Review - The Night of the Storm

Title:  The Night of the Storm

Author:  Nishita Parekh

Publisher:   Dutton

Genre:   Mystery & Thrillers

Format:  Kindle ARC 

No. of Pages:   336

Date of Publication:   January 16, 2024

My Rating:   3 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

From debut author Nishita Parekh, a fresh take on the classic locked-room thriller, about a multigenerational Indian American family marooned in a house with a murderer during Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey is about to hit Houston. Meanwhile, single mom Jia Shah is already having a rough week: her twelve-year-old son, Ishaan, has just been suspended from school for getting in a fight. Still reeling from the fallout of her divorce—their move to Houston, her family’s disapproval, the struggle to make ends meet on her own—now Jia is worried about Ishaan’s future, too. Will her solo parenting be enough? Doesn’t a boy need a father?

And now their apartment complex is under a mandatory evacuation order. Jia’s sister, Seema, has invited them to hunker down in her fancy house in Sugar Land, and despite Jia’s misgivings—Seema’s husband, Vipul, has been just a little too friendly with her lately—Jia concedes it’s probably the best place to keep Ishaan safe during the hurricane. With Jia’s philandering ex scrutinizing her every move, all too eager to snatch back custody of Ishaan, she can’t afford to make a mistake.

When Vipul’s brother and his wife show up on Seema’s doorstep, too, it’s a recipe for disaster. Grandma, the family matriarch, has never been shy about playing favorites among her sons and their wives. As the storm escalates, tensions rise quickly, and soon someone’s dead. Was it a horrible accident or is there a murderer in their midst?

With no help available until the floodwaters recede in the morning, Jia must protect her son and identify the culprit before she goes down for a crime she didn’t commit—or becomes the next victim. . . .

Link to purchase the book

MY THOUGHTS:

In yet another locked room thriller in Nishita Parekh's debut novel, this one involves a multigenerational Indian American family who find themselves stranded due to inclement weather. That is rather putting it mildly, as they are all under hurricane watch. 

However, there’s a killer in the house. One of the family members is Jia Shah, who is six months divorced and is in danger of losing custody of her son. They take refuge at her sister-and-brother-in-law's house and Jia has to face her brother-in law Vipul. The two have an uneasy relationship, and this keeps Jia quite nervous. 

Meanwhile, there is a death in the house, A murder, actually, and the number of people who could have been responsible is rather limited. Then factor in the tension between Jia and Vipal and readers have quite an interesting story.

Many thanks to Dutton and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nishita Parekh was born and raised in Mumbai and now lives in Texas with her husband and toddler. She is a software programmer but a writer at heart, and loves writing about her experiences as a woman and immigrant. She is an active member of International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Color, and Sisters in Crime, and is a #RevPit contest winner. The Night of the Storm is her first novel.