If you like to be spooked but don’t like anything supernatural, Night Watcher might be a great book for you. Our protagonist, Nola Strate, is a radio host for the show Night Watcher, which delves into all things creepy and mysterious. As a child, she witnessed a horrible murder at the hands of The Hiding Man. One evening on Night Watcher, she receives a call that makes her think he may have returned. It’s an awesome and effective set up to keep you on edge.

Several times while listening to Night Watcher after the sun went down, I considered taking a break. Imagining a similar knock at the window or creak on the stairs made me really appreciate living with my dog. I have one small complaint: the radio host storyline is ripe for creepy calls. I was disappointed we didn’t get more creepy vibes at the radio station. Obviously this is a personal hang up. Otherwise, the book was great, it was a quick and creepy listen and I enjoyed both voice actors' performances. I highly recommend it to thriller and horror fans.

Pub Date July 8th 🔪🩸


This debut novel blew me away.
If you're in the mood for a thrilling horror story that will engage you as if you were watching a movie, this is the story to check out.


Thank you, Netgalley and Hachette Audio, for the ALC.

I was absolutely blown away by this book! From the very beginning I was hooked and on the edge of seat. I devoured the entire thing in one sitting. I thought I had it figured out but I couldn’t believe how it turned out!
I really liked the balance the FMC had from the rightfully traumatized and skeptic girl to a strong baddie. She was very believable and very lovable! All of the male characters were also good, except that one suspicious character we weren’t meant to love love but even his character was great!
Also where was the inspiration for the scene/town? I’m moving there pronto, you think the murders will drop the price? Haha. But in all seriousness I have no complaints except that I’m obsessed and there’s not more books to read!
Can’t wait to see what’s to come, and can’t wait to tune into the podcast now!

The narrators also did a fantastic job! Can’t wait to hear more from Helen!

Hachette Audio ALC
Wow, what a horror novel. Don't recommend listening while home alone. This book was propulsive, heart pounding, and a page turner. I was immediately gripped into Nola's story of surviving a serial killer and then the paranoia of wondering if he was back decades later. The author alternated between Nola and Jack, a detective, which slowly increased the panic of a serial killer stalking women. I don't want to say much more besides if you're a horror fan, you have to check this out. It's bingeable, creepy, and the perfect summer horror novel.
It's also a dual narration novel, which was perfect for the different POVs. Both captured the characters and their anxieties perfectly in their performances.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and Daphne Woolsoncroft for an ARC of Night Watcher! I’ve been so excited for this book with listening to Going West for a couple years now. This book completely sucked me in from the beginning and I was hooked. It was completely immersive with feeling like you are there with Nola trying to solve who the Hiding Man was. Coming from a podcaster covering mysteries/murders Daphne knew how to chill you to your core. The narrators were fantastic - I’m really glad I listened to it on audio! They really helped with the experience feeling like you’re in the story. Nola is a radio host in Oregon and covers mysteries/hauntings called Night Watch which was her father’s old station. Nola receives a call that sounds too eerily familiar to something she experienced as a child. Nola has tried her best to forget it and fears he’s back. Strange things start going on - hearing noises, feeling like she’s being watched, people getting hurt - Nola decides she’s going to take matters into her own hands and finally unmask the Hiding Man.

Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An excellent thriller that follows a late night call-in radio host whose secrets come back to haunt her when she gets a phone call describing her run-in with a serial killer. Night Watcher is impossible to put down and is expertly narrated. I loved this story and look forward to whatever this author writes next.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was good and spooky! Great narration and story as well -- perfect fit and choice of narrators for the audiobook! I really enjoyed listening to this even if it made me lock all my doors twice. Give it a try!

Night Watcher comes out next week on July 8, 2025, and you can purchase HERE!

I play with the silver rings on my right hand while a raspy-voiced woman from Massachusetts spews a horror story she claims occurred just yesterday. Sliding them on and off my index and middle fingers, my mind wanders to a different place. I don't know where it takes me, but I follow for half a minute or so. When I realize I've faded, I adjust in my seat and undertake my usual role of Attentive Radio Show Host.
During certain stories, I slip away into my own head, often wondering how many of the tales I'm told are elaborately crafted in hopes of fooling me on live radio. To my knowledge, this has happened several times, leaving me to scramble for a clever response. Most stories we're told feel authentic, the person's tone showcasing fear and realism. But I guess it depends on your beliefs.

If you’re a fan of “edge of your seat thrillers” then don’t sleep on this one!! The narrators were so good, especially Helen Laser. The added emotion from her performance really made it feel authentic from the beginning. The story follows Nola Strate, the late night radio host of a talk show focused on hauntings and the supernatural. One night she gets a call that rattles her to the bone when she realizes the masked murderer that killed her babysitter long ago is back!

Let me tell you I was suspicious of absolutely everyone and everything. I couldn’t stop listening and I kept getting the feeling I myself was being watched 👀 . I loved this book so much you’ll definitely want to add it to your reading list this summer, publishing early July. Thank you so much Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio: Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy of this audiobook.
This story had a really interesting premise. A podcaster is shocked and scared when someone calls in and says she feels like she's being watched, then screams before hanging up. It is later revealed she was murdered and the murder is the same as an unsolved serial killer case, which is connected to the podcaster. The podcaster's babysitter was murdered when she was a child, and she survived and saw his disturbing mask.
The book was fast-paced and intense. There was a lot of danger and suspense. I really enjoyed the two narrators. The murderer was very creepy. It was a fun and entertaining thriller!

🎧 ALC REVIEW 🎧

Pub Date 🔪 July 8th

“I think I just witnessed a woman’s final moments. Mask, white face, stitched eyes, stitched mouth, the Hiding Man is back and he’s watching me too… just like he warned me he would.”

First off… THIS IS A DEBUT?!?! What the ACTUAL fuck. Literally obsessed. The audio production and narration were phenomenal. I felt like I was watching a movie, it was so descriptive and eerie. If you’re into podcasts, true crime, slasher flicks, and final girl vibes then YOU NEED THIS NOW. HIGHLY recommend 🔪🔪🔪

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you @netgalley @hachetteaudio

This is the best serial killer thriller I've read in a long time! I was creeped out, invested in the story, and genuinely shocked by some things.

Wow....once I started this book, I could not put it down. This is a perfect thriller...it's fast, chilling ,has relentless tension, and a twist that I did not see coming. I loved how the author had me thinking it was one character, and it totally was not. I have discovered that i am a big fan of books with podcasts in them and I was happy with this podcast element in the book. The Hiding Man serial killer is so creepy and the author did a fantastic job in describing all his creepienss. I listened to this book on audio and I will be recommending to people....it adds a certain level of suspense that just adds to the book. The narrator did a great job. I am surprised that this a debut novel....it's so well done. I rated this a 4 star book on my Goodreads and will be recommending on all my socials!

Thank you Hachette Audio & Daphne Woolsoncroft for this read!

This is THE thriller for true crime lovers! Combining a true crime podcaster and a creepy serial killer that acts in spine chilling ways, this book had me HOOKED. I binged this audiobook so quickly and when I wasn't listening I was craving it.

I loved the whole lone survivor aspect, final girls are one of my FAV tropes in thrillers and horrors so of course I enjoyed it. Our protagonist works to reveal the identity of a terrifying serial killer, and at the same time the suspense builds as it feels like she is being hunted. Furthermore, there are MULTIPLE suspects connected to our protagonist and the author had me trying to work out my own theories. The ending, while not totally unpredictable, didn't take anything away from this amazing read!

The narrators did a brilliant job. Featuring a true crime podcast, reading through an audiobook was the best choice for this book! It brings the podcast to life and hearing the phone call from the start especially was CHILLING.

Can't wait for more from this author!

4.5/5

Night Watcher starts with young Nola Strate, home with her babysitter, when she hears noise downstairs. Upon checking, she finds her babysitter murdered and an intruder in a mask. Nola escapes upstairs and locks herself in a room and calls 911. The killer escapes but Nola has to live with his tragedy. Fast forward in time and Nola's popular radio host of a dad is retiring and handing over the show reins to Nola, of his show Night Watch, when they get an eerie call in. What the call in woman thinks is a ghost ends up being an intruder and Nola is thrown right back in time Is this man the same man who's haunted her dreams?
This story has the best concept! I love the vision but after listening to the audio of the book the middle felt a bit rushed and made me feel like I had missed a few chapters. I think the beginning and ending were well plotted out, but the middle was just missing something for me. I did enjoy the addition of the investigators point of view and how that tied into the ending. The resolution was well written! Overall, a quick, fun read/listen!

A little slow for me to get into but once I did this was chilling and suspenseful!

Nola’s the host of a call-in late night radio show called Night Watch, where listeners call in with their own creepy hauntings or sightings. But when a caller calls in that she feels like she’s being watched, and then immediately meets her demise while on the call, Nola starts flashing back to a similar murder she witnessed as a child. This happens all too quickly and Nola, who also recently has felt like she has her own stalker, can’t help but believe the same killer from her past has returned. This time for her. Thus begins, a who done it and who could this killer be mystery. With shocking twists and non stop suspense, this was an anxious page turner for me. I loved the idea of a late night call in radio show. And the different moving characters made for a fun guessing game, where I tried to connect the clues. The flashbacks added a psychological thriller element with true crime aspects, that made the looming threat of the present all the more creepy.

It had me intrigued from the beginning. I am interested in the characters, the writing, the story and (unlike my usual preference) even the dual time lines (a few flashbacks).
We are following a woman (Nola) in the present and during an event that happened to her 20 years ago. We are seeing the POV from her in the flash backs. Then in the present from her, a friend, and a detective with a snipit from the killer.
I felt like it was a great pace for most of the book for a thriller. Not too fast but not slow enough to loose interest. The last few chapters felt a bit more rushed than the rest of it but still really good. I stayed up till 1am today because I had to finish it. !!

Wow I loved this! At no point did I see the twist coming, the pacing was on point, and the characters seemed real to me. I will be recommending this book often. Fantastic audiobook as well!



4/5 Stars
Thank you Hachette Audio and Netgalley for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Night Watcher felt incredibly real—like watching a gritty 1980s slasher play out in slow motion, but knowing every terrifying detail actually happened. Daphne Woolsoncroft’s writing pulls you in with an eerie, cinematic feel that reminded me of old-school thrillers: the kind that make you check your locks twice at night. The tension builds steadily, and the atmosphere is thick with dread. It’s haunting without being overdone—just raw, chilling reality that sticks with you. If you’re into true crime that reads like a horror movie from the ’80s, this one absolutely delivers.

My friend Nikki (@nikkileethrillseeker) couldn’t stop raving about this one, and after reading the synopsis, I HAD to get it! Huge thanks to Grand Central for shipping me a copy after I came begging for it! This book was SO good—and scary in the best way. I literally had to turn on every light! 💡😱
Bonus, while waiting for the physical copy I got approved for the audiobook too, and the narrators did an amazing job creeping me out. The characters, the suspense, and the chills kept me hooked. Can’t wait for everyone to read it, just make sure you keep your lights on!

Thank you Hachette Audio and Grand Central Publishing for my gifted copy!

I knew as soon as I saw the cover for Night Watcher, I absolutely needed to read this. It gave me chills. The spooky type of atmosphere that I lust for in a thriller. And I’m so glad the innards did not disappoint lol.

Night Watcher is going to be a summer thriller blockbuster for a reason. It is more than a surface level thrill. It was a portrait of what living through a traumatic event does to your psyche. Think of that scene in Scream 3 when we see Sidney Prescott entering her property before starting her shift at a crisis call center. The lock and alarm number pad on the gate, the multiple deadbolts, the extreme security. Nola lives in that same state of mind. And just like Scream, who could blame her? She witnessed the aftermath of a masked assailant murdering her much idolized babysitter. And then, just like Scream, the masked killer returns.

My only complaint is that this book had a supernatural like quality to the masked killer. It was so good. And … I wish it stayed to that tune. That is all I’ll say, because I don’t want to give it away.

I really enjoyed this one and cannot wait to read more from the author!