That Night (Stevens)

That Night 
Chevy Stevens, 2014
St. Martin's Press
400 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250066831


Summary
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. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1973
• Where—Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
• Education—N/A
• Awards—International Thriller Writers Award
• Currently—lives on Vancouver Island, B.E.


Chevy Stevens grew up on a ranch on Vancouver Island and still calls the island home. For most of her adult life she worked in sales, first as a rep for a giftware company and then as a Realtor. At open houses, waiting between potential buyers, she spent hours scaring herself with thoughts of horrible things that could happen to her. Her most terrifying scenario, which began with being abducted, was the inspiration for Still Missing. After six months Chevy sold her house and left real estate so she could finish the book.

Chevy enjoys writing thrillers that allow her to blend her interest in family dynamics with her love of the west coast lifestyle. When she’s not working on her next book, she’s hiking with her husband and dog in the local mountains. (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
In this riveting, if overly ambitious thriller, Stevens raises significant themes—bullying, troubled families, the difficulties ex-cons face—but doesn’t do them all justice.... Despite some wooden secondary characters, this is an exciting page-turner with an incisive twist.
Publishers Weekly


(Starred review.) [A] suspenseful thriller with [a] tale of heartbreak, the cruelties of fate, and redemption.... The reader follows Toni on a journey marked by cruel classmates and a hateful mother as she eventually discovers the shattering truth behind her sister's untimely death.... A compelling, exceptional read. —Mariel Pachucki, Maple Valley, WA
Library Journal


Toni Murphy...[is] about to be paroled from a Canadian penitentiary. When she was 18, she and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of killing Toni’s younger sister. Flashbacks to the months before her sister was killed and the years she spent in prison help the reader understand the woman Toni is today.... [A] suspenseful tale. —Karen Keefe
Booklist


Stevens draws a dark crime drama from the beautiful blue-green of Canada’s Vancouver Island.... Stevens has woven a warped psychological drama, a melancholy tale that comes to an existential and yet hopeful conclusion.... Stevens' dark psychological thriller...[features] damaged people and distinctive senses of place.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. One of the biggest issues this book raises is that of the justice system. It's supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty," but that doesn't seem to be the case for Toni and Ryan. After reading this book, how do you feel about prisons and the way we go about convicting accused criminals? Do you feel differently than you did before?

2. This book brings up high school bullying. When asked if Shauna's clique is based on reality or whether it's purely fictional, Chevy Stevens has said that she discovered through her research how particularly vicious teenaged girls can be, and how sad it is that the parents of these children are often unaware of what is going on. What do you think of this serious topic?

3. We get a lot of different views of Frank McKinney throughout the course of the novel. Our first image of him is as a sad, lonely widower, and our last is as a murderer. What do you think about his character?

4. Near the end of the book, Nicole's old friend Darlene says, "Everyone thought Nicole was so perfect, but she was just good at pretending to be." How did you feel about Nicole?

5. Comment on the nature of Toni's relationship with her mother. Was it healthy? What do you think about the disparity in the way Mrs. Murphy treated her two daughters?

6. Toni finds a surrogate mother in Margaret, who is then suddenly taken away at the end of the novel. Discuss what you think about Margaret's sudden decision to fight Helen. How do you feel about her subsequent death?

7. Toni refers to the friends she makes in prison as "the girls" and feels an especially strong bond with them. On the other hand, the animosity in prison also feels especially intense. Do you think there's something about the prison system that makes people develop powerful feelings, whether negative or positive, towards each other?

8. Shauna gets away with a lot in the novel. When talking about their days of friendship, Toni implies that a lot of this was because of a lack of adults taking an active interest in Shauna's life. Then again, Toni also feels that her own mother takes too much of an interest in her life. Which girl do you think had it better—the one with the mother who was always on her case, or the one with the absent father?

9. At one point, Ryan says to Toni, "Haven't you heard? No one grow up in prison." Yet people comment thoughout the novel that prison changes a person. Is this incongruous—are growing up and changing the same thing? Do you think Toni and Ryan are changed by, or grow up during, their time in prison?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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