3.5/5

This was a good thriller. It started off slow for me, but around the 35% mark it was hard to put down. A body has been found in the woods after a party took place. We get to follow a detective, the school counselor, and a student who was at the party as we unravel who killed this young woman.

It was an interesting storyline that had me changing my guess of who actually did it. Once it took off it was fast paced, and well written. My 2 main issues with this book are 1) the POV switches with no label of who’s POV you’re reading led to some confusion as it sometimes took a little to understand who we were reading. Also want to tack onto this issue that there was a lot of backstory given that was unnecessary to the plot. 2) This urban legend of Sally in the Woods got brought up multiple times, by multiple people and it felt like more could have been done with it.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this title, but unfortunately it didn’t quite capture my interest. While the premise was promising, I found it difficult to stay engaged. That said, I’m sure it will find its audience with readers who connect more strongly with the writing style or pacing.

I had never read the author before and enjoyed this book. It was written well and was genuinely suspenseful. The characters had some depth and were for the most part likeable.

”Something happened in the woods this weekend. Something bad.”

A ghostly urban legend repeated again and again. A creepy forest believed to be haunted. And a boarding-school teen who is found dead under suspicious (and gruesome) circumstances.

”They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress, luring people to their deaths.”

One Dark Night is the perfect atmospheric read as we head into spooky season. It is sinister and twisty, filled with the most aesthetic fall-thriller vibes:
• a winding road at the edge of a cliff
• leaves crunching under footsteps in the woods
• prep school uniforms
• a homemade ouija board
• easels holding unsettling paintings
• ethereal girls with long blond hair & gauzy white dresses

”He can’t honestly say, hand on heart, that anyone is safe.”

I thought I had the ending figured out, but there was a twist that I absolutely didn’t see coming. I love it when an author can pull that off. If you would enjoy A Good Girl’s Guide to Muder with a dark academia twist, give this one a try!

——

A huge thank you to Hannah Richell, Atria, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this book, the death of a teenager in the woods bares a hauntingly close resemblance to a local ghost story. It has a creepy vibe along with some family drama. Would be a good read for Halloween.

One dark night -Creepy, atmospheric & goosebump provoking-

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Thank you NG & Hannah Richell. What an honor.

A must read for thriller lovers. This has a dash of creepy vibes and would be a perfect October read (any day read). I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this book.

Creepy, atmospheric, and goosebump provoking. I was genuinely surprised by the twist and that’s very hard for me now due to how many thrillers I read. I genuinely had no idea because I thought I did and then it hit and I was like oh wow I was off.

I didn’t want to put this book down & when I did, it’s all I could think about to pick it back up. I love the pace of this book and how the different POVS leave you on cliff hangers invoking anxiety, thrill and “what’s next”

This book is fast paced which I loved so I finished it in a day.

Thank you Hannah for this gem! It’s going to be a popular one.


Goodreads -https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7663358646

"When a body is found the day after Halloween, a small British community must reckon with its past and the dangers lurking in its present in this spine-tingling novel from "not to be missed" (Hayley Scrivener, author of Dirt Creek) author Hannah Richell.

On Halloween, a group of teenage students meet in the woods near Sally in the Wood, a road steeped in local lore and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered girl. By the end of the night, one student will be dead.

Rachel, the school guidance counselor, is trying to keep a handle on her increasingly distant teenaged daughter, Ellie, while students and parents panic and mourn. Her ex-husband and detective Ben, dealing with a personal crisis of his own, has concerns about his daughter's safety as he investigates the death. Meanwhile, Ellie is keeping secrets from both her parents, including one about where she was that night.

Told from multiple perspectives and with Hannah Richell's distinct "atmospheric and ever-twisting" (Emylia Hall, author of the Shell House Detective Mysteries) prose, One Dark Night is a white-knuckled and suspenseful thriller about urban legends, privilege, and how the past continues to haunt us."

Halloween and urban legends always are the sweet spot for me.

A Halloween party turns deadly when one of the students from the local exclusive school turns up missing then is found bloody and murdered.

What happened to Sarah?

The police run a very thorough investigation and question everyone from the school and those at the party.

They have no suspects, but a lot of things hint at what went wrong and no one is talking.

I thought it was this one person because there were hints dropped, but find out what really happened.

ONE DARK NIGHT is my first book by this author. Her writing is very descriptive and keeps you guessing, but it was a bit long.

A very tense ending that fans of psychological thrillers and a bit of horror will enjoy. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was a solid, exciting thriller. Very well written, and great characters. I seriously thought I had it all figured out, but there's a twist at the end that is a little jaw dropping. A lesson that just because something looks perfect from the outside can look very different from the inside.

Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sign me up for anything labeled "suspense" that takes place on Halloween. There was a lot to unpack the one but it's well worth the read.

The local detective's daughter goes to a party on Halloween night that goes from a good time to a crime scene. The adults are questioning what the kids are hiding but the adults have their own secrets they're trying to keep hidden.

This was full of great suspense and a decent amount of tension between the characters. I really thought i had this one figured out but boy was i wrong. This was my first book by this author but it won't be my last.

One of the best atmospheric thrillers I've read in a while with a twist that I never saw coming. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because the pace was a little slower than I prefer. The creepy setting in the woods is one of the best. In the beginning we get bombarded with a bunch of different characters and what they are currently doing, but as the story goes on it makes sense on who is who. It was a little confusing at the start. Overall a great thriller with a little bit slower build up to an explosive ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Out August 19th 2025
On Halloween night, a group of teens gathers in the haunted woods near “Sally in the Wood,” a road steeped in local ghost stories. (swoon). By morning, one of them is dead—her body eerily posed at the base of an old stone folly, dressed in white like the ghost from the legend.

The murder sends shockwaves through the tight-knit village of Thorncombe. Detective Ben Chase is assigned to the case—until it’s revealed that his daughter, Ellie, was at the party. His ex-wife Rachel, a school counselor, is also drawn into the investigation as secrets begin to surface.

Told from multiple perspectives, this book explores how folklore, privilege, and buried trauma can twist into something deadly. It's set on Halloween Night, perfect read to cap off the night!!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this spooky good ARC!

Synopsis:
On Halloween, a group of teenage students meet in the woods near Sally in the Wood, a road steeped in local lore and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered girl. By the end of the night, one student will be dead.

Thoughts:
This was everything I wanted in a psychological thriller! I was actually surprised by the ending which doesn’t happen often. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a good thriller!

Let me just say, this was my first read of Hannah Richell.. and WOW, I was not disappointed!!! What a page turner, filled with so many twists!!! I was absolutely hooked from the very beginning.. if you are like me and love suspense and mystery all wrapped into one book, then you must add this one to your TBR!!!

Thank you to #AtriaBooks and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for my honest review!

One Dark Night was an emotionally layered novel that unravels the events of a single, life-altering evening. Richell changed almost seamlessly between POV and timelines (the time stamps helped a lot) and took her time revealing secrets little by little,

I definitely stayed engaged throughout this book, just have a lot of run on sentences that need to be addressed.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read and review this early. I truly enjoyed it!! An author who will be staying on my radar for sure.

3.5 stars - One Dark Night was a well thought out and thorough murder mystery. Something about a private school murder makes me want to immediately read. The author did a great job, although there were so many runon sentence that drove me crazy! There are three point of views, but the date and time at the beginning of each chapter made the different POVs easy to follow.

Overall, I enjoyed this although I think there were others in the genre that may have done it a little better. I didn't expect the twists at the end, but I was still a little underwhelmed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sally in the Wood has been a ghost story told for generations and can still be spotted haunting them. On Halloween night the students at a private school meet in the woods to drink and have fun. The next morning one of the students is found dead. Now Ben, one of the detectives working the case and the father of Ellie one of the students is trying to find the answers on why this girl was pushed out of the tower. Rachel is the guidance counselor for the school and also Ellie's mom, while she is sitting in with the students while they are being questioned by the police wonders what her daughter Ellie is not telling her. This book is told from different view points and had me on the edge of my seat until the very last page. Just when you think you have everything figured out the plot takes a turn again. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Atria Books for letting me read an advanced copy of this novel.

In the small village of Thorncombe, a student at a prestigious local school is discovered dead after a teenage Halloween party in the woods. Local legend claims that the ghost of a young woman murdered on her wedding day haunts the area. Amidst this mystery, Rachel, the school counselor, grapples with her own personal struggles. Her daughter, Ellie, a student at the school, is harboring secrets, and her ex-husband, Ben, is the local detective investigating the case. There is no shortage of suspects.

This five-star thriller is a compelling read. The masterful plot keeps readers guessing until the very end. It’s suspenseful and atmospheric, with elements of spookiness, dark academia, and Gothic flavor. The characters are believable and well-developed.

Give me a murder mystery set in England, and I am in! This was a page turner, and I read it quickly. The story is dark & eerie, not-too-fast paced, and the characters were complex and unique. The twist at the end also got me, but I was fine that I didn't guess correctly. A great read, will definitely look for more Hanah Richell books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this e-ARC. This is my honest reveiw.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Hannah Richell’s One Dark Night is a masterclass in atmospheric suspense, where the ghosts of the past—both literal and emotional—haunt every page. Set in the small British town of Thorncombe, the novel opens with a chilling Halloween gathering in the woods near “Sally in the Wood,” a place steeped in eerie folklore. By dawn, a teenage girl is dead, her body arranged with unsettling precision. What follows is not just a murder investigation, but a slow unraveling of a community’s secrets, fears, and fractured relationships.

Told through the interwoven perspectives of Rachel, a school guidance counselor; her ex-husband Ben, the detective assigned to the case; and their teenage daughter Ellie, the story pulses with emotional tension. Richell excels at portraying the quiet desperation of parenting a teenager who’s slipping through your fingers, and the ache of trying to protect someone who won’t let you in. Ellie’s secrets—about bullying, belonging, and that fateful night—are the novel’s most potent undercurrent.

Richell builds dread through character and place. The legend of “Sally in the Wood” adds a spectral layer, but it’s the very human failings—guilt, grief, and the corrosive power of silence—that give the novel its weight. The pacing is deliberate, even meditative at times, but the payoff is worth it: a resolution that is surprising and emotionally resonant.

This is a story about how trauma echoes through generations, how privilege can obscure truth, and how one dark night can cast a long, unforgiving shadow.