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 shock and turmoil. Local police detective Ben Chase is assigned to the murder investigation, but when the victim is identified as a student from his daughter''s school, tensions rise. Was she the victim of a party prank gone wrong, or does the girl’s 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.

Autorentext
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.

Klappentext

A party at sunset. A body at sunrise.
What happened that night in the woods?

'Utterly gripping ... I couldn't put it down!' SARAH PEARSE, author of THE SANATORIUM
'Immersive and twisty . . .  Highly recommended' SARAH VAUGHAN, author of ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL

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?

'ONE DARK NIGHT is a superior crime thriller, with beautifully real characters and a wonderfully atmospheric setting. I read the closing chapters with my heart in my mouth, as the twists kept on coming. Compassionate and immersive, it's the perfect follow-up to THE SEARCH PARTY. I loved it' EMYLIA HALL, author of THE SHELL HOUSE DETECTIVE MYSTERIES series

'Hannah Richell has totally established herself as master of the twisty thriller. I couldn't put ONE DARK NIGHT down. It's completely gripping from start to finish, with so much to enjoy - the heart-in-the-mouth twists, the pacy plot, the brilliantly drawn characters and the brilliant sense of place. The perfect (dark) summer read' HARRIET EVANS, author of THE TREASURES
 
'Thrilling and page-turning' SALLY HEPWORTH, author of DARLING GIRLS

'Hannah Richell's books never disappoint, and this addictive and atmospheric crime thriller is no exception. The perfect read to get lost in this summer' KATE RIORDAN, author of HEATWAVE