Night Watcher

By Daphne Woolsoncroft

In what Jeneva Rose declares a "chilling and atmospheric" tale, Nola Strate, a late night radio host in Portland, Oregon, listens to stories of hauntings and cryptic sightings for a living. But one foggy evening, a caller describes an eerie scene that triggers memories of Nola's childhood escape from a serial killer, and she fears he's back to finish what he started.

Nola Strate is being watched, again.

After an encounter with a notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with the Hiding Man. She installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now hosts Night Watch, a popular radio call-in show her semi-famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe that she is being stalked, and a caller on Night Watch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller's home--the description of whom is chillingly familiar--Nola is convinced that the Hiding Man has resurfaced and is coming for her.

With a mysterious next-door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concerns seriously, and evidence pointing towards her own father, Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a Night Watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind the Hiding Man's mask.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1538770903
• ISBN13: 9781538770900
• Release Date: July 2025
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Unsettling

This book is a solid a plus for the creep factor! From camera outages, losing power, seeing (or maybe imagining) someone is watching or getting the feeling that someone has been in your house, it is completely unsettling without anything even happening! It is sad but true, how women get these feelings quite often when alone at night. Then you add a serial killer like Hiding Man who wears a mask designed to bring nightmares and who preys on those feelings before slitting their throats and ending their lives and I would call this a pretty darn scary thriller! I do like how the author used her experiences to add to the story, making the podcast of Night Watcher a good way to move the story along. I would totally listen to that podcast, even if it brought me nightmares later. There are quite a few suspects doing very suspicious things during the time when the Hiding Man makes a grand reappearance. One in particular is very unlikable and suspicious and it builds nicely to a climax showdown as Nola races to figure out the truth before she is the next victim. The ending was a bit flat though, but pretty realistic in how killers may be not who you expect. I can see though how the author based this story a little on her aunt's disappearance and probable murder that never got solved. I would call this a good debut, solid, with only a few weaknesses that could have been better. Though I am looking forward to seeing what Daphne Woolsoncroft will be up to next!