While I was not a fan of the narrator, I was hooked into the story. The plot is real simple, a writer vacations in a small town with a rental property whose previous renters disappeared. Of course the author has to investigate what happened and figure out why they disappeared. You also get the POV from Ruby, a young mom whose child is missing. The stories intertwine, and the plot twist at the end comes out of nowhere! Four stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thriller Book Lovers: The Pulse for allowing me listen to this ALC.

I was given the opportunity via the Thriller Book Lovers (The Pulse) to read this book this month, and I’m glad that I requested it. This is a very “popcorn thriller” type of book. It was very plot driven, not a huge amount of character background, yet it kept my attention and kept my will to find out how it would end going strong. While it was a rather predictable plot, there was a big twist at the end that surprised me. I really love that the book was able to answer all of my questions in the end as well. I did half of this book on my kindle and the other half via audio. The little that I did of the audio was done very well with a clear sounding narrator. If you’re a lover of popcorn thrillers, missing person cases, and creepy yet beautiful vacation homes, definitely pick this one up when it releases on 5/15/2025.

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
After the heartbreaking and sudden loss of her partner, bestselling crime writer Serena Winters is left unable to write. With her deadlines fast approaching, she leaves the bustle of New York for a remote clifftop home in a quiet California town, hoping the peaceful setting will help her overcome her creative block.
However, her presence quickly stirs suspicion among locals, who accuse her of exploiting the house’s dark past. When Serena learns about a family who mysteriously disappeared from the same house three decades ago, her curiosity drives her to dig deeper.
But not everyone wants the past revisited. As sinister warnings escalate and someone works to unravel her mental state, Serena—who is hiding a painful secret of her own—realizes she’s become entangled in a real-life mystery far more dangerous than anything she’s ever written.


𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬
This audiobook was such a ride! I kept coming up with theories the whole time, but none of them ended up being right—which honestly made it even more fun. I really enjoyed how all the storylines eventually came together, and I was totally drawn in trying to figure out who was behind it all as Serena dug deeper into the mystery. That final twist? Totally wild—I did not see it coming. The dual timelines and different POVs were done so well. You get just enough info to try and piece things together yourself, but it still manages to keep you guessing. There were a bunch of interesting characters too, and some of their stories were seriously emotional. The narrator also did an awesome job bringing it all to life.

Thank You @Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for allowing me to review this ALC.

🌟𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧🌟
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙼𝚊𝚢 𝟷𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟻
🤩𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝...A crime writer. A cold case. Will she survive to tell the story?….

🌻𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...Lisa Gray does it again!!👏 Her last thriller was a 5 star for me as well!Alright guys, just 🔟 more days until this one hits shelves so save the date. 🙌🎉This one had so many amazing elements…a gripping story line, a creepy setting & so many chapter cliffhangers that leave you frantically flipping the pages. The alternating time lines were merged in so flawlessly and omg, that epilogue! 😱Yasssss, girl!! 🌟

🎧I was lucky enough to have the audio too & it was very well done, but highly recommend BOTH formats of this book.

Very twisty. There are two commpelling mysteries going on without including the person stalking the FMC and her backstory. We have a missing family and a kidnapped child that seem connected but we don't know how. The plot is medium-paced, but there's a lot going on. I still have questions on some of it, but such is life. Perfect for the thriller readers who like more puzzle in their plot.

Thank you to #thomassndmercer, @lisagraywriter, and @netgalley for my complimentary audio and digital copies. I thoroughly enjoyed both formats; the audio version allowed me to immerse myself in the suspenseful atmosphere, while the digital copy offered the convenience of reading at my own pace.

When author Serena Winters rents a cliffside house in California, she envisions a quiet retreat to focus on her writing. However, her plans take a thrilling turn when she discovers that a family mysteriously vanished from the home years earlier. Intrigued, Serena begins investigating the case, but soon realizes that someone is determined to keep the past buried. As she delves deeper, she starts receiving threatening notes and hearing unsettling noises in the night.

From the very beginning, I was drawn in by the intrigue of this story! With complex characters, compelling drama, and alternating storylines, it kept me turning the pages. Along with my friends at @thrillerbookloversthepulse, I highly recommend it for all thriller lovers!

Everyone at @thrillerbookloversthepulse loves this author and is raving about this book. Thanks to @lisagraywriter and @brilliancepublishing for a #gifted ALC!
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What an additive read! I love how the author weaves characters together and remind us that choices shape our lives, sometimes years down the line. The characters are dealing with guilt, regret, and the fallout of decisions they made long ago.
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Author Serena hasn’t written a word since the unexpected death of her partner. She heads to a secluded clifftop house in a small California town in hopes of curing her writer’s block.
‌
She finds out a bizarre story of a family who lived in this house years ago who vanished and her true crime loving personality just has to investigate. Someone doesn’t want this secret looked into and, the more she digs, the more that someone makes it clear she should stop.
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The house is almost a character itself and the secrets it holds are plenty.
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Meanwhile, Serena has a secret of her own that I didn’t see coming.
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The multiple timelines slowly peel back the layers of this story.
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If you’re into slowburn psychological thrillers that build tension through character and atmosphere, this one’s definitely for you. And there’s that last “wait, WHAT?!” moment right at the end.
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Brenda Scott Wlazlo did an amazing job taking us along for the ride and portraying all of Serena’s emotions, as well as slowly revealing the past.

This was my first Lisa Gray book, but it will not be my last. And end of night you meet Serena Winters, who is a crime writer who can’t write she moves because she’s packed with grief and goes to a small town in California thinking change scenery will help. The town is not 100% excited about Serena’s arrival. This is a well paced story that kept me engaged while giving me multiple plot points. Multiple perspective is different time periods and again makes me want to read another Lisa Gray book.

Full disclosure: I am the author of this book and providing a rating to maintain my NetGalley ratio. However, I DO genuinely believe narrator Brenda Scott Wlazlo did a fantastic job in bringing the characters to life with a clear and compelling narration. So I would recommend Dead of Night to fans of audiobooks looking for an atmospheric and gripping quick read!

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

Wow, I loved this book! I listened to this book and the narration was great. This book is told in multiple povs. This book was filled with a twisty story and suspense. Lisa Gray gave an amazing description of the environment which teleported me into the story. This book kept me on my toes from beginning to end. At points I thought I was catching what was happening but then the book would tard a sharp turn. I had such a good time listening to the narrator as she added to this story. I cannot count how many times I was shocked, and I will defiantly continue to pick up more novels by Lisa Gray.

Thank you NetGalley for this ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Dead Of Night is a fast paced, addictive and unputdownable thrilling ride. This was so much fun and so entertaining. I loved the mutiple POV’s, multiple timelines and how everything just tied up together. I loved the constant building suspense from start to finish, there was no fluff, it was a straight shooter. I really enjoyed that, nothing felt unnecessary or there to fill in space. Once I started I couldn't set it down, I needed to know the outcome!

The characters were fun to follow, I enjoyed them. They were some that felt sketchy at times and made me doubt them more than once, but then the author totally blindsided me with her twists and turns. The plot was well constructed, towards the end you need to be attentive to make sure and grasp all the details, but I wasn't expecting that at all! Just when I thought Gray was done, she hit me with another twist !

Overall, this is a super fast thriller that is easily bingeable in one sitting. A great story with some great twists and an ending you won't see coming.

✨️Thank you to @thrillerbookloversthepulse, @netgalley, Thomas & Mercer & @brillianceaudio & @lisagray for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I loved “The Final Act” just as much! 😍 I love how everything is paced and there’s so many twists and turns. I didn’t see the ending coming and the narration was great too ! 💙

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Gray, and Brilliance Publishing for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always excited to get my hands on the work of an author who is new to me, I turned to this thriller by Lisa Gray. When a popular crime author seeks some inspiration writing in a rented house, she stumbles upon a complex mystery and missing family. Serena Winters wants to use it as a basis for her next bestseller, but also finds herself trying to solve it for her own mental wellbeing. A great story that spans multiple decades and shows Lisa Gray’s abilities.

The loss of her partner has left bestselling author Serena Winters unable to write at all. As her publisher pushes a new deadline, she flees New York and finds a rental home she hopes will provide much needed inspiration. California has to have more than sunshine to sterilise the grief in which Serena has been wallowing.

When people learn of Serena’s arrival, they are split. Some are excited to have a popular author in town, while others are sure she is only there to use the notoriety of her rental house for her own means. Serena has no idea about the latter, but soon discovers the story behind the house and its past residents. A family disappeared into thin air three decades before and people have speculated about it ever since, leaving Serena to want to know more and potentially use it as help for her next bestseller.

While many are excited with Serena walking the streets and visiting the local businesses, someone is surely not. They go to great lengths to ensure Serena does not feel comfortable and pushes her to the ends of her mental sanity, even questioning what happened that fateful night her partner died. However, the story of this family is a thread that Serena must tug upon, no matter where it takes her. These events are becoming all too real and she cannot stop once she’s started writing and researching. A well-paced piece that has me curious to read more by Lisa Gray.

I always enjoy the adventure an author I have not read before brings to my favourite pastime. Lisa Gray does well to paint a vivid picture of the story before her and keep the reader engaged as they begin the journey. The narrative flows well and keeps pace as things begin to clip along. As the momentum finds its stride, the reader is pulled into the middle of the mystery and begs for answers of their own. Characters emerge as both relatable and well developed, allowing the reader to make a connection with those of their choosing throughout the piece. The plot, while juggling many perspectives and time periods, works well and adds depth to an already strong story. I am eager to see what Lisa Gray has next and how it might compare to this story, which was well worth my time and effort.

Kudos, Madam Gray, for a chilling story that kept me hooked throughout.

I enjoyed this one. I usually figure out the twists but this one got me guessing. Recommended. Will read more from this author.

Dead of Night by @lisagraywriter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mystery writer Serena Winters recently suffered the tragic loss of her boyfriend (albeit, a cheating one), but decides she needs some space from her NYC environment. She rents a clifftop house in small town California, in the hopes that the solitude can help cure her writers block. Little did she know, the house has a mysterious past, and she very quickly becomes both intrigued and inspired by the family that simply vanished from the house decades prior. She starts investigating, and writing, but there’s someone lurking who doesn’t want the truth to be discovered…

This book is GOOD. Like, realllll good. Coming from a thriller junkie, I ate it all up. Every twist, turn - fantastic. And all answers to any lingering questions were wrapped up and tied with a bow by the end. My jaw DROPPED during that epilogue! I’m definitely recommending this one, y’all!

Pub Date - May 15th ☀️

Thank you to @netgalley + @brilliancepublishing for this advanced audio copy! 🎧💕

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviewer #netgalleyreview #deadofnight #booknerd #bookstagram #lisagray #lisagrayauthor #lisagraywriter

4.5 stars!

A grieving crime writer flees to a remote California house to overcome her writer's block. But as she uncovers a chilling cold case, someone in the town is determined to stop her from revealing the truth, putting her in danger.

I am a newcomer to this author, and I was graciously invited by the Pulse team to dive into this audiobook. Let me tell you, the narrator had me hooked from the get-go, eagerly anticipating each twist and turn. A skilled narrator truly has the power to breathe life into a story, and this one did not disappoint.

This tale unfolded like a high-speed mystery, with multiple points of view and a diverse cast of characters that were surprisingly easy to keep track of. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the plot took a sharp turn, leaving me guessing until the very end. The premise was solid, and the execution was top-notch.

Serena, the protagonist, takes on the role of detective while on vacation, adding an extra layer of intrigue to the story. Her intelligence, determination, and hidden secrets made her a compelling character to follow. And let's not forget about Danni, Bill, and Ruby - each playing a crucial role in the storyline.

The vivid descriptions of the environment, particularly the enchanting Cliff House, truly transported me into the story. I love when an author takes the time to set the scene, making me feel like I'm right there alongside the characters.

If you're a fan of unexpected twists, family secrets, and a jaw-dropping ending, this book is must-read. I found it nearly impossible to hit pause, as I was desperate to uncover the truth. And let me tell you, the ending completely flipped the script - bravo!

I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this gem so we can dissect every juicy detail together. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Thank you, The Pulse and Brilliance Publishing, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Multi-layered and dual-time, I this story to be interesting and complex enough to hold my attention to the end!

I read this in one day (via audio) and really enjoyed it! While I didn’t quite get all the historical aspects (recent history as it was) I knew they’d be wrapped up by the end. I guessed most twists but it was still enjoyable with a light romantic thread.

Can recommend to fans of light thrills and mystery.

Note: Some language.

My rating: 4*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC. All opinions are my own.