One Night

by Joanne Ryan

One night is all it takes to ruin your life…
Josie did a bad thing, that much she can remember.
She comforts herself with the knowledge that Rafe, her ex, deserved it, and that there’s no real harm done, except to her pride. She drank too much. Far too much.
Josie always forgets what she's done when she’s drunk, there are huge black holes where her memories should be and she knows she becomes a different person when she drinks; someone not like her at all.
So she’s moving on, she’s never drinking again, she’s going to be a better person. She has, she decides, finally learned her lesson. But then she discovers that something terrible happened that night and she starts to wonder, was she involved?
Because now she's started to remember things that she wishes she could forget.
And she’s beginning to believe that she might have done another bad thing.
A really bad thing.
Like murder.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery

228 pages, ebook

First published July 14, 2022

About the author

Joanne Ryan lives in the south of England and has always loved writing. Her novels concentrate on the darker, secret side of life of seemingly ordinary people.
She also writes under the pen name of Marina Johnson https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[SVETLANA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josie was not a very likeable character to me.

She likes to drink and after this has blackouts. Her choice of men as partners or friends is not very good. She is not doing her best to find a job where she can feel fulfilled but instead is coping with a very authoritarian and manipulative boss.
She is a vulnerable person and we all know what happens with such people. They become victims.
What I didn't like was that she had not learnt the lesson.

I like Joanne Ryan's books and stories and this was the 3rd of her books that I read. Maybe it was a bit disappointing, but I am going to give her some credit and read more of her books. Her storytelling is easy to read and makes you feel for her characters.

[Nγx ❦ {CLOSED ACCOUNT} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not in a reviewing mood so I'll keep this extremely short. 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬. 𝐍𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞. 𝐒𝐨 𝟑 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬. I'm feeling generous..

[Belle Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

So good! I couldn't put this book down and was guilty of ignoring my family for most of yesterday because of it. Ryan is great at characterisation, her characters are complex, flawed (some very) and likeable. I love how she keeps you guessing every time but it always all comes out in the end leaving you very satisfied. I've said it before but her stories could happen to anyone. They are so fascinating. Her books always make me think is it the circumstances that deter how a person behaves or the behaviour of the person that drives the circumstances. Can't wait for the next one!

[Sea Caummisar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book and found the main character to be whiny? Especially when it's in first person? That's how I felt with this story, but maybe that's what the author intended. It was a whole lot of 'oh no, I can't drink alcohol because I black out' ,'oh, did I kill my boss? I can't remember'. That's basically this story.
When I started, I thought the main character would be interesting because she's crashing her ex's wedding with the intention of objecting when the officiating person asks. She does. Then she blacks out. The rest of that eventful night we get in tidbits from other characters. Was still a decent read. I just didn't care for Josie

[C.J. Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the twists in turns in this book. Poor Josie really shouldn’t drink but she does and then has black holes in her memory. Now something bad has happened and while she can’t believe she would do such a thing; she has her doubts.

The characters are great, Josie full of remorse and self-doubt; Rafe, although we see little of him, comes across as arrogant and snobbish. I also enjoyed Josie’s bullying boss who we never actually meet. Luckily Josie has best friend Jack who she can lean on for support.
This is a great read for those who like twisted tales. Thoroughly recommend. Joanne Ryan is fast becoming the queen of psycho-dramas.

[Patricia Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good reading material

Very good book and very interesting and I enjoy it very much cause too I used to be a drink er

[Gailccase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another sleepless night

Do we ever learn from our mistakes? It's do hard to make behavioral changes even if it might be a matter of life and death. Great story!

[Kira · Rating 2 out of 5]

UGH I can't believed how stupid Josie acted throughout this book, it was so clear that Jack was a lying manipulative bastard and as far from a friend as one could be yet she kept believing his every word, just unbelievable.

[Amber Sylvester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

I’m new to this author- I have read just two of her books so far and have thoroughly enjoyed them both. I don’t like to write spoilers so I will just say it was a great read and I have already downloaded the next one. I love it when I find a new author on Kindle Unlimited who I really enjoy. I am a real book worm and I love to get a lot out of my subscription- sometimes it takes a few tries to find a new author. Joanne Ryan is a great writer.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not going to read the book at first but I thought what the hell. I had to know what happened when Josie got black out drunk the night of her ex-boyfriends wedding. My wanting tok know caused me to read the book in 3 days because it was that good! I needed to know what happened to her boss and why her ex-roomate Olivia acted so wierd. Did not disappoint. I also had mixed feelings about her best friend

[Kathy Brackin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m in between if I liked it or not story started really interesting but then got a bit slow then went back to where was interesting again

[Diane Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Very Compelling Book!

Sometimes friends aren’t who they seem to be. A lot of twists and turns, suspense and a mind blowing finale.

[Sheri Moody Boren · Rating 1 out of 5]

totally predictable

You could see this coming from 10 miles away. Foolish and ignorant main character that didn’t have a brain cell working if she actually fell for all dirty deeds. No females in this book were gifted with a brain.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crazy good read

There are times you start to figure it out, but it is worth reading all the way to the end. I definitely recommend reading this book. It is one of those books you think about during the day and can’t wait to get home for “reading time” so you can find out what the characters are doing now. I’ll miss these guys! They kept me company for a few days and now I’m sad to be moving on. I look forward to mere books from this author.

[Tina Seaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it

[Pamela Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kept you guessing.

Very good plot although I did catch in about three quarters of the way through. Didn't want to put it down after that.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished and will be on to book #2, Lie to me.
Josie is an interesting character and a definite qualifier for AA.
I hope she gets the help she needs, however no crime, suspense or mystery novel ever started well at a salad bar.

[Bookish_B · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot was so obvious and this entire book bored me terribly. If I could DNF a book? This would’ve been one.

[joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

couldn’t put it down!

What a book.
I got into it straight away, then couldn’t put it down.
Loved it, would definitely recommend reading.

[Hukuna Matata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Samantha Henthorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another tense page turner from Joanne Ryan. The protagonist Josie thinks her life is a mess, but she could do no wrong for me! I read this in one day it was so gripping.

[Claire Leathley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful

Apart from the many spelling/grammatical errors, there were story line errors and an amateurish prose. It was so repetitive and boring.
The main character wasn't very likeable and given that there was only one other character for most of the book, it was completely obvious what was going to happen

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this book. The protagonist is not a likeable character, and I found almost the entire plot utterly predictable. A shame, because I liked the author's style of writing.

Towards the end, there was a plot point that I found utterly unforgiveable and had it happened earlier in the book, it would have led to a DNF for me. Spoiler for the entire plot including the whodunnit: deleting the evidence that Jack was a rapist and then somehow claiming that was better for all the people he assaulted did not sit well with me at all. I didn't like him from the start, and was entirely expecting him to be the murderer almost as soon as the murder had actually happened, but I thought in that moment, Josie was past any point of redemption too.

[Wendy Del Toro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was just okay for me. I found it pretty obvious which character committed the crime so it was just a matter or finishing the book to see how and why. I think it could have used some misdirection and a few red herrings; there were too few characters. The characters weren't interesting enough to me to really care either way and since I already knew who done it, I found it pretty boring to slog through. And the ending was also predictable since that balcony was referenced so many times throughout the story

[Jaison Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do not give 4 stars often. This novel is readable. Themes of murder, guilt and gaslighting woven into a convincing plot. The characters, in the main, need some suspended disbelief and are fitting for the story. The first half of the book teases the reader with the protagonist's blackouts and raises questions that acute readers will have predicted by the second half of the book. Bar a few typos and missing letters (kindle edition) an enjoyable read.

[Anna Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Starts like a kind of Bridget Jones waits for a killing, there are a couple of funny lines.
The plot is totally predictable though and starts very soon to make non sense.
Josie transitions to be a complete idiot, as so often happens in these genre, and the story ends in shambles.
I wish I didn’t lose my time on this.

[Lisa Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I hadn’t read this author before. I hope to read some of her other books. It’s a good thriller - lots of twists and turns which I found enjoyable - kept me guessing and hoping for a good outcome. I like that the book is British and not American.

[Donna Mallery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay for me. The protagonist was a bit unlikeable, and the ending was an easy one to guess. I found myself skimming to get to the end. The run-ons drove me a bit nuts. I’m not sure if I’ll try another from this author or not.

[Kat Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book from this author and I could not put down. Although it was predictable it still was well written and held my attention the whole time.

[Vina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light touch, and real twists in the tale. It is a quick read, and I’m now going to look for other books by Joanne Ryan.

4 Stars