That Night

In this riveting, if overly ambitious thriller, Stevens (Always Watching) raises significant themes—bullying, troubled families, the difficulties ex-cons face—but doesn’t do them all justice. In 1998, high school sweethearts Toni Murphy and Ryan Walker went to prison for killing Toni’s younger sister, Nicole—a haunted girl with secrets no one guessed. The most damning—and false—testimony came from classmate Shauna McKinney and her friends, who had tormented Toni for months before the murder. Fifteen years later, Toni and Ryan return home on parole to Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Although they’re legally prohibited from contact, Ryan asks Toni to help him clear their names. Meanwhile, Shauna is determined to send them back to prison. Toni finds an unlikely ally in Shauna’s teenage daughter, Ashley, perhaps the only person who wholeheartedly believes Toni and Ryan are innocent. Despite some wooden secondary characters, this is an exciting page-turner with an incisive twist. Author tour. Announced first printing of 150,000. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Agency. (June)