A heart-wrenching story that is beautifully written. It was eerie and suspenseful and goes far beyond a murder mystery. A great Young Adult thriller.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!


The characters are well-developed & easy to like. The storyline is unique and easy to follow. The writing is fantastic. The author is clearly talented.
I can't wait to read more by her!

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC

🚨 Full disclosure this book talk a lot about rape, and torture 🚨

Griffin Tomlin is dead. And to be fair he was a real creep who pretty much deserved it.

Griffin Tomlin was a boy everyone liked, and everyone would believe his side of the story. But now he’s dead and Clara’s sister Emily is on trial. But why?

Griffin and Clara has a brief yet tumultous relationship that few people even knew of. Even Clara barely knew what they were. But what was once a fairy tale romance turned dark and stalkerish pretty quickly.

Clara, her new boyfriend and her friend Aniston have to unravel what actually happened that night (see what I did there) and find an answer to why Emily did what she did.

Review: I liked this book a lot. Maybe not quite 4 stars but pretty close. It reminded me of One of Us is Lying, in it’s teenage “whodunnit” plot line, that was interesting even if it was far fetched. It lost me briefly at the random dead body in Clara’s backyard, the characters seemed to go from real normal to ZOMG SO MANY SERIAL KILLERS in a blink of an eye.

What are the odds that there are two teenage sadists living across the street from one another 🤷‍♀️? Well in this town they are very high, and poor Clara’s got her handful of them.

All in all, I enjoyed this book, there was a lot of dark subject matter ( stalking, rape (male and female) abuse, murder)

It wasn’t SO dark that I couldn’t read it, but it definitely leaves you feeling kind of funky.

Wow!! This book definitely took some dramatic turns.

Griffin Tomlin has been killed and Emily Porterfield is being charged with his murder. We follow the story of Clara Porterfield, Emily’s sister, both before the murder and the fallout afterwards. We see how her sister being accused of murder effects her family and her relationship with friends. We find out exactly what happened leading up to Griffin’s murder and whether or not Emily is guilty.

I really enjoyed this story. I felt like it really took some dark turns that I wasn’t expecting. Sadly to say, this could very easily be a story that we could hear on the news. (Which I guess is what makes it a good story)

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What Happened That Night is a well-written book with strong messages for everyone in this post me-too era. The author's note in the beginning acknowledges there are some parts of the novel that have the potential to make readers uncomfortable or trigger memories of their own experiences and graciously encourages them to stop reading if they need to. She understands the magnitude of her words and story.

Told in both the past (before) and present (after) we meet sister Emily and Clara Porterfield. They grew up in a seemingly idyllic setting in upstate New York; Emily the popular older sister and Clara the shyer, musically inclined sibling. When the proverbial boy-next-door is murdered, the one Clara loved from afar for years, and her sister Emily is arrested, the family and town is completely unravelled. Clara seems to know why Emily murdered Griffin but is the truth about what happened that night far more sinister than she even realizes?

This is a pretty quick read and the alternating time line works well to move the story along and hook the reader. While some of the subject matter is hard and uncomfortable the book is gripping and handles the tough moments appropriately. Pick this one up!

The premise of this book was interesting in that it examined sexual violence suffered by both female and male victims. However, I did feel that the plot was somewhat far-fetched and fell down by not giving more of an insight into the backgrounds of the perpetrators. A young man is murdered and Clara knows it was her sister Emily that did it, she thinks because of something Clara had told her. As the story develops, it becomes clear that Emily is not the person her sister thinks she is, and is harbouring a dark secret. Perhaps being older, I would have liked more of a complex plot, I do feel that the writing was a little simplistic at times. It may however appeal to a younger audience.

Title: What Happened that Night
Author: Deanna Cameron
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 out of 5

Clara Porterfield had a crush on Griffin Tomlin as long as she could remember, but he was always just the boy across the street, never anything else. Until that night: the night that he showed her who he really was and made her realize that people are not always what they seem.

Four months ago, Griffin was found dead and Clara’s sister, Emily, was arrested for his murder. Emily isn’t saying a word, but she wants Clara to. Clara doesn’t know what to think. Did Emily murder Griffin for what he did to Clara—or is there even more to this story than Clara can imagine? Finding out the truth might set her free from her guilt, but what else will it drag into the light?

What Happened that Night was not what I expected. At all. I liked Clara. She’s been through some horrific things, but she’s struggling to be strong and find out the truth—even if the truth will change the way she sees the world forever. I wasn’t a fan of her dad, but her mom and the other supporting characters were great, especially Anniston, who lives in pink and wants to be a journalist.

What Happened that Night is the new book by Deanna Cameron.

(Galley courtesy of Wattpad Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

Emily Porterfield tortured, assaulted and killed Griffin Tomlin. It all happened at his backyard, his body was found the morning after floating over his pool. Nobody heard anything, no one knew what had happened. His parents were devastated and the whole town was shocked, he was such a good son, Shiloh’s golden boy. Eventually, the evidence pointed to Emily. She was charged for the crime and sent to the correctional while waiting for the trial to come.

But the story does not end here, there was still one question that needed to be answered: why?

There is only one person that could tell the truth, Emily’s sister Clara. Throughout the book, she will be telling us why Emily did what she did, and by showing us some glimpses of her past, Clara will give us the necessary tools to finally uncover the mystery behind Griffin’s death.

Reading this book was a difficult task because it feels so real. Deanna Cameron, the author, provides us with a clear and vivid description of every scene, that you will feel as if you were right there, in the middle of everything that is happening. She manages to put the reader in the place of the characters and by doing so, you will start to wonder what would you do if you were in the same situation.

Cameron just knows how to play her cards so well that she neatly works out every plot twist she introduces us to. We will discover that not everything is as it seems and that people are not what we think they are. Was Griffin this good boy all the town worshiped? Of all the questions that will come to our head while reading the book, this is probably the most important.

Pain, loneliness, fear, and obsession are the four pillars of this astonishing book where the mystery is not about finding out who the murderer was but to discover why she did it. Believe me when I say that you will be shocked when you find about the truth about what happened that night.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Smith Publicity for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm sorry to say that this book didn't work for me at all.

Eye roll after eye roll after eye roll. I didn't find one thing about this story plausible. It took a very serious subject matter and turned it into something silly which I can not forgive.

When I first saw the gloomy barn picture on the front cover of this book and then read the synopsis, I thought I was going to read a scintillating dark crime thriller set In a secluded rural area.... I was wrong.
This book tries its best to be a dark crime thriller, but the truth is that it tries too hard.

I loved this book right from the start, I was hooked from the first few pages!
I liked the characters and I thought the story developed at a good pace
The end twist also blew me away.. speechless!!

“ What Happened That Night” is classified as a YA novel but deals with very adult issues and is not a book I would think Is for every young reader. Subjects such as date rape, stalking, spiked drinks, abusive relationships and murder are all included in this really well done debut novel.
The book opens on the Porterfield family Mom, Dad, Emily and Clara the youngest daughter at breakfast the day after a neighborhood party. They notice crime scene tape at their neighbors’ house, the Tomlins and call thinking it must have been a robbery only to learn their younger son Griffin is dead
The book then jumps ahead four months. Emily Porterfield has been arrested for the murder of Griffin and Clara knows she did it- she confessed to her though later denied it.
The book alternates between what happened before and current day. Griffin was the golden boy that everyone loved or was he? It shows how each of the family deals with this in their own way, their mom retreats into her garden, their father becomes obsessed with proving Emily is innocent and Clara isolate herself from friends and the things she loved.
A new girl at school named Taylor won’t take no for an answer though- she keeps trying to get Clara to talk for an interview for the school paper. This turns into a real look into what really led up to the events of That Night.

I recommend this book to readers of any age but it does have subjects that may be triggers for some readers. They include the numbers for hotlines in the beginning of the book, please use them if you need to. This would be a great book for discussion among teens as well. Thank you to #netgalley and #wattsbooks for the free ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a young adult book however be very careful not to let anyone under the age of 14 read this book. The descriptions are very detailed and though the subject matter is real it is disturbing as well. The main character Clara has had a crush on the boy next door Griffin. He is not the good boy however.
I think this information should be given out to the public so people can be aware of it but this book could give nightmares to a younger child.

What Happened That Night by Deanna Cameron really took me by surprise. I don’t usually read murder stories but something made me pick this one and it really sucked me in. While I figured one part out pretty quickly on my own, there was a turn later that I did not expect at all. I liked the idea behind this story and it kept me on my toes throughout but I do wish it was longer and had more developed characters. But overall, the story kept my attention the entire way through and I couldn’t wait to find out the truth in the end.

There were several things in this book that got me excited and hooked, and several that fell flat... I'm giving this 4 stars though because it was a very compelling read and kept my attention the entire time.

It starts off with a great hook: The opening chapter is a family of four, mom, dad, two girls, eating breakfast as they notice police at the house across the street. Mom decides to call over and check on the family (they're close with them) and she finds out their youngest son is dead.

Next chapter: Clara (youngest daughter from the family of four) is home with her mom... and we find out that Clara's older sister, Emily, was arrested for the murder of the boy across the street, Griffin, and maybe Clara knows more than she's admitted about why Emily would want to kill Griffin.

There, the story just explodes.

(spoiler) When Aniston shows up and starts comparing notes with Clara and how Griffin acted, I was SUPER EXCITED when the two realize maybe Griffin was on his way to becoming a serial killer. I kind of wish the story had went in that direction. to be honest. It really could have been something. Then it starts exploring the fact that maybe Emily is the one with serial killer tendencies.

What I didn't like: Some parts were rushed and others were drawn out. I really disliked Aniston. At first, I thought maybe she was the manifestation of Clara's trauma and wasn't really a person, but she was basically just a plot device for convenience's sake. Aniston pushed Clara into looking into the death of Griffin... Aniston was there when they needed a place to stay... Aniston was there anytime Clara needed someone to talk her down. Meh. Too convenient. Too neat. Also, what happened to Emily and Griffin to turn them into these people? Most of the time, there's some sort of background as to what caused these two to have such mental issues... it seems too much of a coincidence that these All-American, happy-go-lucky families BOTH had children like this without anything happening in their past - and living across from each other.

What I did like: The fact that in our #metoo era, we are given some experiences of men being sexually assaulted. We don't hear about this often enough. It happens. I really liked the juxtaposition of Kolby and Clara's relationship, since Kolby was best friends with Griffin, and them learning to trust the other and the blossoming of their relationship. I liked the female killer aspect and how Clara's grows: from her rape, dealing with guilt over Griffin's death, coming to realizations in her life that helped her help others like her.

REVIEW 〰️ WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT 〰️ BY DEANNA CAMERON 〰️ SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 〰️ WATTPAD BOOKS 〰️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT

A boy is dead and only two girls know why— the killer and her little sister. ▪️

One of the things I really liked about this book, which someone pointed out in the author’s insta takeover of @wattpad’s stories today, was that this was more a “whydunit” than a “whodunit”. We know from the very beginning who killed Griffin Tomlinson, but it seems like no one really knows why. It’s a fairly straightforward answer after a few pages but things get a bit more complicated as the story progresses. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just talk about how I felt about the book. ▪️

▪️ A couple of the scenes seemed to not quite translate on page. For example, near the end, I didn’t realize where we were and it threw me off when it was mentioned. It felt a bit jumpy. It may have had to with my own reading ability right now, but a few things just didn’t click.

▪️I felt like some things dragged just a little bit. I know it was about growth and a lot of that isn’t as “juicy” as parts of the book, but it felt like some of it was repeating.

▪️ LITTLE SPOILER BUT I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT: As this book contains sexual assault, I thought it was important to either write and explain the whole thing or fade to black completely. There were a few times after the initial scene where I kept thinking, “wait, did he full on rape her?” Everything he did was disgusting, it’s true, but I kept wondering what the extent was. It was cleared up later, but I would have liked not to wonder.

▪️ I really loved the last couple of chapters of this book. I felt like they explained everything and they felt very fleshed out and real. ▪️

I have read a lot of books on this subject matter and it was a good book. I would definitely read another from this author in the future. I just wish things were a little bit more defined. ▪️

#Netgalley provided this book in exchange for an honest review.

The characters in this book are well written and the chances are that you could relate these characters to people you know or have known in life. There is plenty of suspense, action, and a bit of a twist that made me want to finish this book as soon as possible to find out how it ended. There are definitely some triggers that could make some people be upset when reading this book. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reading copy of this book via NetGalley.

In “What Happened That Night (What Happened That Night #1)” by Deanna Cameron we are led through the “before” and current story of Clara Porterfield. Her world has crumbled around her as her sister is jailed for the murder of Griffin Tomlin, small town golden boy; but Clara knows something that no one else does that would change their view. But her secrets are not the only ones out there.

3.5 stars

What Happened That Night follows the murder of school golden boy and long-time crush of Clara, Griffin Tomlin by Clara's sister, Emily. No one knows why Emily killed Griffin but Clara, haunted by the murder and unspoken questions, is determined to uncover the truth behind the murder.

This novel features dual timelines- before the murder and after. The plot was fairly predictable after reading a few chapters though there were a few twists throughout. I was expecting a darker, more sinister atmosphere from this book, but the tone had very little tension and suspense.

What Happened That Night is told through Clara's POV but I think it would've been even better if Emily got a chapter or two. Clara was a worthy MC and I liked that the author wrote her in a way that made her seem unreliable, leaving the reader to read between the lines and examine the facts more closely. However, I feel like Emily and her motives are never fully justified or explained by the end of the novel- she's such a complex character but has such a limited presence in the book. I think it would've been very interesting to see her thoughts. Overall, this was a decent YA binge-worthy thriller.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Book publishers for providing a free ARC

This book was a little hard for me to get into with the beginning content. I knew going in that there would be a trigger warning. I was also not prepared for the twist. I was thinking there was only one way this story would end, but it took a huge turn, I did not expect. I’m glad I read to the end it was a surprise ending.

Happy Pub Day to Deanna Cameron’s What Happened That Night! This book was a wild ride that I couldn’t put down. It was so much more than what I initially thought and I’m so glad I requested to read it when I did!⁣
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This is a dark thriller, there was nothing cute or sweet about it. But it captivated my attention! Why is the nice popular guy Griffin dead and why did Clara’s sister Emily do it? Clara’s life is turned upside down and what the reader is lead to believe isn’t even half of the truth. ⁣
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I loved watching the progression of Clara and the different relationships around her. The flashbacks paint a disturbing past but the future looks a lot more hopeful. I don’t want to give a single thing away because I thought the twists were executed so well and should be enjoyed and not spoiled! ⁣
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Shout out to @netgalley and @wattpad for the advanced copy of this one that’s out today!! ⁣What pub day book are you more excited for this week? ⁣
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Happy Pub Day to Deanna Cameron’s What Happened That Night! This book was a wild ride that I couldn’t put down. It was so much more than what I initially thought and I’m so glad I requested to read it when I did!⁣
⁣
This is a dark thriller, there was nothing cute or sweet about it. But it captivated my attention! Why is the nice popular guy Griffin dead and why did Clara’s sister Emily do it? Clara’s life is turned upside down and what the reader is lead to believe isn’t even half of the truth. ⁣
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I loved watching the progression of Clara and the different relationships around her. The flashbacks paint a disturbing past but the future looks a lot more hopeful. I don’t want to give a single thing away because I thought the twists were executed so well and should be enjoyed and not spoiled! ⁣
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Shout out to @netgalley and @wattpad for the advanced copy of this one that’s out today!
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#wattpadbooks #netgalley #arc