I think the author did remarkably well portraying a complicated and dysfunctional family dynamic, something I really enjoy in books, especially thrillers.

The majority of this book takes place in a short amount of time. A serious storm has come and there is an evacuation in place. Jia and her son head over to her sister’s place for safety. And while Jia has her reservations, considering the drastic differences she has with some of her family, but it is what is safest for her son… sort of. That is an ongoing theme in the book. Jia wants to be a safe haven for her preteen son. She is in the middle of a battle with her ex under not the best circumstances and her son is seemingly acting out. But she constantly fears she is a bad mother.

As this storm rages on and tensions rise in the house, a shocking death rattles the family. I saw the outcome coming very early on, getting a specific vibe from certain characters. It was a shock to me and the way it all plays out was the reason I didn’t LOVE this book.

I loved the multicultural aspect of the book. I thought even the characters I didn’t like were well written. I am impressed by this debut, but I was disappointed to a degree with the way things panned out.

Haunting and a fast paced read! Loved the premise of this book. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Locked in mysteries are a favorite of mine, especially when they’re during a storm. The Night of the Storm delivered this perfectly.

I loved the drama each character had, the suspense and mystery of the crime and the dialogue.

The twist wasn’t what I was hoping for. It just wasn’t shocking or anything special.

Overall, it was a fun locked in mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this debut novel The Night of the Storm but I found myself bored and couldn’t get into it. Dnf at 30%.

DNF @ 30%. For a mystery/thriller, the plot isn’t moving enough to keep me interested. The flow of the story is also choppy and a little all over the place. There was a random flash back in one of the chapters that didn’t really fit. None of the characters are likeable. The dialogue isn’t flowing and is very hard to read.

I was very intrigued in the beginning of this book as it talked about Jia parenting her son and dealing with the approaching storm. It started to feel a little PG as the book went on and I started to lose interest. The characters are awkward and it’s very easy to see who the murderer is right away. The strange connection between Jia and Vipul seemed odd and gross. The ending tried to be a twist but it wasn’t surprising at all. Overall, I wasn’t a fan of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book. This was a disappointing read for me. The premise sounded great, but the book did not present loveable characters and did not develop the story enough. The book started out good, but the follow through wasn't there. 2 stars.

This cover is gorgeous. I just love the storm above and the lit up windows. The storm of the century is pushing down on Texas. Jia is in difficult part of her life. She's recently divorced, much to her family's dismay, and trying to keep her only son out of trouble at school. As the storm rolls in, she decides to go to her sister's house for refuge and safety, hoping their rich neighborhood and living on a hill will save them from the storm.

This one was just okay. I found Jia confusing right from the get-go. I didn't understand her initial reaction to the neighbor nor her on edge - she seemed to be jumping at shadows before we knew they were there. I found the conversations a little dull and just never felt fully pulled in to the mystery. The family drama felt a bit exaggerated and each new layer felt a little more unbelievable. But I did like the twist of the storm really getting in the way and keeping everyone on their toes. I liked it, didn't love it.

<i>A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.</i>

At the start, I found the book a bit slow and really had no idea where it was going with its plot. There was a lot of setting the scene as the storm was starting and I was bored in anticipation. However I understood as I progressed in the story why setting this scene was so important. That character development of Seema, Vipul and the others made the twists and turns of the story so difficult to predict. This dark but twisted story kept me captivated through the last third of the story. I rated the story three stories. Unfortunately for me it lacked that “can’t put it down” factor for the first 2/3 of the book, but redeemed it self with the last third and nice wrapped up ending.

What an interesting take on the locked in mystery. I couldn’t help but wondering why the family was called together in a place where everyone else had evacuated. Also, o was worried about the kid!

Well done for a debut novel. I love that the characters are BIPOC. I think we need more representation for everyone. This was an exciting thriller and I will be awaiting more from her!

This book starts out slooooowwwwly, like almost DNF slowly. While it is advertised as a thriller it reads like drama….with a capital D. This novel is about a family, only the family is so annoying that it’s no surprise that they all have a reasonable motive to kill each other.

The twist did get me tho, I was not expecting that one!

Overall, this was two star read for me. I added a third because of the twist and the fact that’s it’s a debut author.

A family of Indian immigrants living in Texas is stuck together in a house during a dangerous hurricane and the people in the place they have come to seek shelter may be more dangerous than the storm.
Jia will do anything to protect her son Ishaan, who after a bitter divorce and custody battle seems to be taking more and more after his father.
Seema, Jia’s sister and confidante is busy with a toddler and controlling husband Vipul. She’s known for being openly hostile to her outsider SIL, Lisa, married to Vipul’s brother Raj.
Raj, the younger brother, has always wanted to be a writer, but his brothers constant put downs is starting to take their toll.
Grandma is just waiting for her eldest son to give her a grandson, and when the neighbor across the street, Raphael, seeks help after his house floods and burglars left him injured, she senses not all is as they seem.
A locked room thriller pitting family against each other when one of them shows up dead.
While I was invested in seeing how the story ended, it was more to see if I was right rather than “who dunnit.” I figured it out pretty quickly and was frequently annoyed by the main character- Jia- and her complete lack of awareness and spiraling into a worst case scenario at every turn. The writing seemed over exaggerated at times and made me think at around page 59 that I would DNF but I stuck it out.
Thrillers are not always my jam- and this one the ending was only satisfying because I called it from the start. Mostly. 😉
I can see this being a thriller slump buster, so give it a go!

This story takes place as an Indian family shelters together in Houston as Hurricane Harvey approaches. But as the storm approaches, someone dies, leaving everyone to wonder whodunnit. While this seems like an excellent idea for a thriller, unfortunately, it ends up being more of a family drama. The narrative gets bogged down in details of their personal lives and it loses the tension needed for a really exciting thriller. Overall, not bad if you're looking for a family drama, but not so much a thriller.

Thank you @duttonbooks & @netgalley for the digital galley. I am loving the characters and the slow buildup of the storyline with perfect backdrop of Hurricane Harvey! This book hits the shelves on January 16, 2024

The premise of this book really drew me in, and overall I did think Jia's voice was well done and felt real. She was believable as a struggling divorced mom who wanted to keep custody of her son.

What dragged the book down for me was that the feeling of suspense was lacking. The book kept dropping so much exposition about cultural differences and petty family dramas; and while some of this was interesting, there was just a bit too much of this info dumping that bogged down the pace.

The Night of the Storm is the debut novel of Nishita Parekh. During the torrential rains of Hurricane Harvey, one family’s secrets are revealed. This thriller is quite the page turner. I thought I’d figured it out, but I was wrong. The narrator is a recently divorced Indian mom; the character has a strong and witty voice. The other characters are well developed and the story telling is illustrative and detailed. I look forward to reading this author’s future work.

Nishita Parekh’s debut thriller, The Night of the Storm, is a locked room mystery with several different twists. The Indian-American family stuck together in a mansion is trapped by Hurricane Harvey as it hits Houston. And, the protagonist is a single mother of a young teen, a divorcee trying to cope with her status in her culture as a divorced woman while struggling to take care of her son.

Six months after her divorce, Jia Shah doesn’t feel as if she’s a fit mother for her son, Ishaan. The twelve-year-old misses his father, and there have been a few behavioral issues. But, Jia’s determined that he not grow up like her ex, Dev. In the face of Hurricane Harvey, though, she feels even more inadequate. She’s waited too late to even get water, doesn’t know what to do in the face of the emergency, and finally gives in and ventures through the storm to her sister’s house. Seema and her husband, Vipul, live on higher ground, and Seema assures her it’s safe. But, something doesn’t feel right because the neighborhood seems deserted.

As the family gathers, with the addition of Vipul’s brother, Raj, and sister-in-law, Lisa, along with Vipul’s mother and toddler daughter, it’s easy to assume they’re a typical Indian family, eating Indian food, and observing traditional customs. But, the arrival of a neighbor in distress, and the continuing storm adds to the tension. When one person dies, and, then another is murdered, Jia realizes she’s trapped in the house with a killer, and it’s up to her to save herself and her son before she’s implicated in the deaths.

I’ve read a few reviews of The Night of the Storm, and I have to agree with others. I found it okay, but that’s about it. Jia lacks confidence in herself and her son, and that’s difficult to deal with for an entire book. It’s understandable because of the role of a woman in Indian culture, and her struggles as an immigrant. And, Parekh does deal with that in the story. But, Jia is a weak protagonist, and it’s difficult to care about her.

The Night of the Storm was an interesting debut because of the setting during a hurricane. It’s the atmosphere that will keep readers turning the pages, not the characters.

My first read by Parekh but hopefully, not my last.
Jia and her teen son Ishaan are forced to seek refuge from Hurricane Harvey with her sister and brother-in-law,
Vipul, l in their lavish and supposedly storm proof home in Sugarland, a very =y upscale suburb of Houston.
As the storm worsens and they discover the entire neighborhood has evacuated due to mandatory orders, she discovers Vipul has manipulated the entire refuge offer to her and another neighbor they have taken in.
So the mystery deepens, and terror enters the story as the storm rages, the house is broken in to and no one seems to be exactly who they portend to be.
Add in the unpredictable antics of her 3-year-old niece, and her brother-in-law's irascible mother, as well as Vipul's younger brother and wife and the plot, entangled as it initially appears, is really just one big surprise after another.
A really good mystery read with suspense nonstop and the best part for me: just when I thought I had it all figured out - I really was not even close.
Very good thriller.

One of my favorite mystery tropes is the “locked in” setup where there’s a killer amongst the group, so this was right up my alley. For the most part I liked this one. The characters were interesting and the plot was promising…I just think it could have been a little more developed with a few more layers to deepen the story. Overall it was a quick, easy read. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for this ARC!