Review: Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

Title: Those Girls
Author: Chevy Stevens (Author Website) (Facebook)
Narrators: Jorjeana Marie/Emily Woo Zeller/Nicol Zanzarella
Publisher:  Blackstone Audio
Length:  11 hours and 29 minutes
Source: Audiobook Jukebox‘s reviewer program
 
About the Book: (from Goodreads.com)
Chevy Stevens is back with her most powerful, emotional thriller yet— a story of survival…and revenge.

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s fists. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing and they are pulled back into their past.

This time there’s nowhere left to run.

As much of a thriller as it is a deep exploration of the bonds among sisters, THOSE GIRLS is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

About the Author:  (from author website)

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. While holding an open house one afternoon, she had a terrifying idea that became the inspiration for Still Missing. Chevy eventually sold her house and left real estate so she could finish the book. Still Missing went on to become a New York Times bestseller and win the International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel.  Chevy’s books have been optioned for movies and are published in more than thirty countries.

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 camping and canoeing with her husband and daughter in the local mountains.

About the Narrators: Jorjeana Marie/Emily Woo Zeller/Nicol Zanzarella – The narration was consistent and flowed very well.  I really found that the voice of each girl help me to identify with them as individuals.  I have enjoyed Jorjeana Marie as a narrator on numerous occasions and find her very talented.

My Review: Those Girls by Chevy Stevens is a story of three sisters, Jess, Courtney and Dani who had a very difficult life after their mother dies and are raised by their father on a ranch in western Canada.  After an altercation with their father the sisters leave home.  Those Girls by Chevy Stevens starts out as story of 3 sisters trying to get through a difficult situation to a story of survival for their lives.

The sisters make their way in a stolen truck to Cold Creek, which is where their nightmare begins.  This is a difficult read as you see the darkest of humanity and their actions.  The story is initially told by Jess and 18 years later the narration is taken over by her daughter Skylar. 

Halfway through listening to Those Girls, I realized I had already read the book.  It is so powerful as an audio that I had to finish it.  It is a very emotional read and you truly feel the fear and anger of the characters.  

The  nightmare begins again 18 years later when one sister is set on revenge.  Chevy Stevens is a masterful suspense writer that truly has you heart beating out of your chest until the end. 

My Rating: 3/5 – liked it- Those Girls is not get everyone, it is very intense and touches on the darkest side of humans and trauma they can cause.   You truly feel the fear of the characters. I literally wanted to stop listening, though I knew the ending.  Those Girls is a true thriller with skillful pacing, which maintains the suspense throughout the story and great character development.   You are really invested in and care about the characters. 

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens was also reviewed on the following blogs:  That’s What She Read, Vegan Daemon,  Criminal Element.com, Book Journey, and Booking Mama .

Happy Reading!