Actual Rating: 4.5⭐

Another gripping fast-paced mystery thriller!
I love the isolated setting and a crime writer chasing the truth to a 30-year-old cold case.

I was hooked at the beginning, if i wasn't so busy with other things I would have finished it in one sitting!
The last 70% I powered through and finished it in just a few hours said how addicting this book was!

The eerie atmosphere of living in a secluded place and the feeling like someone else was walking around the house at night successfully heightened up the suspense!

At first I thought I had guessed the story pretty early on, but I wasn't ready for the unexpected plot twist happen at the end 😱😱 totally blew my mind and my heart broke for one particular character 😭

Overall, it was an entertaining and thrilling story! This was my second book by this author and it definitely won't be my last.
I'm looking forward to read more books by this author in the future 🙌

Make some space in your suitcase, this one’s a no-brainer for your vacation stack. It’s the kind of book you’ll want to read in one go, whether you’re on a long flight, stretched out on a sun lounger, or bundled up in blankets on a rainy day.

This is a suspenseful thriller with a captivating setting. No linguistic gymnastics here, just a good, old-fashioned page-turner that keeps you hooked. It’s got a definite 20th-century vibe, but the mystery and pacing still hit like a classic thriller.

Easy to get into, hard to put down, perfect for a lazy holiday afternoon.

A thriller novel who finds herself plopped down in a middle of a cold case mystery. She doesn't realize the danger she is in as she investigates a vold case for an upcoming novel. Lots of twists that were reminiscent of a dateline episode. Loved following along and was engaged throughout.

I completely devoured this book. I’ve been a bit slumpy lately with reading and this book brought me out of it!
Lisa Gray really nailed the isolated atmosphere and creeping dread feeling.
Dead of Night follows Serena Winters, a mystery author grieving the sudden loss of her partner. She flees New York for a quiet, cliffside house in small town California. But the house has a dark past, and the town? Let’s just say, secrets don’t stay buried here for long.
This story hooked me with this slow burn of suspense and major twists. Secrets, tension and a cold case that won’t stay quiet…this one had me up late flipping the pages.

This book was great it was a page turner just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump yessss I will recommend

This was a fast read for me. I really enjoyed this one. I loved how Serena looked into the mystery of Cliff House and was shocked by that last twist! Looking forward to more by this author.

This was my first Lisa Gray book and I will definitely be checking out more of her work. This was a great suspenseful thriller. The plot was captivating and had me hooked. Serena is a writer trying to get back into her writing after losing her husband. But when she finds out the house she is staying in has a history, she decides to use that story as her inspiration for her next book. As she starts to dig into the house's past and tries to learn what happened to the family that disappeared from it, she realizes she's being watched very closely by someone close to the case. I enjoyed all the twists and turns this story took. This story is told from multi pov, but is not confusing at all. It's well written and very detailed without being boring. I can't wait to get into more of her Lisa Gray's books. You should definitely check this thriller out!

After reading The Final Act last year with THE PULSE, I quickly signed on for this one. Gray is now a MUST read for me. I loved the suspense, the story, scenes and creepy vibes of this novel.

Serena Winters has lost her partner and is struggling to write another book. She is of the bestselling authors of crime. She books a stay in small town in California in a secluded house on a cliff. SECLUDED and a CLIFF, oh NO!!!!

When she arrives she finds out the house has a mysterious past…..This is when the story turns chilling. How does a family vanish into thin air? This story gripped me and took my heart on an emotional journey along with frightening things along the way.
We love Gray at THE PULSE. Thank you Gray for your advanced copy.

Serena, a mystery writer with writers block, needing to get out of New York after the death of her partner. She decides to rent a secluded house for the summer, in hopes that she can continue her book and upon arriving, learns about the family that mysteriously disappeared over a decade ago. As inspiration strikes, she needs to get to the bottom of this mystery. She digs deeper, only to be threatened which of course, makes her want to learn more.
Told from different POVs, short chapters which makes you want to read more, this was a lighter mystery but one that you wanted to continue. Nothing overly dramatic happens, but I did like Serena and the towns people she did meet. If you don't want something so dark this is a good one for you!

Book Tour: DEAD OF NIGHT by Lisa Gray
Pub Date: May 15, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½
I was beyond thrilled when I found out that the team at #ThrillerBookLovers got the chance to review one of Lisa Gray's books! I’ve read several of her works, and they always knock my socks off.

She’s done it again! I dove into "DEAD OF NIGHT" with high hopes, and it did not disappoint! From the first page, I was infatuated by the eerie vibe and the slow-burn suspense that kept building.

The story follows Serena, an author dealing with a bad case of writer’s block after losing her partner. She thinks a change of scenery might help, so she rents a secluded house on a California clifftop. Sounds dreamy, right? Not at all! The house has a dark past, and as Serena digs deeper, she gets wrapped up in its tragic tales. She decides to incorporate them into her next book. Get this—a family disappeared from the house thirty years ago, leaving everything behind, and they were never found. Once I read that twist, I was all in!

The creepiness levels ramp up, and it becomes clear that someone wants to keep the secrets buried! Gray’s writing is magic—atmospheric, chilling, and just the right amount of tension that kept me up late turning pages! Seriously, I lost sleep so that I could finish this one. The isolation in the house feels so intense that you can almost sense someone lurking around. I’m such a scaredy-cat; I would've bolted at the first sign of trouble! But Serena? She’s got guts, and her journey is thrilling. Plus, she’s got secrets, and that mix of past and present is brilliantly done. "DEAD OF NIGHT" is a must-read if you’re looking for a spine-tingling book that’ll make you think twice about booking solo trips to a remote vacation rental!

It’s clever, suspenseful, and everything you want in a psychological thriller. I absolutely loved it and can’t recommend it enough to anyone who enjoys stories that get under your skin—in the best way possible! And be sure to check out her older works.

Thanks to the author, Thomas and Mercer, and Thriller Book Lovers The Pulse for this eARC provided via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I was blown away by The Final Act, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the author’s new book. It’s not quite as remarkable as The Final Act, but I was pulled in and compelled to keep reading to see what would happen next.

There are dual timelines and multiple POVs. It seemed pretty obvious how the timelines would intersect even without repeating characters, but it didn’t all play out as I had anticipated. I was intrigued by the family that kept disappearing in the middle of the night.

I love reading 90s fiction, which was the setting of one of the timelines, but humorously I can keep it straight in my head how long ago it really was. I’m not sure if that would have helped me put it all together.

I related to Serena and I’m always a fan of a writer as a character. And I thought it was clever to have her research the disappearing family to try to bring the timelines full circle.

There was one part of the story that I can say I have never seen done and I got such a kick out of it after being surprised. I don’t want to issue any spoilers but you’ll know it when you get there.

I read this in less than a day and because of the fast pace, I never wanted to put it down. It hit my need for a popcorn thriller.

This is definitely a take on vacation and lounge by the pool or beach type of book. Out just in time for #summerreading.

When mystery writer Serena, who is struggling with the recent death of her partner, decides to leave town to focus on her writing, she finds herself in mysterious cliffside house in small town. This is well written, hard to put down thriller with a few twists and several what appear to be unrelated POVs that come together at the end.

This book is definitely going to end up in a lot of lists for top reads of 2025! I truly enjoyed The Final Act by Lisa Gray but OMG this one takes the cake.

Told in multiple POV’s of three women across multiple timelines, the author did a fantastic job of drawing the reader in from the first chapter and never letting up until the twisty end. As usual, I had my guesses and theories but I was wrong on every single one. And just when I thought all the reveals have been made, the epilogue drops one final bomb (ya know, just to keep you on your toes!).

I can’t wait to see what Lisa Gray publishes next but for now, Dead of Night will be available on May 15th and trust me, it belongs at the tippy top of your TBR!

This book is another new favorite of mine and you definitely won't want to miss it after pub date. A family vanishing in the middle of the night but why? A best selling author coming back to the same house, digging to find out the truth... Whoa this book was everything I look for in a psychological suspenseful thriller. Lisa Gray did a superb job of keeping me invested in the story, flipping fast through the pages to get to the explosive conclusion. My jaw literally fell on the floor during the many twists and turns. This book will be one of the best reads for 2025. What a great story. Well done, Lisa!

This book had me checking the locks before bed. I figured that Charlotte wasn't who she was supposed to be, but I had no idea who she actually was/who used to be her until the end and that was an absolute shock to me. I felt so sorry for Ruby and also for Rivers for being so manipulated by his mother . Ruby was dealt a bad hand and I just wished her story could have ended differently, even though I understand why it ended the way it did.

Bestselling Novelist, Serena Winters has hit a writer's block after the death of her partner. She books a secluded house in California, and finds that the house has a mysterious history. A family disappeared in the dead of night, leaving their whole life behind.
Strange things begin to happen, anonymous notes, anonymous emails, and bumps in the night.
She has inspiration for her new novel and decides to investigate at the same time.

A stunning page turner written in severel POV's and timelines.
I had a gut feeling about the kidnapper of the baby, and was shocked to see I was correct.
There are so many twists in this book, the reader could be led astray by red herrings.

I absolutely loved this book, and have to give it a solid 5 stars.

What a twisted web this was! I love nothing more than a good old fashioned mystery. I mean who doesn’t like a story set in a beautiful house where odd things keep happening and the town holds so many secrets. Told in a dual time line and by multiple points of view.

Synopsis: Serena Winters is a writer experiencing writer’s block after the death of her partner, Michael. She decides to have a change of scenery and hopefully make progress on her next book by renting a beautiful house overlooking a cliff in a picturesque small town in California. However it is difficult to relax since there is an intruder prowling the grounds and the house at night, and Serena is receiving threatening messages telling her to leave town immediately. Her writer’s instincts kick in and Serena researches the history of the house and its previous inhabitants, a family of three that disappeared suddenly in the mid-90s. What happened to the family, and is it connected to the threats Serena is receiving now? Serena doesn’t know who she can trust in the town since any one of them could be a killer.

Thoughts: Another addictive page-turner from Lisa Gray! I love how Gray weaves the lives of her characters together in ways the reader doesn’t anticipate. Sometimes the biggest mystery of all is human nature. There are no bells and whistles here, no bizarre stretches of belief and credulity, only the twists and turns of life resulting from human decisions. And Gray does it so well! Throughout the novel we have characters dealing with the consequences of their own previous decisions and actions. Sometimes the impact isn’t felt for many years, but most of the main characters have to come to terms with decisions they made earlier in their lives. Many of them are haunted by feelings of guilt or failure. Even the cliffside house hides secrets of the past down in the basement.

If you enjoy a slowburn psychological thriller then this is for you! As always the author delivers a final WTF moment in the concluding pages and it does not disappoint. Many thanks to Thomas and Mercer for the copy to read.

I totally enjoyed Lisa Gray’s last book and this one was even better. Told in multiple POVs, switching between characters, was totally fast paced and had my head spinning.. This will definitely keep you at the edge of your seat!!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy!!!

Dead of Night is the newest suspense thriller by Lisa Gray. It is a stand-alone read.

Serena Winters has writer's block and cannot put a single word on paper. Mourning the loss of her partner, Michael, and her part in his death she decides a change of scenery might be what she needs. She finds a clifftop house in California and sets off in search of finding peace from her guilt. Shortly after arriving, she learns of the missing family that rented the house years ago. Not wanting to write about the missing family, it does however, give her ideas that she could use to write the expected book.

Being a famous writer is hard to keep secret, but the people in town jump to conclusions and soon Serena discovers she is the focus of someone that does not want the truth to be revealed. It does not take long for Serena to find herself in danger.

This was a fun and quick afternoon read. The story is told from several points of view as well as different time periods. It took a few chapters to get hooked, but once I was caught there was no turning back. The characters were well written, and the plot was very believable. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was a real page turner.