What Happened That Night by Sandra Block is a quick, fast, and suspenseful character driven novel. It is also the story of revenge, hate, second chances, and finding oneself.

Five years ago Dahlia was attending Harvard University fast tracking her way to become a lawyer. One night Dahlia's roommate convinces her to attend a party. She is brutally gang raped yet with very little memory of the assault the next morning. The police do nothing for her when she reports and her life changes forever. Suffering from PTSD, she moves back home, tries to commit suicide and is taking drugs and drinking. After a period of time, her best friend, whom she met in therapy at a suicide survivor group, convinces her to come back to Boston and take a job as a paralegal. Life is pretty much at a standstill, until the day she finds a group of co-workers watching a video in the break room. What she never expected was that it would be a video of her assault. Flashbacks and memories come flooding to the surface and she wants revenge. It is right around this time that Dahlia meets James. He is an IT specialist and has been admiring her from afar. He seems to be struggling with some issues of his own, it is revealed that he has Aspergers. James and Dahlia form a friendship and he tries to help Dahlia seek revenge on her attackers.

If you are not able to read about assault or rape, you might want to pass on this book. The flashbacks of the assault were descriptive enough that it was hard to read. The short chapters had me flying through this novel! The story is told from James and Dahlia's POV and it was very well done. I really liked James' character. It was well-written and very believable. There were several times that I though the story was going to end and bam, there was another twist. I always feel uncomfortable saying I enjoyed a story about other's suffering, but this novel kept me reading to find out what was going to happen next and if Dahlia was going to be able to pay back the men who destroyed her life. When the ending came, I was not ready for it, but overall, this was a very good book and I did enjoy it.

Dahlia had a traumatic experience in college that resulted in her attempting suicide. At an SOS (survivors of suicide) meeting, Dahlia runs into a coworker who shares his story of his sister’s suicide. Dahlia and James quickly become friends. We soon discover that Dahlia was drugged and raped by multiple “frat boys”. She went to the hospital which was neglecent with the rape kit and the police treated her like the rape was her fault since she was drinking at the party Five years years later, the video of the gang rape is found by one of Dahlia’s coworkers. Dahlia decides to seek revenge on the perpetrators since the police didn’t do anything. She decides to frame them with crimes they will do jail time for, but not without them fighting back. It was an I tersting read with a different plot. The only thing that bothered me about the book was James’ diagnosis of Asperger’s which was removed from the DSM-5 as a diagnosis in 2013. It now falls under the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Regardless, the plot was full of interesting twists and turns that kept me glued to the pages.

Thank you netgalley. I need to find more books written by Sandra Block.
Dahlia is the victim of a vicious rape that she cant remember any of the details of. A few years later she has begun to rebuild her life. She has a new job, new friends and things are going well. Until one day some of her co-workers are watching a video for a case, which just happens to be a tape of Dahlia's rape.
The revenge Dahlia and her friend/co-worker, James, dishes out to her rapists is great. The last rapist is a surprise and his punishment is almost non existent...

What Happened That Night by Sandra Block is a fast quick character driven read. Some of the scenes were quite graphic so this book might not be for everyone.The revenge tactics though were a little unrealistic and the suspense was a little predictable which lowered my rating to 3 ½ stars but still an entertaining read.

I would like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

A fast-paced suspense read with memorable characters and rock-solid writing. I was utterly captivated by Dahlia’s quest for healing through revenge and totally charmed by her relationship with James. Rape, suicide, and autism are tough subjects for any author to handle but Block’s intelligence and compassionate approach allow her to succeed. What Happened That Night is a timely story with plenty of controversy for book club discussion. Highly recommended!

This is a well written, fast paced thriller. The ending was great and the plot kept me engaged throughout.

Dahlia’s life was on track. A sucessful law student on her way to a brilliant career ahead of her, she had everything going for her. Then, by a stroke of bad luck, she runs into the wrong person at a party and is brutally assualted. Not having any memory of that night, she does everything to get on with her life as best she can. Years later, while working as a paralegal, she stumbles across some co-workers watching a video of her assualt and her world is turned upside down in an instant.

Whether you’ve ever been in Dahlia’s position or not, she’s easy to relate to in the sense that we all have pasts that we’re trying to overcome. Hers happens to be an extremely brutal past. While I’m not sure I’d have gone to the lengths that she did in order to get her revenge, I can’t say that I blame her one bit, either. There was no excuse or reasoning for what she endured and the jerks responsible needed to pay one way or another.

Her relationship with James was refreshing. Although they liked each other and wanted to be more than friends, they were in no rush to push it either. The slow build of trust and love between them was sweet and realistic. James’ unique perspective definitely helped keep Dahlia from going down too dark a path.

What Happened That Night is an intense, rollercoaster ride of emotions from beginning to end. There is a bit of a twist at the end that I hadn’t expected and it really threw me for a loop. It still bothers me, a month after I finished the book. As much as I enjoyed this novel, I will say that there are many graphic descpritions of Dahlia’s assualt. It could be triggering or, for me, flat out disturbing. However, if you can get past those then you likely will enjoy the novel as well.

I loved this book. As someone who has been a victim of an assault (though nothing nearly as severe as what Dahlia experiences), it's the ultimate revenge fantasy.

Well-written and fast-paced, this was a hard book to put down!

I will read anything Sandra Block writes! I could not put this one down - read in one sitting. I found myself getting angry if anyone tried talking to me. Then when I read the last page, I was sad it was over. Great characters! Well written!
Great read!

What Happened That Night by Sandra Block
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

#FirstLine ~ It sucks me in.
Holy Man! This book is rock solid. Block has managed to tackle some very tough topics with such a genuine and authentic voice. She is not afraid to let the characters lead the story and share their own truths. Her brilliantly thrilling book left me memorized. It was paced perfectly and the characters were those that you could not help but be moved by. This book literally knocked my socks off. It will make a PERFECT book club pick!

Sandra Block's What Happened That Night is an intense examination of a brutal crime. Justice or revenge?

After Harvard senior Dahlia is the victim of a callous rape, she drops out of school suffering from loss of memory and PTSD. Eventually, she becomes a paralegal, and although the events of that night continue to haunt her, she remains unable to recall who was responsible.

Fortunately, Dahlia does have a good support system with her friends and makes an effort to endure the anger she continues to feel toward her unknown attackers.

Then a video of her rape appears online. Dahlia is again humiliated, but her rage is fierce. Now she knows where to begin to make payback for what she has suffered. James, a co-worker, comes up with a plan....

If not entirely believable, you can't help but sympathize with Dahlia's determination to expose the young men who have gone on to live their lives without any repercussions. And Dahlia was not the only victim. Of course, when the perpetrators realize that she knows who they are and is intent on unmasking them, they are not going to take it lying down.

Short chapters told from both Dahlia's and Jame's pov keep this novel moving rapidly.

NetGalley/Source Books

Crime/Suspense. June 5, 2018. Print length: 352 pages.

Five years ago Dahlia was on the road to become a successful lawyer but all that changed in one night when she was drugged and brutally raped. Now years later she works as a paralegal in a firm and lives a quiet life.One day though her peaceful existence is threatened when the video of her rape surfaces online and is watched by some people in her office.Seeing the video brings back memories and Dahlia vows to take revenge on all her attackers with the help of her friend James.

What Happened That Night by Sandra Block is a fast quick character driven read. Some of the scenes were quite graphic so this book might not be for everyone.The revenge tactics though were a little unrealistic and the suspense was a little predictable which lowered my rating to 3 ½ stars but still an entertaining read.

I would like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

It was supposed to be a fun, typical college night. A few drinks, friends, and cute guys.

It ended in a brutal attack that changed one girl's life forever. Now, five years later, that girl has faced her demons and is ready for some answers. And revenge.

Dahlia was attending Harvard University. Her future was bright, and the world was her oyster. Until one terrible night when she attended a fraternity party, and woke up the victim of a brutal attack. Dahlia does not remember most of what occurred. As she struggles to deal with what happened to her, she flounders. Dahlia ends up dropping out of school, and even attempts to take her own life. It isn't until she begins attending a support group for suicide survivors and develops a friendship with Eli that she begins to get her life back on track.

After five years, Dahlia is working as a paralegal at a Boston law firm when a video hits the internet. A video of Dahlia being gang raped at the Harvard party. At first, Dahlia is mortified. But then, something changes and she begins to get angry. No longer desiring to be the perpetual victim, Dahlia develops a plan to take down her perpetrators, one at a time.

I really enjoyed this book. It highlights the elitist mentality that still exists at many collegiate academies, encouraging the degradation of women and allowing sexual attacks to occur with impunity. What I most enjoyed was the fact that Dahlia did not allow herself to become a victim. She was a protagonist who you found yourself rooting for all throughout the novel. As she systematically uncovers her rapists and finds creative ways to destroy them, you cheer her on. And when a final, unanticipated twist occurs at the end of the novel, you mourn with her.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It was a quick read and had me hooked right from the beginning. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

I loved the premise of the book

A lost memory of the rape + transformation from pretty girl + the video of rape resurfacing + stress seizures = THE REVENGE

This book resonated with me because of the concept of the plot, the lone vigilante. Dahlia as the tattooed paralegal just seems to be surviving life till the video resurfaced. Her need for wanting the men to pay is justifiable. The author Sandra Block has shown her helplessness and anger in words which caused my angst and ire to resurface.

I WANTED REVENGE TOO!!

A book is successful if an author can incite extreme passion in the reader. Since this book is based on a topic which is a trigger, I liked knowing what I am getting into from the blurb, and I took an informed decision of reading it on a Sunday morning.

I WANTED REVENGE TOO!!

The story does leave me with some unanswered questions as to who uploaded the video on the net and what happened to the rest of the rapists. The book also has some hard hitting memories. It does follow a bit of suspended reality as most of the fiction books do.

The rapists are well settled now, seemingly in good intelligent jobs, yet their private chat sessions showed not a touch of repentance but of anger when the main character dares to take her vengeance.

I WANTED REVENGE TOO!!

The book also highlights what happens in the frat parties and clubs when men roofie the victim and shoot her in depraved acts. This book does trigger nightmares, and I would advice survivors of abuse to read it only on the day they feel strong.

P. S. A few hours later: I thought I was strong till I woke up with catatonic dreams and migraine. It triggered at the subconscious level.

Wow...a fairly fast paced story with a few twists that made my jaw drop. Intense characters that have you loving and hating them while the plot is dark and a little disturbing Dahlia kicks butt!

I totally loved this book.

This book felt real and practical to me. It revolves around Dahlia, who is a paralegal, also a Survivor of Rape and Suicide.

The author has portrayed Dahlia's emotions in a powerful way. This book takes us through her recovery from the night she was assaulted and shows us her struggle to move on. It deals about her relationships and gives a better picture of her friendship and love life while she tries to strike back at those who gave her the worst nightmare of life.

The narration was amazing. I loved the way the story was subtle and intense at the same time. This story gives us a protagonist who is practical, emotional and humanly strog. We do not see any action packed violent woman with raging hormones who tries to strike down all the bad guys. Instead, we see a calm and normal girl who tries to payback with ways that is possible in our life. James turned out to be my favourite character in the entire book.

The characters felt real and even the villains were bad in a normal way(I hope I make sense here :D ).

On the whole, I loved it. It turned out to be a satisfying read for me. This book gives us hope to move on after the worst possible situations you have went through. There is hope, always.

Highly recommend this to adult fiction and thriller fans.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy.

This book was a little tough to read. It wasn't a fast read but I got to the point where I wanted to know what happened.

What Happened That Night is a great psychological thriller that tells of the story of a young woman’s mission of revenge against those who did something just horrible to her a few years ago.

Dahlia, years after a horrendous night for her has become a sucessful paralegals, moving on the tragic event that she have very little memory of hasn’t been easy but she’s done the best she can. Rape is event that changes you life is many ways, and it affected her mental health, her future love life as well and my heart went out to her. I wanted to be able to move on and live a great life and maybe even find someone who loves her dearly.

Dahlia has suffered in silence all this time, until a video surfaces that shows everything that happened of that awful night. Who was there, who did what and someone videoing it all. The problem is, she doesn’t know their names or where they might even be at this point in time. She makes it her mission to find them and make them pay. She does meet a guy named James, he’s nice to her and start a friendship, and he even helps her on her mission too. Now, James is a little socially timid, but he is just sweetest guy. I wanted to just hug and give him some help to be able to talk her, the way he wanted to. His family wasn’t with out problems either, so I think this is why they bonded the way they did and I enjoyed it so much too.

The pacing is a little on the slow side, but this worked in it’s favor. There are parts that are very graphic, the description of Dahila’s rape just made me so mad. I wanted to find them all too, and do things that would probably lead me to jail. Just awful guys! Dahlias anger was understandable.

There was so suspense and twist that Block threw in here, that it kept turning the pages to find out how it all ended and I certainly wanted to know what happened with Dahlia and James too. This was an utterly intense read and may be hard for some to read, but it really was a great thriller and very thought provoking.

Sandra Block wrote a book that grabbed me from the very first time I looked at the gorgeous cover and held me until I read the very last word. When I first saw the book I knew that this was a story that I had to read. I knew that the suspense would keep me on the edge of my seat, the characters would make me want to be part of their friend circle, and that there would be so many twists and turns that I wouldn’t know which way I should go next.

The storyline was not an easy one to read. There were subjects, especially the rapes, that had to be tough to write about but Sandra Block did an amazing job. She gave enough detail for the reader to have no doubt what was happening but not too much. I had no doubt how much pain and fear Dahlia felt while being raped and the intense feelings that she was trying to figure out how to deal with. I love that Dahlia was strong enough to continue her life, she fought to find a way out of the black hole, and she found a way to move on. I was concerned when Dahlia met James, was he leading her down the right path or would he hurt her more than she already was hurting. By the end of the story, I enjoyed seeing the friendship grow and loved that Dahlia had someone she could trust.

The setup of the book with short chapters and multiple points of views had me flying through the story. I was anxious and excited to get to the end to find out what happens. The ending… oh, the ending… PERFECT. I didn’t see it coming, I didn’t even dream it but it was amazing.

I always enjoy books by Sandra Block.  So far, I have read every book published by her.  They tend to be a little on the dark side which isn’t for everyone but I really enjoy each novel and find them all to be unique.  Dahlia was raped in college but does not remember the experience. Five years later a video of the attack surfaces. It is then that Dahlia decides to exact revenge.

I like that while Dahlia is seeking revenge she has boundaries as far as what she thinks is acceptable.  The writing was the kind that kept me reading on to find out what would happen next and I found Dahlia to be a sympathetic narrator.  Dahlia also develops a relationship with a coworker, James. I found his quirks and their awkwardness as they got to know each other sympathetic.  Two unusual and damaged characters came together to make a great couple.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this novel.  I look forward to Block’s next book.