Author: bookafterbook

Publication: 7th August 2025 – MichaelJoseph

Aya has gone missing after Kakos’ brutal attack on Dunmeaden. Will is desperately searching for her and is joined by Aidon, who’s on the run after showing his forbidden power during the battle.

But what no one knows is that Aya has been abducted by the vengeful first saint, Evie, who plans to join Kakos and help destroy the gods who killed her 500 years ago.

Aya must decide her true fate. Can she fulfil the prophecy and save the realm?

Or should the gods pay for what they’ve done?

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The Curse of Sins ended with surprising and explosive twists so I was really looking forward to reading The Curse of Gods, the third and final book in the fantastic Curse of Saints series.

I’ve loved this series from the very beginning. I fell in love with the characters, who feel authentic and relatable, flawed and complex. I loved the theme of enemies-to-lovers and the slow-burn romance between Aya and Will. Also, I was a fan of the found family theme and the friendships that are born throughout the story. The world-building is fantastic and well-developed and the author’s writing is addictive and I would probably read anything she writes.

In this third book, Will, Aya, Aidon, and Josie need to survive and fight for their world. Aya is prisoner of a saint on a vengeful path; Will is desperate to find her and he’s helped by Aidon who is trying to keep control of his powers, while his sister Josie is determined to take back the throne for him. In all this, the characters will face losses, grief, and fears, but also new romances and friendships.

The Curse of Gods is long, almost 600 pages, but the story never feels heavy or like it’s too much. There is a lot of happening, much tension, twists and revelations, epic battles and intrigue, but the narrative flows easily and I read it in two days. The Curse of Gods is such a satisfying, immersive, and wonderful ending to one of my favourite series that it made me want to reread the entire series from the beginning!

A huge thank you to MichaelJoseph and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

Kate Dramis is an Atlanta-based writer whose obsession with fantasy worlds and escaping into a good love story eventually drove her to chase her dreams of being an author.

When she’s not busy writing banter that makes her laugh in an embarrassingly loud fashion, you can find her impulse-booking her latest travel adventure, snuggling with her dogs and cat, or tormenting her growing legion of readers on TikTok and Instagram with vague book teasers.

You can connect with Kate on her social media sites, and visit https://www.katedramis.com/

Publication: 7th August 2025 – Penguin Books UK

REWARD OFFERED: Apprentice to The Villain wanted for treason (light), magical property damage (alleged), and one incident involving a weaponized scone (accurate). Frequently seen with a grumpy frog (crowned, judgmental). Answers to “Evie” or “Stop that.”

Evie Sage didn’t mean to become the right-hand woman to the kingdom’s most terrifying villain. One minute, she was applying for an entry-level position that promised “light paperwork and occasional beheadings,” and the next, she was knee-deep in magical mayhem, murder plots, and an entirely inappropriate crush on her brooding, sharp-jawed, walking disaster of a boss.

Now, with a magical prophecy unraveling, assassins showing up in the break room, and a suspicious amount of frogs wearing crowns, Evie has to figure out how to survive her job without setting the kingdom on fire?or her dignity, which is hanging by a very sarcastic thread.

Being evil-adjacent was never part of the five-year plan. But then again…neither was falling for The Villain.

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I am so happy that Accomplice to the Villain isn’t the last book of this fantastic series because I can’t get enough of the characters, their stories, and the author’s brilliant and witty writing. I get completely immersed in their chaotic, never boring lives: it’s not only the two protagonists, Evie Sage (also known as the Accomplice) and Trystan Maverine (also known as the Villain), but also Kingsley, Blade, Becky, Lyssa, Clare, and Tatianna.

As it is revealed from the title, Evie has now been promoted to the role of Accomplice. She and Trystan persist in their slow-burn romance for the amusement and frustration of those around them. At the center of the story, there are also the ongoing war with the king, a curse to break, a magical creature to rescue, traitors to unmask, and loyalties to test, while siblings, parents, and friends keep interfering in their lives.

This series is such a fun read. It’s not a typical fantasy. There is lots of humour and ridiculous situations. The manor of the Villain is adorned with the heads of his enemies, there is a frog who communicates through strategically placed signs, and a dragon called Fluffy. There is a lot of banter and chemistry between all the characters, who are engaging and likable. Evie is a badass, confident, and strong woman who’s come on her own, especially more in this last book, and I love how she always stands up for herself and those she loves. Trystan is grumpy and mysterious, but also sweet and protective. 
Accomplice to the Villain is hilarious, original, and fascinating and, after the few surprises at the end, I can’t believe I have to wait yet another year for more.

A huge thank you to Penguin Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Hannah Nicole Maehrer, or as TikTok Knows her, @hannahnicolemae. is a fantasy romance author and BookToker with a propensity for villains. When she’s not creating bookish comedy skits about Villains and Assistants, she’s writing to Taylor Swift songs. Her biggest passions in life include romance, magic, laughter, and finding ways to include them all in everything she creates. Most days you can find her with her head in the clouds and a pen in her hand.

Publication: 31st July 2025 – Headline

Ellie Parker had everything.
Perfect husband. Perfect apartment. Perfect friends and the perfect job.
As an internet celebrity – famed for her random acts of kindness – everyone knew it.
So when a betrayal causes her to lose it all, millions of people are watching.

But even at her lowest, Ellie will always help someone in need.
Which makes her the perfect target for a sadistic game.
Because as she soon learns, you can never trust a stranger – and a seemingly random encounter plunges her into a nightmare worse than she ever imagined.

The only person she can turn to is conman turned trial lawyer Eddie Flynn, who must take on a case where nothing is what it seems. With the most cruelly ingenious mind manipulating events from the shadows, everyone is in danger – including Eddie and his family.

The award-winning, Sunday Times Top Five bestseller returns with a brand new thriller featuring the unforgettable Eddie Flynn.

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I have read almost every book in the Eddie Flynn series (I may have missed a couple, but they can be easily read as stand-alone) and I do love them, the cases of the ex-con turned lawyer who, together with his crew of “misfits”, defends only those who are innocent and who is not afraid to cross the lines.

Eddie’s latest case involves the social media influencer Ellie Parker, known for her acts of kindness to strangers. Except that her latest act of kindness gets her arrested for the murders of her husband and her best friend, who, only two weeks earlier, she had caught together in bed in live stream for millions of people to see. Someone, a stranger, has targeted Ellie, pulling the strings to make sure she is found guilty of the murders. 

As with any Eddie Flynn’s novels, Two Kinds of Stranger is action-packed, full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Eddie uses every trick in the book to prove Ellie’s innocence, but things get more complicated and more personal when his own family gets involved in the killer’s game. His colleague Kate Brooks faces moral dilemmas when it comes to crossing the lines, while Bloch and Gabriel Lake are the targets of someone very dangerous, and former judge Harry Ford, his loyal dog Clarence, and Denise are the steady members of the group keeping everything and everyone together.

The story is told from many perspectives, from Eddie to Kate to Bloch and Lake. But we also get the point of view of the victim, Ellie Parker, and the killer, which was my favourite because I found him a complex and interesting character. Who is this person in the shadow and why does he want to ruin Ellie’s life? Two Kinds of Stranger is another clever and addictive novel in the Eddie Flynn’s series and I can’t wait for more!

A huge thank you to Headline and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Steve Cavanagh has sold over a million copies of his novels in the UK alone. His nine books have all been nominated for major awards and many are international bestsellers. His third novel, The Liar, won the CWA Gold Dagger for Crime Novel of the Year 2018. Thirteen won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2019. Fifty-Fifty was a Richard and Judy Book club choice and was also selected for the BBC ‘Between the Covers’ book club. Twisted, Fifty-Fifty, The Devil’s Advocate, The Accomplice and Kill For Me Kill For You were all Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers.

Publication: 31st July 2025 – Tor Bramble

A golden thread joined them, a bond that went deeper than love – and it had nearly destroyed them.

Wren Embervale and Torj Elderbrock share a dark and bloody history. With Thezmarr on the brink of another war, and overwhelmed by the force of their feelings for one another, Torj discovers there is far more to their bond than mere passion. The legendary Warsword is determined to protect Wren at all costs, even if it means lying to her . . . Even if it means losing her forever.

Meanwhile, Wren is struggling to find her place in the world – both as an advanced student of alchemy at the ancient academy of Drevenor, and as one of the heirs to a lost kingdom. With the midrealms once again facing destruction, Wren must decide: Loyalty or liberation? Legacy or love?

As new political players emerge, Wren discovers that her gift for alchemy is more powerful than she ever imagined – and that it could tear the kingdoms apart.

Will she and Torj find their way back to each other, or will the ancient magic that binds them become their undoing?

Perfect for romantasy fans, Thorns & Fire, Helen Scheuerer’s spellbinding sequel to Iron & Embers, delivers heart-wrenching choices, a found family to root for and a love that defies the odds.

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In this fantastic and gripping sequel to Iron & Embers, we are back right where we left off, as the protagonists face all the consequences from the end of the first book. The relationship between Wren Embervale and Torj Elderbrock is more complicated than ever, and there are more intrigue, secrets, and conspiracies and I loved every single moment of it.

The story is well-paced and action-packed with an intricate plot and complex characters. The author masterfully delves into the emotions of the two protagonists as they face not only rebellions and the risk of a new war, but also their fears, their insecurities, and their heartbreaks. Wren is a strong heroine determined to do what is expected of her and face her future despite a stubborn and sometimes frustrating (but also sweet) big man in an overprotective state of mind. I loved how both the characters and their relationship developed throughout the novel and that surprising ending left me really looking forward to the next book. 

The Ashes of Thezmarr series is a spin-off of the The Legends of Thezmarr series. I haven’t read the first series (yet!), and I can assure that you don’t need to read it first to read The Ashes of Thezmarr. The author gives a lot of background about the previous events, the first war, and also Wren and Torj first meeting. However, I am definitely going to read it not only because I love this fantasy world, but also because I have become a fan of its protagonists, Thea and Wilder, who we meet both in Iron & Embers and Thorns & Fire (especially Thea, who is as tough as her sister Wren).

Overall, Thorns & Fire is an addictive and compelling read, full of suspense and twists, political intrigue and magic, slow-burn romance and found family. I love the author’s writing, the world-building, and the characters and I can’t wait for more!

A huge thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Helen Scheuerer is the author of the bestselling fantasy series, The Oremere Chronicles, the Curse of the Cyren Queen quartet and The Legends of Thezmarr. Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. Helen’s love of writing and books led her to pursue a creative writing degree and a Master’s in Publishing. She has been a full-time author since 2018 and now lives amidst the mountains in New Zealand, where she is constantly dreaming up new stories.

Publication: 31st July 2025 – HarperCollins UK

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a delicious new romance…

He wants a wife. She wants to be jilted. This. Is. War.

Rich, handsome and titled Lord Ashford has every lady in England longing for his hand in marriage.

Everyone, that is, except Miss Lydia Hanworth – the only young woman Ashford wishes to marry.

Pressured into accepting Ashford’s proposal, the announcement must be kept secret for ten days. Can Lydia free herself from her obligations before the engagement is publicly announced, without ruining her reputation? You can achieve an awful lot in ten days, after all…

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I forget how many times I have watched the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, but I haven’t forgotten how fun it was to watch Matthew McCounaghey and Kate Hudson play pranks on each other and fall in love. If you are looking for something like that, something with humour and romance, but set in the Regency era, then How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days is perfect for you.

We have two protagonists. Miss Lydia Hanworth, an heiress with no interest in a marriage of convenience who just wants to be left alone with her books. And Lord Ashford, eligible, but in need of money to run his father’s estate and, for this reason, he needs to marry a rich woman and Miss Lydia, with perfect manners and a substantial dowry, meets his requirements. After a quick marriage proposal that is everything but romantic, Lydia has no choice but to accept it, but she has every intention to make him regret it. A house party in the countryside is the perfect setting for Lydia to lead Lord Ashford to call off the engagement. Armed with colourful and ridiculous dresses (there is a large number of feathers), bad manners, and a twin brother set to make use of his detective skills, Lydia is ready to do anything to reach her goal, but she doesn’t expect to meet her match in Lord Ashford.

Hilarious, cheerful, immersive, romantic, and full of surprises, it’s a good thing that I started reading it during the weekend, because I couldn’t put it down. I am a fan of Sophie Irwin. I love her writing and I have enjoyed all her novels, but How to Lose a Lord in Ten Days may be my favourite so far!

A huge thank you to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this novel.

Sophie Irwin grew up in Dorset before moving to south London. She has spent years immersed in studying historical fiction, from a dissertation on how Georgette Heyer helped win World War Two, to time spent in dusty stacks and old tomes losing herself in Regency London researching this book.

Publication: 22nd July 2025 – Hodderscape

✨ Are you ready to claim your destiny? ✨

A woman who wields magical tarot cards lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy in this first installment of an enthralling romantic fantasy series from the bestselling author of A Deal with the Elf King.

Clara Graysword has survived the underworld of Eclipse City through thievery, luck, and a whole lot of illegal magic. After a job goes awry, Clara is sentenced to a lifetime in prison for inking tarot cards-a rare power reserved for practitioners at the elite Arcana Academy.

Just when it seems her luck has run dry, the academy’s enigmatic headmaster, Prince Kaelis, offers her an escape-for a price. Kaelis believes that Clara is the perfect tool to help him steal a tarot card from the king and use it to re-create an all-powerful card long lost to time.

In order to conceal her identity and keep her close, Kaelis brings Clara to Arcana Academy, introducing her as the newest first-year student and his bride-to-be.

Thrust into a world of arcane magic and royal intrigue, where one misstep will send her back to prison or worse, Clara finds that the prince she swore to hate may not be what he seems. But can she risk giving him power over the world-and her heart? Or will she take it for herself?

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This book was fantastic! I didn’t know what to expect because I’ve never read anything by this author, but I found the synopsis intriguing so I decided to try it and I wasn’t disappointed. I will definitely keep reading Elise Kova’s books. I loved the world-building, the characters, the story, the pace, and the writing, and that ending left me excited for its sequel.

The story is set in a school of magic, the Arcana Academy of the title, where the students are taught to ink and read tarot cards and wield their magic. The protagonist, Clara, is strong, fearless, and determined, but also quite stubborn, and she enters the school not only as a student, but also as the fake future wife of Kaelis, the dark and enigmatic prince and headmaster of the academy. In reality, Clara has just escaped prison, helped by the prince himself, in exchange for her help in stealing his father’s cards and creating a new world. However, Clara has her own agenda for helping Kaelis…

I really enjoyed this novel and, even though I often got lost in the intricate tarot-based magic system, I found it fascinating and original. I also liked the characters. Clara is a heroine with a tragic past and lots of secrets (both to keep and to uncover), she is reckless, but also caring and loyal. Kaelis is brooding and cunning, but also adorable. I loved their chemistry, their interactions, and the slow-burn romance. Fake engagements, forbidden magic, secrets, betrayals, alliances, romance, found family, royal intrigue, secretive institutions… there is a lot to keep you immersed in Arcana Academy!

A huge thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Elise Kova is a USA Today and internationally bestselling author. She enjoys telling stories of fantasy worlds filled with magic and deep emotions. She lives in Florida and, when not writing, can be found playing video games, drawing, chatting with readers on social media, or daydreaming about her next story.

Publication: 17th July 2025 – Simon & Schuster UK

Lily Brown is ready to turn the page and see what adventure awaits . . .

Lily Brown prides herself on her organised, surprise-free life. Whether it’s charity yoga for polar bears or crafting a ninety-six-piece balloon arch, Lily always goes the extra mile. But when her adoptive father asks her to reconnect with her birth mother, Lola Starr – a legendary pop punk singer who vanished from fame – Lily decides to venture off the well-trodden path.

With her best friend Seb, Lily tracks Lola to her humble hotel on the beautiful Isle of Skye in Scotland, far from the glamorous life she imagined. Hiding the truth, Lily gets to know Lola and finds a kind, free-spirited woman. If life wasn’t complicated enough – she meets Noah, a charming travel writer on a quest to discover hidden gems.  
As Lily takes a chance and embraces new possibilities, she begins to question whether the safe rules she’s built her life around are what she really needs.

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The Next Chapter is a beautiful and entertaining novel about second chances and facing the past. Lily Brown is a fantastic protagonist: funny, smart, and genuine, she is a fan of to-do lists, making plans, and eating super healthy. She is on numerous Whatsapp groups, she is looking for a stable and boring relationship and no surprises. However, her life is about to be full of surprises, when she finds a letter from her late adoptive father asking her to go and meet her birth mother, Lola Starr, a former rock star who disappeared from the music scene thirty years ago, around the time she was born. Convincing herself that she just wants to persuade Lola to let her write her memoir (which will also save her company), Lily and her best friend Seb travel to the Isle of Skye where Lola runs a hotel. Here, Lily not only will have the chance to connect with the woman she spent her entire life wondering about, but also it’s her opportunity to discover more about herself.

At times hilarious, at times emotional and heartwarming, I really enjoyed The Next Chapter. There is romance and comedy, found family and friendship, and also a new one for me, fake siblings, all framed in the beautiful setting of Scotland. The cast of characters is wonderful and authentic. On the Isle of Skye, Lola is not the only person that Lily will have to face. There is also Noah, the handsome and adventurous travel writer who convinces Lily to go on a motorbike and hike mountains even though Lily doesn’t have an adventurous bone in her body, so this creates some quite hilarious scenes, and Harper, the troubled teenager on holiday with her foster parents. The Next Chapter is a witty, immersive, and charming read that kept me immersed from the first to the last page!

A huge thank you to SJV and Simon & Schuster UK for inviting me to the blog tour and providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.

Rebecca Ryan is the author of My (extra)Ordinary Life, The Philosophy of Love and The Next Chapter, although she can’t quite believe that she’s written three whole books. She left a career in teaching to pursue writing full time, and now mostly spends her days making up stories, replying to emails from her children’s school, or killing off brain cells watching reels on Instagram. Rebecca lives in Bradford with her three children, no small number of notebooks and an expansive collection of scatter cushions. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Publication: 17th July 2025 – Hodderscape

What if love is the best magic of all?

A witch has a second chance to get her magical powers – and her life back on track in this feel-good, whimsical new cosy fantasy from the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.

Once, Sera Swan was one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her powers, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exiled from her Guild. Now she helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with their quirky guests’ shenanigans and longs for a future that seems lost. Until she finds about an old spell that could restore her power . . .

Enter Luke Larsen, handsome magical historian, who might have the key to unlocking the spell’s secrets. Luke has no interest in the inn’s madcap goings-on, and is even less interested in letting a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls. So no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help.

Running an inn, reclaiming lost power, and staying one step ahead of the watchful Guild is a lot for anyone, but Sera is about to discover she doesn’t have to do alone – and that love might be the best magic of all.

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It’s been a long wait for this book, but it was worth it. After adoring The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, I have been waiting for the author’s new book and I wasn’t disappointed. A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping is another fantastic story of magic, found family, and second chances.

The story is well-developed, heartwarming, and immersive, but what I love most about this book is the cast of unique and adorable characters who live at the inn. The protagonist, Sera Swan, was once a witch prodigy until, when she was fifteen years old, she performed forbidden magic and she was not only banned from the Guild of witches, but also shunned from the entire magic world. Now, fifteen years later, Sera has been running, together with her great-aunt Jasmine, an inn that welcomes only the people who are in need. Amongst those there is Matilda, devoted to her vegetables and determined to convince Sera to adopt goats; Nicholas, who wears his knight costume even when he is not working at the medieval fair; Theo, Sera’s 11-year-old cousin from Reykyavic who moved to England because his parents couldn’t handle his magic; Clemmie, a witch trapped into the body of a fox who hopes that Sera will find a way to free her; and Luke, the handsome and grumpy magical historian, who arrives at the inn with his sister Posy intending to stay only for one night, but who can’t seem to be able to leave. Each character has their own story and their development, especially Sera who will have to come to terms with the decisions she made when she was only a teenager, but that have affected her whole life.

I so enjoyed A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping that I read it in one day. It’s witty, charming, and entertaining, there is a slow-burn romance that is not central to the story, but that still captured me, a fantastic magical setting, and a resurrected rooster that created quite a few hilarious scenes.

A huge thank you to Hodderscape and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Sangu Mandanna is the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom, and other novels about magic, monsters and myths. She lives in Norwich with her husband and kids.

Publication: 14th July 2025 – Boldwood Books

Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.

But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.

As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.

Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?

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What attracted me first and foremost about this novel is that two of the characters are also two of my favourite real-life authors: Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. A few years ago, I read and enjoyed all Agatha Christie’s novels and now I am reading the entire Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy L. Sayers and I am loving it. Also, the story is about a murder on the Orient Express (and Murder on the Orient Express is one of my favourite novels), so I knew I had to read it and I wasn’t disappointed.

Even though Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers have an important part inside the story, they are not the protagonists. The protagonists are Eliza Baker, former Scotland Yard detective, now Dorothy’s secretary, and Theo Sharpe, struggling author and occasional train steward. The Case of the Body on the Orient Express is the second book in the Detection Club series, and, although it can easily be read as a stand-alone, we know that Eliza and Theo have a past and the two of them haven’t seen each other in two years, leaving many feelings unresolved. However, it’s the murder on the train that is the focus of the story, as they team up to find out who killed someone from Dorothy’s past, why and how.

This was an entertaining and compelling read. There is mystery, intrigue, blackmail, criminal organizations, spies, interesting characters, especially Eliza and Theo. They are adorably obsessed with each other and I can’t wait to read how their story progresses. I am also looking forward to reading more about the mystery, because, even though the murder investigation is solved, there are still many things left open that make me quite excited for book 3!

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this fantastic novel.

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning, bestselling author of three mysteries series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, and the historical cozies The Fiona Figg Mysteries, set in WW1. She is also the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Publication: 3rd July 2025 – Simon & Schuster UK

A party at sunset. A body at sunrise.

What happened that night in the woods?

ELLIE
When the body of a young woman is discovered in the woods the morning after Halloween, arranged with ritualistic precision, teenager Ellie has more reason than most to be afraid …

RACHEL
 As both Ellie’s mum and the local school counsellor, Rachel, must grapple with the terror gripping the community, a tough job that’s made even harder when she realises her daughter is keeping secrets …

BEN
Police detective Ben Chase is desperate to solve the murder, but with his daughter Ellie struggling and the noose circling ever tighter, can he catch the killer before they strike again?

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One Dark Night was, for me, quite a gripping and intense story. I read it in two sittings, quite absorbed in the story, the characters, and the atmosphere.

First of all, I loved that the story is told from different perspectives: from the teenager who never feels quite at ease in her new exclusive school and who is still dealing with her parents’ divorce; from the detective in charge of the murder investigation who finds himself questioning not only if his own daughter is involved, but also the life choices that brought him to his present situation; to the school counselor who is worried about her own daughter and her students and wonders if someone, in that beautiful school, is involved in the murder.

The plot is dark, suspenseful and full of twists. There are legends of haunted woods and ghosts, an Halloween party in the woods that ends with the school’s popular girl found murdered and covered in symbols the next morning, a complex murder investigation that turns personal for the detective in charge, two parents worried about their daughter, and teenagers keeping secrets. Also, I loved the dark atmosphere, the vivid descriptions, and the sense of dread that fills every page. I couldn’t put it down! 

One Dark Night is my first novel by Hannah Richell, but she is definitely an author I will keep following. I loved her writing style and her complex characters and how she develops the story and keeps me on edge as I am reading. Highly recommended!

A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster UK and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this gripping novel.

Hannah Richell was born in Kent 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 South West of England with her family. Richell is the author of international bestsellers Secrets of the Tides (2012), The Shadow Year (2014), The Peacock Summer (2019) and The River Home (2020). Her work has been translated into twenty-one languages.