One Dark Summer

by Saskia Sarginson

The BRAND NEW psychological thriller from Richard and Judy bestselling author of The Twins, Saskia Sarginson. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Freida McFadden and Girl on the Train! 📚 It was the summer that changed everything… 👀 With trembling hands, Meg knocks on the door of the large manor house. Behind her, the view down to the river is spectacular. She’s here to be the nanny to two young children.

It’s not the job Meg is anxious about, though. It’s the house itself that scares her, and the secrets lurking inside. Not only that, but will her new employer recognise her?

The door opens. A beautiful, smiling woman greets her and ushers her inside.

As she walks in, Meg realizes the house is exactly as she remembers. Her employer hasn’t changed much, either, unlike Meg. The last time they met was fifteen years ago, when Meg was a child.

Because this is where Meg lived the summer her mother went missing. The summer her life changed. The summer Meg believes she killed a man.

Now she’s back, in disguise as Margaret the nanny, and determined to find out what really happened. But some secrets are best left buried. Because someone knows exactly who Meg is, and they will do whatever it takes to keep her quiet…

A completely gripping, powerfully-written, nailbitingly-twisty thriller, guaranteed to keep readers up all night, from bestselling Richard & Judy Bookclub author, Saskia Sarginson.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Suspense, Book Club

370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 13, 2025

About the author

Saskia grew up in Suffolk and now lives in London. She is the mother of four children, including identical twin girls. She has a B.A hons in English Literature from Cambridge and an M.A in Creative Writing from Royal Holloway. She's worked as a Health & Beauty Editor,freelance journalist, ghost-writer and script reader. As well as writing and reading, she loves tango dancing and dog walking,

Reviews

[Heather Adores Books]

3⭐
Genre ~ psychological fiction
Setting ~ England
Publication date ~ April 13, 2025
Est Page Count ~ 370
Audio length ~ 11 hours 19 minutes
Narrators ~ Anna Burnett, Gloria Sanders
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ dual timelines, slow burn, secrets

Meg/Margaret has a new job as a nanny in hopes of getting some inside scoop of why her mother disappeared 15 years ago. The people that live in the house, the one that she lived in the summer her mom disappeared, might just have the answers she's looking for.

Irene is Meg's mom. I liked how we got her POV from the back in the day, so we were slowly in the loop of her dumb choices and the mystery surrounding her disappearance. But man really with her? Open your eyes lady.

Loved the atmosphere of the house, and the cover is eye catching.

Overall, my nails look the same as when I started. It was alright, a bit all over the place with a whole bunch of twists. Felt really long.

Narration notes:
I have no complaints. Happy there were 2.

Pre-reading notes:
Hoping I'll be biting my nails since the blurb tells me I will 😁

[Stacy]

This book had potential, but I just couldn't get into it. There are a few things that weren't wrapped up and left me with unanswered questions. There were some parts that I got excited about, but they were short-lived. The transitions between scenes were awkward. One minute, someone is talking to someone, and in the next paragraph, they are in their bedroom. No end to the conversation or mention of them leaving to go to their room. It was just strange and stilted writing. It didn't flow well. I also had a hard time keeping up with the characters and the timelines. It was longer than I'd like at 370 pages, and it was too slow for my liking. There were a few unexpected twists, but they weren't that exciting. Not one I would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eARC.

[Kate Dash]

If you love your thrillers slow-burning, emotionally rich, and set in moody old houses full of secrets, One Dark Summer might be exactly your vibe.

The atmosphere in this book is incredible. Saskia Sarginson paints the setting so vividly, you can almost hear the creak of floorboards and smell the lingering cigar smoke. The house practically breathes with tension. Add in unreliable memories, family secrets, and a growing sense of dread, and you’ve got a compelling psychological mystery that really sticks with you.

The book moves between past and present, slowly revealing what happened all those years ago. While the first half is definitely a slower build—and the time jumps can be a bit jarring—it’s worth sticking with. The payoff is satisfying, especially if you’re into character-driven stories with an undercurrent of suspense.

What I loved most were the characters. Meg is flawed and vulnerable, and her emotional journey is compelling. Her cousins and her mother are also layered and nuanced, and I enjoyed seeing how their stories unfolded over time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

A strong 4 stars from me!

[Bea]

Honestly I feel guilty rating it so low bc I strayed from what I usually read but like.. it was kinda painful

[Linda]

Strong first half. But (and I can't believe I'm staying this) too many twists and I couldn't keep up. 2.5 stars.

[ꕥ Ange_Lives_To_Read ꕥ]

I read a LOT of these suspense novels, and quite often when I finish one, I look at all the five star reviews and wonder how in the world so many people could rate it so highly. In this case it's the opposite - I think this one was WAY above average, and I'm surprised more of the reviews aren't raves.

Like most current fiction, this novel would have benefited from some editing, as it was a bit too long; but the story was unique, the characters were surprising and I don't believe anyone could have guessed most of the twists. It's not graphically violent, but some of the images will stay with me for quite awhile. I will definitely look for more by this author.

[Maja]

First, as always, I wanna thank Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC!

I felt really drawn towards the cover, blurb and title, and what can I say? The book did not dissappoint! Like, what can go wrong when Meg returned disguised as a nanny to the Manor where her life changed completely so many years ago? A lot, I would say! Because bad things have happened in the Manor so many years ago. And Meg is determined to find out the truth behind them...

This is a captivating, twisty story that kept me turning page after page so I did basically devour it within twenty-four hours. And now, I need to check out the other novels by Saskia Sarginson. This was my first one, but I do know now it will not be my last!

[KJ1114]

BOOOOOOO! thrillers are not supposed to have happy ending. this was a waste of my time.

[Valérie DeGrâce]

Margaret returns to the manor 15 years later to discover what really happened to her mother.

This was such a slow pace.. and very confusing. It was very hard to follow if we were in the present or in the past.. and the transition between scenes were also very blurred.

The twist weren't very exciting, and the mother.. oh the mother. We follow her story in the past but she is probably the WORST person is the story. Blind to the red flags. I just couldn't..

Overall- I don`t recommend :)

[J.A. Baker]

Fantastic

I cannot say enough good words about this book. The writing is impeccable, the plot wonderful. All I will say is you need to set a few days aside and get curled up ready to be engrossed by this stunning story.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer]

One Dark Summer by Saskia Sarginson, when Meg a.k.a. Margaret shows up to be the nanny for Ophelia‘s two children the mom has no idea that one the nanny has been there before two they’re related and three she’s there to solve a mystery. Meg stayed with Ophelia and her two sisters this summer Meg’s mom went missing and just like that then the sisters are as close as ever there will be many things she revisits from that summer including the attic she wasn’t allowed to go in, the summer house and her relationship with the three girls she envied so much. this book has three timelines the summer Meg stayed at the mansion her mom‘s POV with the man she left her dad for and the current day with her trying to solve the mystery. I found each POV to be more interesting than the last and couldn’t wait to see how they all tied together but trust me when I say I did not expect the ending that came I mean yes some of that I did but not the absolute ending that happened with Meg because if that’s not an OMG moment then I don’t know what is. I wish I could write a great review about how awesome this book is but for anyone who likes well done thrillers will absolutely enjoy this book there’s more than one finale in the book as a stories do not all tie up and current day per se. I mean it does but there’s different parts to the ending and all of them were awesome. #NetGalley,#TheBlindReview#BoldwoodBooks, er, #MyHonestReview, #SaskiaSarginson, #OneDarkSummer,

[StinaStaffymum]

★★★ 3.5 stars

A missing mother...a forgotten child...a house full of deadly secrets...

I'm not sure what I expected when I dived into this one but it wasn't what was delivered. It is a dark, twisted and atmospheric with a real claustrophobic tension throughout. Though a slow burn (not usually my favoured type), that tension is palpable from the first page as we, the reader, try to unravel the mess left behind at Deben Manor. The mystery that Meg has come looking to uncover.

Meg was just a child when she first came to Deben Manor after her mother disappeared, her father depositing her there with her cousins while he tried to get his life back together again after his wife, Irene's, departure. Meg missed her mother terribly and her three cousins - Orphelia (17), Thea (15) and Clementine (12) - were not entirely nice to her. Her uncle Lucian came and went as she saw fit whilst her aunt, the girls' mother, Calista floated about in her own little world. Neither parent did any parenting and the three sisters pretty much brought themselves up. And Meg? No one really cared about her or what happened to her. When she disappeared one morning and then reappeared after a boating accident, the sisters were glad to see the back of her.

Now fifteen years later, Meg's back at Deben Manor. This time under the guise of nanny Margaret Danby (her mother's maiden name) to Orphelia's two children >b>Artemis (5) and Kit (3). Her primary goal is to find out what really happened to her mother all those years ago, believing she had been to Deben Manor at some point though she didn't know why. Or what the connection was. She has done her best to disguise herself, fearing that one of the sisters will recognise her and end her mission. So every chance she gets, she sifts through Orphelia's study, searches her room and even tries to gain access to the forbidden attic...where strange sounds emanate from there at night. Footsteps on the floorboards, whispers behind the walls, cigar smoke filtering through the floors. But the attic has been locked up tight since Lucian's time. And no one has been up there since. Calista forbids it. Although she's in France where she's remained ever since Lucian's boating accident fifteen years ago, for which Meg was blamed. The problem is, Meg has trouble recalling what really happened that day...and why.

But someone knows what Meg is up to. They know her real identity and have been watching her, logging her movements and following her when she goes into the village, spying on her in the summerhouse. The question is who? And why? Meg isn't sure who she can trust and when she finds a pair of Orphelia's diamond earrings in her belongings, she knows someone is trying to set her up. Then she begins to receives notes warning her to leave...or else. But how can she? When she's this close to finding out what really happened to her mother fifteen years ago during that one dark summer. When she left for school one day only to return home to find her mother had gone for good.

The scene is set for an atmospheric and chilling thriller that will keep you guessing...even when you think you have it all worked out. The book takes on a gothic air of melancholy reminiscent of those that have gone before such as "Jane Eyre" or "Wuthering Heights". Though the air of romance in those takes on something else entirely in this one as the years peel away the trauma, the abuse, the cruelty and harm at the hands of those in a place of trust.

When I started this book, I found it slow moving and dragged on a little but I stuck it out and it did get better and yet it still felt lacking in something though I'm not sure what. I was definitely intrigued enough to continue reading and did so in one evening.

I would like to thank #SaskiaSarginson, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #OneDarkSummer in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

[Linda]

This was a thriller that I might not have found without Hoopla bringing it to my attention. Another new to me author that I am glad I didn't miss.

Strong characters that drew me in from the beginning. I was intrigued by Meg's story, wondering why she would want to return to a house that brought so many unpleasant memories for her. Multiple time lines that I don't always love but I felt the transitions were good and flowed well - telling the readers the story of what happened then and now.

Scary that although this is a work of fiction, it's believable enough to be true. Highly entertaining and keeping me guessing right to the end.

[Shell (Camping with Style Blog)]

Despite decent writing and pacing, I didn't enjoy this at all, for one major reason.

Don't read more unless you want spoilers...

I'm getting so bored of dumb women in contemporary fiction. Why are they endlessly blinded by infatuation for a man 🤢

Women who ignore all red flags, their own common sense and intuition, I'm just so over this type of character.

The story was actually OK with various threads to it and it really wasn't badly written, but even when our protagonist is given a clear way out and told exactly what's going on she doesn't take it.

Instead, before getting to safety and reuniting with her kids, she decides to weakly confront and then whine to the man she is fully aware has kept her for weeks, a drugged prisoner, raping her over and over again.

"But I thought you loved me?" she marvels. I'm sorry? the man you're having an affair with and who has been continually raping and drugging you, you're still wondering if he loves you?!

Girl, get a grip, why do you even care how he feels?!!

The way he feels is beyond obvious, he very obviously hates you? Like really, women are not universally this weak and dumb and I'm so fed up of being represented like this.

Her total lack of self respect, self preservation and her general weakness makes her incredibly unrelatable and highly unlikable and this aspect - the major plot - of the book is spoiled as a result.

Not for me.

[Wendy]

It was pretty good but sometimes repetitive.

[Sofia R]

I absolutely, ravenously DEVOURED this novel.

I listened to the audiobook edition, which was perhaps unwise, because One Dark Summer is not a book that encourages healthy boundaries. I could not bring myself to stop listening. Bedtime for me became less “time to sleep” and more “time to lie motionless in the dark while Saskia Sarginson ruins my sleep schedule.” RIP to my REM cycle, but it was well worth the inevitable next-day sluggishness.

This is one of those thrillers where the atmosphere—in the hazy Suffolk countryside, inside an eerie, aging Georgian manor—does an extraordinary amount of work. Every creak from the lofted attic sent shivers down my spine. The mere mention of something or someone basked in shadow, or the crunch of gravel outside, was enough to have me muttering under my breath like an absolute nut for Meg to GTFO. There is this creeping sense of unease that gradually gives way to outright dread as the plot begins to unravel at what feels like an exponential rate. Every seemingly incidental detail acquires a sinister little ellipsis behind it. Sarginson masterfully creates that particular kind of irrefutable tension where you become positively convinced that you are being given all the facts and information you need to solve the mystery, while simultaneously having absolutely no idea what will happen next.

And the twists. THE TWISTS!

There were enough of them that, by the end, I felt I had to manually swivel my head back around to its original position, mouth agape. I've grown up on enough British and Canadian mystery TV programming (thank you, Masterpiece Theatre and Mysteries! Honorable mention: Acorn TV) that I feel as if I've acquired a bit of a "sixth sense" at spotting where a thriller/mystery is going, and I was repeatedly, almost offensively, wrong. I've got to get my radar recalibrated, at this rate. Every time I thought I had the murky dots all connected, another piece of the mystery would come into play.

The dual narrative between mother and daughter was done with such prolific prowess and seamless flow that the story truly felt as though it was coming together, piece by piece, 15 years apart. Rather than simply using two perspectives as a convenient mechanism for withholding information, Sarginson uses them with great prowess to gradually reveal the complicated emotional and psychological history of a family that is, in various ways, coming undone.

And underneath all of that is a very well-observed story about family, memory, secrecy, and the strange ways people can know one another intimately while still remaining profoundly unknowable.

UGH, and I LOVE when evil, stinky men get GOT. Lucien Aldridge, despite your narcissistic face card getting Freddy Kruegered up to the nines, go trip over a grimy English landmine, you fugly clown.

When I say that I saw none of it coming— girl, I might as well be as blind as a bat.

A wonderfully atmospheric, genuinely surprising thriller. Loved it.

[Donna Mallery]

This complex tale is fascinating! There is so much to unpack with its mysteries spanning many years. I just loved it! Everything wraps up in a satisfying way! There are many secrets and they unravel in shocking detail. Meg is a sympathetic character, and I enjoyed reading her incredible journey to find out what really happened during that pivotal moment in her past. I have never heard of this author, and I will certainly read more by her.

[Ariane Baet]

I loved the all the twists, honestly I didn’t expect most of them! But it dragged on a bit too much, I guess that was to build anticipation but I’m just impatient so I didn’t like the feeling and frustration that it invoked in me. I did have to put it down a few times cause it got scaryyyyy 🫣

[Courtney Gay]

4.5 ⭐️

[Tracy Thorpe]

3.5 🌟

[Reisa Bolog]

A slow burn. It was just okay for me.

[Abigail Gomez]

This book will pull you in immediately! I could not put it down, read it in one night and then couldn’t sleep! Definitely recommend if you like a good suspense novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat!

[Emma Sommerville]

Ok so if you have never read a psychological thriller before then start with this.
It has all the twists and turns thriller should have but more. I could not work out what was going to happen and more than once I sat mouth open like I was catching flys. Gobsmacked at what I had just read. It was absolutely brilliant. One I will always recommend.

[Annette]

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

[Ruby Safford]

Super slow for my liking, especially if I'm reading a thriller. The mom really upset me at how naive and ignorant she was to Lucien's red flags and narcissism. The twists fell short for me. I'm glad I didn't pay to listen to the audio.

[Gigi Ropp]

Dark, twisty, and atmospheric, One Dark Summer delivers a slow-burn suspense well! It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

[Jess]

This book dragged on. 80% of the story is just the main character going through life. The meat of the story is the last 80%, and by that point it feels like the author rushed to finish it. Almost like the author put the unfinished book down for a long, long time, and then hurried to finish it to publish. Either that or someone else wrote that last 20%. It was a miss for me.

[Tabby]

Held my attention but at times I felt like it just went on and on. I feel like the twist and turns were great & really caught you off guard! But I felt like it just needed something more to really "wow" you.

[Kaila]

Unfortunately, One Dark Summer just wasn’t really for me. The premise sounded so good and had all the makings of a psychological thriller I would normally love—secrets, a mysterious past, and returning to a place where something terrible happened—but I struggled to really connect with the story.

There were definitely moments that kept me curious enough to want to know what happened, but overall I found myself having to push through more than I wanted to. I also think this is one where readers may want to look up the trigger warnings before going in. There are some heavier and potentially upsetting themes that I wasn’t quite expecting based on the description.

It wasn’t a bad book by any means, and I can definitely see it working better for other thriller readers, but unfortunately it just didn’t hit for me.

[Hannah Troutt]

This one definitely got my heart beating fast at many parts. I liked how it was separated into multiple parts with mother-daughter POVS. Some of it seemed a bit far fetched so that lost a star for me. You will be guessing until the end!