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.
Kindle Edition, 419 pages
Publishing on August 19, 2025
by Atria Books
4.5/5 stars
This is my first time reading a Hannah Richell novel and I can say it won't be my last.
One Dark Night begins with the chilling discovery after a Halloween gathering near an elite boarding school. What follows is far more than a mystery, it’s a layered, character-driven story about the effects of trauma, fractured relationships and the secrets families keep.
Told from multiple povs - including a detective, his estranged wife, and their teenage daughter - the novel slowly unpacks the events of that fateful night. Richell does an exceptional job balancing suspense with tension and emotion that drew me into a world where guilt, grief, and love all exist. It was atmospheric giving that gothic and moody vibe.
One Dark Night was a suspenseful read that wasn't just focused as a whodunit but delves into themes of family dynamics, privilege and the past. As for the whodunit part, it kept me guessing right to the end. Definitely recommend this one, it sure helped me out of a reading slump.
My thanks to Atria Books for a digital ARC in exchange for a honest review.
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