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Shadow Creek: A gripping psychological thriller
In Shadow Creek, nothing is what it seems.
Behind the small-town charm lies a tangle of secrets, lies, and an impostor who will stop at nothing to control the truth…
At twenty-eight, Serenity’s world shatters when she learned she was adopted.
Summoned to Shadow Creek by a law firm executing her biological mother’s will, she hopes for answers. Instead, she finds only questions-cryptic clues, unsettling whispers, and the chilling sense that someone is watching her.
The deeper she digs, the darker the shadows become. Each discovery pushes her closer to the truth… and deeper into a spiral of doubt, fear and obsession. Is Shadow Creek hiding the key of her past-or a trap she can never escape?
Shadow Creek is a haunting psychological thriller about buried secrets, twisted legacies, and the price of uncovering the truth.
Behind the small-town charm lies a tangle of secrets, lies, and an impostor who will stop at nothing to control the truth…
At twenty-eight, Serenity’s world shatters when she learned she was adopted.
Summoned to Shadow Creek by a law firm executing her biological mother’s will, she hopes for answers. Instead, she finds only questions-cryptic clues, unsettling whispers, and the chilling sense that someone is watching her.
The deeper she digs, the darker the shadows become. Each discovery pushes her closer to the truth… and deeper into a spiral of doubt, fear and obsession. Is Shadow Creek hiding the key of her past-or a trap she can never escape?
Shadow Creek is a haunting psychological thriller about buried secrets, twisted legacies, and the price of uncovering the truth.
168 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2025
About the author
Irene Night
5 books10 followersIrene Night is a new mind entering the writing scene, and unexpected twists are what she chases after.
Irene has worked in the mental health field for the past 15 years and currently resides in upstate New York with her boyfriend. They constantly embrace opportunities to be out somewhere doing something; from exploring an area or disc golf course they haven’t been to yet to build their skills and circle of friends. When Irene isn’t on the go she enjoys connecting with family and of course, writing.
While Irene has multiple half started stories in the background, The Deceived series is her first completed story she has asked others to read and provide feedback on. Irene never imagined she would put her internal thoughts out there and was overly delighted when each person she shared this story with strongly encouraged her to pursue being published.
Writing has always been a healthy escape for Irene (even the dark stories) as having a world she can control helps her overcome the stressors that simply come at us in life. Her imagination is always running wild and is continually seeking out the next rush and unexpected twist. She is very hopeful to see more of her half started stories come to fruition.
Aside from writing, she enjoys playing disc golf and spending time with the disc golf community, as well as traveling anywhere and everywhere.
Irene has worked in the mental health field for the past 15 years and currently resides in upstate New York with her boyfriend. They constantly embrace opportunities to be out somewhere doing something; from exploring an area or disc golf course they haven’t been to yet to build their skills and circle of friends. When Irene isn’t on the go she enjoys connecting with family and of course, writing.
While Irene has multiple half started stories in the background, The Deceived series is her first completed story she has asked others to read and provide feedback on. Irene never imagined she would put her internal thoughts out there and was overly delighted when each person she shared this story with strongly encouraged her to pursue being published.
Writing has always been a healthy escape for Irene (even the dark stories) as having a world she can control helps her overcome the stressors that simply come at us in life. Her imagination is always running wild and is continually seeking out the next rush and unexpected twist. She is very hopeful to see more of her half started stories come to fruition.
Aside from writing, she enjoys playing disc golf and spending time with the disc golf community, as well as traveling anywhere and everywhere.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 9, 2026
This story focuses on Serenity, a 28-year-old, who is contacted by the lawyer of her deceased biological mother. This sends Serenity into a spiral of trying to find out the truth to her life & about the mother she never knew existed. Having never known she was adopted, she now feels alone & desperate to find answers, so she jumps in the car to head for a funeral of a woman hours away who she never knew.
When she arrives in Shadow Creek it feels like she's in some strange little town lost in time. The entire time I was reading this book I imaged this bizarre, creepy town out of the Twilight Zone or a Stephen King novel, something along the lines of Silent Hill. You're not sure what is real or imagined & who can be trusted.
Serenity instantly seems to draw the interest of two men in town, who surprisingly seem to pull her in opposite directions warning about the other. As Serenity tries to learn about her mother & the people close to her, she is constantly having scary things happen & someone stalking her every movement.
I absolutely loved this story. It offers great mystery & tension throughout. I was never sure what path the story would go down & literally until the last page I wasn't sure how it would end. The story is left somewhat open so there could always be a sequel, or the reader can conclude what you think might happen next.
Serenity is far from perfect & makes errors in judgment some might call her out for, but I think these characteristics make her all the more real & relatable. I think the romantic & sexual elements of her journey of discovery make her very human & make this story feel like reality. If you enjoy tense, psychological thrillers, this is a can't miss & made me feel like that 80s-90s Twin Peaks & Basic Instinct stylized mystery is coming back.
When she arrives in Shadow Creek it feels like she's in some strange little town lost in time. The entire time I was reading this book I imaged this bizarre, creepy town out of the Twilight Zone or a Stephen King novel, something along the lines of Silent Hill. You're not sure what is real or imagined & who can be trusted.
Serenity instantly seems to draw the interest of two men in town, who surprisingly seem to pull her in opposite directions warning about the other. As Serenity tries to learn about her mother & the people close to her, she is constantly having scary things happen & someone stalking her every movement.
I absolutely loved this story. It offers great mystery & tension throughout. I was never sure what path the story would go down & literally until the last page I wasn't sure how it would end. The story is left somewhat open so there could always be a sequel, or the reader can conclude what you think might happen next.
Serenity is far from perfect & makes errors in judgment some might call her out for, but I think these characteristics make her all the more real & relatable. I think the romantic & sexual elements of her journey of discovery make her very human & make this story feel like reality. If you enjoy tense, psychological thrillers, this is a can't miss & made me feel like that 80s-90s Twin Peaks & Basic Instinct stylized mystery is coming back.
February 11, 2026
Okay, I'm impressed! I binge-read the psychological thriller Shadow Creek by Indie Author Irene Night. I was kept guessing until the very last few pages and I will definitely read more of her work.
If you are in the mood for a quick (just 170 pages) psychological thriller, do yourself a favour and pick up Shadow Creek!!!
If you are in the mood for a quick (just 170 pages) psychological thriller, do yourself a favour and pick up Shadow Creek!!!
March 11, 2026
Shadow Creek — 4.5/5 ⭐ (rounded up to 5)
I picked this up because the blurb caught my eye and I am so glad I did. Life has been busy so I chipped away at it little by little until I was done, and I was never once tempted to put this down. I kept flipping pages every day.
Serenity is such a compelling protagonist to follow. She receives a phone call that completely shatters everything she thought she knew about herself and suddenly she's in Shadow Creek trying to piece together the grief of her identity while navigating chilling secrets and a house that feels like it's hiding something. Her confusion and vulnerability felt completely authentic and I found myself rooting for her the entire time.
Without giving too much away, there is a character in this book who had my eyebrows raised almost immediately. The author does a brilliant job of making you second guess yourself though. I kept brushing my suspicions off just like Serenity did. Almost.
The romance side of this story was unexpected. The chemistry is there but I personally felt like Serenity and her love interest needed one or two more chapters of buildup before things escalated physically; the intimacy jumped faster than the emotional connection had developed and it genuinely caught me off guard. The first sex scene came completely out of nowhere and I had to put my device down for a moment 😂 I was shocked, but in a good way though.
The mystery layers really well and I had multiple theories going into the final chapters. The twist made my jaw drop even though I had maybe 15% of it figured out.
My notes for the author would be: more misdirection please; the perpetrator was the only one in the book behaving strangely which made them hard to fully dismiss. And there is one logical question I kept asking myself at the end involving how a certain "message" was even possible to deliver... (no spoilers but if you've read it you know exactly what I mean).
Those two things are the only reason I didn't give perfect 5 stars... This is a solid 4.5 near perfect. It's the first book I've finished in years and I flew through it. If you're looking for a short, sexy, suspenseful one-sitting thriller that keeps you guessing, this is it. I'll be exploring the author's other titles and I am desperately waiting for part two.
I picked this up because the blurb caught my eye and I am so glad I did. Life has been busy so I chipped away at it little by little until I was done, and I was never once tempted to put this down. I kept flipping pages every day.
Serenity is such a compelling protagonist to follow. She receives a phone call that completely shatters everything she thought she knew about herself and suddenly she's in Shadow Creek trying to piece together the grief of her identity while navigating chilling secrets and a house that feels like it's hiding something. Her confusion and vulnerability felt completely authentic and I found myself rooting for her the entire time.
Without giving too much away, there is a character in this book who had my eyebrows raised almost immediately. The author does a brilliant job of making you second guess yourself though. I kept brushing my suspicions off just like Serenity did. Almost.
The romance side of this story was unexpected. The chemistry is there but I personally felt like Serenity and her love interest needed one or two more chapters of buildup before things escalated physically; the intimacy jumped faster than the emotional connection had developed and it genuinely caught me off guard. The first sex scene came completely out of nowhere and I had to put my device down for a moment 😂 I was shocked, but in a good way though.
The mystery layers really well and I had multiple theories going into the final chapters. The twist made my jaw drop even though I had maybe 15% of it figured out.
My notes for the author would be: more misdirection please; the perpetrator was the only one in the book behaving strangely which made them hard to fully dismiss. And there is one logical question I kept asking myself at the end involving how a certain "message" was even possible to deliver... (no spoilers but if you've read it you know exactly what I mean).
Those two things are the only reason I didn't give perfect 5 stars... This is a solid 4.5 near perfect. It's the first book I've finished in years and I flew through it. If you're looking for a short, sexy, suspenseful one-sitting thriller that keeps you guessing, this is it. I'll be exploring the author's other titles and I am desperately waiting for part two.
August 20, 2026
The story moves at a quick pace, which has made it easy to keep reading, because nothing is over-explained. Early on, I found some of the writing choices distracting, particularly abrupt scene transitions, and unclear dialogue attribution. However, as the story progressed, the mystery elements began to pull me in. The unexplained events surrounding her home, the question of who can be trusted, and the notes left by her late mother created genuine intrigue and gave me a reason to keep turning the pages. While some of the suspense occasionally feels manufactured and certain character decisions don't always seem realistic, the central mystery has become engaging enough to hold my attention. Like why the power-outage? Why the banging on the door? Why the doorbell ringing? I don't understand the reason. Maybe the answers come out in book two?
The romance elements, felt rushed to me, with little detail, and I wanted more than the author was able to give.
Overall, this has been a book with strengths and weaknesses. The pacing and mystery have kept me reading, but the characterization and storytelling style was a bit hard for me. Even so, I'm still interested enough to read book two, just to see how it ends.
The romance elements, felt rushed to me, with little detail, and I wanted more than the author was able to give.
Overall, this has been a book with strengths and weaknesses. The pacing and mystery have kept me reading, but the characterization and storytelling style was a bit hard for me. Even so, I'm still interested enough to read book two, just to see how it ends.
February 4, 2026
Shadow Creek by Irene Night is such a compelling psychological thriller. I adore her writing. From what I’ve seen, the story weaves tension, mystery, and emotional depth in a way that keeps you curious and engaged. The characters feel vivid and alive, and the suspenseful twists are exactly the kind that make you stop and think.
Even without knowing every detail, it’s clear that Irene has a talent for crafting atmosphere, intrigue, and subtle emotional moments that linger with the reader. I’m excited to see more from her and would recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers that balance character, tension, and unexpected surprises.
Even without knowing every detail, it’s clear that Irene has a talent for crafting atmosphere, intrigue, and subtle emotional moments that linger with the reader. I’m excited to see more from her and would recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers that balance character, tension, and unexpected surprises.
November 29, 2025
I was very fortunate and honored to have been able to beta read this before its publication and release. Nothing less than the excellent story-telling I’ve come to expect from the pen of Irene Night (and I’ve read both Deceived Books 1 & 2). Twists, turns, suspense, surprises, sex, and psychodrama… all the ingredients for a riveting thriller. And the end? No spoilers. You’ll have to take this literary trip for yourself.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews