This book is a solid a plus for the creep factor! From camera outages, losing power, seeing (or maybe imagining) someone is watching or getting the feeling that someone has been in your house, it is completely unsettling without anything even happening! It is sad but true, how women get these feelings quite often when alone at night. Then you add a serial killer like Hiding Man who wears a mask designed to bring nightmares and who preys on those feelings before slitting their throats and ending their lives and I would call this a pretty darn scary thriller!

I do like how the author used her experiences to add to the story, making the podcast of Night Watcher a good way to move the story along. I would totally listen to that podcast, even if it brought me nightmares later. There are quite a few suspects doing very suspicious things during the time when the Hiding Man makes a grand reappearance. One in particular is very unlikable and suspicious and it builds nicely to a climax showdown as Nola races to figure out the truth before she is the next victim. The ending was a bit flat though, but pretty realistic in how killers may be not who you expect. I can see though how the author based this story a little on her aunt's disappearance and probable murder that never got solved.

I would call this a good debut, solid, with only a few weaknesses that could have been better. Though I am looking forward to seeing what Daphne Woolsoncroft will be up to next!

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC! This was such a fun read, it had me genuinely scared during some scenes which doesn’t happen often with books! I’ve never read a book with a concept like this so it was really interesting to read and I didn’t ever know what to expect next. I’ll definitely pick up more by this author!

Started strong but lost me at the halfway mark. Lots of filler I could have skipped over completely. As a debut, it was not poorly written. It just lacked direction.

I really liked the premise of this book and the first half was so good! It was suspenseful and eerie. It fell short for me at the end. The “big reveal” was a total letdown.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. The story grips you immediately. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery of 'Him" and being absolutely terrified while doing so. The author does an amazing job of making you feel the panick and paranoia of the main character. This book had a little of everything, mystery, romance, flashback scenes all adding to the story and providing much needed layers. The only gripe I have is the ending/reveal, but overall a really entertaining ride!!

3 stars for this debut by Daphne Woolsoncroft. Night Watcher immediately pulled me in with a heart-pounding beginning that was suspenseful and downright chilling. The Hiding Man is creepy and it’s terrifying to think of a masked man watching in the dead of night.

I binged this book because of all the hype but at the same time I felt like the pacing moved slowly at parts. There were a couple reasons this did not receive a higher star rating from me. First, the detective was totally inept at his job. Second, the final reveal did not quite have the impact I was hoping for after so much build up. I think there was missed potential there.

Thank you NetGalley / Grand Central Publishing for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A fantastilly suspenseful and a tad bit of make you jump out of your chair, scary, but soooo well done! After the first couple chapters I was a bit concerned this book was not for me. I will preface that with, I do not like "scary" and I do not like "horror". With that said, yes, this was a bit out of my comfort zone, but MAN AM I GLAD I DIDN'T QUIT!!! Mama didn't raise no quitter! haha!!

I am so happy I stuck this one out, because holy serial killer, this was a BANGER!!!

The story draws you in at the beginning and does NOT stop!

Nola Strate is a podcast host for her show, Night Watch. Callers usually want to talk about "ghosts" they've encountered. But when a woman calls because she sees a man outside her window and hears noises, she's not sure if he's real or a ghost, and then the call goes cold. UH OH. Nola knows she just witnessed a murder live on her show.

Backstory. When Nola was young, her babsitter was murdered in her home by the "Hiding Man". Only Nola survived. So when this woman calls and describes what she is seeing, Nola knows immediately that he's back, after all these years.

This was a FANTASTIC debut from this author and I can tell you, she will be an auto-buy author from me from here on out! I cannot wait to see what she comes out with next! Yep, scary or not, I'm hooked!

Do not sleep on this story, add this to your TBR RIGHT NOW!!!

5 SCARY STARS!!!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Novel Suspects and NetGalley for the digital copy.

Night Watcher completely caught me by surprise and is my favorite thriller of 2025 so far! Being that this is a debut and that I tend to be picky with thrillers, I had absolutely 0 expectations for this going in. I really enjoyed Daphne Woolsoncroft's writing style and the pace was perfect. I never got bored, and just wanted to get to the end so I could fit all the pieces of the story together. My only complaint is that I waited so long to read it. The first chapter and the cover made me hesitant to pick it up, because I was afraid it would be too scary, but the majority of the book was no scarier than your average thriller. I will definitely be reading everything that she writes in the future, very excited to have found a new go-to thriller author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I ended up buying this before my ARC was approved. It was a great read and I would recommend! It had me on the edge of my seat during most of the story.

I flew through this thriller so fast I didn’t even stop to take notes.

The opening chapters terrified me. I was reading in the pitch black on my Kindle and actually had to put it down for a minute. It’s horror-movie vivid in the best way — tense, atmospheric, and deeply unsettling.

The story follows a young radio host who gets a chilling live call… from someone being murdered. That moment alone had me completely gripped, but that wasn't even the scariest part. As the mystery unfolds, it dredges up trauma from her past, including a run-in with a notorious serial killer who may be back.

Creepy. Suspenseful. Fast-paced. This is a very solid thriller with just the right amount of mystery and dread. I’m giving it a 4 because, like many thrillers, the ending got a little cheesy, but it was still so satisfying and worth the ride.

Highly recommend if you want something scary enough to make you double-check your locks

thank you grand central publishing & netgalley for an early copy of this release in exchange for my honest review!!

HOLY COW!!!
i can’t believe this a debut novel. it comes off like it’s written by a well seasoned author! i absolutely loved this. the writing was amazing. it was so genuinely spine chilling, unsettling & gave me goosebumps. i often was reading this before bed & would creep myself out. i’m not usually phased by anything, but this got under my skin. i loved the characters. i loved how i couldn’t guess where it was going & it had me hooked until the very end. i hope there’s more coming from this author & im definitely going to go listen to her podcast!
5/5 stars

This story started off super strong and has amazing atmosphere. Truly felt like I was in Oregon. And when I tell you I was so scared reading this I had to read only during the day time! This is going to be on everybody’s top reads of 2025! Definitely recommend!

While this was quick read, I just didn't vibe with the authors writing style. One of my favorite troupes in a thriller is a podcaster/social media personae so I did enjoy that aspect of the FMC being a talk radio host.

Thank you so much for this early copy (that I completely got behind on!)

This was a solid popcorn thriller. It hit the marks of what was needed, however I found myself getting bored and unimpressed.

Thought I posted my Night Watcher review on the main feed but I forgot!

Night Watcher by @daphne.woolsoncroft is about Nola Strate, the host of the radio show Night Watch. One night she receives a terrifying call on the air which brings back memories of the worst night of her life. She is convinced The Hiding Man, who has haunted her for years, has returned. After realizing she can’t trust anyone, Nola decides it’s up to her to find out who The Hiding Man is.

4.5 ⭐️ I loved this!!!! From the start it was creepy and suspenseful. I was dying to find out what would happen while also making sure my doors were locked. ALSO, I loved the feature on my Kindle where the little man would appear and fade out quickly when I turned pages.

As a @goingwestpodcast listener, I was excited to read Daphne’s first novel. It did not disappoint and I can’t wait for her to write more! Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC!

I've been a fan of the Going West podcast for a while and I really enjoyed how interesting it was to read a book by Daphne. Maybe it was having heard her voice maby times, but it was kind of fantastic to read a book and almost hear the author reading it to you. The story itself was intriguing

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. Loved the storyline and concept of this book, but after the initial set up, it was just an average serial killer thriller. The book seemed to have a lot of "filler material" The final reveal of the killer, was rushed and very underdeveloped.

The audiobook was read quite well and I did thoroughly enjoy the narrator.
Sidenote, I really admired the intro of the audiobook, where Daphne explains why she wrote the book, and how a personal story, lead to her debut novel!

Thank you @grandcentralpub and @hachetteaudio for the complimentary DRC & ALC.

Ohhh this was creeptastic! I’m pretty sure my heart rate rivaled a hummingbird at times! I started reading Night Watcher one evening, thinking I’d just squeeze in a few chapters before bed… big mistake. BIG! This was strictly daytime reading only. 🤪

Night Watcher was so fast paced, I was hooked from the first few pages, and it did not let up, keeping me guessing until the end. I was constantly telling myself ‘just one more chapter.’ I ended up downloading the audio too just so I could keep reading on my way to and from work. Huge shout out to the narrators, Helen Laser, and Will Collyer. Their performance was top notch!

That said, I did have a few “What the hell Nola?!” moments. Some of her decisions made me want to throw the book across the room, and there was also one scene that was a little too ‘out there’ for me, but I so invested in the story and not knowing whodunnit that I happily kept reading. The ending was a bit of a letdown for me too. Not bad, just a little anticlimactic.

If you’re a fellow scaredy cat like me, give this a go. This book is scary, but thrilling scary, not nightmare-inducing. Just… maybe avoid reading it at night.

This was my first time reading this author and I enjoyed it. Fast-paced and packed full of eery moments and lots of nail-biting suspense. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

I was so intrigued by this premise and was excited to read the galley copy. The premise and opening scenes of this book are really scary! There were some slower and less than believable parts as the book went on, but I still enjoyed it. The picture of the killer the author created was so genuinely creepy though!