That Night; Chevy Stevens
St. Martins Press/Blackstone Audio
That Night
tells the story of Toni Murphy, a young woman who is released from
prison in 2012 after serving nearly 15 years for the murder of her
sister, a crime she didn't commit, but was found guilty of. She's an
angry young woman and bitter for what she has had to endure by being
locked in prison unjustly. Upon her release, she finds all the people
she cared about are either dead or do not want her in their lives. Even
Ryan, her old boyfriend who she still cares for is off limits as part of
her
parole, (he was seen as a bad seed and together the two
were wild and into trouble as teens). The only positive thing seems to
be the fact that her old boss has given her a job and she has a place to
live.
The story is told in two timelines - Toni's high school days where she has been tormented by the in-crowd, her time in prison and her release and her search for the truth about who murdered her sister Nicole. The story is told from Toni's perspective and moves kind of slow in the first half of the book. I wanted to believe Toni was innocent, even though we know she was a wild child, that she had a less than perfect childhood and that she was subjected to intense bullying at school. I often felt bad for Toni and could understand why she was constantly wondering when the next bad thing was going to happen to her.
The story is told in two timelines - Toni's high school days where she has been tormented by the in-crowd, her time in prison and her release and her search for the truth about who murdered her sister Nicole. The story is told from Toni's perspective and moves kind of slow in the first half of the book. I wanted to believe Toni was innocent, even though we know she was a wild child, that she had a less than perfect childhood and that she was subjected to intense bullying at school. I often felt bad for Toni and could understand why she was constantly wondering when the next bad thing was going to happen to her.
Toni
also came across at times as an unreliable narrator, so on occasion I
wondered whether she could have played a part in her sister's death.
Yes, this story
is part mystery, and there are a few twists along the way, but it also
felt
like a psychological character study as well. Overall, this was an
okay -- who-dun-it, even though I wanted to hurry it along at
times. The audio book was read by Jorjeana Marie who did a decent job
with the narration, but another case I switched between both the eGalley and audio.
3.5/5 stars (audio and ebook)
Hmm, I read two of her other books and really enjoyed them. Perhaps this one is not up to par, but just okay. Thanks for a good review. I have the e-book but forgot to read it. Now I might just put it off for a bit.
ReplyDeleteI liked the other 2 books I tried by this author much more Rita.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that this novel is just so-so compared to her other ones. I do have it on my stacks.
ReplyDeleteI did like the two books I read by this author. Need to find this one.
ReplyDeleteI have this book but I haven't read it yet. You remind me to move it up my list.
ReplyDeleteI just never got back to her after her second book seemed too much like the first....
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing this one isn't as good as the author's earlier books. Hopefully the next book will be better.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how you would have experienced it in a print format? I can imagine audio would be difficult in a book that moves slowly.
ReplyDeleteBut since I'm not a fan of audio, I could be biased...LOL
I actually enjoyed the book...and yes, there were slow parts, but by the time things started picking up, I was glad I had hung in there.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about this book Diane. It was one of my favorites this year as it highlighted the devastation of bullying.
ReplyDeleteI liked this book, and I completely agree about her coming across as an unreliable narrator. That was one of the things I enjoyed about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree - this one was just okay for me. Some of it really rankled me, in fact. I kind of felt like Toni brought some of what she went through on herself and got a little tired of her whining at time.
ReplyDelete