Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft

Nola Strate, a late night radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy evening, a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola’s childhood escape from a serial killer, and she fears he’s back to finish what he started.

Nola Strate is being watched, again.

After an encounter with a notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with the Hiding Man. She installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now hosts Night Watch, a popular radio call-in show her semi‑famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe that she is being stalked, and a caller on Night Watch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller's home—the description of whom is chillingly familiar—Nola is convinced that the Hiding Man has resurfaced and is coming for her.

With a mysterious next‑door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concerns seriously, and evidence pointing towards her own father, Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a Night Watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind the Hiding Man's mask.

Kindle Edition, 332 pages

Audiobook, 9 hours, 7 minutes

Expected publication July 8, 2025

 by Grand Central Publishing

3/5 stars

This was my first time reading anything by Daphne Woolsoncroft.

The story follows Nola Strate, a late-night radio host whose world gets shaken when a caller brings up something that drags her straight back to a traumatic night in her past, the night her babysitter was brutally murdered. As new crimes start popping up around the city, Nola can’t shake the feeling that history might be repeating itself and 'The Hiding Man' is back.

There’s a good mix of mystery and some tension here. The story of the past slowly unraveled and showed parallel similarities. I read this one in a mix of audio and Kindle,  both formats worked really well. The audiobook narrator added some emotional weight to the tense moments. That being said, something felt just a little off,  it was intriguing, but not fully immersive for me. I wanted a bit more punch or surprise from the ending. Still, it was a satisfying read overall.

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the audiobook and Grand Central Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.