This was such a great book! The twists and turns were so entertaining, and constantly left me wanting to know more. It went in directions I wasn't expecting, and kept me hooked the entire time. I definitely recommend for anyone who loves a good thriller!

Amazing! I couldn’t stop reading this and I was shook at the ending! Minka books just keep getting better!

After Dark is a psychological thriller about Ashton and Sydney, best friends/cousins, and a murder that took place when they were seventeen.

In 2003, Ashton was charged with the murder of Sydney's father in a blind fit of rage. Ashton has no recollection of what happened and very quickly becomes the town pariah.
Now, 20 years later, Ashton is still the town pariah. She keeps to herself and works the graveyard shift at the local hotel while trying to make amends to her friend and family. She still has no idea what happened that fateful night.

Throughout the book, we hear a lot about Ashton's mental health and possible delusions, leaving the reader questioning what is real and what is actually fact, as she navigates her daily life.

I love Minka Kent's books and have read them all. This one just didn't seem to hit the mark for me. The premise was fantastic, but I felt I was left with too many questions at the end. Mainly, why ?

But it's a great solid read, which I enjoyed.

“My mother always says that inside each of us is a stranger - someone who looks like us and sounds like us, but is anything but. She calls it our shadow self. It’s where we keep our anger, our shame, our guilt, our darkness.”

A fantastic standalone psychological thriller!

Don’t you often wonder how authors come up with names for characters? I’d love to know how Minka Kent arrived at ‘Afton Teachout’ for her protagonist. Even more puzzling than the FMC’s name is her ‘friendship’ with her best friend and her family after allegedly killing Sydney’s dad. How can you remain friendly after you see your bestie with a bloodied knife and your dad dead? I was hooked - especially after learning that Sydney’s dad was Afton’s mom’s boyfriend! What toxic relationships.

What follows is a dual timeline revealing Afton’s friendship with Sydney; it’s dark and full of secrets! The author examines mental health and questions whether a deferred sentence really means freedom or if it’s just as limiting as a conviction. Sometimes, second chances aren’t all they are cracked up to be….even after a windfall! Even after boring shifts at the Grantwell Hotel in Shelter Rock. Just ask Afton! I had to suspend disbelief for a few moments and I didn’t know whether to trust the narrator, but I was on the edge of my seat and I was entertained.

You’ll have to read this well-paced quick read to get an inside look into the strangers, the ‘shadow self,’ within Afton and Sydney. Know this, you’ll have plenty of questions unanswered!

Anyone else need a sequel?

I was gifted this copy Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Minka Kent has an uncanny talent for keeping readers on their toes. This book follows the friendship of Afton and Sydney throughout high school and into adulthood. Vangie, Afton's often-absent mother, makes poor life choices that lead to her daughter being accused of a murder she can't remember committing. After the murder of Sydney's father, allegedly at the hands of Afton, a friendship is changed forever. The story follows Afton through psychotic episodes, hallucinations, and a winning lottery ticket that will change her entire life. A wild ride that you won't want to hop off of until you reach the very end and discover the truth of Sydney's father's death. Four stars. Not as gripping as her other titles, but definitely worth the read.

The story is well written with plenty of plot twists and turns to keep you from guessing the ending.

Thank you to Minka Kent, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc of this book.

After Dark was a really interesting read. It was suspenseful and unsettling, and I appreciated that it felt authentic when it delved into aspects of mental illness.

The author kept me interested throughout the story. It was clear to me early on that some characters were not as they seemed and were a little too good to be true. I was very eager to find out their true nature. As you keep reading, you’ll likely be horrified by certain characters’ deviousness.

I found the ending satisfying—a fitting conclusion that gave each Afton and Sydney what they deserved.

Minka Kent’s newest book does a great job looking at memory and how reliable, or in this case, unreliable it can be. Told from the alternating points of view of Afton and Syndey, two girls that have been best friends since childhood, the reader is whisked into their lives where nothing is what it seems. Afton has always struggled with having black outs and when she’s found holding a knife with the dead body of Sydney’s father the whole town turns against her. Her and Sydney stay friends and as adults they each have their struggles. This book certainly kept me on my toes and is the definition of un- reliable narrators. It was a quick read and overall enjoyable.

After Dark Minka Kent

The thriller/mystery genre is extremely hit or miss for me. It needs to grab me and hold me the whole time. If I’m not escaping my realty, then what is the point of reading? Minka Kent has never disappointed me. This is the first time I’ve read a book by her, the other three books I’ve listened to on audio book. Reading her book was just as nerve racking as listening.

Afton was a very easy to follow character who I was routing for the whole time. Minka never disappoints when the ending all comes together. Thank you Netgally for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review. I do believe Unmissing still holds the number one spot in my heart but After Dark is very close.

Wow. This book was twisted and dark and I was here for absolutely every page of it. I couldn’t put this one down. Add it to your list IMMEDIATELY!

𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓--𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒖𝒕. 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕, 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.

If you handed me a book with no cover and the author's name missing, it would only take me a few pages for me to know I was reading a Minka Kent book. She does a slow burn like no other, and it's a testament to her skill as a writer that I am usually impatient with those, but she keeps me glued to the pages.

Afton Teachout is a persona non grata in her small town. She was accused of murdering her mother's lover in a fit of rage so fierce it brought on a blackout in which Afton has no memory of the event. A sympathetic judge took pity on her and gave her the lightest sentence possible.

Afton now keeps to herself, working the night shift at a boutique hotel, taking care of her grandmother, and counting out the pills that let her sleep and keep the blackouts at bay. But when an unexpected financial windfall lands in her lap, she realizes she has the means to leave the town where people still glare at her--but that also means leaving her best friend Sydney. More than anything, Afton wants to help free Sydney of her toxic marriage and money woes. But the more Afton focuses on Sydney, the more her own past comes into focus. Between the calls from restricted numbers and the feeling that someone is lurking outside her home, Afton is starting to think that her luck is turning sour.

I can't say anymore without dropping huge spoilers, but if you want a gripping read about friendship and the psychology of memory, grab this one when it publishes November 14, 2023, from Amazon Publishing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my early read.

This book revolves around the relationship between Afton and Sydney who have been best friends since childhood. The story predominately takes place in the present with occasional chapters taking you back to events in their past. Afton struggles with mental health issues including black outs. While Sydney got to live the fairy tale life of marrying her high school sweetheart and having a family of her own. An horrific event of the past hangs over their relationship. While one struggles to deal with unanswered questions, the other wants to leave the past far behind. When the truth comes out, will their friendship weather the storm? Great read.

This was an enjoyable read, but I found that I picked all of the twists from very early on in the book so it was a bit predictable

Thank you Thomas & Mercer for my Netgalley copy of AFTER DARK by Minka Kent, out 11/14/23! I found out after reading this is an imprint of Amazon, UGH. Very displeased with this information because the book was decent.

After Dark follows two women, Afton & Sydney. Afton is a pariah in her town, accused of murdering Sydney’s father twenty years ago, who was the secret lover of Afton’s mother.

Afton is now living with her grandmother, working as a night shift hotel clerk and relying on pills to get a wink of sleep. Afton learns she won the lottery and is now a multi-millionaire, so she sets a secret plan in motion. Even with Afton’s accusation, her and Sydney are friends with the push of Sydney’s mother on a path of forgiveness. Afton plans to help Sydney leave her toxic husband who she suspects of cheating.

Soon, her intentions spin out of control and a LOT of twists happen. This book is HIGHLY unrealistic. It’s completely laughable. It borderlines on psychotic quite honestly. What kind of friend goes to the lengths Afton does to help Sydney? If you read, you’ll understand what I mean. Talk about a lack of boundaries and inappropriate relations. And the ending… I do not buy that Afton would just let THAT slide. This book is good if you’re looking for a fast read that you can finish in 24 hours. But it’s not good if you’re looking for a probable plot line. It is bonkers. Leave it to Amazon to publish something so stupid.

After Dark was a true shocking thriller. You never see the story unfolding as it does, but you know someone is hiding something. It really made you wonder if Afton was blocking out a trauma because of her crimes. It kept me invested because I had to know what really happened and who did it. She seemed so loyal and helpful to the only people who cared for her, but we learned some relationships are only one sided, and nothing else but their own happiness matters.
When you realize things are just an illusion there were so many questions as I read, some answered, and others left me just as confused as Afton. I personally became angry because she gave up so much and it was brushed off and everyone just went on about their lives. This story was sad for me and I wished there was more justice for all the characters.

I love these thrillers from Minka Kent! This one took a little bit to really get into but once I was in-I was hooked. I really felt for Afton, she has had alot of trauma in her life, and did not deserve the cards she was dealt. Just when I thought-WOW-she is finally got things under control and will be able to live her true life, another card is dealt! This story had some twists that were surprising, and you really want Afton's life to turn out like she deserves.

HOLY WHIZZ, this was a diabolical, twisted and clever book. It was a slow burn which I loved. I adore Minka's books but this one felt different. I thought I had figured it out early on, I was shocked by the development of the story as the book progressed. Such a fantastic read. BRAVO I LOVED this one ! 5 STARS

I really enjoyed this book! It was finished in two sittings. The storyline kept me guessing. I definitely was not able to guess the ending. Overall, the story was great. I do feel a bit cheated with some of the ending though, in terms of character development. The characters were well written in the beginning but by the end, when motivations changed, that kind of fell away. Overall, definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy of “After Dark!”

Afton was accused of murdering her best friend’s father 20 years ago, but it’s a crime she doesn’t remember committing! Slowly we see the past unfold. Is it Afton’s mental illness that caused this act of rage or is there something more sinister at play here?

We are taken on a wild ride with Afton who just wants to find out what happened that night. This book was engaging and kept me turning the pages for more. I knot everything that Minka Kent writes. Don’t miss this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc on After Dark. I enjoyed this story with all the twists and the different narratives . The ending was unexpected but satisfying.
Another great Minka Kent read.