I couldn't put this down. You are literally hooked from the beginning. Clara let's you know right away that something happened the night that her sister killed Griffin but what, you don't know for sure. Little details begin to emerge and paint a picture for you. One that doesn't shed a very good light on some people. And wow, are these little bits of the story that you learn good. They keep you needing to learn more. This is definitely a fast paced book that you will devour, so don't start it unless you have time to finish it that day! Like Anniston, you're going to want to delve into this and not give up until you know what happened for sure!

Cameron writes a gritty Young Adult thriller about some rather tough subjects and does it nicely without going into graphic detail. Griffin, the town golden boy has been murdered. Emily (Clara’s sister) has been arrested for his murder and Clara knows why, or at least she thinks she does. Told in two timeframes, Clara narrates before Griffin’s murder and in the present day. While there were some unbelievable aspects of this book, it was still a good read. Filled with some great twists, Cameron also left just enough doubt as to whether Clara was an unreliable narrator. Aniston was quite the character and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of her in future books! A debut novel that was well worth the read.

The old, battered barn on the cover grabbed my attention and, along with the publisher's blurb, I was eager for a creepy suspense read. There is a mystery surrounding a murder, but I thought more time was spent skimming along the surface of teen relationships than building a ominous suspense read.

Unfortunately, I struggled quite a bit with this story for a few reasons. First, while I appreciate the author's note of warning at the beginning, I wasn't ready to read the graphic rape scene. In fact, I put down the book for a couple of days but when I picked it up again, I felt underwhelmed by the plot and disconnected with the characters.

It felt like Cameron wasn't sure what kind of book she wanted to write. A Contemporary Teen Fiction? Teen Romance? Mystery? Or graphic suspense read? The writing suggested it was a Teen read but the subject matter was too mature for that genre (in my opinion). The story teetered between being predictable and far-fetched (other reviewers said a couple of teens solving a mystery that stumped police gave this book a Scooby-Doo quality to it and I can't totally disagree).

What Happened That Night has a good premise but suffered from weak execution in a few areas. With more depth, focus and tension, this book would have garnered a higher rating from me.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Wattpad Books for providing me a complimentary digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

'Griffin Tomlin is dead. And Clara's sister killed him.'

That's when it all began. Or is it? Was something else was already going on behind the curtain of truth? or lies?
I had a good time reading the book as much as I could. However, a certain depth of the story was still missing. As if everything was in its place, and yet not quite there. I think it was Clara’s views of people that started off a little detached (You won’t blame her though after finally realizing of the issues she had to go through). Every other characters’ parts are what kept this book from falling apart.
I repeat, I had a very good time reading What Happened That Night – finished it within four days – which I recommend a read everyone should give a try.
And for the author, I must say that not everyone can come up with a twisted and thrilling story as she did. In fact, I look forward to reading more of similar novels by her in the future.

And thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to obtain the digital ARC of the book.

Let’s talk about the book title first. I love titles that start with a question. It's engaging, and it makes me want to read the book already. I feel like the author is giving me a good reason to read it. Deanna Cameron couldn't have chosen a better title than this!

In “What Happened That Night,” The school’s golden boy, Griffin is killed by a girl named Emily. Clara, her sister, thinks she knows why. But the truth will come out, and Clara will need to face reality, even when it hurts. The book starts with Emily waiting for her trial, while Clara and her friends are investigating the reasons why her sister did it.

The story is told from Clara's point of view and occurs in two perspectives: the present and the past. The "before" part leads up to the last months of Griffin's life and the relationship Clara had with him and her sister. The "present" section shows up how characters, especially Clara and her family, face the whole situation at home while she deals with pain, uncertainty, and bullying.

I am a big fan of descriptions. So I loved how the setting was written concerning the feelings and experiences of the characters, especially Clara.

I also enjoyed the plot twists in this thriller. Clara is an unreliable narrator, which made me stay until the end, waiting for more, even when I felt secrets were revealed too soon.

The question about “what happened?” was responded satisfactory, but the “why it happened,” was not very clear. I know the book was mainly about Clara; however, there were some gaps in Emily’s behavior. I would have liked to know more about this essential character, like why she did it and specific details about her life that influenced her to make those terrible decisions. I also felt the actions sequence were constantly repeated (house-school-car-house-car-school) and they could be trimmed, but as I said, I kept reading because Clara is a compelling main character, and it is well developed.
Sexual assault scenes is a hard topic to write about, but Deanna did it with respect, honesty, and sensitivity.

“What Happened That Night” is a good psychological thriller. Even when there are many stories with the same topic out there, the plot is more complicated than you could imagine. I think the twists and turns make it harder to stop reading it, and the idea of the dual timeline was pretty accurate for this kind of story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received a free e-copy of What Happened That Night by Deanna Cameron from NetGalley for my honest review.

A very powerful and emotional read that will leave a lump in your throat and tears rolling down your face.

This is a story of the murder of a local boy named Griffin Tomlin. Emily (Clara Porterfield's sister) is in prison awaiting trial for his murder. All along, she has sworn she is innocent.

A junior reporter, Aniston Hale, speaks with Clara because she wants to know the real story. Clara tells Aniston that she doesn't know anything but wants to help her investigate. Clara, however, is hiding things and is pretty sure she knows what happened.

I really enjoyed the time line changes of the story being told before the murder and after the murder. Very clever writing with so many amazing characters. This is a very clever, and well thought out book.

Please keep in mind that if you want to read this book it does deal with rape.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Wattpad Books in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of this book makes it sound like a YA thriller along the lines of Pretty Little Liars or something similar. Honestly this reads more like a YA contemporary, though admittedly the lines are a little sketchy. What Happened That Night is the story of Clara, whose sister Emily has just been arrested for murdering the golden boy of the school. You soon learn that said golden boy raped and brutalised Clara earlier in the year and she believes this is why her sister killed him. Most of the book is focused around Clara coming to terms with being assaulted and the fact that she hasn't told anyone besides her sister. She is also struggling with having romantic feelings for someone new. There are a few other elements but I can't really discuss them without spoilers.

This book had a very different tone than I was expecting and I was pleasantly surprised. As a Wattpad book, I wasn't expecting stellar writing but actually the writing is fantastic. It flows well, is paced brilliantly and you get a good sense of the characters in a short amount of time. I wouldn't class this as a thriller but there are some twists in the plot and factors that will keep you guessing. It handles the topics of rape and abuse mostly sensitively, bar one exception which I will discuss in a spoiler section on Goodreads.

Overall, this book manages to be a breath of fresh air in a rather saturated market. So long as you don't go in expecting breakneck twists and constant action, What Happened That Night is a brilliant example of a darker contemporary book handled some tough topics well. I'm looking forward to seeing more from this author and I'm happy that Wattpad can result in quality like this.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

This book did not work for me at all--overlong, repetitive, ridiculous plot points, and a weak protagonist. The subject matter is serious, dealing with rape, physical and emotional torture, and murder, and yet this book only managed to irritate me. Clara is the protagonist, but the author does nothing to make her more interesting than a potato. The story is told from her point of view with chapters alternating between 'before" (as in her neighbor's murder) and present day. She's a boring character whose actions are only brought about by other characters, otherwise she just mopes through the pages. There is a brief interlude where she meets a girl from the school paper and the two Nancy Drew a major reveal of the book because....apparently the police in this town are too inept? There are just irksome little details like this which seem too ridiculous in light of the subject matter.
Best thing I could say about this book is that the cover art is pretty awesome. Other than that, this is pure melodrama.

As always, thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad Books for the ebook ARC!

What Happened That Night is a harrowing tale of how one girl is betrayed by her sister and her crush in the most brutal way possible. Throughout her journey to find out the truth about her sister, Clara learns more about herself and finds comfort in the most unusual of places. What Happened That Night threw in unexpected twists and turns that held my attention throughout the novel and even made me gasp in places. Deanna Cameron weaves a picture of twisted justice and creates such an intriguing story that makes you wonder why people do the things they do.

This is a really good book. It does not follow ANY linear fashion, you think you know what will happen next....but no. Deanna Cameron has given us a murder mystery that is already solved and now must be explained from the inside out. The who, what, where, when and why of the story are told in a very unique fashion. As we learn more of the story, it just seems to get better and better.

This author sure knows how to grab your attention and suck you into the book. It was a fantastic read. Fast paced and well written

Jess and I pick books at least a month in advance for our podcast, Books Don’t Review Themselves, so when I stated What Happened that Night by Deanna Cameron, I didn’t remember anything about the synopsis. When I began reading it, I was afraid I was going to be reading a soft YA book with lots of teen drama. That could not be farther from the truth.

This book is hardcore. Which I thought was excellent. Cameron did not sugar coat anything. Although the story revolves around teenagers, the subject is a very mature one, and something that I think everyone, including teens, need to be aware of.

What Happened that Night looks at how rape effects the person it happens too and those around them. The guilt, the desire to draw into oneself, and the questions. Not only of the survivor, but those around them. Why didn’t the person tell them, do they really believe the person, why didn’t they see the changes? Although many people in the book were supportive of Clara, that is not always the case. And Cameron does a good job writing that side of the situation too.

There are a lot of twists in What Happened that Night, and the story keeps developing into a more complex situation. Although it’s apparent early on about the rape, the sexual sadism and psychological abuse slowly unfold and it was horrifying. And for me to say that, with all my reading and watching of horror and psychological thrillers, should not be taken lightly.

This world is not even close to being a supportive place for those who have been raped or were in abusive relationships, but I think if more young people were made aware of what these relationships look like and that they are not okay, perhaps some would be saved from having to go through it. Everyone needs to have the knowledge and skills to protect themselves, just in case. And if it still happens, then the support system to help them realize it is never their fault. If this has happened to you, I hope you find the support that you need. And if it hasn’t, then I hope you are able to support others who have gone through it.

"I felt tired of constantly picking up pieces, stuffing them into places they didn't belong, pretending as if it wasn't getting harder and harder to keep going."

There have been some disappointing thrillers this year but this book is not one of them. Taking place in Shiloh, a semi-urban town has been stricken with a big crime after a decade. Griffin Tomlin, the nicest guy in the town has been murdered. Clara Porterfield's sister, Emily, (his childhood friend and family friend of Tomlin's) has been arrested and awaits trial for his murder. No one understands why and no one knows what truly happened. But for Clara, her life has turned entirely while her mother, a vet, works on her garden every day as if nothing has happened while her father lives in denial of what happened and fights for his daughter. Clara knows why but she is afraid to tell it. The book revolves around Clara and her secrets and how she unravels the harshest and the darkest truths, with Griffin's best friend, Kolby and a student magazine reporter, Aniston by her side even in the times she shuts down and pushes them away.

The book cast me its spell on the very first page. It kept me hooked at every single page and made me gasp with its twists and turns. As simple as the story seems now, nevertheless, it turned out to be a better read than other thrillers so far! There was never a single moment which bored me or made me check how many pages are left. After a long time, I came across a book which made it hard for me to put it aside for the night and hours of sleep lost, is totally worth it! At a point, I was afraid that the ending might turn out to be a disappointment but it didn't. I didn't think I would love this book when I picked it, but, boy, was I wrong! The plot is very well constructed and the twists are finely crafted. I would LOVE to watch this someday as a movie/series! I love how each character has been given just enough of description and something that I observed in few writers these days is that they struggle with the whole "Show-not-Tell' technique by some over-descriptions but Deanna was perfect with it! The emotions, thoughts, experiences and everything else were realistically and truly explained. It is a very nuanced, compelling and intriguing read! I want to say more but I want to keep most of its brilliance to myself and let you explore it all by yourself!

Definitely, I will be re-reading it until the end of the time. Deanna has magic in her hands for story-telling and by magic, I mean, the superior kind! I would love to read more of her enthralling works!

Recommended: My review screams an absolute yes but it is quite triggering. The author's note, in the beginning, mentions what you are getting into. Do not rely on my description. I didn't want to let out some stuff. It is definitely recommended. You won't find me not talking about this book anytime soon.

I'm not quite sure what to think about this one - the writing style, and the age of the protagonists, made it seem like this book was aimed towards the YA audience, but the subject matter was a bit heavy for that. I will say I did a bit of skimming because I didn't care for the writing style, plus the plot was just a little over-the-top, but I was curious enough to finish it to see how it ended. 2 1/2 stars rounded up to 3 for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! I have to say I read a lot of psychological thrillers, but I don't remember ever reading something quite like this. Clara is a teenager, and her older sister, Emily, is in jail, charged with the murder of the teen boy living across the street. But, did she do it? Clara and her new friend start to dig into the case and what they find is more disturbing than anything.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and I kept finding myself wanting to know more. What really happened? Is Emily really responsible, and, if so, why? There were a few turns I did not see coming, and some of the scenarios may have been a tad far-fetched. But, if you like thrillers and mysteries, this is a good book to read!

"Griffin Tomlin is dead. And Clara’s sister killed him...

Four months after the murder, the entire town of Shiloh is still in shock. For Clara Porterfield, the normal world has crumbled around her in a million chaotic pieces. Now Clara lives in a new reality, where her sister awaits trial for murder, her mother obsessively digs in a dead, frozen garden, and her father lives and breathes denial. At school, Clara is haunted by her classmates' morbid curiosity - and all of the unspoken questions they won’t ask.

But none of them knows what she knows...

Now Clara's sister wants something from her - the one thing in all of this that Clara isn't ready to face: the truth about what really happened that night. Because this story didn't die with Griffin Tomlin. There's another story that needs to be told. And sometimes, the lies we're told are nowhere near as deadly as the lies we tell ourselves..."

My main question is, when did Wattpad start publishing physical books?

WOW! This was good. It gave me everything I wanted and then some. No spoilers in here, but thank you so much for giving me all the facts, events, timelines, and ending that I was hoping for. The only complaint I was was Aniston, I feel like she could have been less “omg I found all these clues and secrets and I know everything” type because I feel like she was such a random character out of the list of people in the book. I love this though and I can’t wait to buy it! Thank you Deanna Cameron and Netgalley for the ARC!

WOW! This is a very powerful story about a girl's sexual assault by a friend and his death at the hands of her sister. Not everyone and their actions are what you think and powerful secrets will be brought to light. You really get an understanding look at what a victim feels, thinks and goes through.

I didn’t realize what I was going to be reading about, when I started. There were triggers and at times it was really hard to read. I do think this topic should be written about and talked about. I applaud the author for doing so. 3 1/2 stars

What Happened That Night got me hooked right from the start and my interest never waned. Clara’s neighbour is dead and her sister is on trial for his murder. Clara knows more about this than anyone else, the police included but even she is learning more and more about that night as time passes and it throws her life into a wild ride. There wasn’t any major jaw dropping moments for me in this but so many great continuous twists and turns that my interest in the story was always piqued. There was also a direction the story line went in that not a lot of writers seem to want to take on these days and it’s good to see it’s been touched on (no spoilers here!). I’ve read a lot of thrillers lately that have been mediocre so this was such a nice change of pace!