Chevy Stevens | That Night

Hello! 

I finished That Night by Chevy Stevens and wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. What an emotionally heavy novel with an intricate and well-planned plot. I'm so glad I decided to read what Stevens had to offer before diving into her new novel (which I ordered today).

They said she was a murderer.

They said she killed her sister.

But they lied.

As a teenager, Toni Murphy had a life full of typical adolescent complications: a boyfriend she adored, a younger sister she couldn’t relate to, a strained relationship with her parents, and classmates who seemed hell-bent on making her life miserable. Things weren’t easy, but Toni could never have predicted how horrific they would become until her younger sister was brutally murdered one summer night.

Toni and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison.

Now thirty-four, Toni is out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Prison changed her, hardened her, and she’s doing everything in her power to avoid violating her parole and going back. This means having absolutely no contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in all its forms. But nothing is making that easy—not Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth; not her mother, who doubts Toni’s innocence; and certainly not the group of women who made Toni’s life hell in high school and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. No matter how hard she tries, ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Toni can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night.

But the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

Review: 

Two. Days.

That’s what it took to finish this one. Chevy Stevens is a force to be reckoned with. Each novel that I read by her gets more complex and I think she’s really finding herself taking so many risks with the plots and characters of her novels. 

Stevens did a phenomenal job switching between the past and present with this one. The book is told in the perspective of Toni Murphy. Two Toni Murphys I should say. Toni Murphy, carefree and in love high school student up leading up to the death of her sister, Nicole. We also see the new Toni Murphy, hardened from prison and trying to land back on her feet after being released. Stevens did a fantastic job staying true to the characters of Toni and her boyfriend Ryan between what they were like in high school and when they are released from prison. 

The plot of this was complex and left me ravenous for more. I didn’t find myself tired, bored, or letting my mind drift to something else as can happen when I try to read a book too quickly. The minute my bookmark hit the page so I could do laundry, cook dinner, or catch up on some TV shows and movies that were filling up my DVR, I was hungry for more. I needed more. My mind would wander to what I thought would happen next. I was excited and anxious with anticipation to find out what really happened that night and who was responsible for Nicole’s death.

This one really flew by for me. I found myself on page 100 when I picked it back up on day two and the time was a blur until I was reading the final line. The book had many twists and turns and I was really shocked when I read what had really happened. The final chapters hit me like a train when I had found out what really happened that night. And what a night it was.

Rating: 4.5/5