I’ve been a long-time fan of Hannah Richell’s books and have enjoyed all of them, but I’m particularly loving her recent shift into the suspense-thriller genre. Last year’s The Search Party was a standout, and now One Dark Night has cemented her talent in this new direction.

Set in the small town of Thorncombe, the story begins with the discovery of a teenage girl’s body at the bottom of an old stone folly in the nearby woods after a Halloween party. The town is immediately buzzing with whispers of haunted woods and rumours about what could have happened. Police Detective Ben Chase is assigned to the case, and with a teenage daughter of his own, he feels immense pressure to solve the crime quickly. However, as he digs deeper, he discovers that no one in this town is who they seem to be—and the truth may be closer to home than he ever imagined.

I absolutely loved the atmospheric and claustrophobic small-town setting for this story, which felt like the perfect backdrop for the mystery to unfold. (I also loved the map at the front of the book—it made it easy to visualise the locations.) The story was well-crafted, with intriguing old folk tale excerpts woven in, adding an eerie touch. There were several red herrings that completely threw me off the trail of the real killer, which made the final reveal all the more satisfying.

If you’re looking for a murder mystery you can truly lose yourself in, one that keeps you guessing until the very end, I highly recommend One Dark Night.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Gripped right from the start.
The setting was so well presented, I could feel the creepiness of it all - the woods, the school, the damp and the fog.
I thought I had it figured out, but was completely tricked! Very hard to put down, really enjoyed it.

Thanks NetGalley for my advanced copy.
Hannah Richell has made a wonderful transition to suspenseful, mystery thrill rides.
One dark night keeps you guessing. Who murdered the girl? A classmate, an acquaintance or a stranger? As with most small towns there are secrets everywhere. The team have to explore and work their way through them, even if they touch close to home, in order to sort through the clues and find their way to a killer.

EXCERPT: Saturday, 10 p.m.
They crowd beside the bonfire, faces cast in flickering orange light, backs turned to the card unknown.
'It's not true. Sally wasn't real.'
'It is true,' insists the boy. 'Sally was here. Her name's scratched on the walls of the old hunting lodge.'
They lean into the story, his words holding them captive.
'She was a local girl. Engaged to be married, until her fiancé caught her cheating. He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress, luring people to their deaths.'
'Like I said, just a stupid story.'
'There's one way to find out . . .'
They circle the board, hands reaching for the glass jar. The boy waits until the only sounds are the crackle of the fire and the soft breeze whispering through the trees.
'Is there anyone out there?'

ABOUT 'ONE DARK NIGHT': One night in the woods
A party gone wrong
A body discovered at sunrise

He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress …

Everyone in the small town of Thorncombe knows the tales of the haunted woods where the birds don’t sing and a girl in a white dress roams, luring people to their deaths. But when a girl in white is found dead the morning after Halloween, her body carefully arranged at the bottom of an old stone folly, the community is thrown into turmoil.

With a teenage daughter of his own, police detective Ben Chase knows how high the stakes are. Was the girl the victim of a party prank gone wrong, or does her death represent something more sinister and ritualistic?

As the investigation unfolds and the noose tightens around Chase’s own family, the only thing anyone can be sure of is that no one is safe until this violent killer is caught.

MY THOUGHTS: Save this one for Halloween! The final chapters had my heart racing and my pulse pounding. Talk about thrilling . . .

The plot is a good one - one I could easily believe and could envisage happening. There's no need to suspend belief here. The characters are also believable and relatable. Teenagers are renowned for doing dumb things - I was an expert at them! - and these teens from a posh school are no exception.

Carefully (or not) mix a bunch of teenagers with raging hormones, Halloween, a ghost story, and a manipulative catfisher with alcohol and drugs and watch what happens. It may not be pretty, but it makes darned good reading.

I have been a firm fan of Hannah Richell from the first book I read by her - The Secrets of the Tides - which remains firmly on my 'forever' shelf. She is a very versatile writer. I love her vivid imagination, and her creativity. My head whipped back and forth with each twist and turn as I attempted to solve the mystery of who was behind the killing. I was not successful, but I was more than satisfied with the outcome.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#OneDarkNight #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Hello.

I’m Hannah, writer of suspenseful novels about families and friends tangled in secrets and lies. I’m drawn to buildings that creak with stories, to landscapes that shape the characters moving through them, and to the rich and often complex relationships between mothers, daughters and sisters.

While each of my novels is a stand-alone story, what connects them is my fascination with families and secrets, my desire to dive below the surface and explore the darker recesses of the human experience, the weight of grief and the echoes of loss, the light and resilience that can be found in unexpected places, combined with my ambition to tell you a story that will keep you turning the pages late into the night.

I am a dual citizen of the UK and Australia and currently live just outside Bath in England with my two children, my partner, three step-children, a fluffy cat and a crazy Cocker Spaniel. (Source: hannahrichell.com)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of One Dark Night by Hannah Richell for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

A haunting tale of mystery, small-town secrets, and chilling suspense awaits. When a girl’s body is discovered in a notorious, haunted woodland after Halloween night, the investigation spirals into dark and dangerous territory. Is it a deadly prank or something far more sinister? Detective Ben Chase must race against time to uncover the truth – and protect his own family in the process.

✨ Perfect for fans of atmospheric thrillers, twists, and hidden secrets!

In a small English village and where your teenage friends enjoy talking about old spooky tales from the past and scare you and this is happening in Thorncombe, on the border of Somerset and Wiltshire. The woods near the tall stone folly and old mining sight are said to be haunted by the ghost of a young woman dressed in a white dress, and she lures people to their deaths and there’s been a few fatal car accidents on the stretch of road and it's adds fodder to the eerie myth.

A group of teenagers meet in the woods for Halloween, it’s the perfect place to tell ghost stories, and scare each other and the next day a girl’s body is found near the bottom of the folly, the local police are in charge of solving the case. Detective Ben Case is assigned to the possible murder investigation, he discovers three things, his teenage daughters the same age the victim and attends Folly View College a private school and where his ex-wife works as a counsellor.

Everyone in the girl’s family and the school are questioned, including the headmistress and her husband, teachers and staff, students and those who were in the woods that night and their alibis need to be followed up and verified. You assume teenagers wouldn’t sneak out at night, pull pranks each other and participate in odd dares and they would have more sense and some of the parents are in for a reality check and a big shock.

I received a copy of One Dark Night by Hannah Richell from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia in exchange for an unbiased review. If you enjoy a thriller with lots of twists and turns, it keeps you guessing who the killer is, you think you have worked it out and find out you’re completely wrong and I highly recommend reading this novel.

Ms. Richell delivers a compelling read every time and I have been a big fan of hers since 2018, this one explores teenagers, their secrets, actions, feelings, fears, vulnerabilities, what’s happening at home and school, what they think of their peers and how no one wants to be the odd one out or even worse be a dobber and a sinister local legend that has been added to over time and has someone decided to use this as a basis to commit a crime and five stars from me.

This is a well told story with a lot of twists. There is an urban legend about a ghost called 'Sally in the Wood' that is told amongst teenagers at a halloween party held in the woods where 'Sally' supposedly died. However, when one of the partygoers is found dead in the woods the next day, an ill wanted spotlight falls on the private school next to the woods, where the students who were at the party attend. Ellie is one of those students, and she needs to figure out a way to hide her part in it from her divorced parents. Her mother, Rachel, is a counsellor at the school, and her father Ben is a detective working on the death.
There are quite a few 'shady' characters and red herrings in the book but there was a genuine twist in the story that I didn't see coming. An intriguing story, but perhaps one too many coincidences.
Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

This is the first book I've read by this author
and it certainly won't be my last!

The story follows the aftermath of the death of a teen girl on Halloween night dressed like the girl in a local tale of ‘Sally in the Woods’, a girl that roams the woods and lures people to their death.

As the police try to determine the truth of the night of the girls death, multiple circumstances and suspects come to light, secrets are revealed and shocking truths are found. Was her death an accident or something more sinister?

Such an unputdownable read loaded with red herrings to keep you guessing! I had my suspicions along the way with multiple characters and was right in some ways, but not others! However, I certainly did not see that ending coming and hooley dooley what an ending! What a twist! Wrapped up nicely! Well played Hannah Richell, well played 👏

A spooky crime novel set around Halloween when a teenage party ends with the death of a girl from the local school. This brings separated parents Rachel, as the school counsellor, and Ben, a local DCI, into contact with each other as their daughter Ellie had attended the party.

It was a good story, well told with lots of suspects and a very surprising ending. I must admit to being occasionally cranky when Ben did not reply at once to Rachel's phone calls. I realise the author was using this as a strategy to prolong the story but I felt she overused it.

Still a good read and one I recommend especially if you like your crime with a touch of spookiness.

He murdered her at the folly on their wedding day, left her body for the crows. They say she haunts the woods now, a girl in a white dress …

Everyone in the small town of Thorncombe knows the tales of the haunted woods where the birds don’t sing and a girl in a white dress roams, luring people to their deaths. But when a girl in white is found dead the morning after Halloween, her body carefully arranged at the bottom of an old stone folly, the community is thrown into turmoil. Police Detective Ben Chase leads the investigation and they begin to question whether it was an accident or something more sinister. The stakes are high, as he has a teenage daughter himself.

What a fabulous novel by the author! I thoroughly enjoyed this and the tension was high throughout. There was a cast of suspicious characters and a few very clever twists. This one drew me in from the beginning and really kept me guessing. I also loved the small town setting and the woods with the haunting. 4.5*
This author has fast become one of my favourites and this is one I highly recommend.

WOW I never saw the twist coming at the end of this one, this is a fabulous mystery, suspense story that kept my brain working and me turning the pages, so many fabulous characters, what happens when it is Halloween and a group of high school students go to the haunted woods for a party and at the end of the night one girl is lying at the bottom of the folly, you will need to read this one to find out.

The small village of Thorcombe is in the woods and there is a private school there, there is also a very tall folly in the woods where apparently a young woman was murdered and left for the crows, her name was Sally is it a wives tale or truth if you listen to the drivers on the road it is true, when some of the students organize a Halloween party they dress up and the party is rife with games and dares but come morning there is a girl missing, one of the students and when her body is found arranged at the bottom of the folly the investigation starts.

Police Detective Ben Chase’s daughter Ellie is a student at the school and his ex-wife and Ellie’s mother, Rachel is the councilor at the school and they are immediately worried was the death a prank gone wrong or was it murder and if so what made someone do this to a young girl?

As more evidence is uncovered and questions answered by the students, Ben is taken off the case because of his closeness to the situation but he does not give up easily and is soon finding more evidence and Rachel, is also doing her best to find clues, because until this person is found no one is safe.

This is a twisty mystery, and one that I highly recommend, I loved it and I loved the characters, you need to read this one and find out what happened and why it, will shock you I am sure as it did me. A fabulous story, Thank you MS Richell for another keeper.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and Netgalley for my copy to read and review

A young woman is found dead in a woods rumoured to be haunted by the ghost of a young woman. The cop investigating the murder soon discovers that the girl is not only in the same year level of boarding school as his own daughter but is the niece of a powerful developer who wants to build property on local woodland. But wait, there's more - the cop's ex-wife also works at the school the girls attend(ed).

I really enjoyed Richell's last book, The Search Party, so I leaped at the chance to read an ARC via Goodreads. Unfortunately, this book didn't hit for me the same way as The Search Party did. However, I suspect it was a case of me not the book - I just do not find teenage girls or extended discussions of custody interesting. That said, this book is twisty and turny and I suspect would be enjoyed immensely by the right reader. I will definitely be reading the next book by this author.

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell was the perfect balance of cat-and-mouse thriller and coming of age mystery. It was well written and engaging, with twists that kept me guessing the entire time.

Synopsis: For years the residents of Thorncombe have heard the stories of the woman in the white dress, haunting the woods and causing drivers to veer off the road. When teenaged Sarah Lawson is murdered on Halloween, under eery circumstances similar to those of the folklore, the small town must uncover what happened to her, and everyone is a suspect.

I really enjoyed this book! The small town setting and limited characters created a “locked room” mystery of sorts, with compelling characters that were hard to trust. The writing was atmospheric and overall the story was very well executed. I only wished that there was a bit more resolution given to the Sally in the Wood backstory and the myth of the murdered woman in her white dress. Was it real or just a local old wives tale? I wanted to know and was disappointed that this element wasn’t more of the story! Apart from that, I felt the story was well resolved and engaging.

I’ll definitely be picking up more of Richell’s books in the future!

4⭐️

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fabulous thriller, and although once or twice I thought the conventions of the genre were showing through a little too clearly, it kept me thoroughly engaged to the point where I read this in a sitting.

Locals love to tell the story of Sally, murdered on her wedding day, and now haunting the local folly. Teenagers from a very upmarket private school are no exception, and on Halloween they hold an illicit party and bonfire near the folly, and scare each other silly.

But the next morning a very real body is found at the folly. The private school and its’ students and teachers are quickly pulled into the investigation. No-one is safe from suspicion, and indeed, perhaps no-one is safe…

The characters are important to the novel, and they’re drawn strongly and with empathy. The two characters we spend most time with – Rachel and Ben – are particularly vivid, with their tangled motivations and complicated emotions.

The two are divorced, sharing a daughter who attends the private school on a scholarship. Rachel is also a teacher at the school, and many of the suspects are well knowns to her. Ben, meanwhile, is the investigating police officer, and soon realises that conflicts of interest abound for him.

The plot is a relatively straight forward murder thriller, and as I said, once or twice I found some of the genre’s conventions shining through a little too obviously. Is this person guilty? Are they too unlikely, or conversely, too obvious, to be the culprit?

This moves along at a great clip. The writing style draws you in, as does the tight plot and the empathetic characters. I got so caught up, I stopped trying to work out who the killer was. The denouement is both tense and unexpected.

I really enjoyed this novel. It’s a great read, well written and very involving. Highly recommended for readers who particularly appreciate strong characters and tight plotting.

Hannah Richell delivers a captivating, page-turning murder mystery with One Dark Night. Set in the quaint village of Thorncombe, the story unfolds at a Halloween party attended by a group of teenagers. The next day, Sarah, a student from the local private school, is found murdered, setting off a chain of events that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Told through the eyes of three compelling characters—DS Ben Chase, who leads the murder investigation and is the father of one of the teenage girls who attended the party, Ellie, and her mum Rachel, the school counselor—the narrative is rich and engaging.

With plenty of twists and turns, this book keeps you guessing until the very last page, featuring a reveal that truly took me by surprise! Themes of elitism, teenage bullying, and parental separation add depth to the thrilling plot.

A fast-paced and easy read, One Dark Night is the perfect murder mystery for any book lover. This was my first experience with Hannah Richell, and it certainly won’t be my last—I’m already diving into her back catalog!

Thank you to @hannahrichell @simonschusterau and @netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. 📚❤️

Secrets, lies, rich developers and young eco-warriors all play a crucial part in One Dark Night, an atmospheric thriller set in your quintessentially spooky English wood. Hannah Richell has created a richly provocative murder mystery that quickly draws you in through relatable characters and some very unusual circumstances.

The small English town of Thorncombe is home to a tragic legend surrounding the death of a young girl named Sally. It’s said that she continues to haunt the woods outside of town, seen fleetingly running in her white gown through the bushes and is responsible for numerous car accidents on the treacherous roads. Students from the local private school like to party in these woods and a favourite pastime is to scare each other with stories of Sally In the Wood.

After one such party, a Halloween Party, the body of a girl is found at the base of a stone folly. She’s dressed to look like Sally and she has been posed as if sleeping. But her face is covered by a mask and her body has been covered in shocking words. It’s clear her death is no accident.

Local police detective Ben Chase is on the scene to assist in the investigation, but it soon becomes apparent that the girl is a student at his daughter’s school. It also happens to be the school where his ex-wife works as a student counsellor. His challenge is to try not to let emotion cloud his judgement. But this will prove to be increasingly difficult as the investigation unfolds.

One Dark Night is a well conceived murder mystery that combines a tangled domestic drama with a perplexing mystery. The teenage angst displayed by the privileged students is a very relatable aspect of the story that reflects quite accurately many of the issues being faced today.

Throw in a bit of urban legend to add some spooky atmosphere and you’ve got a tense thriller that offers quite a diverse storyline. There’s plenty going on with a number of credible suspects which ensured I was still guessing who the killer was right up until the final chapter.

My thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC, allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book.

First, thanks NetGalley for the ARC of this book to review.

I fully thought I had this one solved until the very end. There’s lots on intrigue, dream and suspense in this book. Believe its the authors second novel. I’ll definitely be reading the first.

A great read - from the opening I thought it was going to be more dark than it was - so I prepared myself to be on the edge of my seat but found I wasn't - I think during the middle of the book there was more focus on relationships between characters and description so it lost pace a little - but overall it was an excellent mystery and I enjoyed the plots twists and turns.

I really enjoy a well written police procedural novel.
I had no idea who or why until they were revealed.

I’ve not read this author before and had no idea she was a fellow Aussie. No wonder I didn’t have to google anything, her writing flowed so effortlessly.

I enjoyed the Halloween twist to the story and the red herrings thrown in. My head was spinning at wondering whodunnit.

What a fantastic suspenseful thriller, I’m going to see what’s on this author’s backlist.

4.5 stars

When a teenage girl is discovered dead after a Halloween party in the woods that are at the centre of a local ghost story, detectives must separate myth from truth to find out what happened that night. Ben, a detective, and his ex-wife and school counsellor Rachel, are pulled back together after a recent separation to protect their community and their daughter who is hiding something.

With a combination of unreliable witnesses, a spooky setting, family ties and unexpected twists, this is an excellent thriller. There’s a lot of mystery and definitely some moments that had my heart racing. Add in short chapters and smart perspective shifts, I absolutely flew through this. One of the main characters was kind of off-putting but I still liked his backstory and the way he was explored.

One of the really great things things about One Dark Night is there are actions that characters take that don’t make sense, until you ask yourself ‘what would I have done as a teenager in that position?’ or ‘would I have told the truth at that age?’. The author uses the setting of a high school and young people as supporting characters in a really great way, and without them blurring into a collective rather than individuals who have experienced the same event. I also think the author does a great job of intertwining themes of grief, family strain and coming of age without taking away from the thrilling narrative.

This is a great thriller if you like a blurred line between the natural and supernatural.