This story is told in two time frames - current day and 10 years ago. A family lost their oldest daughter 10 years ago and a young man was charged and sent to prison. Current day, he is released and he and the family of the girl are invited to a beach house for one night. Why?

While I wouldn't necessarily call this book fast-paced, it was a pretty quick read despite the plot feeling slow at times. A family gathers in an isolated house per a mysterious invitation promising to shed light on a girl's death years before. Lots of mysterious elements, lots of questionable characters and motivations. While this wasn't a typical mystery for me and parts felt too drawn out, I did really enjoy the twists and the way the author flips tropes on their heads. You start to see bread crumbs and think the reveals will go a certain way...until they don't. I thought the family dynamics between the sisters was the best part of the book and the most fun to read as they revealed themselves. I really, really liked the ending! Overall, a compelling read!

From the very beginning this book has strong Agatha Christie vibes. Unfortunately for me, I can’t stand Agatha Christie books. The story fell flat for me - it was obvious the author was pointing us in a direction that would prove to be a dead end. There were some hints along the way of who the real killer was - but I will say the ending threw me. I did not expect the last few pages to turn out the way they did.

Available everywhere August 1, 2023, be sure to grab this one if you enjoyed “And Then There Were None.”

I really enjoyed this thriller! The end was nothing that I could have predicted. I couldn't put it down!!!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review!

“One Night” by Georgina Cross ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Domestic Thriller. Location: Bandon, Oregon, USA. Time: Present.

“Everything had to be perfect for Meghan.”

High school senior Meghan (Meg) Chisholm died shortly before her homecoming dance. Her boyfriend Cal Hereford was convicted of her murder and spent 10 years in prison. He’s out now. Family members receive anonymous letters telling them: To find out what really happened to Meg, meet at a cliffside home on the Oregon coast, and don’t tell anyone.

When they arrive, the house is staged for a dinner party, with Meg’s homecoming dress draped over a chair. A terrible storm hits, and Cal is found unconscious in his wrecked car. The power goes off and they can’t get to a hospital so they keep badly injured Cal in the house. Half of them seriously want to kill Cal, and the other half want him to wake up so he can tell what he knows. But if Cal wakes up, will he tell them secrets about someone in the family? Who is the real killer?

Author Cross starts the book quietly, then dramatically ups the tension as the storm hits and people’s hidden secrets begin to emerge. I wish there was a layout of the house and map of the surrounding area. Tip: The cabin near the creek and the house on the ocean cliff are not in the same town. It’s easy to get them confused. Cross creates diverse characters from Maureen (Meg‘s mother) who sees only what she wants to see about Meg-and wants to kill Cal, to Sam (youngest daughter), sweet and anxious-who wants to save Cal. The labeled flashback chapters add context to the characters’ motivations.

It’s definitely an atmospheric, twisty, dramatic, fast-paced thriller. By the end, we learn what happened, but not what happens next, so there’s no real wrap-up after all the discussion of suffering in the past 10 years. That makes the ending a bit off for me. It’s 3 solid stars from me🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️ Thank you to Random House, NetGalley, and Georgina Cross for this early ecopy. Publishes 8/1/2023.

This was a perfect read for my cruise, compelling enough to want to go back, easy read and the perfect length. Kept me going until the end with a surprise. Would recommend and seek another book from this author.

Wow! I wrapped myself in a blanket so tightly, like a low-fat human burrito (an obvious result of feeding myself with books and forgetting to eat), even though the calendar shows it's summer! This book sent chills down my spine. As the biggest fan of locked room mysteries, I was immediately drawn into the main plot from the beginning. The formula was similar to other claustrophobic, trapped-in-one-place plots: a group of people gathering in an isolated house out of nowhere as a storm starts and blocks the roads. Eventually, the power goes off, and, of course, the cell reception fails. The pressure escalates with each moment, as the spine-tingling possibility that a killer is out there to hunt them or that the killer may be one of them lingers.

This book follows the standard formula, but its mind-bending execution, the guessing game until the end of the mystery, the revelations after revelations that punch you in the face unexpectedly, and the jaw-dropping final twist that leaves you in awe are what make this book unique, addictive, and unputdownable.

My contact lenses were literally glued to my eyes, getting drier with each passing moment, but I couldn't move an inch to change them. I kept flipping the pages faster, realizing that my instincts, which usually warn me before the twists hit me in the face like a warning train horn, didn't work this time. The author was literally a few steps ahead of me, making my guesses unreliable.

The plot revolves around several points of view (POVs) as they gather at a rental beach house on the Oregon Coast. A grief-stricken family receives an invitation from a mysterious host, inviting them to this place to share the big secret about the murder of the family's elder daughter, Meghan, ten years ago. The timing is extra suspicious, considering Meghan's convicted murderer, Cal, who was her boyfriend, has just been released. Could he be the mysterious host, inviting them to prove his innocence?

Maureen, an overprotective mother who still misses her daughter and suspects from the beginning that this is entirely Cal's doing, has every intention to punish him for what he's done to her daughter. She is one of the guests. Sam, their youngest daughter, is adamant about finding out the secret behind their invitation and still questions whether Cal is innocent, despite her testimony that sent him to prison.

The middle daughter, Alice, cuts ties with her family after a big fight between her and her father's best friend, Geoff, at Christmas dinner. Reluctantly, she joins them, looking haggard, thinner, and more fragile than before. Their father, Paul, divorces Maureen to marry her colleague, Rebecca, after Meghan's death. They are the other guests of the house, along with Paul's longtime friend, Geoff, who once saved Meghan's life and became the family's hero, being called "Uncle Geoff" as a part of the family.

When they gather in the house around the dinner table, with placards and shelves filled with things they'd enjoy consuming and things they've found that belong to Meghan, questions arise about the identity of their host. However, as Geoff appears with Cal, whom he accidentally hit with his car, covered in blood, they realize he's not the one who trapped them in this house.

Nowhere to run, they are stuck inside together in the middle of the storm, with no cell reception or electricity, and more questions than they had before. As the pressure builds and secrets come out, each of them may discover that nothing is as it seems.

Overall, I loved the concept! Even though I hate the guts of the characters, their flaws and irritating traits served the entire execution well. I devoured it in one sitting, and I highly recommend it to lovers of locked room mysteries and psychological thrillers!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The characters and suspense in this book are both really good, I found parts of it hard to believe. But I would read another by this author. Very intense story.

If you kill a murderer, is it justice or murder?

Meghan was hit in the head & left to die in a creek over ten years ago, but one night her family gathers in a house on a cliff by the ocean to get answers about what really happened at the time of her death. They were all invited there by anonymous letters, & though some of them really didn’t want to come (a few afraid they might have to face Cal, Meghan’s recently-released-from-prison ex-boyfriend who was convicted of her murder) they couldn’t resist the explanation the letters promised.

But as a storm picks up & begins to rage outside, the reluctant guests are trapped in a house with no power & Cal is discovered unconscious. Some family members see this as a gift-wrapped opportunity for revenge, but others aren’t even sure that the time Cal served in prison was for a crime he actually committed. But if Cal didn’t kill Meghan, who did?

I enjoyed this new-to-me author’s most recent work & found the gradual revealing of information from the past to be perfectly timed with events in the present. Things definitely weren’t as they seemed at first between Meghan & her family members, & the wild storm as a backdrop heightened the intensity of the night that many secrets came to light. The final twists were not what I expected, & all in all this was a solid & entertaining thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bantam for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

One night can change everything......

Thank you ever so much to @thrillerbookloverspromotions / @blondethrillerbooklover / @georginacrossauthor / @randomhouse for this ARC!!!!

➡️ Swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

MY REVIEW::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I went into this book blind.🫣 I havnt been reading alot of the synopses for the books coming from @blondethrillerbooklover because I know they've got to be amazing since she picked them - AND they're thrillers, so I know they're already in my wheel house.
I guess you'd say I've put alot of trust and faith into the process, but frankly, I haven't been disappointed yet!
This is a PRIME example!👌🏼 This book is everything I love about #lockedroom thrillers! Suspense, twists, whodunit, breadcrumbs of truth, all wrapped up in multiple POVs and alternating timelines. ** I'm in heaven **🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻.
And that ending.... oof....what a gasp I made.😱

This family is super messed up, but for good reason. Maybe?! Did they find the real killer, or make someone's life hell? Can you really trust everyone?

You HAVE to read this one, I can't give anything else away, but I PROMISE 🤞🏻 you will love it!

QOTD:: Do you have any siblings? Have you ever had any rivalries?

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#thrillerbooks #suspensethriller #thrillerreader #thrillerlover #thrillerobsessed #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram #bookaholic #booklover #bookstagrammer #booklove #bookcommunity #bookobsessed #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookishfeatures #tbr #tbrpile #bookbuzz #mysteryandthrills #BookstaBFF23 #thrillerbooklovers #georginacross #onenight

The Chisholm family is invited to a Bach home set upon a cliff one night during a dangerous storm. They were all invited with the expectation to learn the truth about what happened to their beloved daughter, sister, and stepdaughter, Meghan, who was murdered allegedly by her boyfriend, Cal, ten years ago. The evening begins eerily as place cards are set up with the names of each guest as well as other items belonging to Meghan. Was it Cal who sent the red envelopes inviting the family to the home, or someone else? What are the secrets being hidden and what actually happened to Meghan?

This novel is engaging and thrilling from the very first page. The chapters move at a quick pace and the characters are well developed. There was more than one twist in the book that did not make it a predictable one to read.

Thank you to the publisher and Georgina Cross for this amazing e-ARC.

This is the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. Locked room thrillers are my absolute favorite, and this book was excellent!

It has edge of your seat tension throughout, sibling rivalry, a big storm, a family trapped inside a house, and it keeps you guessing.

I partially guessed some of the ending, but even if you think you might know, you don't, bc there's more to it than a simple explanation.

I need more books like this in my life and I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

I was lucky enough to get an email invitation from and editor, to read this book from random house and netgalley in exchange for an honest review! One Night is a great tale of who done it! One girl dies 10 years later the family gets some mysterious information when all this time they just knew the boyfriend had done it. Things are never that simple. I loved the way Cross wove this story together one stormy night in a beach house. It was a beautiful suspense that keeps you turningbthe pages until the full truth comes out!! I'll definitely be looking for more from Georgina Cross

I love novels like this one with multiple POVs. I loved trying to figure out how everyone was connected and was thrilled to still be caught by surprise at the end!

"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?

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?"

It's like Clue meets Murder on the Orient Express!

There is an incredible expanse of emotion packed into this relatively short domestic drama covering just one fateful evening, with a few essential flashbacks. I live where excessive heat advisories are normal so, I sat under fans and easily read it in a day. The setting along the rugged Oregon coastline is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. Made me wish I was there, despite the raging storm.
This average family with three lovely daughters needs to work on their communication skills. Their family is in distress, still mourning the death of their eldest daughter. It’s been a decade and her convicted killer has been released from jail. As in many such cases, the loss of a child also meant the marriage dissolved. The pain doesn’t go away, it doesn’t get better or easier. This family still harbors animosity, some of them have doubts about the man’s guilt and the circumstances of her death. Forgiveness hasn’t ever crossed the mother’s mind. They all have secrets, none of them has shared the pain and they are miserably broken. Will one night when they can’t escape being together heal the wounds?
The story will make you think, wonder what you would do, how you’d feel or react when faced with the possibility of an alternate version of facts. I was confident about the “who done it” part, but surprised by other aspects.
Thanks to NetGalley for the digital advance reader copy of “One Night” by Georgina Cross, published by Random House/Ballantine/Bantam. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

One Night will grip you from the beginning until the end. A family, whose daughter was murdered, is invited to a house on the Oregon coast. The house is remote and neighbors are far away. The person accused of the murder is now out of jail and claims to be innocent. The family is hoping for answers. A storm blows in and they are trapped in the house until the storm ends. Who murdered their daughter?

As the story unfolds, you will be trying to figure out what really happened on the night of the murder. The twists and turns will keep you guessing until the reveal at the end. It is a fast paced, taut thriller.

Thank you to #netgalley, @GeorgiaCrossAuthor, and #Bantam for a copy of this book.
#OneNight

I had a rough time staying with this book. Once I got to the third chapter I had to know how it ended! It kept me guessing until the end.

One Night is a good suspense/mystery story. Cal spent the past 10 years in prison for his girlfriend’s murder. Once he is released, Cal and Meghan’s family are invited to a dinner party to discover the truth.. Who invited them all? What is the truth of Meghan’s death?

3.5 stars

This book was a “did not finish” for me. The premise was too implausible that anyone would go somewhere without knowing who invited them. I do not publish reviews of books I do not finish. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book but it wasn’t for me.