The night of the storm
Nishita Parekh
Pub Date; Jan 16, 2024
Dutton
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Mystery/thriller
This is Parekh’s debut and it’s got plenty of tension and all the elements to keep me reading!
There is plenty of cultural information about Hinduism including foods, beliefs, and the importance of family. Truly entertaining!
4 stars

From debut author Nishita Parekh, a fresh take on the classic locked-room thriller, about a multigenerational Indian American family marooned in a house with a murderer during Hurricane Harvey

Good ideas but it didn't add anything to the genre.

The Night of the Storm by Nishita Parekh is a very good locked room mystery.
The cover and description really pulled me and I was super excited to open this book up.
This gripping, twisty mystery sucked me in from the very first page.
I enjoyed the storyline and the characters were great.
Full of tension, twist after twist, and characters who pull you deep into their journey. I loved every second of this book.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Dutton for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book was compelling in many different ways. I enjoyed it as it took me for a suspenseful ride. The hurricane builds the complexity of the suspense. It also pulled at my heartstrings for what Jia was going through, amidst of her divorce and raising her child by herself and the move to Houston. Lots of changes happening for the pair and even with the drama of the hurricane, it was interesting to see the mother and son relationship be tested and grow throughout the book. Thank you for this advanced reader’s version of the book. Coming out January 2024!

I did not like this book enough to finish it. The description sounded interesting, but once I started reading I couldn't remember what had called out to me. Halfway through the book I realized I didn't like a single character nor care about their fate. The book is well written, but it is absolutely not for me.

3⭐️

In the midst of a custody battle, her young son acting out, and her brother-in-law making uncomfortable comments, the last thing Jia Shah has the ability to process is a hurricane. But as Hurricane Harvey bares down on Houston and her apartment falls under a mandatory evacuation order, Jia has no choice but to stay with her sister and brother-in-law. Tensions are high are the storm gets worse and that's when someone is found dead. Which means one of them is a killer.

This was just okay. The storm was a nice catalyst to push the "locked room" aspect of the story. But the actual mystery left a lot to be desired. The twist was fairly predictable but I do think the build-up to it was done well.

None of the characters were all that likeable and the fact that most of Jia's story revolved around immediately thinking the worst of her son was awful. The views from the grandma and the brother-in-law, while very cultural, were just highly irritating to me. There was just so much infidelity, condescension and tension that made it hard to enjoy this.

Thanks Netgalley and Dutton for providing this ARC to me!

This book was very good! It was a bit slow at times but I managed to get through it! Props to the ending never saw it coming

This is legendary. Okay so Jia is a newly divorced mom. She has a "perfect" sister, a creepy brother in law, her son, and a baby niece.
Plus her ex husband who is trying to get custody of her son, who is her everything.
When Hurricane Harvey hits she heads to her sister's house and they're joined by the creepy brother in law's brother and his wife Lisa. Jia is observing everyone and is worried about Lisa. She is also trying to avoid creepy brother in law.
After a while she discovers that she left one evacuation zone for another.
And then things get murdery.
I loved learning about Jia's culture while also being scared out of my mind. This was terrifying.
I love Seema's pettiness. I wanted to take notes.
I loved this so much I didn't want to put it down. I can't express that enough. I want to read ten books just like this right now.

Nishita Parekh's The Night of the Storm is packed full of great ideas and interesting elements; Jia, the protagonist, has to reckon with difficult family dynamics and an incoming Hurricane, and that's before the murder.

There are some pacing issues that take a lot of the wind out of the sails of the novel early on. The crime at the center of the mystery doesn't take place until about halfway through the book. The first half has a few misdirects, where you think something is happening, only for it to be nothing. I eventually started to think there wouldn't be a murder at all and the paranoia would be the central point, so by the time it did happen I was less invested. On the other end, because it took so long to get to murder, the second half felt pretty rushed.

Overall there is a lot to like! Especially if you, like me, are a sucker for locked-room mysteries.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

For a debut, this was solid. A locked room mystery/thriller is classic for a reason and this one hit the mark. Add in a hurricane and it just perfected the atmosphere. I will read the next one this author puts out.

While I totally appreciated the perspective of a divorced mom, especially one from a culture who puts so much pride and stock and status into marriage, this fell very flat for me. I could see the twist coming pretty early on and it just seemed like a bunch of women ultimately hating marriage/what comes along with it, and honestly hating themselves.

The Night of the Storm has a strong premise; from its description, to the cover, it comes across as an enticing read. The novel has strong character work, Jia, the novel’s protagonist is both nuanced and flawed, making her an ideal character to witness the chaotic events of the book through. However, my reservations on the book come from an overall lack of thrill in my personal experience. With the plot being so character driven, most of the thrill was quite subdued and I never quite felt on the edge of my seat. The ending was decent, but I felt like the outcome of the night had me wanting more. I also didn’t appreciate Dev being painted as some kind of hero after the encounters he had with an underage girl. I believe Jia’s decision to let him back into Ishaan’s life did not quite coincide with the decisions she made throughout the narrative.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of The Night of the Storm for allowing me to read and review this book in advance of its release!

Talk about a page turner! This debut had me so intrigued to the very end. This family drama thriller had me guessing and wondering who to the very end! Congratulations to the author for her very first book it did not disappoint!

This story is focused on a woman named Jia and her son ishaan who have to seek a safe haven from hurricane Harvey. They end up going to her sister Seema’s home where she lives with her husband Vipul, mother in law, and daughter Asha. Not only does Jia arrive to their home but also Seema’s brother on law Raj and his wife Lisa. Once they’re all getting settle for the storm some events start to take place urging a rowdy neighbor,( Rafael) to seek safety in their home as well. Vipul has expressed his dislike for Rafael when all of a sudden he turns up dead. If only that was the end to their night in the storm they would shortly learn it was only the beginning to a night that would change their family forever. A perfect storm calls for the perfect murder but when it rains it pours and when it pours you better hope theres a lifeboat coming!

An interesting look into the views of people from India on marriage and divorce. An interesting read in terms of the plot and the twists and turns it takes. I had a hard time guessing who had motivation to do what, so it was written well in that respect. Some of the characters felt a little flat.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the advance read copy!

I wanted to really like this book, but honestly, it was just kind of blah. It was pretty predictable and it made me mad that a certain character didn’t have to pay for their crimes.

Jai takes her son to her sister's house to wait out the hurricane, and a mysterious man appears and ends up dead. who killed him and why? interesting read.

This is an interesting one. Overall I give it a 4, hard to follow at times with so many characters and other motives at okay but I really the writing was good.

The night of a hurricane Jia takes her and her son to her sisters house to wait out the storm, but this quickly turns sinister. A mysterious man shows up and then ends up dead.

Who’s the killer and why? The last chapter was my favorite but I don’t fully agree with Jia recanting her statement about Seema for Asha. Different in opinion I’m sure but still a good book.

A gritty, intense, fast-paced, riveting, artful melding of stunning psychological thrills and nail-biting suspense. Edgy, atmospheric and full of dark secrets, shocking plot twists and pulse-pounding, palpable tension. A MUST for fans who thrive on superbly-written, unputdownable thrillers!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

3.5 stars

Jia, reeling from her recent divorce, finds herself in Houston, Texas, to be closer to her sister, Seema. Struggling with raising a pre-teen son on her own, the last thing Jia needs is a massive hurricane. With Harvey sweeping in, she flees to her sister and her husband's house in a wealthy suburb, son in tow. What happens that night rips the curtain back on secrets everyone in the house is keeping, and not everyone makes it out alive.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved that it focused so much on Southeast Asian culture—the descriptions of tradition and their implication were rich and detailed. The plot, however, felt a little disjointed to me, and some of the dialogue didn't hit like I wanted it to. Overall, I liked it, but I also wanted it to be better because it had a lot of potential.

This was a wild ride. Very slow pacing and just didn't catch my attention in the first half to make it an easy read. I found myself struggling to keep going to get into the thick of it all.