Synopsis

One night. That’s all the time a family has to decide what to do with the man they believe murdered their daughter: Do they forgive him, or take justice into their own hands? An electrifying novel by the author of Nanny Needed. . .

The anonymous letters arrive in the mail, one by one: To find out what really happened to Meghan, meet at this location. Don’t tell anyone you’re coming. In one night, you’ll find out everything you need to know.

Ten years after her murder, the letters tell Meghan’s family exactly when and where to meet: a cliffside home on the Oregon coast. But on the night they’re promised answers, the convicted killer–her high school boyfriend, Cal, who spent only ten years in prison for murder–is found unconscious in his car, slammed into a light pole near the house where the family is sitting and waiting. Is he the one who invited them to gather?

As a storm rampages along the Pacific Northwest, the power cuts off and leaves the family with no chance of returning to the main road and finding help. So they drag Cal back to the house for the remainder of the night. How easy it would be to let him die and claim it was an accident. Or do they help him instead? As the hours tick by, it becomes an excruciating choice. Half of the family wants to kill him. The other half wants him to regain consciousness so he can tell them what he knows.

But if Cal wakes up, he might reveal that someone in the family knows more than they’re letting on. And if that’s the case, who is the real killer? And are they already in the house?

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Review

I do love a good twisty psychological thriller. And that ending? Wowsa was not expecting some of those twists in the plot.

This one night in a beach house on the coast of Oregon will not be the same for anyone after that night. Deception, betrayal, and so much more are wrapped up in the pages. The story flips back and forth between various points of view, primarily the three sisters, the mother, and the stepmother. Each POV reveals a little more about the plot and the history of the characters. The story does flip back and forth in time, giving us a better feeling for the family, the characters, and maybe why Meghan was killed all those years ago.

Meghan is not a very nice person. She tormented her sisters, as is usual amongst siblings, but there seems to be a darker side that is revealed throughout the book. Her boyfriend of the time, Cal, is charged with her murder despite protesting his innocence. This incident causes strife in the family, including the parents divorcing. However, that might have just been the last thing they needed since their relationship was tenuous at best. Maureen, the mother, does not handle losing her “mini-me” very well, and when Cal is brought to the rental with everyone else in dire condition, she is ready to finish him off for killing her daughter. While I could understand her grief, the thought of her killing Cal was horrifying. She was manic about it too.

Alice and Samantha are the two younger sisters, each with flaws. Alice is quiet and reserved, but there is something different about her that I couldn’t put my finger on until the end when everything made sense. Samantha was truly a wild card. She tried to be the peacemaker, but her deceptions ran deeper than one might think.

A few others in the cast of characters add dimension to the story. Rebecca, the new wife and potentially the reason for the divorce; Paul, the dad and Rebecca’s husband; and Geoff, the “uncle” to the girls and best friend to Paul. Each character has secrets that come to light during this one night.

I was intrigued throughout the novel, and while I might have guessed part of the outcome, other details were a surprise. I would have felt nervous in this house during the storm that wreaked havoc on the house and the occupants. But it adds to the overall mood of the storyline and characters.

Don’t read this book during a storm, or you might hear things that aren’t there! Very enjoyable story, and we give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Georgina Cross is the author of One Night, Nanny Needed, The Stepdaughter, The Missing Woman, and The Niece. She has worked as a journalist and spent nine years in business development for an aerospace and defense contractor before joining the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce. She now writes full-time and lives in Alabama with her husband and their combined family of four sons.

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