Thank you so much to Nishita Parekh, Penguin Group Dutton, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was initially drawn to this book by the cover, the storyline, and it being Nishita’s debut novel. I mean, the cover screams mystery on a stormy night in an incredibly large house. Who doesn't get excited by that? The locked room concept had me ready for murders to happen with everyone as the culprit, really emphasizing the "who did it" discovery. I did check out other readers reviews ahead of time and saw they were pretty mixed, so I was prepared for any experience while reading it. Sadly, this book ended up just being okay for me. I wasn’t immediately drawn in when I started reading, and I really felt as though the story was moving slowly. I just wasn’t getting that grip factor that just had me sucked in, "turning pages (on my Kindle)," waiting for the next thing to happen. To me, everything got exciting during the last twenty percent of the book, when I wish it would’ve been more engaging throughout.

Jia, a recently divorced mom, has moved to Texas to be free of her ex-husband and closer to her sister. Her son, Ishaan, is having troubles at school, putting a strain on his relationship with his mother. Dev, Jia’s ex-husband, is trying to become involved in Ishaan’s life again as he’s remained in Chicago after the divorce. It seems like everything is going wrong for Jia after her move to Texas, and without Dev in the picture anymore, she seemingly doesn’t have anyone to help, and money is tight. Jia sees her brother-in-law Vipul showing up in the midst of her biggest struggles as an act of support from her sister Seema. In reality, they’re calculated opportunities for Vipul to save the day and make his move on Jia. Although Jia is not encouraging his advancements, his random drop-bys and suggestive texts all suggest otherwise to anyone looking in from the outside.

A secret affair, unwelcome advances, and family issues all come to a head when Hurricane Harvey hits Houston, Texas, and evacuation is the only answer. Jia thinks she’s doing what’s best for her and her son by following her sister’s guidance and choosing to wait out the storm at Seema and Vipul's house. Seema has also encouraged Vipul’s brother and wife to stay with them as well. Six adults and two children in one house in the midst of a hurricane with one uninvited neighbor makes for the perfect murder opportunity. But it’s not just one death that will happen on this night, making everyone in the house a suspect. As the flood waters rise and enter the house, so will tensions, as pieces start to fall into place and motives are uncovered. Some families will break and become unrepairable, but one will realign and become stronger than ever. Those who were once solely around each other as in-laws will become close friends. Who will make it out of the house alive and who will be swept up in the flood waters?

Many thanks to Penguin Group Dutton, NetGalley, and Nishita Parekh for this advanced copy of the book!
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My Review: First, the cover of this book is gorgeous! I'm a pluviophile (lover of rain, storms, and thunder), so this cover instantly stood out as I looked for my next read. The story is set during a hurricane in Houston, and family members are confined to one house to ride out the storm together. The story centers on the multiple secrets these family members have. As those secrets unraveled and two people in the home turned up dead, I started to think just how interesting this story was about to get. As I continue reading, I'm paying close attention to these revealed secrets and their connection. By the time I get to the end of the book, I feel underwhelmed by it all because some of the secrets feel a bit hoaky. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the story, the characters, and the build-up to the unraveling of the secrets; however, the ending left me feeling a lack of something I couldn't quite put my finger on. I'm sure it'll come to me as the days go on after reading this.

This book provides an interesting story about a mom doing her best to protect her son during Hurricane Harvey. It is both a bit of a family drama and a thriller. While the story is interesting, the writing leaves much to be desired, and is in a very “tell” not “show” format.

A locked room (house, really) thriller set during a hurricane? Great premise. A creepy uncle? A weird neighbor? An interloper new bride? A seemingly helpless single mom? Two kids? An invalid grandma? Two sisters with serious tension? An ex-husband with major secrets? All of those characters combine to a stressful hurricane situation for sure.

Im going to start with what I didn’t love—there were definitely slow parts to the story, and it felt like the author was constantly trying to leave the reader in a state of suspense—but by halfway, I was completely stressed out from all the attempts at suspense.

What I did enjoy—the second half of the book is when the story started to come together. The abundance of loose ends and veiled references to things we didn’t know yet started to wrap up. And it flew past, where the first half was a little tedious. There were also a lot of accusations flying around as tensions rose, and much more action.

The characters were both unlikeable and completely perfect. Only a single one of the adults was likeable IMO, and the rest? Dumpster fires, all of them.

Overall, a tension-filled read that was a little bit of a slow burn to get into, but once the action started, it was a satisfying read.

I enjoyed this book. Admittedly it took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. Jia, newly divorced, is struggling to start a new life with her preteen son Ishaan in a new city when Hurricane Harvey hits. She seeks refuge with her sister's family. While she doesn't like her sister's husband Vipual, she doesn't have any where else to go. Once the storm arrives, they are trapped in the house and as the conditions worsen, people in the house start to die. With no way to leave, Jia has to navigate tense, dangerous situations to keep her and her son safe. With a couple of good twists, the author keeps you on your toes all the way to the shocking end.
Thank you Net Galley and Pengiun Group for the ARC. I will definitely check this author out again.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the copy of The Night Of The Storm. This was a great debut! This was a classic locked room mystery and I felt the claustrophobia. I could feel the tension from the very beginning. The characters were interesting even if they weren’t likable, and I really liked how they all had real personalities, good and bad. The hurricane was so well-described it felt like an additional character. I loved how the story came together at the end and how there were subtle clues throughout the book. If you’re looking for a fast-paced book with a great story and realistic characters, this is the book for you! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

I went into this book expecting an isolation mystery. However, this ended up exploring complex family dynamics even more. The way the author crafted the family members was engaging and humanized them.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me. I read over half and still was not drawn in. I felt it lacked character development and I found myself struggling to remember who is who and how they are all related or not. I liked the story place setting but just wish I was able to connect with the characters better.

In 2017, Hurricane Harvey obliterated parts of Texas as it sat churning over the state. This book is set during that first horrifying night, and it made for a good atmosphere and backdrop for the story. As the hurricane bears down on Houston, a group forms to ride out the storm at a large house on a hill.

Seema and Vilpul own this house, and they have invited some friends and family members to shelter with them, Vilpul’s mother, “Grandma”, and their daughter, Asha. Seema is the sister of Jia, single mom of Ishaan, who is having a custody battle with his father, Dev. Jia was going to stay in their low-lying apartment, but (luckily, or unluckily?) Seema begged them to come to her house. Also invited were Vilpul’s brother Raj, and his partner, Lisa. Crashing the party late is Rafael, the only other person who dared stay during the storm, despite his home being down the hill.

Already it’s a suspenseful atmosphere while the hurricane keeps intensifying, but when two people die, we find ourselves trapped in a classic locked-room mystery. None of them can safely leave, but one (or more) of them is a killer. As the storm rages on, who will be alive the next day?

I saw some lower ratings for this, but I shouldn’t have been worried - this was a good book! I’m getting sick of locked-room mysteries (it seems that’s all that’s coming out over the next few months) but this one was engaging despite following an overdone formula. None of the characters really reached out to me, but this was still a decent mystery, and I didn’t see the end coming. 3.5 stars, rounded up for being better than a 3-star book, and for being a debut.

(Thank you to Dutton Books, Nishita Parekh, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on January 16, 2024.)

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book on exchange for an honest review.

This book had all the aspects of being good. But the execution was just NOT there. The author thrust us into the middle of the story (which I personally don’t mind) and introduced us to several characters right away. It seemed rushed.

Thank you!

It was a slow burn for me personally. I thought it dragged for a few chapters until we hit the plot point then it got very good. It was interesting. I would recommend if you are okay with slow burn thrillers :)

I really enjoyed this story until almost the end. The fear and suspense, questions popping up left and right about who to trust- all brilliantly done. But for the main character Jia to Set Aside the fact that her ex-husband was a predator (which she detailed earlier on) in order to allow her child time with him because he was "a great father" ?? is outrageous to me. And then for Jia to Recant her statement about the murder her sister Seema plotted to commit instead of getting divorced- just so that Seema could be reunited with her daughter so she "didn't become an orphan" (said daughter had a minimum of 4 local family members and only one dead parent despite reference to her becoming an orphan) is also outrageous. While I was about to enjoy Jia's new found confidence in herself, those endings swept it all away for me. That's not confidence that's cowardice, and if I was going to offer my opinion as to how it should really end- take those parts out. They really deflate the entire story.
The final chapter narrarated by Grandma was a great twist and how the book should have ended a chapter earlier in my opinion.
#TheNightoftheStorm

First - A big thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Night of the Storm in exchange for my honest review.

I was really hoping to love this book - it has all of the elements of a great read. Storms, murder, family tension but in the end it lost me. The characters were not likable at all. I did not want to root for any of them and instead hated all of them (even the kids). The back and forth between present and past were not done well. The author at the end of each chapter tries to hook you in with a cliffhanger but by the end of the first sentence of the next chapter you have lost interest in what was happening again.

The last few chapters were where the writing and story got better but by then I just wanted to finish the book so I could be done with it.

2 stars is all I could muster to give! Better luck with the next book.

This book had a very promising start. The main character decided to go to her wealthy sister's house to ride out the storm with her son. The house is full with other relatives and when the neighbor joins them too, people start to die. Until this point it was very readable but then it just became ridiculous and unbelievable. The characters all seemed to annoy me and their actions made no sense to me. Skimmed through to the end.

Newly single mom, Jia Shah, is finding parenting a tween has it's challenges. After a tough week and an out of school suspension, then dealing with lawyers on custody issues, now hurricane Harvey is on it's way to the Houston area. Begrudgingly she accepts an invitation to wait out the storm at her sisters house. Seema lives in an affluent suburb of Houston, in a big house, with a perfect life, or so it seems. As more people show up, and the storm rages, typical family tensions emerge but then someone is murdered. Will Jia be able to keep her son safe, survive the storm and identify the killer?
This was a fantastic debut novel. The family dynamic in this is so compelling, I think that everyone regardless of culture can relate. At the same time the cultural references were so interesting and the author did a great job at explaining everything and making it relatable. At first this one is a slow burn, but when it picks up you can't put it down. Great suspense and I honestly had no idea who the killer was until the reveal. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery thrillers, thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the opportunity to review this book.

I loved this book right up until the very end but even so it is was a great story. It had all of my personal favorites of storms and people trapped in a seemingly locked room situation. Facing a hurricane, the family hunkers down in the opulent house of the protagonist's sister .. what could go wrong?? Everything from family secrets to actual death by murder and the storm go on in this one terrifying night. There was excellent skill in building the characters into real people using cultural references and details to add another layer to the story. The tension builds throughout until the big shocking reveal almost at the end. My problem is that this type of novel shouldn't finish up with such a Danielle Steel type wrap up where everything goes so well for the heroine at the end. That being said I think it still deserves 4 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Night of the Storm in exchange for my honest review
I expected to like this book from the provided blurb because I enjoy locked room mysteries. Overall I thought this book was incredibly slow. The pace never picked up for me. I feel like the author was talking in circles a bit and going on about the same things. There were so many different things going on with the characters it was hard to keep track of who was doing what. During the majority of the book I didn’t feel like I was reading a thriller. It read more like a family style drama. One thing I did like is how the author sprinkled in cultural aspects of the culture.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of The Night of the Storm. The following review is my honest opinion.

The Night of the Storm by debut author Nishita Parekh is a closed/locked room mystery set in Houston during a hurricane. The lead character Jia and her son are invited to her sister's house to ride out the upcoming hurricane due to a mandatory evacuation. Once arriving she finds other family will be arriving as well. All the characters have backstories that play into what will eventually happen as the book progresses. As the story moves along, we discover this is a pretty dysfunctional family. After two dead bodies, everyone is a suspect and Jia's main concern is protecting her son and getting out of the house before becoming the next victim.

The first part of the book was a little slow for me and uninteresting, but it redeemed itself in the second half. The story did keep me guessing till near the end as to who was complicit of the crimes, as well as why the crimes were committed. It was hard to really like some of these family characters with all the bickering and backstabbing so to speak. For me the story was still a solid three stars, and I would give this author another go in the future.

I was really impressed with this debut novel. A locked room whodunit in the midst of a catastrophic hurricane.

Parts of this were rapid paced while others were more like a slow burn mystery. Jia jumps to conclusions an awful lot which feels like an intentional misdirection by the author.

The explanations into the cultural differences and beliefs was a nice bonus. I think it added more to our characters and who could be our killer based on everything we know.

The only complaint I have is that at times it felt like too much. Not the background of their cultural and heritage. But too much backstory, too much adding to the story. The hurricane plotline plays in the background and that's fine. But I think some of the whodunit aspect is taken away when we are focusing on too many details and inner thoughts from Jia. It all wraps up neat and tidy and makes sense but I think some of the subplots would have been better left for another story.

The last chapter does make up for it in my opinion. Everyone just waited on that storm.

Locked room thriller? Sign me up! ✅ I really enjoyed this debut novel. The pacing was kind of slow though for a thriller. I think it could have been way shorter and we wouldn’t have lost the character building. However, I really liked the main character and felt bad for her. The love for her son was palpable. The twist at the end makes me want to read more of Nishita’s books! Check this one out and ride the wave of thrills.

Thank you Penguin Group: Dutton, Netgalley, and Nishita Parekh for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.