That Night by Chevy Stevens

In her latest novel, THAT NIGHT, best-selling author Chevy Stevens tells the story of Toni Murphy, who at eighteen, along with her boyfriend Ryan, were convicted of murdering her sixteen year-old sister, Nicole. Now, after they both have served their sentences and have been released from prison, they try to adjust to life on the outside, separately. Toni is doing everything  by the book, making sure she doesn't get sent back by violating her strict probationary rules. Toni and Ryan have always claimed they were innocent but the eveidence against them was too convincing, leaving almost no one believing them. Toni's own mother doesn't believe her and even her father, whom she's always had a good relationship seems to doubt her innocence but tries not to show it.

While Toni works to get her life back and follow the rules, Ryan is angry and determined to prove who the real killers are.  He starts digging up the past and soon attracts the attention of the group of girls that used to make Toni's life miserable when they was all in high school. The terms of Toni's parole are clear: no contact with Ryan or any witnesses involved in her case. But when it becomes clear that following the rules isn't working, Toni feels she has no other choice than to turn the tables and show the world she did not murder her own sister.

My Thoughts:

This is my second Chevy Stevens novel, after reading STILL MISSING a few years ago. I have to say, I liked this book better. I am not one to shy away from dark storylines, however the content in STILL MISSING was so raw and disturbing and I was surprised by my own reaction. With THAT NIGHT, the story is also tragic but at least I wasn't thinking about it at night while I slept.  The beginning of the book was a bit slow but not slow enough that it kept me from wanting to read it. I knew it would pick up and it certainly did just that. I liked the characters of Toni and Ryan and felt bad for them that no one understood them or even wanted to believe them. The first part of the book is all about bullying and the consequences of those actions. There's also a fair amount of prison scenes in this book but I felt it wasn't too much so that it overshadowed the story. I've read that some reviewers felt it was too much 'Orange is the New Black' for them but I didn't feel that way at all. Toni spent over fifteen years in prison and that time shaped her personality and I felt Ms. Stevens did a great job of depicting that along with  the relationships she developed while in there, whether they were good relationships or bad.

Toni is the one telling the story and the book reads exactly like that. She's an ex-con who grew up behind bars and therefore, she's a bit rough around the edges and it certainly comes across in the way she tells her story. This is not a book written in perfect grammar, but its for a very good reason.  I've read a few reviews where this bothered some readers but I feel it gave the story an authenticity, especially because it was Toni herself who was telling the story..

The bottom line is that I did enjoy this book and though it didn't pack a lot of surprises for me, it did captivate my attention. It was a quick read and part of what kept me turning the pages so quickly was that I was anxious to see if Toni and Ryan would get their justice.

THAT NIGHT by Chevy Stevens (@ChevyStevens)
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published:  June 2014
Length: 381 pp
Source: Galley copy sent by the publisher