Was not able to finish the book within the borrowed time frame. That being said, I had read about 70% of the book and was entirely engrossed in the story! It was atmospheric and suspenseful in all the best ways. I am eager to get my hands on my own copy when I can. Giving it a 3 as I have yet to read the ending. Hopeful it will become at minimum a 4 star read for me, meaning I genuinely enjoyed it and will recommend to others!

I wasn’t sure about this one at first. I could see where it was going and I didn’t think I would like it. I’m so glad I was intrigued enough to keep going though because it turned out to be fantastic!

If you love a good mystery, you'll love this book! The prologue reeled me in and didn't let loose. Meg the new live-in nanny is on a quest to find answers about what happened one summer 15 years ago. She's being watched, followed, and she keeps hearing noises coming from the attic. It was intriguing enough that I didn't want to put it down.

First a big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this arc! it did not disappoint!

I was drawn to the eerie looking cover which is absolutely beautiful with its colours and I knew it was something I had to read!

One Dark Summer is a haunting, well written psychological thriller that slowly unravels secrets from a long-ago summer. This author's evocative prose creates a strong sense of place, with a quietly unsettling atmosphere that lingers throughout the story.

I was particularly drawn to the dual-timeline narrative and the way it explores themes of memory, guilt, and the lasting impact of buried trauma. The characters felt authentic and complex to me and the gradual reveal of past events kept me engaged from the beginning to the end of the book! I was up long nights reading this one!

I would happily recommend this to readers who enjoy character-driven, atmospheric thrillers with strong emotional core and of course a beautiful cover is a nice bonus too!

Overall a very well written book and one I will be recommending to many others in the months and years to come!

Meg was only a child when her mum vanished. That same summer, Meg went to stay with her cousins, and her uncle died in a boating accident with her as the only witness...
One Dark Summer is a psychological thriller full of mystery.
Margaret arrives to start a new job as a nanny. But she has been to this house before as a child and now wants to find out the truth about her mother leaving and the accident that killed her uncle but which she has blanked from her memory
The book is written from Margaret's (Meg's) perspective in the present day as she hunts for clues and tries to remember the past. Other parts are written from her mother Irene's viewpoint to show the circumstances of her disappearance.
I really liked the development of Meg's character as we see how that summer has impacted her life. Her need for answers is quite raw at times and I wanted her to find closure so that she can move forward with her life.
There is a wonderfully sinister atmosphere maintained throughout the book. This also extends to threatening as danger looms. The mysteries surrounding the past are gradually revealed and I was kept guessing. I found the plot a little slow at times as I was impatient for the next twist.
One Dark Summer is an intriguing mystery and thriller.

Margaret the nanny has arrived at her new job to look after two children. What nobody else knows is that this is also the place associated with an old trauma from Margaret's past.

A time when she was still a child, her name was Meg, and her mother went missing one dark summer. But that is not all that happened, and now Meg has returned for the long overdue reckoning with her past...

An atmospheric thriller with plenty of action, this story will appeal to most readers. It gets 3.5 stars.

i thoroughly enjoyed this one, it gripped my attention from the first chapter and i couldn't put it down! would highly recommend it to all my friends

This is my first read from this author but the blurb and the front cover pulled me in and I knew I had to read it.
Pulled me in quite quickly, and there were so many twists and turns, most of which I didn't see coming.
Great read - will look out for the authors other reads in the future going purely off this book alone.

An absolute gem of a novel.

Not satisfied by just writing two timelines, Sarginson gives us pace, intrigue and enough twists to keep even the most jaded thriller reader interested.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Arc, I enjoyed it greatly and would suggest it for anyone that has time for a novel that you will not put down until you finish.

I enjoyed the book a lot. It's a gripping thriller with multiple twists and turns. It's quite long but mainly because the story is told in different time lines and from different point of views which I enjoyed. The changes in narrator and time lines are clear and not confusing.

It has a creepy vibe and is fast paced which I love. A definite must read for physiologically thriller fans

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!

This book was thrilling, and very fast paced. 3 girls, one cousin, one missing mother and a villian. How do they all connect. Meg the main characters and cousin, comes back to Deben manor to uncover the secret behind her missing mother. Told between current events and her mother's poverty/ backstory, the truth is revealed about one man who destroyed many lives.

I felt the suspense, I even felt the destruction caused by the villian, but too many events were driven by one nonsensical woman, who repents too late. Overall a decent read that encourages you to question everything around you.

#OneDarkSummer #NetGalley

✅️ Easy to read
✅️ Suspenseful
✅️ Twists and turns galore

Meg arrives at the grand manor house to start work as a nanny. But it's not the job that unsettles her — it's the house. She’s been here before, fifteen years ago, the summer her mother vanished… and a man died.

Now, back under a guise and with a new name, Meg is determined to uncover the truth. But someone remembers her — and they’ll do anything to keep the past buried.

The story is predominantly told from current day Meg's perspective but it's intertwined with her memories and her mother's storyline from the past. I liked this and thought it worked really well.


There are so many interwoven stories. And so many twists and turns - too many, if there is such a thing? Some predictable, some less so.

The story starts fairly slow but midway through the tension continuously builds - its claustrophobic and suspenseful. And then the plot unfolds at a decent pace.

Overall an enjoyable read - I devoured it in one evening.

Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

I really enjoyed this book! This was the first thriller I read from this author and it definitely won‘t be the last.

THIS ONE IS OUT NOW!!
4⭐️ {Kindle}
(ARC review) — Thank you to author Saskia Sarginson and her publisher Boldwood Books. I received an Advanced Reader Copy for the April 2025 release of ONE DARK SUMMER in exchange for my honest review.

Do you enjoy a creepy vibe with a big mysterious manor that has a “off” feeling about it. Super atmospheric. Slow build, but plenty twisty. Great psychological thriller, with a side of goth, that also has that creepy vibe throughout.

Dual timelines and generational mishaps. Margaret the FMC wants to know what happened to her mother all those years ago when her world imploded.

As she gets closer to the truth, things start to really get interesting. Are some secrets better, kept unfound.

This one was fun—You may want to keep this lights on at night! ;)

Love the cover art 🩷

One Dark Summer by Saskia Sarginson, when Meg a.k.a. Margaret shows up to be the nanny for Ophelia‘s two children the mom has no idea that one the nanny has been there before two they’re related and three she’s there to solve a mystery. Meg stayed with Ophelia and her two sisters this summer Meg’s mom went missing and just like that then the sisters are as close as ever there will be many things she revisits from that summer including the attic she wasn’t allowed to go in, the summer house and her relationship with the three girls she envied so much. this book has three timelines the summer Meg stayed at the mansion her mom‘s POV with the man she left her dad for and the current day with her trying to solve the mystery. I found each POV to be more interesting than the last and couldn’t wait to see how they all tied together but trust me when I say I did not expect the ending that came I mean yes some of that I did but not the absolute ending that happened with Meg because if that’s not an OMG moment then I don’t know what is. I wish I could write a great review about how awesome this book is but for anyone who likes well done thrillers will absolutely enjoy this book there’s more than one finale in the book as a stories do not all tie up and current day per se. I mean it does but there’s different parts to the ending and all of them were awesome. #NetGalley,#TheBlindReview#BoldwoodBooks, er, #MyHonestReview, #SaskiaSarginson, #OneDarkSummer,

I felt like this book was so disjointed, the story was all over the place. I know it’s supposed to be a thriller and a bit unrealistic but the way things happened just had me thinking “what?!”. The characters weren’t consistent. The story didn’t flow. The plot was good I just don’t think it came together well. The ending eventually picked up speed and was a bit more intriguing but I never felt like I couldn’t put this down. I just think it was okay. Good premise but the writing was lacking.

One Dark Summer by Saskia Sarginson is a gripping, slow-burn thriller rich with atmosphere, secrets, and emotional depth. With multiple POVs, clever twists, and a haunting setting, it masterfully explores memory, trauma, and truth. A compelling, binge-worthy read I highly recommend. I couldn't put this book down and I loved it from cover to cover.

Slow burn thriller
Duel timelines
Old spooky houses
Compelling characters
Nanny troupe

This book has it all! Perfect summer thriller definitely pick this one up!

𝔸 𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣. 𝔸 𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕘𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕟 𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕝𝕕. 𝔸 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕤𝕖 𝕗𝕦𝕝𝕝 𝕠𝕗 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕤𝕖𝕔𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕤...

Meg lifts her hand and knocks on the door to the grandest house she's ever seen. She's about to start a new job as the nanny for the two small children who live here. But it's not the job that's making her nervous.....

As Meg walks in she realises she recognises the house, down to every detail. Luckily the home owner doesn't recognise Meg, but Meg definitely knows how she is.... because this is where she spent a summer as a child many years before. The summer when her mother disappeared, the summer Meg thought she killed a man.

Now shes back, disguised as Margaret, to uncover the secrets left behind so many years ago.

Massive thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book! I really really enjoyed this book, I haven't read anything by this author before but I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for other titles. The writing was easy to read and kept me wanting more! The ending had me second guessed everything I thought I knew!