Chevy Stevens's "Never Let You go was one of the most thrilling reads I've picked up in a long time. It tells the story of a mother/daughter entangled in the aftermath of an abusive relationship that took place over several years and ignites a mystery that follows them into the present day. The mother, Lindsey Nash, endured years of abuse at the hands of her ex-husband to the point where she lived in fear for her own life as well as that of her daughter, Sophie. They manage to escape, with Lindsey's husband spending years in jail in the aftermath of a horrible tragedy. Yet when he serves his sentence and gets out of prison, Lindsey realizes that the horror she once knew starts back up again, and a twisted web of vengeance ensues that has Lindsey questioning her relationships and igniting her aim to go on the run again. This doesn't bode well with Sophie, who believes her father's changed and is tired of running away from incidents that happened years before. Yet she realizes that she may be in danger as well as the mysterious incidents start ramping up, and she notes she may be a pawn in it all.

This book is heartbreakingly real and terrifying in points, particularly when it centers on Lindsey's survival of abuse and her desperate attempts at escaping her husband's twisted sense of control over her. Yet this book kept me guessing for the overarching mystery, even when there were moments when I thought I had it figured out, and it was satisfying to see the story march to its respective conclusion. As per Stevens's other novels, the writing is strong, evocative, and does well even between the perspective changes and shifts from past to present. It never felt out of place or overwhelming to me. Overall, I enjoyed this novel very much and am glad to have it as a part of my library. I definitely look forward to reading more of Stevens's work in the future.

Overall score: 4/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley from the publisher St. Martin's Press.

Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash escaped into the night with her young daughter and left an abusive relationship. Her ex-husband was sent to jail and she started over with a new life. Now, Lindsey is older and wiser, with a teenage daughter who needs her more than ever. When her ex-husband is finally released, Lindsey believes she’s cut all ties. But she gets the sense that someone is watching her. Her new boyfriend is threatened. Her home is invaded, and her daughter is shadowed. Lindsey is convinced it’s her ex-husband, even though he claims he’s a different person. But can he really change? Is the one who wants her dead closer to home than she thought?

Chevy Stevens targets her readership with a novel that hits all the notes they come to expect from her—and ratchets up the stakes even more in a novel that explores the darkest heart of love and obsession.

Reading this book made me wonder if I have read too many thrillers lately or if this book was too easy to figure out. I guess a bit of both, to be honest. I'm not saying that I did not enjoy the book, however, when everything in a thriller points to one thing (or in this case to one person being behind something, that's when I often grew suspicious.

Never Let You Go is a thriller that is not groundbreaking or even really thrilling, to be honest. It does have an interesting story and the main characters, Lindsey and her daughter Sophie, are easy to like. But, what the story really lacks is some great twist. There is just no shocking twist to the story. I was suspicions towards one character that turned out to be good, but looking back I see that he was just a red herring. But, the ending was just not surprising enough to raise my pulse. It was so ... logical. Even the reason for everything was something that was easy to figure out.

The book's strength lies in that both Lindsey and Sophie were so likable. Especially, Sophie. I fully understood her wanting her father to have repented. To be a good man, despite everything pointing to the contrary. I do admit that I was at first not really appreciating Lindsey. I do have a very black and white view of abuse and don't see why anyone would stay in such a relationship. However, love and fear can make people do all sorts of crazy things.

Never Let You Go may not have been so thrilling for me, but I enjoyed reading the book. While the twist may have lacked the shocking punches I was after did the characters impress me. This was the first book I have read by Chevy Stevens and I wouldn't mind reading more books from her.

Never Let You Go is the first book I've read by Chevy Stevens, and won't be my last. I've noticed the covers of her novels over the years and have always been captivated by them, making me wonder what stories lie within. She is an excellent writer, ramping up the tension at the right moments and causing you to question what you think you know about the characters. I loved it.

Never Let You Go is a gripping thriller that delivers a punch to the gut. Told from Lindsey and Sophie's (Lindsey's daughter) POVs as well as alternating between the past and present, I wasn't sure at first how all of that was going to work. However, I thought including scenes from the past was genius because they illustrated just how much danger Lindsey and Sophie were in with Lindsey's ex-husband (and Sophie's father), Andrew.

Andrew operates in an insidious way, and his subtle threats wouldn't have had the same impact if Lindsey had simply described her past. The reader needed to see and experience the various methods Andrew used to make sure Lindsey was under his control and miserable. During those scenes, Lindsey's suffocation from her controlling husband was palpable - I experienced those feelings right along with her.

I couldn't imagine having a father like Andrew, so when he gets out of prison, it's understandable for Sophie to desperately look for anything redeeming about her father despite everything her mother has told her about him. Still, I wanted her to stop making what I considered to be dumb decisions that could put her and her mom in danger.

I also thought it clever for the author to include other characters that had the potential to be a threat to Lindsey and Sophie. My only issue was that there might have been too many, and I started figuring out what was going on before I wanted to. I wanted to be kept guessing right up until the very end. I still highly recommend Never Let You Go for those like me who are constantly seeking new thrillers to sink their teeth into.

Trigger Warning: There's a scene where a puppy is harmed but not injured or killed.

I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher via NetGalley. Thank you!

For more reviews, visit my blog at Donnie Darko Girl

Chevy Stevens returns following Those Girls (2015), with yet another top notch Sleeping with the Enemy psychological domestic suspense thriller on steroids!

A long-time Stevens fan, reading every book she creatively crafts, and anxiously awaiting the next — Stevens once again showcases her highly creative plotting skills, an engrossing narrative, and her "signature ingredient" of keeping readers surprised, with her famous twists, while moving seamlessly between timelines.

Starting in November 2005, we meet Lindsey, married to Andrew and daughter Sophie. She knows one thing: She had to leave her husband. There was no more time. No matter what it took, no matter how risky it was, she had to get Sophie away from him. She needed to protect her daughter. She is terrified.

As with all domestic abusers, they remove all their victim's friends and financial resources, to keep them under their thumb.

Flash forward to 2016. Lindsey and Sophie are now living in Dogwood Bay. She has started a new life. She hopes the past is in the past. Or is it? Andrew has spent time in prison. He wants her to suffer. He was going to make her pay for every year he spent behind bars. He was now a free man and he was going to find her.

Is someone watching? Is Andrew back to act out his revenge?

Stevens flashes back and forth from between these two timelines and even further back to 1997 when the couple met. We hear from Lindsey and Sophie’s POV. The master manipulator. Is there more than one? Who can be trusted?

When she left him years ago, after drugging him, to enable their escape—there was a car accident. A young woman was dead. Someone had to pay.

From Sleeping with the Enemy, The Perfect Guy, Fatal Attraction and more, we always love the intensity of unfortunate protagonists finding themselves stuck with Mr, Crazy. Intense. The man masked behind the chilling monster inside. Unfortunately, not until too late, does he reveal his true self. Then the victim finds themselves risking their lives and others to escape.

As always, a master storyteller, Stevens adds her own clever twist. There is nothing ordinary or similar to this tale. A cautionary tale screaming “Do not trust anyone.” When you least expect someone, crosses your path. When you are most vulnerable, most trusting. They may seek you out for their own revenge.

Stevens delivers her most riveting grip-lit yet. The brutality of domestic violence. Frighteningly real, and all too familiar for many. In addition, it is among the hardest to witness, as for why many are free to continue on their destructive path, until it is often, too late.

The author knows how to build suspense, and keep readers on the edge of their seat From the darkest obsessions, the entrapment, control, and evil.

By adding Sophie’s POV, she reaches outside the couple to hear the fear of a child, a sense of loyalty, the consequences, and strong pull between the troubled parent's abusive relationship.

If you enjoy the TV series, Big Little Lies —you will be thinking of Celeste (Nichole Kidman) and Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgård). This guy totally gives me the creeps. He reminds me of my ex-husband. Rich, powerful, and crazy.

Highly recommend. For all my Chevy Stevens' GR Book Reviews. Trust me, you will want to read this one. Mark out the time. Unputdownable.

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an early reading copy.

This was a very solid mystery thriller.  I was hooked by this book from the first page and I had a really hard time putting it down.  I do have to say that the beginning of the story was a bit better in my opinion.  I liked the last half of the story as well but it just wasn't quite as enjoyable.  I picked up this book because I was looking for a change of pace and it definitely filled that need.  This book really turned out to be quite the page turner.

The book opens in the past and it does jump around in time for the first bit of the story.  Lindsey is the focus of this book and as the story beginnings we learn piece by piece what her marriage to Andrew is like.  There were some scenes that were truly frightening.  Eventually Lindsey is able to get away from her abusive husband with her daughter.  Her husband gets in wreck that same night that ends up sending him to jail for the next ten years.

Lindsey and her daughter, Sophie, have been moving on with their life.  Lindsey owns her own housekeeping business and Sophie is almost done with high school.  They have connections and are doing okay.  Sophie doesn't remember everything that happened between her parents and was shielded from most of it by her mother when it was happening.  She is curious about her father and reaches out to him while he was in prison.  Unfortunately, this means that he knows where they are.

This book took a few twists and turns and there were some things that happened that completely caught me off guard.  I thought that Lindsey's fear of Andrew was demonstrated remarkably well.  There were several characters that I didn't quite trust completely.  There were also more than a few moments that I really wished Sophie would just listen to her mother.  While I wasn't completely sold by the ending, I did really appreciate the fact that this book ended up in a direction that I would have never guessed.

I would recommend this book to fans of mystery thrillers.  This is only the second book by Chevy Stevens that I have read but I do enjoy her writing style.  I plan to read more of her work very soon.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley