A locked room mystery on a beach in a storm?

I absolutely love Georgina Cross's writing style, the way she brings me right into the story. I can smell the briny ocean surf and hear the roar of the wind. Then add in the mystery of who really killed Meghan and who is taunting them all by bringing her possessions to the secluded beach house, and One Night is the perfect summer read. Actually, it's the perfect anytime read! I wouldn't change a thing!

Thank you to Netgalley, Georgina Cross and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for this ARC.

This story centers around one night on the Oregon coast 10 years after Meghan has died. Her family and ex boyfriend who went down for her murder are invited to come and hear the truth about what happened that night... This is a suspenseful locked room mystery told from six POV’s. While the plot was a bit predictable and a few characters were beyond unlikable (looking at your Maureen) this was still an enjoyable read. Cross knows how to set the tone and atmosphere to make this story a quick thrilling read.

It’s been 10 years since Meghan was murdered during a high school party. And now that Cal, the convicted killer, has just been released from prison, her family receive anonymous letters inviting them to a cliffside home on the Oregon coast to get answers about that night. As the family members arrive, tensions increase at the anticipation of receiving answers and the arrival of Cal. But things aren’t as they seem – everyone has their secrets, and it’s only a matter of time before they’re revealed.

This mystery is an easy and entertaining read. The setting was well chosen as was the inclusion of a dangerous storm. These things added a fun element of tension and gave it the “locked room” feel, which is a trope that I quite enjoy. Not to mention that unexpected things kept happening and everyone seems to be acting suspicious, so the characters are constantly questioning each other’s intentions.

We get to read multiple POVs from the people who are in this house as well as jumping between different timelines. This worked well and was a good way to reveal the background and history of everyone involved. However, having so many characters with mixed feelings about the same thing led to a slump in the middle portion of the book as they continued to debate over and over about certain things. The ending was a little predictable, but I was still interested in seeing exactly how it would all play out, so it didn’t ruin the book.

This work is good if you don’t think about it too much. It’s a quick and easy read that I found enjoyable overall. My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published August 1st, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ten years ago teenaged Meghan was killed and her boyfriend was convicted of her murder. After Meghan’s death, the family dynamics changes and relationships were altered. Not everyone in the family believed that her boyfriend, Cal, was responsible or that justice was served. At the ten-year mark, each family member received an anonymous letter inviting them to a cliffside home in Oregon stating that the truth concerning Meghan’s death will be revealed including recently released boyfriend, Cal. The only problem is that Cal is found unconscious on the way to the house. The family must determine if they should help him so they can find out what happened to Meghan or end his life to put the past behind them.

This was a fast-paced and truly thrilling locked room mystery. It was beautifully atmospheric with the author introducing many red herrings and twists throughout. I thought I had it figured out early on and enjoyed the read to find out if I was on the right path. (I was 🎉)

Could have been so good, but wasn’t.

“One night. That’s all the time a family has to decide what to do with the man they believe murdered their daughter: Do they forgive him, or do they take justice into their own hands?” - that description is very deceptive. I would say, “One night. To figure out what everyone is lying about while the man they believe killed their daughter is in a coma for 12 hours then miraculously wakes up and starts walking around.” One Night has all the components of good mystery thriller: opens with a murder, family tension, re-marriage, obsessive parent, ambiguous “uncle”, but it falls so short. The idea is fantastic but portly executed. The book teases you with characters baiting eachother like, “you know what you said about Megan.” Then it isn’t revealed until chapters later in the most anti climactic way. The characters just do not behave normally. Their motives are neither complex or realistic and there is not nearly enough dialogue. The dead sister’s homecoming gown shows up at their vacation house (that someone mysteriously invited them to) and nobody says anything for pages.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard “I would never hurt her”, I would never have to work again. The best part of the book were the last three chapters.

This honest review is in exchange for an ARC from Random House Publishing, thank you.

If you like awful people, unreliable narrator’s and a dark and stormy atmosphere then this will be one you might like.
I liked it but am not sure if I loved it. I pretty much figured out the ending. Now that could just have to do with the fact that what I mostly read are thrillers. There were times when I thought I might be wrong but I wasn’t.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early release in exchange for a honest opinion. 3.5⭐️

This reminded me of Clue with a bunch of people invited to a dinner party with a bunch of secrets. Enjoyed the mystery unraveling. Final reveal was a bomb. The location sounded like a great place to visit.

3.5 rounded up!

Ten years after Meghan’s murder, members of her family receive a letter inviting them to a cliffside home in Oregon where they’ve been told they’ll finally be given the truth of what happened that night. Things become tense as a storm tears through the area and they start to question if the person behind the letter is one of their own.

ONE NIGHT by Georgina Cross started off really strong for me - the moment I started it, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down!

The picturesque location and the eeriness of the letter had all of the makings of the perfect locked room thriller, but, unfortunately, the characters didn’t amount to much in this story.


They all seemed to be quite shady at times (adding to the mystery of it all, I guess) and none of them came off as super likable, making it hard to root for them in finding answers.

The big reveal felt messy and the number of conflicting stories held by each of the sisters added to that.

Overall, a fine read, but nothing to write home about.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine and Bantam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 1

Twisty and dark-this is a family drama that will keep you guessing! Watching the dynamics is just as entertaining as guessing how it will turn out.

The multiple POV wasn’t really necessary. The narration was basically omniscient throughout, though having Meghan’s perspective was enticing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bantam books for my free copy. These opinions are my own.

A tense psychological thriller with a family full of secrets, gathered to a cliff house on the Oregon coast. There is no way out with the storms that have rolled in. The truth is revealed in layers and through different viewpoints. It's a shocker!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Random House for this ARC!

One night was a basically one night read for me. I loved the story told from multiple characters. A mysterious invitation and one night with who killed your daughter/sister.. Everyone has secrets and who has the biggest secret of all who killed meghan ?

Let me just say, I love locked room mystery so after absolutely LOVING Nanny Needed, I had to get a copy of One Night!

This thriller is set at a beach house during one day/night with lots of flashbacks, which I always love. While it was a slower build for me in the beginning once everything clicked together I was hooked. Every time I thought I figured out what happened to Meghan, I would be thrown for a loop. But the ending was mind blowing 🤯 and completely made the book worth the read/listen! If you are looking for a book or audiobook that will keep you guessing until the very end, add this to your TBR!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator did a fantastic job!

Thank you @thrillerbookloverspromotions, @prhaudio, Random House Publishing- Ballantine, and Georgina Cross for my gifted copies!

I thought this was a pretty predictable book. Within a few chapters I had already guessed who was really responsible.
At times the story seems a bit wordy to me. If you like psychological thrillers definitely check this book out.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

Family members individually receive an invitation to gather at a cliffside house to find out what really happened ten years ago when their daughter was murdered. A locked room mystery stunner that is moody, creepy and way atmospheric.

The anonymous letters arrive in the mail, one by one: To find out what really happened to Meg, meet at this location. Don’t tell anyone you’re coming. In one night, you’ll find out everything you need to know.

Ten years after her murder, the letters tell Meghan’s family exactly when and where to meet: a cliffside home on the Oregon coast. But on the night they’re promised answers, the convicted killer—her high school boyfriend, Cal, who spent only ten years in prison for murder—is found unconscious in his car after it slammed into a tree near the house where the family is sitting and waiting. Is he really the one who invited them to gather?

As a storm rampages along the Pacific Northwest, the power cuts off and leaves the family with no chance of returning to the main road and finding help. So they drag Cal back to the house for the remainder of the night. How easy it would be to let him die and claim it was an accident. Or do they help him instead? As the hours tick by, it becomes an excruciating choice. Half of the family wants to kill him. The other half wants him to regain consciousness so he can tell them what he knows.

But if Cal wakes up, he might reveal that someone in the family knows more than they’re letting on. And if that’s the case, who is the real killer? And are they already in the house?

There are secrets galore in this novel and the big reveal at the end left me gasping. It twists and turns and then twists some more. The first half is so full of tension it's fit to burst. And burst it does in the back half.

The novel will be out for your reading enjoyment on Tuesday, August 1, 2023. Definitely worth your time and energy. Thanks to NetGalley and Bantam Books for the advanced copy.

What happens when you finally have one night to find out what happened to your family member?

An Invitation - Meghan’s family has received an invitation to come to a house to learn about what happened to her 10 years ago.

The Truth - because the truth might not be that her boyfriend did it, even though he went to jail for her death

Secrets - Everyone has their secrets, and each chapter will give you more and more until the end.

This book is told through multiple points of view of the women in Meghan’s life. Her sisters - Sam and Anna - each with their own view on the past and present. Her mother, who will do anything to protect her daughters. Her step-mother, who might know more than she lets on despite not being with the family when Meghan was found. And even Meghan herself. And to be honest, while the present was so thrilling to read, the past dragged on. And when you finally get to the end, you really get the feeling that you knew all along.

What really happened to Meghan? Her family has been invited to a gorgeous house on the coast by a mysterious unnamed person who has promised to tell them at long last. Was it Cal- her high school boyfriend who went to prison largely because of the testimony of her sister Sam? Her mother Maureen has always believed Cal did it. Why isn't her youngest sister Alice responding to calls and emails? Never fear- the whole family, Maureen, Sam, Alice, her father, his new wife Rebecca, and their uncle will all meet for dinner and revelations. There's an unexpected twist here, that should come as a surprise so no spoilers. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I found the writing for this thriller a bit mannered (and different from Nanny Needed- which I think is a better book). That said, Cross did have me turning the pages for the answers.

Ten years ago, a family was torn apart when Meghan never returned home from a party jn the woods. But now, her ex boyfriend is out of jail and everyone has received invitations to meet at a house that the family holds dear to their hearts. Nobody is sure of the guest list, and what secrets will be revealed, but what they do know is that they want answers into Meghan’s death. Set against the backdrop of a Pacific storm and told over the course of one night, the novel One Night has all the elements of a fast paced thriller.

One Night.......

Meghan was murdered ten years ago, and her family has been reeling ever since. Cal, her boyfriend at the time, was convicted of her murder and has just been released from prison. When the family received invitations to a home on the Oregon coast, they agreed to attend not knowing who invited them as they wanted to know what really happened the night Meghan was murdered.

Soon after arriving a powerful storm hits, taking down trees and leaving the family with no way to get out or call for help. As they are trapped together, they have a decision to make, to save an injured Cal or let him die.

This book had atmosphere, secrets, loss, various POV's and that trapped feeling that I enjoy in books. I had a feeling where this was going and wasn't entirely wrong. This was an enjoyable fast read about a family that was fractured after a devastating loss. They all have secrets, and they want to know who invited them, setting the stage (and the table) for the one night that will give them answers.

Atmospheric, tense and well written

Georgina Cross returns following Nanny Needed with her latest locked-in suspense thriller, ONE NIGHT —Ten years after a murder; anonymous letters arrive in the mail one by one to the victim's family instructing where to meet to determine the killer's fate.

Atmospheric, intense, mysterious!

One night. A family has to decide what to do with the man they believe murdered their daughter, Meghan. Forgive or take justice into their own hands?

Ten years after Megan's (Meg) murder, the letters instruct her family when and where to meet: a creepy cliffside home on the Oregon coast. They are not to tell anyone they are coming. They are supposed to find out what happened to Megan. She was only seventeen when she died, and her body was found in a creek. She drowned.

Cal is out of prison. On this night, the convicted killer, her high school boyfriend, Cal (who spent ten years in prison for the murder), is found unconscious in his car in an accident near the house where they are waiting.

Who is the person who sent the letters? Was it Cal? Or someone else? Is this a trap or a con?

The dinner place cards read: Paul (dad), Alice (sister), Geoff (uncle), Rebecca (stepmom), Maureen (mother), Samantha/Sam (sister).

Prologue: Meghan (the oldest sister)
Told from alternating POV:
Maureen, Sam, Rebecca, Cal (boyfriend)
and one chapter, Alice and Meghan

First, we hear from Meghan ten years earlier- a blow to the head. It is not who she suspected. We also hear from Cal with his letters (journal) from prison to the Chisholm family. Megan was not a nice person. She bullied, manipulated, and tormented others. Who was her killer?

As we hear from different POVs, the storm continues to rage along the Pacific Northwest. The power cuts off, and they are trapped. They bring in Cal. Will they help him or let him die? They do not all agree on his future. Will they believe him?

Secrets will be uncovered. But will ALL the dark secrets be revealed?

MY THOUGHTS: While this was a suspenseful locked room thriller, I felt the setup was more mysterious than the unveiling itself, which seemed a little immature and a letdown. Not sure I liked the ending. This appears to be more of a YA book. I am not a fan of teenage girl drama. No likable characters here, and I was not invested in any of them.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Aug 1, 2023
My Rating: 3.5 Stars

3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A group has been invited to a secluded cabin by a mystery host in order to bring out all the secrets surrounding the death of Meghan years earlier.

Excellent atmosphere, multi points of view and an extremely twisty ending (which is why I rounded up to three stars). But the middle of the book fell totally flat for me. The fact that Cal wasn’t able to contribute more to the story was disappointing for me. I found myself wanting to skim through the middle as it became repetitive.

The last few chapters were absolutely the highlight of this book and I would definitely give this author another read based on that alone.