During a catastrophic hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, single mother Jia and her son Ishaan, spend The Night of the Storm with her wealthy sister Seema and her family at her mansion in Sugarland, Texas. They're joined by Seema's husband Vipul, toddler daughter Asha, and Vipul's brother and wife, to shelter in place. Unfortunately, secrets along with destructive winds, massive amounts of flood water, and an unexpected death, threaten to blow apart the family in this debut novel by Nishita Parekh.

At first, I thought the premise sounded good because these people are all trapped together, and you know that sisters Jia and Seema have some kind of rivalry brewing. After you meet Vipul and his younger brother Raj, you discover there's a rivalry there as well. Add a traditional Indian woman, the mother of Vipul and Raj, and you have a lot of familial tension that gets worse as the storm worsens. The writing, too, moves along, letting you know about the issues that Jia has with her ex-husband who seems to want custody of troubled tween son Ishaan.

One problem I had with the book is that it takes too long to get to the part where Jia is accused of murder. You're almost nearing the end of the book, so it's more of a rushed plot. I think the exposition and some of the red herrings take too long to explain and lay out. However, it's not a slow burn that rewards you in the end. It just feels too hurried.

While the ending wraps everything up, I felt like the villains of the story do not get much of a come-uppance. They're basically let off the hook, which was the most shocking thing about the book. Where are the murderer's just desserts? That was a real disappointment because it wasn't like they didn't deserve it, and it wasn't like they expertly deflected the charges or the evidence. It was solid and even admitted by the perpetrator to more than one person. The last chapter was pretty clever, but, please, punish the right people--they murdered someone!

Since this book focuses on an Indian family trapped together during a storm, I did like the focus on Indian culture and mores that infiltrate the book. That made the story more well-rounded and interesting. The characters definitely felt alive and fully formed. I appreciated hearing the story from that angle, and how some characters wanted to stay true to their culture while others wanted to branch out. It felt seamlessly done and made everyone sound distinct.

I realize this is a first effort, and the book is well-written and engaging, but the ending was not rewarding in the way it should be. Who gets away with murder like this? Anyway, this was a decent book but definitely not the best.

Oof, this was a rough read for me.

It felt very slow, and the MC acted very unrealistically/irrationally for the circumstances. Because of this and the constant complaining, I just didn't feel much for her, which really bogged down my enthusiasm to keep reading.

I really don't like giving low star ratings because I know how much time and dedication goes into writing a book. I also know that, while many debut novels are award-winning, there are also authors who release ok debuts and then spectacular books somewhere down the line. I hope this is the case for Miss Parekh.

The Night of the Storm has surprises around every corner. You may see them coming, but you have to admit this book is jam-packed with action.

This thriller was nothing like I was expecting. I enjoyed every page and binged it in just a day. It just felt like it was missing something. I wish there was more thriller before the flood happened during there dinner. That part just fell short.
All in all it was a good read.

I love a locked-room mystery, so I was excited to read The Night of the Storm. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it! I've never read a thriller quite like this one. The tension from the mounting threat of the storm - and the threat coming from inside the house- had me on the edge of my seat. And I can honestly say I didn't see the twists coming. Fans of Lucy Foley and Lisa Jewell should pick this book up.

I hate posting bad reviews because I know that the author spend time, care, and love creating their work. But this one was not it. Im hoping that because I read an ARC that it was just unfinished and before several rounds of edits, but I’m not hopeful. The premise is great: a locked room mystery in the setting of a hurricane with rising flood waters? A family with secrets? Sign me up! But the execution, writing, and entire plot was just flat. I felt like I was reading about a group of school children rather than full ass adults with their dumb decisions and just scripted dialogue. The last thing I’ll say is that there were so many plot holes that drove me nuts- how are you going to get sandbags to prepare for a storm but not batteries??? Ugh.

Jia and her son Ishaan head to Jia's sister's house to weather out Hurricane Harvey. They are joined by another couple and it becomes clear something odd is happening and people start dying, leaving Jia scrambling to keep her son safe. Overall, this was a tough one to get through. Most of the characters were unlikeable and in Jia's case, made very questionable decisions and then spent most of the book wondering why things got worse when she could have avoided most of it. It was less about the mystery and more about a very unhappy family.

A twisty and captivating psychological thriller. Read it in just a few sittings to figure out the ending. The natural disaster element lended to lots of tension.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
The description of this book really interested me, but the book itself just did not do it for me. I struggled to finish it and the family in the book was just beyond over the top.

Living in Florida, I am fascinated by hurricanes so I was excited for this book. Sadly, I didn't love it. The MC was a drag. The family seemed insane and I was really confused by a lot of what was going on. The real kicker for me was that the electricity kept going out and back on... once it is out during a hurricane, it is just out. Also cell service goes out way sooner than electricity so there are no dick pics being sent in a hurricane.....

I did like the little twist of the last few pages but that was the highlight for me.

This book took me about 4 months to read. I know, I know... but i chalk most of it up to reading slumps and just not trying to pick it back up. However, after finishing, I can see why it was so hard for me to read, or get into. I did not like any of the characters, and honestly found it very very hard to want to even pick up clearly.

The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh is a thriller novel filled with some suspense and a lot of family drama. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for a review.

I really wanted to enjoy this one, but I found that it just wasn't for me. It hovered between family drama and teetered on potential thriller for a while. I finally put the book down before finding out which became the main genre, because neither theme was captivating enough for the plot.

"The Night of the Storm" by Nishita Parekh presents a gripping locked room thriller set against the backdrop of Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Jia Shah, a single mother, and her son Ishaan are forced to ride out the storm in the upscale suburb of Sugarland with Jia's sister Seema and her family. However, tensions escalate when Seema's husband, Vipul, begins sending inappropriate messages to Jia, and other family members arrive seeking refuge from the storm.

As the floodwaters rise and tensions within the household reach a breaking point, a neighbor turns up dead, and Jia finds herself accused of the crime. With no way to escape the house until the storm passes, Jia must navigate family drama, suspicion, and danger to protect herself and her son. With the clock ticking and the floodwaters rising, Jia races against time to uncover the truth and clear her name before it's too late.

"The Night of the Storm" promises a suspenseful and thrilling read as Jia battles both the elements and a potential killer to survive the harrowing night. With its blend of family drama, mystery, and suspense, this novel is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final page.

The premise of this book was super interesting and I loved the Indian rep. However, as I got further and further into the book, my interest waned and by the end, the big reveal felt obvious and superficial. I would still recommend reading this book if you enjoy mysteries as it does offer a new intriguing take on the genre, however, the ending helped me determine that this book just wasn’t for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. While I wouldn't call it action-packed I still just couldn't put it down. It's a well-paced story, I feel like I gained insight into a new cultural perspective, and I the characters were so realistically written.
And there were several twists at the end. It kept me reading! I would definitely pick up other books by this author.

This was just ok for me. I am normally a big fan of locked room thrillers but I did feel like this one fell a bit flat. The pacing was a little slow for me and the MC annoyed me a bit and that sort of turned me off the story. It's not a bad book, just wasn't truly for me in the end,

This just wasn’t good the first 50% nothing happened. The pacing was really off


Spoilers
What the hell was with the the parenting in this book
Don’t start me on jia at least she figures out some of her mistakes by the end
He’s a good dad so we’re going to ignore that he’s a literal predator are you kidding me
And let’s help get seema out of jail because her toddler is struggling without her mom who is a flippin murder

I am still angry I read the entire book

Newly divorced Jia has just moved with her 12 year old son to Houston, Texas to be near her sister, Seema. When Hurricane Harvey approaches, Seema invites Jia and her son to weather the storm with her family in their wealthy suburban enclave. Soon more relatives, and then a neighbor show up. As the storm intensifies and it's obvious they've all made a mistake in not evacuating, people begin to die under mysterious circumstances. Built on the classic locked-room mystery style, this book should have been really suspenseful, but it fell flat for me. The characters were overly dramatic and the ending seemed rushed and unrealistic. This isn't a bad story and there were parts I liked about it, but in the end, it was just okay.

Man, this book was not for me. None, and I mean none of the characters were likeable. Including the children. It was a forgettable book, I had to reread the description to make sure I was leaving correct feedback. Not sure that I would pick up another book by this author.

But thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.