This one was quite unexpected, it was written in a way that made me feel it, deep in my stomach. I rarely read straight through in one sitting but I did with this one and I thought it did a good job all around, characters, setting, pacing, plot. It's hard to go into specifics without spoilers so I won't but I would recommend it highly.

Clara Porterfield’s next door neighbor, Griffin Tomlin, is dead and her sister killed him. Her family is turmoil as her sister, Emily, is in jail awaiting trial. Both parents are falling apart slowly as her mother spends her time in the garden and her father is adamant of Emily’s innocence and won’t listen to anyone who has even a wisp of doubt.
Clara tells the story in before the murder and the aftermath of when her sister was arrested. What made Emily kill the boy next door? Clara is drowning from guilt and unanswered questions that keep dogging her sister’s innocence and potential motives. I would love to read Emily’s side of the story and thought process.
The suspense and tension was a slow burn. Every action has a reaction and the in the end you see how each person kept knocking into each other and careening out of control. Excellent page-turner that held my attention!

ARC provided by the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review

TW/CW: sexual assault/rape, murder

Clara's sister killed the boy next door. She has confessed. But what is the real story?

This is the premise of What Happened That Night. Overall, this a dark thriller that has done extremely well in terms of a clever plot line and a twist that will keep you guessing. But it still didn't quite work for me.

More than anything, the writing style was a big drawback. The execution of the story felt clunky. I couldn't fully engage myself with an immersive story. While I was curious about the ending, I certainly wasn't staying up late to finish this one. For a thriller, it felt dull and almost like a contemporary/cosy mystery with thriller elements? The potential was there for an edge-of-your-seat thriller but it didn't come about that way.

I believe this was a debut story, so I am interested to see what else Cameron comes up with.

I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.

Wow, I was not expecting this story to go the down the dark path it went. Clara's sister Emily, kills a boy named Griffin that they both grew up with. In the first half of the book, you think you know why Emily kills Griffin but then that theory gets thrown out of the water as you explore more of the dynamic between the two sisters. The ending was shocking and I cannot wait to read more by this author.

Very emotional book. At first it started off slow and then I read 2/3 of it in one day! I couldn’t put it down. It was very emotional and I feel like it got in pretty deep about rape culture. How men can mistreat women and can leave them feeling so vulnerable and at fault for the mans actions. I was surprised that Emily was just as vile or even more so than griffin. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I really enjoyed this read. There was some parts though that were a little hard to follow with time jumps and I wonder if it was changed during editing but some parts were confusing

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. Just wow. Rape, murder, and betrayal. Although the subject matter is very dark, I would recommend this novel to the YA crowd, because it is so compelling and will help young women understand the importance of trusting themselves and avoiding manipulation.

Just finished reading What Happened That Night and I am speechless. This mystery was very well written. There is violence, sexual assault and rape in this book. If you can get past those, this book will be worth it. I couldn’t put the book down. If you like Thriller/Mysteries this book will not disappoint.
A Big Thank You goes out to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for providing me with an advanced digital read. The opinions expressed on this review are my own.

Wow... What a powerful and enthralling read this turned out to be! What Happened That Night is written in 1st person from the perspective of our main character Clara, who is dealing with the death of her neighbour/childhood crush Griffin. To make matters evens more difficult, it was Clara’s sister Emily that killed him, and Clara knows why she did it.

In order to fully understand what really happened on the night of Griffin’s murder, the story is told in two different timelines, “before” Griffin was killed and “after.” The alternative timelines made the book an incredibly enthralling read and one that I just couldn’t put down. It’s fair to say it kept me on the edge of my seat and constantly guessing (incorrectly) what was coming next.

Whilst the topics dealt with in the book were quite often very difficult to read, Deanna Cameron was able to write about them in a way that personally made me feel a lot of different emotions, and that makes it a very powerful read for me

I would definitely recommend giving this book a read however do be aware that it contains a very graphic rape scene.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! I would give it between 3 and 4 stars and I'm not necessarily sure if it's something I would really recommend.

The residents of the quiet town of Shiloh are still shocked after dealing with the murder of Griffin Tomlinson. Clara Porterfield is even more so, dealing with the fact that her sister is on trial for said murder, her mother focuses all her attention on her garden and her father is in complete denial. She goes to school only to deal with her classmates whispers and quick glances.

When one classmate, Aniston, approaches her about information Clara insists she knows nothing but will help her with her investigation. However, Clara knows a lot more than she's letting on. Through their investigation, she learns even more and soon they're able to figure out the truth surrounding the murder and they realize there is another story to tell.

I think this was a good read in terms of the mysteries and twists but this book deals with rape and I think personally it was a bit too graphic.

Scheduled to post 10/19/19.

I could not put WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT down. COULD NOT. I was so engrossed and so compelled to keep reading I found myself reading in giant book chunks on my iPhone because I couldn't put it down. I was apprehensive about it because it's from Wattpad, but holy crap did it blow my expectations clear out of the water.

There is so much going on with this book, so much to unpack, and it's one hell of a rough topic. Not only does it deal with rape and a stalker, but a guy who's an outright psychopath and for which Clara has no recourse, because he's dead and he died with everyone thinking he was this golden boy. And we all know how people feel about speaking ill of the dead. But once this story starts unfolding it just unravels in a torrent of emotion as Clara comes to grips with her situation, her sister's situation, her blooming romance with her rapist's best friend (not nearly as bad as it sounds), and Aniston who just wants to find out the truth, but Clara thinks she knows it all. Oh how wrong she is.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, the twists start happening and my mind gets blown over and over again. Even the personality issue I was having with Clara, how seeming unforgiving she was with people, gets resolved by the end of the book. Don't think for a second that things get resolved with a neat little bow on top. They don't. But Clara is an exceedingly realistic character who acts in ways that are completely believable and everything ends up sorting itself out by the end of it. And then some.

WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT doesn't shy away from details, but it falls short of being gratuitous. It rips at your heart and makes you so incredibly angry that you just want to pour kerosene on Griffin and light a match. You want to scream it in everyone's faces on Clara's behalf and make them believe that Griffin was hiding something truly dark. Thing is, more than he was doing that.

Read it if you can stomach it. If you're triggered by things like this I would recommend passing it by because things do get really rough. But it's a thoroughly satisfying book and one that Wattpad did good on, I think. This one definitely deserves it. And it looks like it's a first in a series so it'll be interesting to see where the story goes from here. I would say I can't wait but that seems inappropriate considering the topic.

5

Overall an interesting book. Clara has been in love with the boy next door, Griffin since she was a little girl. So why did her sister murder him? The book switches from present point of view to flashbacks and shows us the complete story of 2 sisters and their secrets, and people are not what they seem.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. I was interested and there were some reveals I didn’t see coming, but I wasn’t as invested as I expected to be. I can’t really put my finger on why I wouldn’t give it a better rating because I did enjoy it, but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The description of this book is what attracted me to it and it did not disappoint. Deanna Cameron has crafted an extremely creepy novel that leaves with real chills as you read.
All in all the characters are well crafted and believable and the plot leads you in all directions with you simultaneously being right and wrong about what you think is going on.

Highly recommended.

Clara is a normal girl, except that her sister murdered her neighbour. Now Clara has to live with her sister did, and what Griffin, the dead boy, did to her.
Firstly, this has very strong scenes relating to sexual abuse,rape and murder- warning to anyone who may react to those themes.
I liked the characters in this story. Clara is very relatable-I can empathise with her not wanting to come forward about the rape, even after her rapist is dead. I really loved Kolby, I felt her was a great character that Clara needed. Aniston, Bex, Wilson and all parents seemed a bit two-dimensional.
The atmosphere of the book was good- I read it all in one day! The writing style also I enjoyed, except there was some weird formatting and it annoyed me that there were many typos with missing capitilisation on names. However, I read an ARC e-book so I assume that these will get fixed.
The story went at a steady pace, it was a bit slow at times, but overall it was OK. There was a certain amount of intrigue, I guessed what Griffin had done right at the beginning, even though it wasn't annouced for a while, there was a plot twist towards the end that surprised me though!
Where this book was really let down, for me, was the lack of logic. Now, this could have been due to the weird formatting in my edition, but I felt that the characters jumped all over the place- geographically and in time, and the speech was really hard to keep track of. For example there was a part when Clara and Kolby meet outside in the snow, two lines later they're sweating in the summer sun...
Overall I enjoyed this book, I'd recommend it to people who enjoyed books like One of us is Lying, This Lie will Kill You and any Jodi Picoult books.

I requested What Happened That Night from Netgalley over the summer (thanks for granting access to an advanced copy in exchange for this honest review!) purely based on two things:

The first line of the synopsis: “Griffin Tomlin is dead. And Clara’s sister killed him . . .“
The cover. Yup, I judge books by the cover. Always have, probably always will.
For some reason, I didn’t realize right away – or I did and then forgot once I finally got around to reading it – that this was a YA thriller. I probably would have read it sooner/set aside a day to read it if I’d realized that when I started. I LOVE me some YA murder mystery. I can fly through them and they’re actually enjoyable to just sit and read all day in a way that adult fiction just isn’t always.

I’ve been on a YA kick this past month, and this one was up there as a favorite. There are a couple things I wanted more of, which I’ll get to in a second, but overall, if you’re a fan of YA or if you’ve got young adult kids of your own that enjoy mystery/thrillers, this is a solid choice. It’s also out now! Hooray! It published September 17 (yes, I’m behind on my reviews), so you can snag it from a store or library any time!

One note – while this is YA, it definitely has some very adult themes.

RATING BREAKDOWN

Plot – 1/2: So, the gist of the story, as you likely gathered, is that the small town of Shiloh has been rocked by the murder of high school student Griffin Tomlin. Griffin’s family lives across the street from Clara’s, and the two families have always been friends. Which is why it’s a shock that Clara’s sister is the one charged with Griffin’s murder. But no one really knows what happened that night…except Clara. And Clara doesn’t realize how much she doesn’t know…(dun dun dun) Overall, solid thriller plot line. Loses a point because there were a few times I caught myself thinking, “mmmm, that’s definitely a bit unlikely.” Usually I don’t mind the unlikely points of a plot, but for some reason I was feeling it a bit too much this time.

Writing – 2/2: Cameron’s writing is spot on – I really could have read this in one day if I’d planned better. It’s a quick read not only because it’s a shorter book, but because it’s easy to say, “one more chapter. one more. and just one more.” until you’ve reached the end.

Characters – 1/2: Overall, I loved the characters – especially Clara and one of her unlikely friends (read it to learn more about this). One point loss because I wanted MORE of Clara and her sister. We only get a very small bit of it, and I wish that relationship was fleshed out just a smidge more.

Thrills/Twists – 2/2: Yup, yup, yup. I mean, the plot obviously lends itself to a lot of mystery and intrigue. But the ending honestly was not something I saw coming – or I at least didn’t see all of it.

YA Relatability – 2/2: So, while I said the plot had some moments that were a bit much for me, I will say that I would not have had those issues as a teen. I would have devoured this book and all its thrills and mystery.

8/10 points for an excellent 4 star YA thriller. So glad I allowed my love of the cover to lead me to requesting this book! And don’t worry – I’ve got more YA book reviews on the way 😉

Happy Reading!

Very interesting book with difficult subject matter. Overall, the story really held my attention. Because of the subject matter (rape), this book may be difficult for some readers. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Excellent book! A must read for teen boys and girls. If you can separate yourself from the difficult message it's also an excellent thriller! Clara is a realistic teenage who reacts in a sad but unfortunately expected way when her childhood crush turns out to be a monster. Great conversation starter.

Well what can I say about What happened that Night by Deanna Cameron except to say it was so well written that when I came to the last chapters i literally stayed up to 3am to read them but then went to bed could not stop thinking about the book I needed to see what happened I just had two hours sleep before restarting and finishing the book. I am not going to give any spoilers as I think that this kind of book should be better enjoyed if the reader was following the story. What I will say that the story is mainly about two sisters who lives changed dramatically after one event. I do like that each chapter has a before where the reader sees what had happened and then what is going on now and they were easy to follow. I was going to give this book 5 star but i did think that what we found out about the older sister was to me a little bit far fetched maybe if this was covered throughout the book it may have be accepted by me the reader. So I am going to award this book 4 stars and hope Deanna brings out another novel soon which I would love to read as I love her writing style

Overall a good read, the beginning seemed strong but I feel like as it progresses it seemed to get a little weaker. This book seemed to drag a little as it was very slow-paced and for me felt like double the length it really was. I was intrigued by this title as soon as I read the synopsis but i wasn't as great as i was expecting it be but i did enjoy it enough to finish it. I do have to say a warning here as there is sensitive topic, Rape, Domestic Violence and threats of violence,

The family grieving. Emily is in jail waiting to go to trial for the murder of Griffin Tomlin. it feels like everyone is in denial her mother, filling her days with digging in the dead garden. Her father supports Emily fully and doesn't understand why his wife doesn't. He is close to leaving. Clara is filled with guilt. The story only just starts with Griffin Tomlin's murder but it's not the only story that needs to be told. The lies that we weave are sometimes better than the truth.

The plot was somewhat predictable but a few twists made it more interesting. I liked Cara as a main character as she was slightly unreliable but I do wish we got some of Emily's POV. I would have liked to see some of Emily's motives explained.

If you like slow burn, thrillers that seem pretty predictable with some twist and a main character who is good to follow. Unraveling lies and finding out truths this is something you'd enjoy.

3.5/5

I found this book intriguing and interesting enough to want to know more and continue with the story, however it didn't light my world on fire. I wanted to know more about Griffin and Emily, maybe a bit of their backstories to explain how things came to be. More about how it had gotten to this stage rather than focusing entirely on Clara. I was impressed the author tackled sexual assault for both male and female characters and felt she was appropriately sympathetic to both situations.

Overall, it was a real journey and would definitely pick up something from this author in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was one hell of a creepy book, but in a good way that keep me on the edge of my seat. Lots of twists through out the book that keep you guessing. The writting and story line is easy to follow. I think my only complaint would be the actual book cover, it's rather boring and generic. Other then that it was a good read.

Rating 3