Never Let You Go

Starred review from January 23, 2017
Lindsey Nash, the narrator of this superlative psychological thriller from bestseller Stevens (Those Girls), has built a good life for herself and her teenage daughter, Sophie, in Dogwood Bay, a lakeshore town in British Columbia, since fleeing with Sophie from her abusive husband, Andrew, 11 years earlier. On the night Lindsey left, Andrew—drunk and enraged—followed them, causing a car accident that left an innocent woman dead. Andrew went to prison, but now he’s out, and Lindsey is certain he’ll make her pay for every day he spent behind bars. When the local police are unable to assist Lindsey after an increasingly frightening series of incidents (a pet bird killed, a dog poisoned, a hit-and-run), Lindsey turns for help to her friend and self-defense teacher, Marcus, a former psychiatrist with a tragic past who develops into a love interest. Stevens’s taut writing and chilling depiction of love twisted beyond recognition make this a compelling read from the first page to the last. 150,000-copy first printing; author tour. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Agency.

Two narrators deliver this tense mystery. Rachel Fulginiti delivers the chapters told from the point of view of Lindsey, who has escaped her abusive husband, Andrew. She's starting over with her daughter, Sophie, whose story is narrated by Caitlin Davies. The descriptions of Andrew's escalating abuse are difficult to listen to but essential to understanding Lindsey's terror when he makes a reappearance. The claustrophobic suspense is beautifully conveyed by the measured desperation in Fulginiti's voice. Davies is perfect as the teenage Sophie, who is both struggling to understand her mother's situation and longing for a father. The intimate portrayals of the female characters help to compensate for an overly long story that lacks enough twists to sustain it. However, the climax more than makes up for any shortcomings. C.A.T. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine