(55)That Night by Chevy Stevens

Sunday, June 22, 2014

That Night 

Pages: 384

Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: June 17, 2014


Toni Murphy was the kind of teenager that every parent dreads.  She was constantly fighting with her younger sister, had a boyfriend that her mother hated, and was not all that great in school.  Between her home life and the "mean girls" at school Toni was miserable. They were all counting down the days until Toni could move out and get an apartment with her boyfriend, Ryan. Until one night Nicole asks Toni if she can tag along with her and Ryan to the lake. Their relationship has been so volatile that to say Toni is shocked is an understatement, but That Night, Toni wishes she had never agreed to let her tag along.  Because after Toni and Ryan sneak off for some alone time they return to find Nicole has been brutally murdered.  And the police think that Toni and Ryan murdered her.

Flash forward to 2013 and Toni is up for parole.  Life in prison is tough for anybody, but for someone who is innocent it is nearly unbearable.  But Toni did her time, she did what she was supposed to do and now they are releasing her on parole.  After her time in the half-way house she heads back to the only home she has ever known an hopes to put her life back together.   But her family won't take her and the "Mean Girls" are still mean.  But when one of the "Mean Girls" is killed Toni realizes that as long as the real killer is still out there she will never be free. Will she be able to keep her parole long enough for her to find out who really killed Nicole?

I found myself so engrossed in Toni's story that I felt myself overcome with emotion.  The author told Toni's story both past and present in alternating chapters. My heart ached for her on several occasions. Especially at the way Toni's mother talked to her.  I know it happens, but man is it tough to read.  I admit that it was one scene with Captain, Toni's rescue dog, that just about ripped my heart out.  The one thing was that I never felt the connection between Ryan and Toni. It was supposed to be this great love, but I just never felt it.  The end was not what I expected either.  I had my suspicions at who really killed Nicole, but the way it played kept me on the edge of my seat.

Bottom line, That Night, is a great mystery..  The writing is compassionate, engaging, and incredibly suspenseful, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.  If you are looking for a mystery to take on your summer vacation, That Night needs to be the first book in the bag.

Latest Instagrams

© Charlotte's Web of Books. Design by FCD.