In One Dark Summer, Saskia Sarginson weaves a chilling psychological drama set in the quiet corners of the English countryside, where memories and secrets lie buried beneath the surface.
The Synopsis of One Dark Summer
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, nail-bitingly-twisty thriller, guaranteed to keep readers up all night, from bestselling Richard & Judy Bookclub author, Saskia Sarginson. Perfect for fans of Shari Lapena, Freida McFadden and Girl on the Train.
One Dark Summer by Saskia Sarginson
More about One Dark Summer
The story, set in Suffolk, centres around Meg, a woman haunted by a tragic summer from her childhood. She was abandoned by her mother when she was just a child, packed off to spend the summer with her father’s sister, isolated by her cousins, and then nearly killed by her uncle, Lucian.
Fifteen years later, she returns to Deben Manor under an assumed identity to try and uncover what actually happened to her mother. Posing as a nanny, Meg is determined to find out more, but the deeper she digs, the more uncertain her own memories become.
As she navigates the eerie familiarity of the estate and the tangled relationships that still linger there, a creeping sense of danger follows her. Someone knows who she is—and they’ll do anything to ensure the truth stays hidden.
My Thoughts on One Dark Summer
One Dark Summer is a slow-burning mystery that takes time to get into, but don’t give up on it because, trust me, it gets better. Sarginson has a talent for rich, immersive storytelling, which, as the story progresses, becomes addictive. You feel for the character of Meg and want to believe that she will get the answers she has been searching so hard to find.
This is a novel that not only explores the impact of parental loss at an early age but also the unreliable nature of memories and how trauma can cause barriers to retrieving them.
I love a plot that provides insights from multiple perspectives, and One Dark Summer is cleverly written in this respect. It helps to not only fill in the blanks but also compels the reader to continue; you need all sides of the story to complete the narrative and work out what happened in the past and what is happening at Deben Manor now.
One Dark Summer is perfect for fans of psychological thrillers with emotional depth. This novel delivers a gripping tale of deception, memory, and the desperate need for closure.
About Saskia Sarginson
Saskia spent her childhood in a cottage in the middle of a Suffolk pine forest, and that experience inspired her best-selling debut novel, The Twins. Since then, her other books include Without You, The Other Me, The Stranger, How It Ends, The Bench, The Central Line and Seven Months of Summer. To find out more about upcoming releases and events you can follow Saskia on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or sign up to her newsletter.
Have you read One Dark Summer or any other novel by Saskia Sarginson? Which one would you recommend?
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