Those Girls

April 6, 2015
At the start of this gripping thriller from bestseller Stevens (That Night), the three teenage Campbell sisters flee their rural Canadian home in the summer of 1997 after the youngest, Jess, kills their widower father, an abusive alcoholic. When the sisters’ truck breaks down near a town called Cash Creek, they encounter Brian and Gavin Luxton, sadistic scions of a local ranching family, who rape and torture them for five days until the girls escape. Eighteen years later, the Campbells live under different names in Vancouver, but the past still haunts them. When Crystal, the middle sister, experiences a troubling flashback, she decides to return to Cash Creek to kill the Luxton brothers. Stevens skillfully builds suspense, but often draws characters with broad strokes, sacrificing depth for pacing, and a few niggling details (such as the timing of Brian’s marriage) remain unexplained. Despite its flaws, this fast-paced nail-biter will keep readers up late—and may evoke a few tears. Announced first printing of 150,000. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Agency.

May 1, 2015
It was a British Columbia summer, "so hot you couldn't walk outside without feeling your skin cook," when 14-year-old Jess killed her father. It was a fitting response to multiple abuses. This time, home from the Alberta oil fields and drunk, he attempted to drown Jess' older sister Courtney in a toilet. Dani, oldest of the Campbell girls, took charge. The sisters buried the body in a hog pen and set off for Vancouver, running out of money in the worst possible place-Cash Creek. Gavin and Brian, two boys from a nearby ranch, offered work, but that was a ruse. Brian, while amoral, is the lesser villain, but Gavin, danger "rolled off him in waves, a dark and cold energy," is a fearsome psychopath. The sisters are held prisoner, tortured, and raped. There's a fight. The girls escape. No police, because of the father's death, but Allen, an ex-con bar owner with a pay-it-forward mindset, helps the sisters get to Vancouver. Jess narrates this story, with anger, confusion, and regret over the shooting spilling out. In Vancouver, a friend of Allen's helps with new identities for the sisters-they're now called Dallas, Jamie, and Crystal. Then Jess/Jamie turns up pregnant, and there's a moving portrayal of the elemental connection between mother and a child in womb. Seventeen years later, the novel's second half unfolds from daughter Skylar's, point of view, its violent climax triggered when Skylar's curiosity sends the always-unstable Courtney/Crystal to seek revenge at Cash Creek. Thinking "I was the reason she decided to take off," Skylar follows. There, "betrayed, angry, scared, ashamed, and terrified," Skylar makes a surprising discovery. Tense, believable, and action-packed, made more vibrant by Stevens' sense of place.

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May 1, 2015
Life is rough in small-town British Columbia for the three Campbell sistersDani, almost 18; Courtney, 16; and Jess, almost 15after their mother dies, leaving them with their abusive, alcoholic father. One night, when their father appears to be drowning Courtney, Jess shoots and kills him, so the girls hide the body and take off for Vancouver. But when their truck breaks down, they trust two brothers to help them; instead, they're kidnapped, beaten, and raped for five days before escaping. With the help of strangers, the girls make new lives with new names (Dallas, Crystal, and Jamie Caldwell), then find that Jamie is pregnant with a daughter she can't bear to give up. When that daughter, Skylar, is 17, there are hints that history might repeat itself. Stevens' fifth novel has echoes of her blockbuster debut (Still Missing, 2010), which remains unmatched in thrills by her later work, including this plot-driven tale in which women can be strong and not just victims, and evil can be counteracted by a few good men. For the author's following or for those who like a frothy mix of suspense and melodrama.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

February 15, 2015

Stevens, who's done nicely since Still Missing won the 2011 Thriller Award for Best First Novel, returns with a tale of three sisters. When Jess, Courtney, and Dani Campbell flee their ranch in western Canada and their father's vile temper, their truck breaks down in the worst spot imaginable, with such unwelcome consequences that they must change their names and reinvent themselves. All's well until, years later, one sister disappears.

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2015

The bond between sisters runs deep, especially when murder is involved. Teenage siblings Dani, Courtney, and Jess are trying to eke out some happiness in their lives. Living in an isolated farmhouse, they anxiously await the return of their abusive and alcoholic father, who has been away for a month working on an oil rig. The homecoming is worse than they anticipated; when their father learns Courtney is having sex with a married man, he burns her face with a hot frying pan and then attempts to drown her. Dani and Jess try to intervene until Jess shoots him dead. Panicked and fearing another trip to foster care, or to prison, the sisters dispose of the body and flee. They're out of the proverbial frying pan and unknowingly running straight into the fire. VERDICT Stevens's fourth thriller (after That Night) weaves such an engrossing, suspenseful tale that readers will wish they could warn the protagonists of the dangers that lie ahead. Highly recommended for fans of the genre who relish nail-biting suspense as well as stories about the endurance of family and the human spirit.--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2015

The bond between sisters runs deep, especially when murder is involved. Teenage siblings Dani, Courtney, and Jess are trying to eke out some happiness in their lives. Living in an isolated farmhouse, they anxiously await the return of their abusive and alcoholic father, who has been away for a month working on an oil rig. The homecoming is worse than they anticipated; when their father learns Courtney is having sex with a married man, he burns her face with a hot frying pan and then attempts to drown her. Dani and Jess try to intervene until Jess shoots him dead. Panicked and fearing another trip to foster care, or to prison, the sisters dispose of the body and flee. They're out of the proverbial frying pan and unknowingly running straight into the fire. VERDICT Stevens's fourth thriller (after That Night) weaves such an engrossing, suspenseful tale that readers will wish they could warn the protagonists of the dangers that lie ahead. Highly recommended for fans of the genre who relish nail-biting suspense as well as stories about the endurance of family and the human spirit.--Susan Moritz, Silver Spring, MD

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.