book review: That Night by Chevy Stevens (mystery)

I don't remember where I was or what I was doing, but I do remember the news story. It burned a hole in my heart. It happened in Canada; it happened in BC. They were a group of teenage girls and they killed a friend. I think everyone in Canada was affected by the news of Reena Verk's death. Did her murder inspire That Night by Chevy Stevens?

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Book:  That Night

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Published:  2014

Book blurb:  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 s 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 the truth might be the most terrifying thing of all.

Author bio:  Chevy Stevens grew up on a ranch on Vancouver Island and still lives on the island with her husband and daughter. When she's not working on her next book, she's camping and canoeing with her family in the local mountains. Her debut novel, Still Missing, won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel. Please visit her at www.chevystevens.com

I took notes as I read...

The opening line that grabbed me and reeled me into this book...'I'd spent almost half of my life behind bars for a crime I didn't commit.' (p. 4)

I wonder how Stevens did her research for this book? Prison life seems so genuine like we're there. 

Good tip on how to handle bullying on pages 44 and 45 -- just go with the flow.

This book offers a refresher on life as a teenager. I'm sure glad I left that stage.

Visiting with her dad, while living in prison forces Toni to live in two worlds. She wanted/longed to live in one but couldn't. So she told her dad (someone she feels very close to) to stop visiting her. That must take an amazing amount of courage.

The reader gets deep inside Toni's head and the things she says about prison life--doing hard and soft time--I find applicable to life outside the cell. How much is attitude?

There is a confusing transition on page 185. First Toni is walking and then she is parking her truck.

Final quote...

She referenced some psychobabble about teen girls turning on each other, the viciousness and pack mentality that can arise, how gossip can  become truth in people's minds... She finished by saying, "Whoever the murderer is, wherever he is, he didn't just end one life that night--he ended three.' (p. 219)

Sharing my author journey...

Tuesday I spent re-writing a picture book manuscript. Inspiration woke me

book review: Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens (thriller)

I meet Chevy Stevens (pen name-- "Chevy" after her favourite comedian Chevy Chase; "Stevens" after her father Steven) at a Crime Writers of Canada event. She was introduced to me as a rising star. And I made a mental note to buy her book--Still Missing (thriller). I did buy it and loved it. And apparently everyone else did too. Still Missing became a New York Times best seller. So when I saw more of Chevy Stevens' books in my local bookstore I bought them all.

Book:  Never Knowing
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin
Published:  2011
Book blurb:  After months of research, Sara locates her birth mother -- only to be met with horror and rejection. The she discovers the devastating truth: Her mother was the only victim ever to escape a killer who has been hunting women every summer for decades. But Sara soon realizes the only thing worse than finding out about her father is him finding out about her.
Author bio:  Chevy Stevens grew up on a ranch on Vancouver Island and still calls the island home. When she's not working on her next book, she's camping and canoeing with her husband in the local mountains. 
Author web site:  www.chevystevens.com

Buy this book

My review...

Feedback from a writer...

Chevy Stevens writes in the first person and the reader -- addressed as 'you' -- is also a character -- Nadina, a psychiatrist. This format allows Sara (the main character) to make personal comments about how the story is unfolding. 
The book opens with Sara's address to the reader. It's like she's saying:  Welcome, make yourself at home. This is my story.
The first chapter closes with Sara once again addressing the reader:  Are you still there? Are you still interested? I hope so.

Stevens has a good grasp of when to show and when to tell. She seamlessly slips backstory into the story.

Favourite quotes...

'Like a metal to magnet I was sitting at my computer again.' (p. 34)

'[P]ulling his words over me like a soothing blanket.' (p. 41)

Character development of a minor character...

'Lauren is one of those rare people who are as nice as they look -- the kind of person who remembers what brand of shampoo you like and save the coupon for you.' (p. 24)

Good use of suspense...

'But I have a feeling something worse is waiting for me.' (p. 60)

A reader's comments...

Steven's comment on and invisible disability rang true for me (I have dyslexia and suffer from anxiety)...

'My entire life people have looked at me like I was faking it when I had a migraine. But I know how they hurt, how the pain almost makes you insane.' (p. 335)

For some reason, I didn't trust Sara's boyfriend. I thought he knew more than he let on.

I like how resourceful Sara was--she used small details she remembered about the man who was threatening her to outwit him. 

Even though Sara did appear childish, at times, she was a  devoted mother and a cunning advisory--unaware of her own strength.

Like another book I've reviewed--Wicked--Never Knowing explores the nature of evil.

'Knowing he wasn't all bad is a whole lot harder than believing he was pure evil.' (p. 439)

Even though I couldn't put the book down--even to the last page, I did find the ending drawn out.

There is a list of discussion questions at the end of this book. I found question 5 especially interesting.

'Do you believe in pure evil? Do you believe Sara's father was pure evil or was there any sense of humanity in him? Why or why not?'

Story lesson:  If a person seems too good to be true, they are.

Bloody Words by Lou Allin

Bloody Words is Canada's oldest and largest mystery conference. This year for the first time it will be held in British Columbia's capital city of Victoria on June 3-5 though the Arthur Ellis Awards for Canada's best crime writing will be presented on the 2nd at the same venue. Guests of honour include BC's own William Deverell, Michael Slade, and international bestseller Tess Gerritsen. 

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The Hotel Grand Pacific, on the scenic Inner Harbour, has been named Canada's finest hotel by Conde Nast. Agents will be on hand for interviews, there will be a short story contest, and applicants may submit thirty pages of their work for critiques. In addition to a reception and award presentation to Deverell, Michael Slade will present his celebrated Shock Theatre, followed by a ghost walk in search of old Victoria's specters such as the elusive Amor de Cosmos. Panel discussions (literary, publishing, and forensic) will cap the programs, and a banquet Saturday night is included in the cost of the registration at $190. 

June is the City of Gardens' most spectacular time of year. With its colonial, low-rise downtown, many fine Victoria reminiscent of many European cities. Visit North America's oldest China Town, have tea on the veranda at the Empress Hotel overlooking the harbor where high tea has been served for over 100 years, see the fabulous First Nations exhibits at the Royal BC Museum, or stroll through the gardens and beaches of Beacon Hill Park, all within easy walking distance of our hotel. Or take a day trip to nearby, world-famous Butchart Gardens, Glendale Gardens, or Abkhazi Garden. Downtown is a shopping mecca, but Johnson St. is where you'll find Victoria's homegrown boutique industry and of course, there are restaurants too numerous to mention serving local fare from our coastal waters. Saving the best for last, whales abound in the waters around the capital and you have a good chance of seeing greys or even orcas on the trips that leave many times daily from the inner harbour. Only in Victoria do new whale calves make the front page.

Come and see for yourself.