That Night by Chevy Stevens

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 in That Night by Chevy Stevens, the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published June 17th 2014 by St. Martin's Press 

(my copy provided by publisher via netgalley) 
*****

 Chevy Stevens is a favorite of mine, I loved her first book Still Missing and was excited to find a Canadian author.  As much as I love my historical fiction every once in a while a good suspenceful, murder mystery is in order.  This one fit the bill perfectly.

Right from the beginning as Toni is being released from prison I was hooked, it only took a couple days to finish That Night.

The story continues going back and forth in time from current to the past as Toni's teen years are played out,  which gave this reader a good comparison of the younger Toni to the one fresh out of prison for a crime she didn't commit (or did she?).  At times this book had that 'Mean Girl' feel to it, that's real life and what made this book so real and believable.  It wasn't hard to connect with Toni and where she was coming from, seeing her home life and situation at school it is a wonder she was even sane.

This book was an emotional read for me, frustrating at times but in a good way, I could see the writing on the wall in certain situations and other times I was surprised.  Anger at times, sad also and of course anixous which keep me reading and reading till I was finished.  A number of times I thought I'd figured things out, but alas I'd be proven incorrect.

If you are looking for a fast paced, compelling murder mystery look no further.