The Long Night

by Christian White

Em has lived a quiet life with her complicated mother and is now looking for love and a potential escape from her small hometown. When a masked man kidnaps her in the dark of night, though, she is drawn into a terrifying world.

Jodie has been trying to forget a troubling time in her life, pouring her trauma into her work and out of her mind. Until one night her daughter is kidnapped and Jodie is dragged back into the violence.

As Em and Jodie race into the darkness, the agony of the past rushes up to meet them. It will take all their devotion and courage to escape this night alive.

Bold, vivid and heart-racingly intense, The Long Night is the darkest and most exhilarating novel yet from bestselling author Christian White.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Mystery, Adult, Psychological Thriller

Audible Audio

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Through the front windscreen, the hazards strobe. And in those sinister, blinking lights, the man walks towards them… the one in the balaclava.”

Christian White has done it again. I’ve loved all his novels, but The Long Night might just be his darkest and most unsettling yet. He’s the absolute master of misdirection, just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, he takes you somewhere you never saw coming.

Tense, atmospheric and so cleverly constructed, this story follows Em and Jodie, two women whose lives collide through trauma, danger, and the fight to survive one terrifying night. It’s a slow burn at first, but once it grips you, there’s no letting go.

What I love about White’s writing is how he balances genuine emotion with razor sharp suspense. Every chapter feels loaded with unease, and the small town setting adds that claustrophobic edge he does so well.

If you enjoy psychological thrillers with layers, twists, and heart, this one’s not to be missed.

I Highly Recommend.

Thank you Affirm Press for my early readers copy.

Available Now!

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Am I the only one who was totally confused by this book? I just couldn’t get who, when or why? All the characters had the same names, the book starts at 7pm no idea when, then later we get a date. Is it then or now?? And the end??? I have no idea what I just read. I usually really enjoy this author’s books.

[Mandy White (mandylovestoread) · Rating 5 out of 5]

🤯🤯 mind blown Christian White…well done!!

Oh my goodness, The Long Night is this authors darkest, scariest, twistiest and wildest book to date. And Christian White readers know that is saying something because his books are always jaw dropping. Do not pick up this book and expect to read a few chapters, you are going to want to devour it in one go, trust me.

I really don’t want to say anything about the plot, you just need to read it. I always go into a new book by this author and think I am going to outsmart him, but dang he got me again.so freaking good. It made me question everything and I loved it. Easily a favourite book for 2025.

Out in Australia on October 28th, get your pre orders in now, you are not going to want to miss this.

Thanks so much to Affirm Press for allowing me to read this early. Squeals of delight were heard all around when I opened it!!

[Gloria (Ms. G's Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️4 Stars⭐️
I was so excited to receive a copy of The Long Night, I always look forward to a new Christian White release!

Oh my, this was dark and creepy and very unputdownable and a book to devour. And once again you got me Christian White, I was carefully looking out for the twist and thought I was so clever but oh no, not quite!!

I think you should go into this one blind and not know anything about it, so I’m not giving anything away except that it’s a chilling thriller and I’m screaming because I missed that twist again 😱

Publication Date 28 October 2025
Publisher Affirm Press

A huge thanks to Affirm Press for an early copy of the book

[Jackie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big. Fat. Meh.

ALSO, WHOEVER PROOFREADS THESE BOOKS NEEDS A PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Big thanks to Affirm Press for sending us a copy to read and review.
The Long Night is the latest thriller to hit the shelves by popular author Christian White.
A good read, not the writers best and a little too similar to another but still worth your reading time.
Em is kidnapped by a mysterious hooded man and she fears for her life.
Jodie is trying to move on from her past but then her daughter disappears and she is dragged back into danger.
Now they both need to survive the long night…..
That’s all the plot description I’m giving you, anything else may give to much away.
Best to go into this blind like most novels of this genre.
His characterisation is very important to this story and it’s executed beautifully.
The pages and words are drenched with clues, deception, secrets, insidious, trickery and many more.
Fans of Christian’s writing, characters and plots will enjoy this current read.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so confused 😵‍💫 hahahah

[Karen Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the first 2/3 of this, then I was just confused thinking I was losing my mind.
I knew there would be a twist, but it was so disorienting reading and having no clue what was going on.
I mean I got my head around it in the end I guess, but it wasn’t enjoyable for that last bit.
Then it ended very abruptly.

[Natalie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but wasn’t one of my favourites from White.

It may be the break between when I started and finished but the novel didn’t have me itching to read. It was more a case of getting it done.

[Michele (michelethebookdragon) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another strong outing for Christian White with a tense and nail-biting read.

My heart was literally racing within the first 15-20 pages where we meet Em and she is kidnapped with a girl she was on a date with. The tension that was built in such a short space of time was incredible.

Then in the next chapters we meet Jodie who finds out her daughter has been kidnapped and the tension gets more intense.

The story that unravels is violent and gritty. The twist took me a couple of chapters to get my head around but wasn't a bombshell.

This was certainly darker than The Ledge, and while the twist in The Ledge left me floored, this one didn't quite have the same effect.

I loved the references to many horror movies that I have seen and they were cleverly placed dependant on the scene.

[Ree Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might be Christian’s biggest fan, but this book didn’t hit like his previous books. Took a hot minute to get into, but as always, the wake up moment when the characters unveil themselves is chefs kiss.

[Heather Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scary!!!!

[Becs' reads Australia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Christian White. Certainly one of my absolute favourites. But this book was so difficult to follow. I felt like I was constantly re-reading it to follow the twists. I re-read the ending and I still couldn't make sense of it. 2 stars because it kept me hooked.... but lost me as well. So disappointing

[Jacki (Julia Flyte) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Long Night was my favourite thriller of 2025. So gripping! It takes place over the course of one night in rural Australia, and it alternates between the viewpoint of a young woman who’s been abducted and the mother who is desperate to get her daughter back. It’s fast paced, it’s very cleverly plotted and it’s impossible to put down.

Pretty much every chapter ends with a cliffhanger that had me desperate to keep reading and if you like the kind of twists that have you re-evaluating everything you just read this is most definitely a book for you.

[Millie Trinh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god. Heart racing from the first page to the last. The entire book felt like the last 50 pages of a thriller. Insane. Loved it.

[Ashleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian White is a solid thriller/mystery writer. He has produced another easy-to-read book of the genre, almost to a formula. Although I enjoyed this book and read it quickly, I felt unsatisfied. Although I sensed the misdirection, I did not actually see the twist coming, something felt hollow in the reveal which I can't put my finger on. The characters themselves did not feel entirely fleshed out (thrown to the wayside maybe for a plot-driven novel). I spotted a big typo which seemed unforgivable from an experienced novelist and publishing house. An indicator that this book needed a bit more time in the edit.

If you are new to Christian White's work, start with the Nowhere Child.

[Deborah (debbishdotcom) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed getting The Long Night by Christian White for review, but had time to kill at an airport recently so splurged on a copy as I enjoy his mind-boggling thrillers and his latest is another with a whiplash-like twist, reminiscent of his 2019 book (my favourite of his so far), The Wife and the Widow . Our hosts here are Em, a young wannabe screenwriter with a penchant for horror movies; and middle-aged Jodie, a successful artist. Em's been on a blind date which is going so well she's going back to Holly's house when the pair are trapped and Em kidnapped and held for ransom. Jodie has returned to her city apartment after a successful art show to find a man inside, telling her his partner's taken her daughter.

White gives us two strong characters in Em and Jodie, the latter feeling more relatable for me, so I was most certainly invested in her story (and past). The strength of this novel however is the twist White throws in and we realise we've been kinda duped. But in a good and very clever way.
Read my review here: https://www.debbish.com/books-literat...

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

He just does not miss ! An absolutely heart pounding novel made only more haunting in the audiobook by the captivating Raechyl French.

[what.karli.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.75/5 stars

𝙷𝚘𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚎!!

𝙸𝚗 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎 𝙲𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚗 𝚆𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚢𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚕 𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚞𝚗-𝚙𝚞𝚝-𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚍𝚊𝚢!

𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚜/𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎-𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍'𝚟𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖!

𝚈𝚎𝚙 𝚈𝚎𝚙 𝚈𝚎𝚙 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝!

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

CW has tried to do way too much with this latest book - stick to a basic mystery with a good unexpected twist and I’ll be happy. Change people’s names and identities half way through and you lose me. Loved all his other books - this one is crazy/bad/confusing- and I didn’t have the patience to rifle back through the pages to try and work out non-obvious timelines and double-named characters. Disappointing.

[dominellireads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I will read ANNNNNNNY THING Christian White writes, he has blessed us with another absolute banger, yet again. This is definitely his darkest one yet, the characters, the plot and the twists are impeccable.

He is the king of misdirection for a reason, you always think you have it figured it out and then BAM. THIS WAS THE MOST EXHILARATING thing I have read in a good 6 months, with the story taking place over a 12 hour period you really don’t have time to get bored!

I am a painfully slow reader and I demolished this in one sitting. The fast pacing and thrill of the ride makes this completely unputdownable. Put your phone on DND, cancel all of your plans and read this immediately!!!

[Melindie Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing and frustrating.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This dragged out for me...so much so I have to be candid and admit I skimmed to reach the end.
The rating given was the same for another of his books, Wild Place : it appears I am not a fan of his writing style unlike so many others.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Christian White is an amazing writing, the master of the twist.

I wanted to read the opening chapter as a teaser, I’m finishing off another book before I start this one but couldn’t help myself. What a start, sucks you in straight away. I have to use all my will power to not keep going. I “must” 😜 finish other book first ……

A great book. Did picked a twist early on, though I thought it might have been deliberate as White isn’t known for giving away too much too soon. Not necessarily his best, in the way of knock-you-off-your-feet didn’t see that coming twists.
Stop reading if you don’t want a spoiler - - - It did give me Wife and widow vibes about 75% in, thought I think was it was meticulously placed in the story and a necessary twist we needed to know. Well done White.
An enjoyable rush from start to finish.


Here are some quote from each time frame that stood out …….

“What the hell have you done?” (7pm)
…… 😱 And that was only the first three hour……

‘Do you believe in God?’ He mutters. ‘If you do, you should start praying I don’t die.’ His eye flicker, then darken. ‘If not, well, I guess we’re all f@#ked.’ (10 pm)

Then, when there are no more words left, she just scream. (Midnight)

She groans. The house groans, too. A cold wind moved through them both. (2 pm)
….. And me too. Oooh it’s getting good…..

‘….Maybe that’s why we’re stuck out here.’
‘….Doomed to haunt and be haunted.’ (4 am)

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the quote on the front cover states, Christian White is "the master of the art of misdirection" and it is what I have loved about all his books so far!

Told in alternating chapters with main characters Em and Jodie, the story involves a chilling kidnapping where characters are just trying to make it through the night to survive. It gave me all the creepy vibes of a psychological thriller (omg the doll scene 🫣 IYKYK). The writing was so eerie and atmospheric and I just didn't know where it was going to go!

In classic Christian White style, there were twists and turns in abundance but I felt it was almost trying to be too clever. I started getting confused between characters and I couldn't fully wrap my head around what was happening as some of the reveals happened. I also found the ending a bit underwhelming and was hoping for a more succinct resolution and reasoning behind it - I just struggled to believe it. All in all, this was still a good read, but not his best in my opinion.

[Matthew Exner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really loved reading Christian White again. The way he propels his books into a catastrophic mess, making both the characters and the reader question everything they knew about the story is exhilarating. Even when you think you know what’s going on, BOOM another left hook of a plot twist. In saying that, I spent 2 chapters towards the end genuinely confused as to what was happening, however, the pay off when you figure it out is awesome - feels like a whodunit. Only issue was there were spelling errors (boooooo). Nothing worse than being enthralled in a story to quickly be sucked back into reality due to a spelling or grammatical error. I find it hard to move past that, so that’s why it’s 4 not 5 stars. I honestly am shocked the spelling error slipped through - it was meant to say “phone” and instead we got “phoUUne”?!

[Luke Withers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow 🤩 Christian White does it again. Great unexpected twists and certified jumpscare moments. Absolute page turner. I was and still am obsessed. Can’t wait for his next one.

[Madison Delmenico · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

[Brees Knees · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG. WOW. I’ve never given a book 5 stars on GoodReads before, cause there is nowhere to go in the case you read something that blows you away.

This is it.
Hands down the best Christian White book and the best ride I’ve had in a book since I can even remember.

I’m buying this book as a present for anyone I can think of on my Christmas list.

It is atmospheric, creepy, witty, relatable and to be cliche- unputdownable. I held my breath in so many chapters. The vivid storytelling had me there in the rain, dreading the flood of the sensor light or feeling the scratch of a nail on my arm and ignoring the blood it drew. Bloody awesome.

I love that there are references to things the way we would refer to them in Australia and that Christian hadn’t caved to make them Americanised for a wider audience. No sell-outs here. He’s brilliant and I cannot recommend this book enough.
I read it in just over a day- I couldn’t possibly have done anything else.
Bravo!

[Harriet Coombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. Fast paced and easy to read - I read it in one afternoon. But I picked all the twists so I was slightly disappointed when they came. I feel like Christian White is so fantastic at the crazy twist that it is now at the point where he's now given himself an overperformance penalty. The bar is impossibly high and this felt a bit reminiscent of twists in his other books. Still well written and entertaining and I'll continue to read anything he writes!