Praise for Those Girls
"Tense, believable, and action-packed, made more vibrant by Stevens' sense of place." –Kirkus Reviews
“Stevens skillfully builds suspense…this fast-paced nail-biter will keep readers up late—and may evoke a few tears.” –Publishers Weekly
“Stevens’ fifth novel has echoes of her blockbuster debut (Still Missing, 2010)…For the author’s following or for those who like a frothy mix of suspense and melodrama.” –Booklist
“Hold on tight. This is a terrifying and terrific book.” –Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“If you are looking for a riveting mix of survival, redemption and sheer terror, Those Girls is not to be missed.” –Bookreporter
“A pulse-pounding thriller.” –Bookpage
Praise for That Night:
“Fast-paced and thought-provoking, That Night is a taut psychological thriller which skillfully explores bullying in its most terrifying forms. From the high school parking lot to the prison yard to a family’s own living room, That Night shows just how fast those closest to us can become our most brutal enemies.” –Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia
"Intense and disturbing - a terrific psychological thriller." –Lee Child
“Chevy Stevens has done it again, crafting a story fraught with suspense that weaves back and forth through time and keeps you guessing. A gripping tale of secrets, betrayal, heartbreak, and ultimately, redemption, That Night is an emotional rollercoaster you’ll be sorry to get off of when you finish the last page.” –Jennifer McMahon, New York Times Bestselling author of The One I Left Behind
“The writing is crisp and the dialogue realistic… Stevens has woven a warped psychological drama, a melancholy tale that comes to an existential and yet hopeful conclusion.” –Kirkus
“A compelling, exceptional read.” –Library Journal (starred review)
“Riveting…an exciting page-turner with an incisive twist.” –Publishers Weekly
“Stevens continues to captivate.” –RT Book Reviews (four stars)
Praise for Always Watching:
"In Always Watching, Chevy Stevens begins with a shivery premise — a family ensnared by a religious cult led by a madman. Stevens lights that fuse and lets it burn all the way to an explosive ending. A chilling, compelling read." –William Landay, author of Defending Jacob
"Always Watching is a riveting examination of the power of childhood secrets over our past and our present selves. I couldn't put it down." –Alafair Burke, author of If You Were Here
"Chevy Stevens is in top form. Always Watching is a tense and twisty exploration of dark memories, hidden pasts, and a place that seems like heaven but might be hell. This is a deep and exciting novel, as unsettling as it is gripping." –Lisa Unger, author of Heartbroken
“Haunting and harrowing, Always Watching is a stunner, offering not only consuming suspense but also a moving tale of mothers and daughters, the lingering echoes of the past that never stop reverberating.” –Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me
“A fantastic, heart-pounding thriller that pulls you in from the first page. I loved it!” –Lisa Jackson, author of You Don’t Want to Know
"Always Watching grabbed me from page one. Its story of power, murder, and family secrets is seductive and sinister. Dr. Nadine Lavoie is a tenacious, compassionate heroine." –Meg Gardiner, author of Ransom River
“Taut and riveting, Always Watching follows the fault line between a person’s past and present — and the terror and turmoil that can pull a life apart when they collide with the force of an earthquake. Chevy Stevens’ suspenseful, twisted story kept me up late into the night, frantically turning pages with white-knuckled fingers.” –Hilary Davidson, author of The Next One to Fall
“Chevy Stevens intelligently and relentlessly pulls the reader deeper into a nightmarish world while compelling you to read just one more page…” –Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister
“A harrowing tale of manipulation that got under my skin by the end of the first chapter…” —Linwood Barclay, author of Trust Your Eyes
Praise for Never Knowing:
"Block off the weekend, grab a comfy seat and prepare for the rocket ride of your life! Never Knowing will consume you with the desire to read every page, gasp at every twist and know every last secret between one woman and her serial killer father." —Lisa Gardener, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love You More
"Never Knowing is a chilling thriller with enough twists and turns so every time I thought I knew where it was going I was taken somewhere else. I have a feeling that Chevy Stevens is an author who is going to keep getting better and better with each book! I hope I'm still around for the next six — at which point she'll probably give me a heart attack. But what a great way to go out!" –Lois Duncan, author of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
“A terrifying, chilling scenario that unfolds into a nightmare and had me keeping the light on at night.” –Rosamund Lupton, bestselling author of Sister
"Stevens takes us on a wild ride in this action-packed book." –The Globe and Mail
"Stevens's unnerving stand-alone thriller about a woman's search for her birth parents matches the intensity of her impressive debut.... the skillful storytelling never flags." –Publishers Weekly
"As finely calculated in its escalating suspense as Stevens’ grueling debut." –Kirkus Reviews
"Stevens’ second novel is a knockout, starting strong and finishing even stronger." –RT Book Reviews
"The action is non-stop and the story flows without a bump." –Seattle Post Intelligencer
04/06/2015
At the start of this gripping thriller from bestseller Stevens (That Night), the three teenage Campbell sisters flee their rural Canadian home in the summer of 1997 after the youngest, Jess, kills their widower father, an abusive alcoholic. When the sisters’ truck breaks down near a town called Cash Creek, they encounter Brian and Gavin Luxton, sadistic scions of a local ranching family, who rape and torture them for five days until the girls escape. Eighteen years later, the Campbells live under different names in Vancouver, but the past still haunts them. When Crystal, the middle sister, experiences a troubling flashback, she decides to return to Cash Creek to kill the Luxton brothers. Stevens skillfully builds suspense, but often draws characters with broad strokes, sacrificing depth for pacing, and a few niggling details (such as the timing of Brian’s marriage) remain unexplained. Despite its flaws, this fast-paced nail-biter will keep readers up late—and may evoke a few tears. Announced first printing of 150,000. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Agency. (July)
★ 03/15/2015
The bond between sisters runs deep, especially when murder is involved. Teenage siblings Dani, Courtney, and Jess are trying to eke out some happiness in their lives. Living in an isolated farmhouse, they anxiously await the return of their abusive and alcoholic father, who has been away for a month working on an oil rig. The homecoming is worse than they anticipated; when their father learns Courtney is having sex with a married man, he burns her face with a hot frying pan and then attempts to drown her. Dani and Jess try to intervene until Jess shoots him dead. Panicked and fearing another trip to foster care, or to prison, the sisters dispose of the body and flee. They're out of the proverbial frying pan and unknowingly running straight into the fire. VERDICT Stevens's fourth thriller (after That Night) weaves such an engrossing, suspenseful tale that readers will wish they could warn the protagonists of the dangers that lie ahead. Highly recommended for fans of the genre who relish nail-biting suspense as well as stories about the endurance of family and the human spirit.—Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD
2015-04-15
It was a British Columbia summer, "so hot you couldn't walk outside without feeling your skin cook," when 14-year-old Jess killed her father. It was a fitting response to multiple abuses. This time, home from the Alberta oil fields and drunk, he attempted to drown Jess' older sister Courtney in a toilet. Dani, oldest of the Campbell girls, took charge. The sisters buried the body in a hog pen and set off for Vancouver, running out of money in the worst possible place—Cash Creek. Gavin and Brian, two boys from a nearby ranch, offered work, but that was a ruse. Brian, while amoral, is the lesser villain, but Gavin, danger "rolled off him in waves, a dark and cold energy," is a fearsome psychopath. The sisters are held prisoner, tortured, and raped. There's a fight. The girls escape. No police, because of the father's death, but Allen, an ex-con bar owner with a pay-it-forward mindset, helps the sisters get to Vancouver. Jess narrates this story, with anger, confusion, and regret over the shooting spilling out. In Vancouver, a friend of Allen's helps with new identities for the sisters—they're now called Dallas, Jamie, and Crystal. Then Jess/Jamie turns up pregnant, and there's a moving portrayal of the elemental connection between mother and a child in womb. Seventeen years later, the novel's second half unfolds from daughter Skylar's, point of view, its violent climax triggered when Skylar's curiosity sends the always-unstable Courtney/Crystal to seek revenge at Cash Creek. Thinking "I was the reason she decided to take off," Skylar follows. There, "betrayed, angry, scared, ashamed, and terrified," Skylar makes a surprising discovery. Tense, believable, and action-packed, made more vibrant by Stevens' sense of place.
