Review: ONE DARK NIGHT, Hannah Richell

• 
  this edition an e-book on Libby supplied by my local library
  
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (January 1, 2025)
• Length: 432 pages
• ISBN13: 9781761421761 

Synopsis (publisher)

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.

A tense, clever and claustrophobic thriller where no one is who they seem and the danger lies just out of sight. 

My Take

Another really good read. A thriller with a number of mystery strands, and intriguing relationships and credible scenarios. 

Recommended. 

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

5.0, THE SEARCH PARTY

4.5, THE RIVER HOME

4.6, THE PEACOCK SUMMER

Review: THE PEACOCK SUMMER, Hannah Richell

• 
  this edition supplied by my local library
  
• published by Hachette Australia 2018
• ISBN 978-0-7336-4043-8
• 392 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

From internationally bestselling author Hannah Richell comes a compelling story of hidden secrets, forbidden love, and a mysterious old house.

Two women who long for more, and a house that holds the key to their freedom...

1955: At twenty-six-years old, Lillian Oberon is young, beautiful, and married to the wealthy and handsome Charles Oberon. She is also the mistress of Cloudesley, a lavish estate. But not long after her nuptials, she begins to feel her marriage is a sham. Like the exquisite objets d'art, curiosities, and treasures her husband collects, she is just another possession captured within the walls of the grand countryside manor. With a sister and young stepson in her care, Lillian has made peace with her unfulfilling marriage and fate--until a charismatic artist visits for the summer and makes Lillian re-examine the choices she's made.

The present day: Having abruptly broken off her engagement, Maggie Oberon escapes to Australia, hoping that the distance will make her forget the mess she's made of her life. But when her beloved grandmother, Lillian, becomes ill, she must return to England and confront the past she ran away from. When she arrives at Cloudesley, she is dismayed to find the once opulent estate crumbling into decay. As Maggie scrambles to find a way to save the old property, she is unprepared to learn the dark secrets that have remained hidden behind the dark halls of Cloudesley. But within these walls also lies the key that could change its legacy--and Maggie's life--forever. .  

My Take:

This book certainly recounts a number of mysteries, blending them together almost seamlessly. The main story spans over six decades, focussing in particular on Lillian and her granddaughter Maggie, and the life choices they have made, and the elements they have had little control over.

Very thought provoking.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

5.0, THE SEARCH PARTY

4.5, THE RIVER HOME

 

 

 

Review: THE RIVER HOME, Hannah Richell

• 
  this edition supplied by my local library
  
• published by Hachette Australia 2020
• ISBN 978 0 7336 4366 8
• 359 pages
• author website
  

Synopsis ( author website)

A gripping family drama about sisterhood, secrets and forgiveness.

‘There’s something I need to tell you.’

Eight years ago, Margot Sorrell left the crumbling family home in the Somerset countryside under a dark cloud, hoping never to return. And until she tells her two sisters why she ran away, they refuse to forgive her...

But with her sisters' perfect lives starting to unravel, Margot knows she must go back. The river by her home has kept her secret all this time - as well as the memories of the terrible night that tore her family apart.

As the past threatens to surface, will the truth destroy the Sorrell family - or bring them back together?

My Take

Not really crime fiction, although a crime has occurred. But certainly it has strong elements of mystery.

Margot has thought she would never return to her family home but her sister is getting married, and then there is the message that she needs her. She also dreads facing her mother. None of them really understand why Margot left and she is resolved to never tell them the truth. 

Engrossing.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

5.0, THE SEARCH PARTY

Review: THE SEARCH PARTY, Hannah Richell

• 
  this edition provided as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (January 3, 2024)
• Length: 400 pages
• ISBN13: 9781761421730
• Shortlisted for the 2024 Ned Kelly Awards, Best International Crime Fiction

Synopsis (publisher)

Join six old friends for one wild weekend at Cornwall’s newest glamping spot.

The guests:

• The anxious hosts with everything at stake.
• The boho hippies concealing a private darkness.
• The TV celebrity with his hot new wife and an even hotter temper.
• The exhausted new parents with a secret to hide.
• The one that won’t make it home alive . . .

The tents are up. The bonfire is lit. Get ready for one hell of a party. 

My Take

The author helpfully provided a list of the four families and their members  right at the beginning of the book. I used it more than once.

The Prologue tells us something out of the ordinary, maybe catastrophic, has happened. We then launch into the story proper on Sunday afternoon with one of the characters, Dom, sitting waiting to be interviewed by the police. From then on we piece together the story of what has happened since Friday afternoon when the 3 families arrived at a glamping spot about to be put on the market by their friends who own it. In each chapter a character narrates to the police the events from their point of view. Our job as the reader is to put the jigsaw together.

Bit by bit everything comes together and we can decide for ourselves what sort of crime has been committed. There are plenty of red herrings too.

The structure works very well. Highly recommended.

This would make an excellent discussion book.

My rating: 5.0

About the author

Hannah Richell was born in Kent, United Kingdom, and spent her childhood years in Buckinghamshire and Canada. After graduating from the University of Nottingham, she worked in the book publishing and film industries in both London and Sydney. She is a dual citizen of Great Britain and Australia, and currently lives in the southwest of England with her family. She is the author of several international bestsellers, such as The Search Party and One Dark Night. Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages. Find out more at HannahRichell.com.