Yes, give me all the POVs in a story like this. I loved reading from everyone's perspective and trying to piece this together. I thought it was super captivating and really a good mystery read!

This book had me hooked. One Dark Night evoked a lot of emotions, kept me guessing the entire time, and was unique with its spooky feel and dark imagery. The author gave a great story mixed with some really interesting characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I’ll definitely be reading more of Hannah Ritchell’s books.


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219235409

https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/5a39ca2c-89cb-4d04-921d-ce78d8fb9a4b

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a bit creeper of a thriller than I am used to. I had to read it with the lights on. I really thought I knew where the storyline was going. I pride myself on my sleuth abilities. I was so wrong! WOW, I did not see that coming. I will be searching out Hannah Richell for more mystery/thriller books for sure. Solid 4 stars.

Whoa, what a great thriller with the perfect amount of twists and turns! I loved the characters in this book and how the author took her time with the story, nothing felt rushed or unfinished. It kept me guessing right up until the very end!

There were times when I was slightly thrown off by some of the language choice in the book, (i.e. “She’s busting for a pee…”). At first I thought it cheapened the writing but I’m leaning towards a possible dialect/region difference due to the author’s heritage.

Story has it that Sally was murdered in the woods on her wedding night, left there in her white dress to never be found. She now haunts the woods of Thorncombe a small town that holds a private boarding school.

It’s Halloween night and group of students have snuck out to the woods for a party when the night ends with with a tragedy. There is a young girl who was brutally murdered and left in the woods, wearing a white dress. Was this something to do with Sally or something more sinister?

Ben Chase, a local detective is assigned to the case and quickly learns the young girl who was murdered is in the same grade as his own daughter and goes to the school that his ex-wife is the counselor at. This quickly gets messy as they must interview all students who may know something about what happened that night and also interview the family. There is quite a bit of overlap that could raise flags within the family of the daughter who was murdered, and then the students who were sneaking out of the boarding school.

This is a great thriller/mystery that keeps you guessing at who may be the one that killed the innocent girl or if Sally in the woods was really at fault for what happened to her. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read the advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed Hannah Richell's The Search Party which is why I chose to read One Dark Night. The story begins at Halloween where a party is held in the "haunted " woods. A teenage girl doesn't return home after the party and is discovered murdered in the woods. There are twists and turns in the story as we see it through the eyes of one of her classmates, her father, a local police officer and her mother, his ex wife who works at the private school where the victim was a pupil. Many red herrings in the plot and a surprise twist at the end made for an enjoyable read. Not as good in my opinion as The Search Party but enough action to make keep me guessing.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hannah Richell and Atria Books for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really found myself enjoying this one even though it took me a bit longer to read! The characters are all seemingy guilty or at least feeling guilty about something. The last quarter of this novel went by so quickly and I loved it so much. Definitely recommend.

I enjoyed the book a lot. The atmosphere was incredibly creepy, and the storyline kept me in. When I first started it, I thought all of the different points of view would make it hard to follow, but once you got into the thick of the plot, it flowed well. The only complaint I would have was all of the different cops, I kept getting them confused, they weren't big enough characters to be memorable to me, so when their names would pop up, it would take me a while to remember who they were. Overall I had a blast reading this and will be checking out this author for more thriller books!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC of this book.

When a body is found the day after Halloween, a small British community must reckon with its past and the dangers lurking in its present in this spine-tingling novel from “not to be missed” (Hayley Scrivener, author of Dirt Creek) author Hannah Richell.

On Halloween, a group of teenage students meet in the woods near Sally in the Wood, a road steeped in local lore and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered girl. By the end of the night, one student will be dead.

Rachel, the school guidance counselor, is trying to keep a handle on her increasingly distant teenaged daughter, Ellie, while students and parents panic and mourn. Her ex-husband and detective Ben, dealing with a personal crisis of his own, has concerns about his daughter’s safety as he investigates the death. Meanwhile, Ellie is keeping secrets from both her parents, including one about where she was that night.

For me, this book had far too many perspectives/points of view. I disliked the jumping from character to char, not giving me enough character development.
2.5 out of 5 ⭐️

This was a wonderfully done novel, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed from the description. I was hooked from the first page and thought the use of the day after Halloween worked well. It was suspenseful and was engaged with what was happening. Hannah Richell wrote this well and am excited for more.

I would say this is a solid 3 stars
The plot wasn’t as predictable as I had initially thought, which was a nice surprise. However, I felt like we were introduced to so many characters so quickly and with all of the POV switches I didn’t really get a sense of who each character really was. The date and time before each chapter felt like too much to try and keep up with as well, especially since the time stamps ultimately didn’t affect the plot. Overall a fine, relatively read

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC

This is a fast moving mystery that kept me guessing til the end. Hannah Richell is becoming one of my go to authors. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The chills I got from reading this book was insane. The first 3 chapters sold me on continuing my reading, my heart was pounding since it opened up with a scary story around a campfire fire and a dark Halloween night. I would say One Dark Night was very suspenseful and I was not expecting that plot twist at the end. Told in multiple pov on what happened Halloween night, readers will be enthralled with the storyline and plot. All the povs really integrated and were all interesting and important to what happened that night. .

I would definitely recommend this book to mystery thrillers fans who love to be kept at the edge of their seats and love a good Halloween story.

Sadly, I spent the first half of this book thinking that it couldn't really be that obvious and lame. I was so wrong and never saw it coming. Well done! Rachel is the counselor at the boarding school that Ellie, her daughter attends. A student, Sarah, is found murdered in the woods following a party. Ellie was at that party. Ben is a detective and also Rachel's ex and Ellie's father. Ben is also living with his pregnant girlfriend. Lots of messed up dynamics there! Well, who killed Sarah? Everyone at the party is lying and there are also faculty and admin suspects. I enjoyed this dark, twisty, atmospheric tale. Perfect Halloween read!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Hannah Richell and Atria books for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of August 19, 2025.

One Dark Night focuses on the gruesome murder of a teenage girl after a Halloween party out in the woods.

The story is told from the perspectives of Rachel, school counselor, Ben, police officer, and Rachel's ex-husband and their daughter Ellie.

I thought I had the whole plot put together and was a little disappointed. However, the plot twist came through. I was 100% WRONG

Great murdery mystery, suspense thriller
4.0☆

First, a huge thank you for this ARC. It's an honor and privilege to be an ARC reviewer.

This book is a dark story about a body of a teenager found the day after Halloween. Detective Inspector Ben, and his team have to unravel all of the sordid lies that have been told by all of the suspects, including his own daughter's. Did his daughter, Ellie do it? She tossed bloody clothes. Was it the older boys who showed up to a party? Was it the strangers in the woods? The ending is built up nicely and executed flawlessly. A twist you won't see coming.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good thriller. A new to me author, and one that I've given 5 stars to!

One Dark Night is an atmospheric, spine-chilling thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat with every twist and turn. The blending of psychological suspense with supernatural folklore creates a haunting tension, and it is brilliantly written. I couldn’t put it down.

This did take me a minute to get into, just because there was a lot going on right from the beginning and it felt like I had to catch up to what was happening. Once the story got going, it kept me guessing who did what till the end.

This book was spooky and it hard to figure out who the “bad” guy was. It was a little over descriptive for me, I ended up skimming multiple paragraphs just because of all the descriptions. Good ending though, really tied it all together!

Thank you for the ARC!

One Dark Night starts with a bang when a teenager is found dead in the woods—woods rumored to be haunted by a ghost from the past. Hannah Richell does a brilliant job weaving together local legends, family drama, and teenage secrets. Guidance counselor Rachel struggles to protect her distant daughter, Ellie, while her ex-husband Ben investigates the crime. Everything’s tense, messy, and fascinating, and the mystery just gets creepier as it goes. If you’re in the mood for a haunting thriller that keeps you on your toes, this one definitely delivers.

*Book Review: “One Dark Night” by Hannah Richell*

Hannah Richell delivers a compelling and twist-filled story in “One Dark Night” a novel that hooks you early and keeps you turning the pages well into the night. This isn’t just a mystery—it’s an exploration of relationships, hidden truths, and the fragile connections that bind people together.

From the start, Richell introduces a web of suspects, each with motives, secrets, and enough complexity to keep you second-guessing. Just when you think you’ve pieced it all together, she pulls the rug out from under you. The final twist is genuinely unexpected—the kind of reveal that makes you want to go back and reread earlier chapters to catch all the subtle clues you missed.

What really sets this book apart, though, is how Richell balances the intrigue of the plot with beautifully crafted, fully realized characters. These aren’t cardboard cutouts designed to move the story along—they’re messy, flawed, and achingly real. You feel their pain, their fear, and their hope, which makes the stakes feel personal and the story even more gripping.

“One Dark Night” is more than just a mystery; it’s a story with heart. Richell knows how to keep readers guessing, but she also knows how to make them care and feel empathy for characters. Hannah Richell proves yet again that she’s a writer worth watching


4.25/5 Stars!