One Dark Night - Hannah Richell // Book Review

 

One Dark Night
Hannah Richell || Publication Date - 01.01.2025

One dark night in the woods, and a party that takes a disturbing turn. 

Fiction | Thriller

There's a legend in this small town. On a lonely stretch of road engulfed on either side by dense forest, there's a girl in a white dress. She wanders aimlessly, and if you see her, it's said you will never be seen again.

The morning after Halloween, a scout group is hiking a trail through these woods which leads to an old stone folly. What they discover, is the grim and staged body of a girl in white. This rocks the small town, for believers of the woman who haunts the forest, and those who are terrified a murderer is roaming the streets.

Was this girl the victim of a Halloween party turned violent in the woods? Or was she killed to represent something more sinister, ritualistic perhaps? The answers lie with a local police detective and a broken family, where they attempt to navigate this crime and try to piece together the case, and their family.

The Review (May Contain Spoilers)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this eARC for an honest review!

Firstly I want to acknowledge that I thoroughly devoured this thriller. It left everything up to the imagination and gave nothing away until the very end. Hannah's writing was atmospheric and created the dank and eerie picture I needed to get sucked into this mystery. No one in this novel was as they seemed and it leant heavily into the creepy, claustrophobic, small town aura I loved.

As much as I love that it played on a real location, it would have been fun to have leant into the superstition a little more, even leaving a final 'is it really true?' impression that lingers in the back of readers minds. There was also a scene in the book which takes place between two characters at a house. This was CREEPY! Intricately disturbing, but sadly, nothing really went anywhere with it. It was disappointing, because with the above mentions, I felt that Hannah had the makings of something truly gripping, but let it slip into 'just another crime novel'.

I do feel, however, that the writing does an amazing job of tying everything together. As much as there are influences in this novel I wish had more attention paid to them, overall it was a solid read. I was guessing where it was going to go next, the entire book. There were a lot of layered twists that I did not see coming. One twist I did see coming, but was exponentially creepier than I was expecting and I was gripping my seat hoping someone would make it out alive. And the overarching mystery surrounding the death of the girl in the woods was interesting and intricately planned.

Overall Thoughts

If you like slow burn, eerie atmosphere, and questionable characters, then I would easily recommend this as a read for you. I generally don't write my ratings in my long form reviews, but this one I gave a 5☆ without question. I definitely had some issues, especially pertaining to the supernatural story that's loosely tied into the novel. I really wish they went harder with that aspect, as it is a main point in most of the marketing for this book and is seemingly casually brought up to add flavour to the story, but no spice.

Though with my feelings pushed aside, and if the supernatural hook is forgotten completely. I loved this novel. It genuinely kept me guessing through the whole story and had moments of pure, delicious, creepy tension, which I love. 

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The Sirens - Emilia Hart // Book Review

The Sirens
Emilia Hart || Publication Date - 29.01.2025

A haunting and atmospheric tale of magical realism.

Fiction | Fantasy | Historical | Magical Realism

'The Sirens' follows a young woman named Lucy, set in 2019. While at University housing she attacks a boy as she was sleepwalking and, terrified of the consequences, she flees.

Twin sisters Mary and Eliza, set in 1800, are being sent to Australia from Ireland on a convict ship. They have also committed a similar crime and have been sentenced to the New World.

Lucy is experiencing odd dreams of these two sisters from over 200 years ago, she has no idea why, and decides to try and track down her older sister Jessica to see if she can get some answers.

When Lucy arrives at Jessica's house, she finds it practically abandoned. It's almost as if her sister has disappeared, the same as a dozen men off the coast of this clifftop town have done... without a trace. 

The Review (May Contain Spoilers)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this eARC for an honest review!

This is the first novel I have read that's been written by Emilia Hart, and after making her debut in 2023 with 'Weyward,' I can see why she's celebrated as a talented author. That being said, this novel had all the parts I would need to piece together an amazing story. Mysteries that are interconnected with Historical events which shape the lives of modern day characters. Eerie and captivating folktales which may or may not actually be true. And I cannot forget the underlying narrative of empowering women, especially those who have suffered at the hands of someone else. Putting this all together in 'The Sirens' however, left me underwhelmed towards the end of the novel.

To say this novel is drenched in atmosphere is an understatement. It was a constant looming presence over the entire duration of the novel. I loved the uncertain, mystical energy it created. Definitely the strongest point of this novel next to Emilia's writing. Phenomenal. Emilia's descriptions of events, especially during the voyage of Mary and Eliza, were haunting to say the least. It was cruel, callous and full of wavering despair as the girls and their fellow convicts were hauled to Australia.

I had hoped that the weaving storyline of Mary and Eliza didn't abruptly finish when Lucy and Jessica end up together, unfortunately this was the case. It made their involvement and story almost meaningless as this novel could be told entirely without their perspectives and still make sense. There was a huge emphasis on these two girls, and for them to get pushed aside made them seem almost trivial, or an afterthought, to make the story fantastical. I would have liked to have seen them integrated properly into Lucy and Jess's discovery solidifying their linked storylines.

Overall Thoughts

I cannot speak for those who have read Emilia's first novel 'Weyward', however, as a stand alone novel it was a solid story. As I had described above, for me personally, it had all the elements I love when it comes to magical realism and enriching a modern story with it. The premise was interesting and the mixed media components of the novel made it engaging. I do wish, wholeheartedly, that the novel leaned into the fantastical more than it did. I feel it could have raised the potential of this novel, but instead it felt like an afterthought.

If you enjoy stories around magical realism, especially when it influences modern characters, magic and eerie associations with disappearances and the ocean, I could recommend this to you. I would double down on this recommendation if you have read and enjoyed 'The Lost Apothecary' by Sarah Penner. Although the premise is quite different, it has very similar themes and both stories embrace the empowerment of women's voices giving justice to those who have been harmed.

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