Book Club Title: That Night by Chevy Stevens

When Chevy Stevens published her first novel in 2010, Still Missing, I had heard her style was similar to Jodi Picoult and Jennifer McMahon, two authors I've enjoyed.  Still Missing was also met with excellent reviews from critics and advance readers, so I grabbed a copy and tried it out.  I liked Still Missing, it was a fast-paced thriller with definite twists and turns, but it wasn't my favorite book ever.  Now four years have gone by and Chevy Stevens released her fourth book, That Night, which was chosen for our book club's September read.  

I was actually pretty excited that one of her books was chosen.  I know several people who read her books each time a new one releases, and they tell me that they get better and better, but I had yet to pick up another book by Chevy.  Book club gave me that extra push to try out her writing again (love my book club)!  Review time...

That Night by Chevy Stevens 

4 of 5 Stars

The premise of this book: One night can change the course of your entire life... especially if someone is found murdered.  Tori, an eighteen year old girl, has a strained relationship with most people in her life (her mom, her sister, her dad, her "friends") and is viewed as a trouble-maker.  Her ex-best friend, Shauna, treats her beyond terribly, and seems to want nothing more than to ruin Toni's life for good.  The only light in Toni's life seems to be her unwavering relationship with her boyfriend, Ryan, and the fact that they are almost done with high school and ready to begin their lives together.  That is until Toni's younger sister, Nicole, is found brutally murdered one night when Toni and Ryan had taken Nicole out.  Toni and Ryan are found guilty of murdering Nicole, but claim they are innocent...

This book was a definite page turner!  The chapters jump from "that night," to Toni's time in prison, to the time after she is released back into society.  I found myself reading just one more chapter each time I read so I could try to figure everything out or gain another clue as to what really did happen "that night."  The ending was worth the wait.  Chevy threw in some good curve balls throughout the novel to keep her readers guessing until the very end.

The thing I was most impressed with was my hatred for Toni's antagonist, Shauna.  I despised her.  Every time her name came up or she found another way to make Toni's life miserable I would literally get angry.  Everyone who has attended high school knows there are school bullies and some can be absolutely horrid... Shauna... she wins the "worst ex-best friend turned bully award" of all the books I've read.  It's obvious that Shauna has some definite issues with insecurity, but seriously... what a...

I will say I wasn't in love with Toni's character either though.  I understand why Chevy made her imperfect (in many ways), but she was so flawed that it made it harder to empathize with her character.  Yes, I felt terrible for her when she was bullied, and I wanted the truth of what happened "that night," but she had messed up in so many ways with her family prior to "that night" that I understood why her family and community questioned her involvement in her sister's death.

Long story short, if you're looking for a good thriller with an interesting plot, pick up a copy of Chevy Steven's That Night.  You won't be disappointed and hopefully the ending will surprise you!

This novel did make me want to check out some more of Chevy Steven's books.  I actually saw that she has an e-novella, The Other Side, available too (for only $0.99!), so that might need to be downloaded for a quick read!  

I love chatting with my book club each month about the book we chose, but I also love that I can go to them for excellent recommendations.  Is anyone else out there in a book club?  What books have you chosen and enjoyed?  Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and got lots of reading time! :)