Solid thriller.

The first half was slower than the back half but I got in a rhythm and was definitely intrigued as to who the bad guy was here. There are lots of twists and turns and I was completely shocked at the big reveal. The last third (minus the last chapter) was very good.

There’s a bit of the typical thriller downfall: characters doing stupid things. But honestly, everything was fairly believable and not too bad in that respect until the end.

I don’t want to leave any spoilers but there is one part of the ending (that wasn’t entirely central to the plot) that was so completely ludicrous that it left me with a bad taste in my mouth. That last chapter could have been altered and my rating would have gone up at least half a star.

A fun reading experience overall, but someone should have edited that ending 😳.

ONE DARK NIGHT is a mysterious thriller, without a dull or calm moment! The story follows a group of teenagers on Halloween night, who meet in the woods that are said to be haunted. After the party, one girl is found dead.

The central mystery was clever and well-written, with plenty of twists and red herrings along the way. The story is told from the perspectives of several family members, highlighting family tensions, dynamics, and the dangerous secrets they keep. The ending is twisty and dark, and I didn’t see it coming. A perfect book for the Halloween Season!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader's copy. I'm excited to read more from Hannah Richell!

One Dark Night is a mysterious, dark thriller. It follows the people in a small community as they try to figure out what happened on Halloween.

This whole story was full of tension and suspense. There was really never a moment of calm, which the author did a great job portraying.

The multiple POVs helped piece together the story, and it also added to the suspense.

I did manage to figure out who the murderer was, but it was the “why” that got me.

This kept me on the edge of my seat, and I enjoyed it.

Thanks to Atria Books for the eARC and physical copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I liked this story but the daughter was so annoying. Typical teenage things but she was a lot to look beyond. A couple twists I enjoyed.

If you’re looking for your next spooky season thriller, this is the one for you! It’s set on Halloween night, following a group of teenagers who meet in the woods, very close to a road that’s seeped with local lore about a girl who died there years ago. One of the teenagers is found dead, and this book kicks off as we try to uncover what happened. It’s a super fun whodunnit, with expertly written characters that will make you think you have it figured out. I never would have guessed the ending, but it was done in a way that made complete sense and looking back tied into the story in many ways. Absolutely loved this thriller and will be reading her previous book now!

I really enjoyed Hannah Richell's previous book, "Search Party," so I jumped at the chance to read this ARC. This story has a great, spooky atmosphere and is set on Halloween night. It has a flavor of an old Ray Bradbury book, like "Something Wicked This Way Comes," which I loved! I would highly recommended for readers who enjoy dark stories, ominous legends, and the general vibe of being a teenager at Halloween. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

#OneDarkNight"

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I usually pride myself on being able to guess the whodunit but this had a few convincing misdirects that got me.

I was enjoying the ride regardless, even when I was as convinced I knew how things would turn out. I liked the characters and how they were woven into the story. I liked even more being wrong.

Just wish I had read it in the fall bc it feels more of a fall read than a beach one.

4.5 stars!

In the mood for something dark and eerie? One Dark Night hits all the moody, atmospheric notes to make a great, mysterious read.

When a teen girl is found dead after a Halloween party in the woods, Detective Ben Chase begins to investigate the students and staff at the local private school his daughter attends. His ex-wife, Rachel, is the school guidance counselor, so both of Ellie's parents are heavily involved in the case. The big problem? Ellie was there that night, and she lied about it.

One Dark Night uses multiple POVs to tell its story, and each voice is unique and compelling. It is a heavily atmospheric read, with the dark woods, the foggy mornings, and the abandoned caves and quarry all playing huge roles. The entire book feels haunting and dark, with just a touch of the paranormal in the stories the teens tell.

The central mystery was clever and well-written, with plenty of twists and red herrings on the way to the finale. While there is a ton of miscommunication between the exes, it felt authentic for how two people may act in this situation and therefore didn't bother me. I tore through this one in a day, needing to find out what happened to the girl in the woods.

Thank you to Atria for my gifted copy.

Halloween night and a group of teens are partying in the woods, playing on the local legend of Sally in the Wood, a ghost who haunts those parts. One of the teenagers won’t make it home.

I really enjoyed this one. The different perspectives and the short chapters made for a very easy and fast read. It was truly an investigation where everyone has a different piece of the puzzle. I liked the local legend of Sally in the Wood; it was a creepy legend but didn’t take over the story. It was more of a mystery than a horror story. I loved Ben and Rachel’s characters.

“Something like this isn’t just going to affect a family. It’s going to rock their close-knit town. The fallout will cloak the whole community in suspicion and fear.”

One Dark Night comes out 8/19.

Enjoyed this overall as a mystery/thriller. There were some areas that I didn't love or struggled with. First, it was a little bit predictable. I feel like you could see the twist coming from pretty far off. Second, I hated the Rachel, Ben and Chrissie dynamic. I don't think that was necessary. I feel like you can pull off teenage angst without recently divorced parents, a new girlfriend and a pregnancy, It just felt like too much and it didn't add anything to the story. I loved the spooky ghost story devolved into real murder vibe that was a lot of fun.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of One Dark Night.

I read the author's debut, The Search Party, last year and though I wasn't a fan, I did like her writing.

Her second book focuses on Rachel, a school guidance counselor at a private school and her teen daughter, Ellie.

Rachel and Ben, her detective ex-husband, are recently separated but their lives collide when a student is found dead on school grounds.

First, I love the police procedural aspects of the case.

Ben is a competent detective, alongside most of his colleagues; they pound the pavement interview witnesses and potential suspects.

Second, the narrative is divided into multiple POVs, which I'm not a fan of. There are no chapter headings as to who is speaking but once you start reading, its easy to tell who is speaking.

Third, the narrative is padded with too much filler, too much background on the suspects and witnesses, shady characters

What could take one or two sentences to explain, the author takes paragraphs or a few pages instead.

As a result, the book felt much longer that it really is. Never a good sign.

There are plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing and when the murderer is revealed, it feels anti-climatic.

I wished the author had utilized the Sally in the Wood urban legend to add suspense and fear into the narrative.

Overall, there's a lack of urgency and drama even though a young woman has been murdered and the school and community are on edge.

It took too long to get to the point of the story since there are many secondary and minor characters with personal issue of their own the author felt needed to be explained.

I felt the inclusion of the mentally ill man was too much if only to throw in another red herring to shock readers.

I'm not sure why the author wanted to keep bringing up Ben's deceased sister, if only to press how devastated he was after her unexpected death that led to the end of his marriage.

OK, we get it, his inability to mourn and seek help led to him cheating on Rachel.

Sounds like an excuse to excuse his infidelity but that's just me.

I liked this! It was a great page-turner. I did predict much of the ending as I made my way through the book, but at the end I was still sort of correct but was surprised by the details I got wrong! I would definitely recommend it!

When a Halloween party goes wrong and a young girl dies, the teens at the party all have reasons to not tell the truth about what happened. Included in those is Ellie, whose mother works at the school, and has divorced her dad, the local policeman. This mystery adds in family dysfunction, peer trauma and urban legend, to create secrets upon secrets and a page turner of a read. With enough red herrings to keep long term mystery readers happy, this is an interesting late summer read!

This was a twisty, multi-POV British thriller set at Halloween and perfect for #Summerween reading! I was invested from the start, loved the twists and highly recommend it for fans of authors like Christopher Golden. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review. This was my first book by Hannah Richell and won't be my last.

✨I do love an atmospheric thriller, and this one has all the spooky chills. It begins with a murder on Halloween night, the body staged to mimic the legend of a ghost known as Sally in the Wood. As the story unfolds, we meet a cast of both likeable and unlikeable characters, a police investigation begins to take shape, dubious suspects are exposed, family tensions come to a head, and dangerous secrets are revealed. The final showdown is twisty and dark – and one I didn’t see coming.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Halloween settings
✨Spooky locations
✨Small town dynamics
✨British thrillers
✨Local lore and legends
✨Multiple points of view
✨Crime fiction
✨Family drama

I loved this. One Dark Night is my favorite type of thriller; mysterious, with that slightly cool & cozy fall feeling that leans slightly ominous all throughout. I also can't help but love a mystery that takes place on/around Halloween. PLUS in some spooky woods? LOVE. I wanted to be wrapped in a blanket with a hot drink but alas, it's currently early August in New England. The vibe is excellent, the red herrings abound, and while hindsight was 20/20 with me smacking myself in the face over what I totally should've seen coming, I admit that I totally fell for one of the false leads - I'm not upset about it, I think it was so good. I would love to listen to the audiobook version of this one, too.

Richell takes atmospheric thriller to another level with the Sally Wood setting. I loved this so much. While I am still very much in a summer time beach read mood - this has me ready for more spooky season content!

3.5-rounding up to 4
I really enjoyed this book. I thought I had it figured out but then I was wrong. I love twists that surprised me.

I will admit, I found the first part of the book to be a little slow but I think that it was needed to trick the reader and make the twist that much better.
I appreciated the multiple POVs and that you really got a sense for how they were feeling in their sections.

I am now a fan of Hannah Richell! This book hooked me from the beginning and didn’t stop till the end. Loved the atmosphere and the time our story takes place. Felt like a shorter book, but come to realize it’s not at all. Chapters flowed very well and couldn’t put it down. My only negative about this is there were top many characters to follow, but in the end it was fine. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this digital arc.

4.5 stars

This is my first time reading a Hannah Richell novel and I can say it won't be my last.

One Dark Night begins with the chilling discovery after a Halloween gathering near an elite boarding school. What follows is far more than a mystery, it’s a layered, character-driven story about the effects of trauma, fractured relationships and the secrets families keep.

Told from multiple povs - including a detective, his estranged wife, and their teenage daughter - the novel slowly unpacks the events of that fateful night. Richell does an exceptional job balancing suspense with tension and emotion that drew me into a world where guilt, grief, and love all exist. It was atmospheric giving that gothic and moody vibe.

One Dark Night was a suspenseful read that wasn't just focused as a whodunit but delves into themes of family dynamics, privilege and the past. As for the whodunit part, it kept me guessing right to the end. Definitely recommend this one, it sure helped me out of a reading slump.

My thanks to Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.