Full review coming soon on Goodreads. My initial thoughts are that I enjoyed being hooked from the very beginning with the mystery of Deben Manor and why it was so familiar to Meg and how she knew the people who lived there. I liked that there were other mysteries introduced that were slowly revealed and resolved as the plot went on (e.g. the necklaces, the cardigan, the room in the attic, the noises heard upstairs). I also enjoyed the different points of view.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

"One Dark Summer" is a gripping and emotionally layered thriller that pulls you in from the very first page. Meg, a professional au pair, accepts a job at Deben Manor under the false identity of “Margaret”, but she has a hidden agenda. The manor is owned by her three cousins, and returning gives her the chance to uncover long-buried secrets from fifteen years ago: the summer her mother disappeared...

The pacing is tight and packed with twists. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Sarginson expertly pulled the rug out from under me. The story keeps you second-guessing all the way through.

As readers, we’re given more pieces of the puzzle than Meg’s family has, and it’s fascinating (and tense!) watching her edge closer to the truth. While there are moments where better communication could have unraveled the mystery faster, the emotional weight behind the characters' choices makes their silence believable.

The final twist is powerful, and the ending ties everything together with all questions answered, something I always appreciate in a thriller.

A twisty, suspenseful read that kept me hooked late into the night. Perfect for fans of family secrets, unreliable memories, and slow-revealing truths.

This was such a gripping read right away, the twists and turns were so well done and they had me shocked.

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve not read a psychological thriller for a while now and this looked really good when I read the synopsis. It didn’t disappoint.

Meg can’t remember most of what happened that summer, the summer her mum disappeared and her uncle drowned saving her but she wants to and goes back to her home town to try and find out. Taking a job as a nanny to her cousins children seems like the perfect idea at the start, but then strange things start to happen - the feeling of being followed and watched doesn’t seem to leave her at any time.

I really enjoyed this one and once I got into it, I flew through it in no time. Twists and secrets galore all the way through, dual timelines giving the past and present stories life. I’d not read this author before but will definitely keep an eye out for more.

When Meg, who works as a nanny, sees a job advertised at Deben Manor it seems like fate. 15 years previously she spent the summer here, staying with her cousins after her mother suddenly disappeared. Meg, who changes her appearance and calls herself Margaret, is determined to find out what really happened that fateful summer and one that changed everything. When she turns up to nanny two young children she realises that the house and its residents are exactly how she remembers. With so many secrets and not knowing who to trust Meg soon realises that someone knows exactly who she is…… This pulled me in from the very beginning and with so many twists and turns kept me totally hooked until the very last page. This is cleverly written with a brilliant cast of characters , a great storyline and an absolutely cracking ending I can’t recommend it enough. Thanks to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the ARC

One Dark Summer is such a good book! It’s a spooky, mystery thriller with lots of twists and turns. I could not put this book down! Love this author’s writing style!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Meg has returned to the manor house as a nanny. She also hopes to get some answers to what happened to her mother all those years ago.
This book was a slow build for me. There’s lots of twists and turns. Also some surprises I didn’t see coming. It has a bit of a creepy factor to it too. You might want to stay up late to finish this one

Wow. I can’t remember the last time I read a thriller so fast! I could not put it down! One Dark Summer was such a thrilling and fast paced bingeable read.


Thank you, Boldwood Books and Netgally, for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

there are questions,secrets and lies from the start. you are led to question your own misgivings ad belief of what could have happened and also the characters. and this is the tell of a good mystery thriller for me. where it lets you and leads you in circles and questioning everything and everyone.
Megs mother disappeared. she doesnt know what happened. but she knows it happened when she was living at the house. the house she has returned to with a fake name and identity. living in the house now is her cousin. they dont know who she is. but she is determined to find out what happened all those years ago so returns as a fake nanny for her cousin children.
things start happening but who or what is the cause. can she believe what happened then or what is happening now? and what is happening now?

This was a great read !! A page turner for real it will be talked about keep me interested to the very last page

What a story of thrilling suspense and a gripping storyline.
Meg returns to an old Manor House under the alias name of Margaret working as a Nanny where 15years previously, this was her home and her mother disappeared without trace not to be seen or heard of again.
Where did she go? Is she alive?
The Manor House is now owned by one of her cousins Mrs Manners who has two children Artemis and Kit. Margaret has been lead to believe she had been involved in her uncles accident and her cousins blame her.
When unusual things keep happening in the house to Margaret she blames one of her cousins thinking they want her gone out the house ( they don’t know Margaret is their cousin) but she is the latest Nanny after the previous ones departing within weeks of employment - reasons unknown.
Mysterious things keep happening to Margaret with no explanation - the strangest of these being the smell of cigar smoke in her room and hearing footsteps in the attic which nobody has entered in many, many years.
Is the Manor House haunted or does somebody want Margaret out that house immediately?
For twists and turns leaving you unable to put this book down until the last page
BUY ASAP

This is a mystery/ thriller with lots of red herrings/twists, turns and surprises. 3.5 rounded up to 4. Meg returns to her cousin's home under a secret identity to try to find out the truth of what happened to her mother, who disappeared that summer long ago. This book does keep you off balance and throws you curveballs, but after all the tension building with each aspect and it just felt a bit anticlimactic with each reveal and too tidy. Overall, the book was engaging and had me intrigued to know what was going to happen, This author has a lot of potential in this genre. I would like to see what she puts out in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC. This is my honest review.

Meg returns to Deben Manor 15 years after the incident to learn the truth of what happend that one summer. What really happend to her mum? And did she really kill that man? Most importantly, they can't know who she really is but it seems like someone already knows.

One Dark Summer is an incredible book with many twists and turns you won't see coming.
I absolutely loved it and I couldn't put it down once I got into the story. It really drew me in and kept me on the hook until the end.
With interesting characters and more than one mystery it will make you question everything and everyone!

This book was so fantastic! It really goes into how a person presents is not reality. The story is about a woman named Meg/Margaret who comes back as a nanny for a family that she is tied to by a secret and discovers that someone may know what that secret is. The story being told from Meg's and also her mother's perspectives because both stories are different however the conclusion is the same when it comes to how things wrap up. The twists and turns in this novel had me guessing the whole time and I was blown away by the ending. Highly highly recommend!

I raced through this pacy thriller in two days and it was a wild ride. I had no idea where the author was taking me, but I knew I wanted to follow…..⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"One Dark Summer" follows Meg, a professional au pair who takes a job at Deben Manor in the English countryside. But not everything is as it seems: the manor is owned by her three cousins, and she is undercover as Margaret, the nanny, using this unique opportunity to uncover what really happened fifteen years ago. That was the summer she stayed at the house after her mother disappeared- the summer she killed a man.

The story is fast-paced and packed with twists and turns. I thought I had it figured out at 20%, then at 40, then at 60... and I was wrong every time. Of course, this is one of those cases where, if only people sat down and talked instead of being secretive and sneaky, things would get resolved much faster- but that’s not how it works in real life either.
As readers, we know what happened to Meg’s mom (not the full story, of course, but most of it), while nobody else does, and we eagerly wait for her to uncover the truth. When the last twist is revealed and everything is laid out, there isn’t a single loose thread.

Definitely a page-turner from Sarginson that had me hooked and reading well into the night.

my first read from this author and very much enjoyed. Megs mum walked out on her and her dad when she was very young and never contacted her and now, she wants to find out what happed to her, and she thinks it's all connected to one family Debon manor where her cousins live. and something happened to Meg there one summer. the 3 sisters are very close, and meg goes there as the new nanny, it's a very addictive and creepy read that will keep you guessing until the end

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC copy

From page one, you are on a suspenseful ride. You will engulf this story in one sitting. I truly thought I knew what was going on and then Part 2 started, rinse and repeat through the end of the book. Wow.

This book left me in shock. It started out as a slow burn but I am really glad I kept reading it. I liked the characters and really found myself becoming engaged with their stories. The twists had me open mouthed. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such a great read! I love how fast paced it was and it kept me guessing. Perfect vacation book!