of the novel that weren't ultimately resolved.

I received an e-ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hilton, the main character of The Between is seven when his grandmother dies for the first time.
He finds her dead on the kitchen floor, but when he comes back with help, Grandma is alive and up on her feet. The grownups try to explain it away as a simple fainting spell, but Hilton can remember very well just how cold her skin was. She is never the same after that, and a year later she dies for the second time, giving her life to save Hilton from drowning.
Years later, when he is married with kids and has a stable job, Hilton is haunted by nightmares that start to blend in with reality. As they get more and more unsettling and disturbing, Hilton realizes that there’s a real, lethal danger threatening his family, and he has to find a way to save them before it’s too late.

Wow, I am truly blown away! The Between is an incredible and deeply scary book that mixes the supernatural with reality in a way that feels frighteningly plausible. Hilton is a complex character and although he has his faults, I couldn’t help but root for him. Watching him transform under the weight of his nightmares was agonizing, and the way Due masterfully pulls the reader into Hilton’s descent into madness had me on the edge of my seat, constantly questioning what I thought was happening. I also loved that the threat was coming also from the outside - the racism that Hilton’s family experiences is terrifying on its own, but it was perfectly interwoven with Hilton’s nightmares. I simply could not stop reading this book until the very last page, and I won’t say too much about the ending other than it was perfectly satisfying.

The Between is a brilliant and heavy read, and I think anyone who considers themselves to be a Stephen King’s fan will positively fall in love with this one.

A. great horror story in the vein of Stephen King. The Between is a reissue of Tananarive Due's first novel and it's fabulous.

Hilton James is a soon to be 40 year old father of 2, married to thee only AFrican-American judge in Dade County Florida. As a boy, he was marked by a near death experience swimming in the ocean - a terrible experience that was ultimately the cause of his grandmother's death. It's Hilton's thought that dreams from this experience are haunting him. He is losing time and remembering terrible nightmares that are impacting his work and homelife.
At the same time, his wife begins to receive death threats at work. Hilton is sure he knows who it is and why -he's seen it in his dreams. But are these nightmares or the beginning of a mental breakdown.

Due paints a picture of a lovely. and interesting family. Plenty of characters to root for, beautiful writing, engaging plot and a tense finale. A perfect thriller-horror story for October! Highly Recommended! #TheBetween #NetGalley

This was such an incredibly eerie, horrific read, but I loved it! I loved the combination of the psychological horror with the real life horror of racism and hate crimes. I loved all of the characters, and can't wait to read more from this author in the future.

I hadn't realized this book was getting re-issued, but I'm so excited that it is, and that hopefully Tananarive Due will get her flowers properly in this decade as well. This is a phenomenal, foundational horror novel with great characters and an intense commentary on the horrors of racism. (Now re-release "The Good House," which is a barn-burner haunted house novel...)

A new reissue of what should be an old classic, this book is edge-of-your-seat thrilling. Hilton is a man on the edge of a breakdown, and this book makes you both terror and his tenderness. If you haven't read any of Due's work before, pick up this one immediately.

Due has done it again. A master at storytelling, this novel interweaves traditional African and African -American spirituality into a modern story. Well written and paced. This book is lush and keeps you anticipating!