Growing up in a small town where everyone knows everyone seems ideal . Families looks out for each other including Afton and Sydney’s families. Sydney has it all! Her Mom, Cynthia, is an angel who helps everyone. Her occupation is a counsellor and being the Mom of 3. Sydney’s Dad is a local hero for being the football coach of the high school team! Sydney is your typical teen with a bit of an attitude, a best friend (Afton) and a boyfriend named Drew.
Sydney her best friend Afton are attached at the hip and do everything together. This comes naturally to them as their moms are cousins and also best friends. Afton’s Mom, Vangie, is a the opposite of Cynthia. She is often absent and is catching up on life as she feels cheated for being a teenage Mom.
Cynthia takes Afton under her wing and treats her as her 4th child.
One evening everything in Sydney and Ashton’s world shatters. Ashton is accused of murdering her best friends father. Sydney’s Dad is dead. Afton is found holding a knife and no one knows what happened.
Afton.
Afton has had incidents of blacking out due to ourbursts or tantrums as child and it is believed she has killed in a rage. She can’t remember what has taken place. Afton is sent to a juvenile detention centre and then home to live with her Grandma.
This story resumes 20 years after the murder with flashbacks to the past. Lots of different voices and points of view are written by Afton, Sydney and Cynthia.
Will friendships remain in tact? Will they ever know what happened that night? An amazing book that will keep you guessing until the end!

Minka Kent, author of "The Stillwater Girls" and "Unmissing" brings us "After Dark." As much as I enjoyed her previous work, this one fell a little short for me. As a child, Afton was accused of committing an unspeakable crime. In addition to the obvious, the problem is she doesn’t remember any of it. She lives with her grandma, takes multiple medications for her mental illness and works at a local hotel. She comes into some money and sets out to free her best friend from her cheating, worthless husband. She also intends to figure out exactly what happened all those years ago that turned her into the town pariah. Portions of this book were unbelievable and I saw the “twist” coming. However, it was a quick read and held my attention. I would rate it 3.5 to 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher, Thomas and Mercer, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for my honest review. The expected publication date is November 14, 2023.

Minka Kent has been one of my favourite new authors in the suspense/ thriller genre
So I was so excited to read it and it did not disappoint, from the first page you are swept into the world of Afton and Sydney
Childhood best friends each chapter is told from their differing perspectives, along with flashbacks that eventually reveals the betrayal. This is a story that explores mental health and the ties that bind us to people. This was such a quick read because I literally read this book in one setting. If I had to say the one thing I wish Minka Kent had elaborated on was the relationship between Sydney and her mother. This was another brilliantly told story
Thank you Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for an advanced copy in return for a honest review #afterdark
Release date expected November 2023

Ooh I really enjoyed this book about a woman with repressed memories of MAYBE killing her best friend's Dad. About halfway thru I actually got chills! Great thriller!

Kudos to the author for bringing us a book that would leave you crave for more. A big thanks also to NetGalley for letting me borrow this book. The story is impeccable and the plot twist is superb.

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. After Dark by Minka Kent releases on November 14th, 2023.

After Dark by Minka Kent is a book of thrills and suspense. It works hard to keep the reader intrigued, and it does, however, it is not the best book I have read. The premise is interesting and it is definitely worth the read, but don't go in expecting a 5-star read.

The twists are fun but a little predictable. The writing is solid and it was a good book for what it is, though nothing stood out as 'amazing' for me. Overall, I would recommend this if you are just in need of a quick read that doesn't require too much focus to follow.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of After Dark by Minka Kent. She did not disappoint with this one, with all the twists, turns, secrets, and interesting characters! I was not expecting the ending of the book where we learn who actually killed Afton's mother’s lover, who turned out to be Sydney's father! I would recommend this book!

Oh this was a good one! The twists! I love a good twist and love Minka Kent’s writing style! Thanks for the opportunity to read this !

This is the book that I wish to forget I’ve ever heard of…

I’ve DNF’d this book last week and I couldn’t get myself to write a review of it. But I think here’s the time for it now so I can completely get it out of my system.

The saddest thing is that I don’t think it’s the book fault that I hated it. I love doing 24 hour reading challenges and I started reading this on one of those nights. Suddenly I got so anxious and worried, I thought first that it was the book, maybe it was in a level. I got so worried about that lottery ticket in the book, I felt like something wrong is going to happen. The main character of the story was a pariah, they treated her so badly because they believed that she murdered her mother’s lover in the past. This whole thing is stressed me out too much. I needed to stop reading the book, I had the absolute worst time with it. I couldn’t pick it back up after that, my experience with the book was too deep in the worst way possible.

I don’t know if I should even leave this review, but I really do believe in honesty and it’s important that this is my personal opinion. I’m not rating this book because of my experience, I would not see it fair to the book.
I don’t want to scare you away from this book, because maybe you would love it and I honestly would be really happy for you!

Thank you to @netgalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This story covers the series of mysterious occurrences in Afton Teachout's life, which include being accused of murder.
Her luck appears to change when she suddenly gets a financial break, but soon the chaos of her life continues with threats from an unknown.

This novel had its share of twists and turns and the effect of a psychological thriller where you are always wondering. I just wish that the Epilogue has been more detailed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an ARC copy of After Dark.

Oh my gosh, 5 enthusiastic stars! This was such a quick, easily read that was hard to put down. I've read so many books lately that have a million characters that are hard to keep straight but this had just a few distinct, interesting characters. The ending was really exciting and satisfying while being totally believable, which I also loved! Definitely recommend reading this as soon as you get the chance!

I remember reading The Memory Watcher and Watcher Girl by Minka Kent and enjoyed them. After Dark is a quick and gripping read. The atmosphere is well set with Afton living in her small town for another 20 years working in a spooky hotel after being accused of killing her mother’s lover during a blackout. Now coming into a windfall, Afton tries to help her friend/cousin Sydney get out of debt and find out if her husband is cheating, but eerie phone calls start and has someone been inside her house messing with her meds? A good, spooky read!

There are few authors that are automatic buys/give me the ARC the moment I get wind of it, and Minka Kent is one of them. I've read a handful of her books now and I know I'm in for a twisty, yet easy to follow book.


And After Dark was no different.

Told between the POVs of Afton and her best friend/distant relative (?) Sydney, Afton is accused and convicted for the murder of Sydney's father who had been having an affair with Afton's mother. However, Afton blacked out and doesnt remember a thing; she just knows she didn't do it.

Cast out from society, Afton watches as her best friend lives a seemingly idyllic life with her perfect house and perfect family, all while Afton works as a third shift hotel Night Auditor. Which, being in hospitality myself, I know that can take a drag on you mentally.

Once Afton starts to hallucinate events and her view on reality blurs (or refocuses), the events of that night start to fall into place and Afton might not be guilty after all.

I thoroughly enjoyed After Dark and felt that though slightly predictable, I had a few moments of doubt and disbelief. Though not in the customer service/hospitality industry. The customer entitlement on that was spot on.

I did find the Michigan Wolverines losing their basketball game to be believable enough. That passage made me chuckle.

Thank you Minka Kent and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I can't wait for the next publication.

Good but predictable read.
I really enjoyed the story and it was a quick read but the twists were fairly evident. The ending felt a little lackluster as well. Overall just a good story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher

I thoroughly enjoy reading Minka Kent books, and After Dark just adds to her amazing collection. At this point I don't even read her synopsis because she just has all around good book!

We start out with Afton being caught by her mother holding a bloody knife standing in front of Sydney's dad. The book then skips forward 20 years with Afton still in her hometown taking care of her grandmother Bea. With Afton being such an unreliable narrator you wonder if things she is experiencing is real or just her imagination. As Afton tries to remember what really happened 20 years ago, someone wants the past to stay buried. What lengths will be taken to insure Afton never remembers? After all, don't they say let the past stay in the past?

Thank you to Netgalley, Thomas Mercer Publishing, and Minka Kent for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Publication date for After Dark is November 14, 2023

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for this ARC.

I've read a handful of Minka Kent books over the last few years and have always really enjoyed them. After Dark is absolutely going to be lumped into that category as well. This book is told in past/present timelines through the eyes of Afton and Sydney who are distant cousins and best friends. Afton's mother arrives home one night to find Sydney's dad murdered in their living room (not a spoiler!) while Afton stands by holding a bloody knife. She has no recollection of how she ended up holding the knife and is ultimately blamed for the murder. After serving her sentence she returns to her hometown to care for her aging grandmother. The book centers around Afton's psychological issues, her relationship with Sydney as an adult, and navigating life as an outcast in her town. After what appears to be a psychological break, Afton begins to question everything around her as well as what really happened the night of the murder.

If you like books with unreliable narrators, this one is for you. With Afton's mental health being a big focus of the book, it leaves you guessing which details are real and which aren't. I'm usually a fan of the main characters but was VERY bothered by Afton for about 75% of the book. The chapters were short which kept me engaged and wanting to read onto the next immediately. The plot, although not groundbreaking, had me guessing 'who really did it' until the very end.

'After Dark' centers around Afton and her dark past... a past she can't seem to remember. This one even has dictated and ruined the following 20 years of her life. She's a social pariah in her town and ever thankful that her bestfriend (and her family) chose forgiveness... something that wasn't easy considering that she was accused of murdering their dad.

However, as Afton struggles to uncover the truth and shine light on everyone's secrets, someone is out to make sure things stay in the dark.

Kent does a wonderful job of creating vivid characters. I felt for poor Afton throughout the book (which also adds to why I felt the way I did). You feelt the frustration and confusion she does when things start falling apart. All the while thankful that she has Syndey and Cynthia to stabilize her.

The reason for a '3.5 star rating' is because I wasn't shocked when everything was revealed. Perhaps it's just me but I already knew it was coming. I was also.hoping so much for a sort of palpable retribution on Afton's behalf. Something tangible that would free her from the curse she's been burdened with for the last 20 years.

It was a fun read and Kent captures the 'small town' mentality perfectly.

So this suspense read leaves you with a lot more questions. It opens with a murder having just happened and the lead character is found with the weapon in hand. It then skipped to some twenty years later, after having served her sentence and for the most part, everyone involved having moved on in their lives. While she may have served her sentence, she doesn't even know if she was guilty or not, having blacked out. So a part of the story is her dealing with the lack of knowledge she has, while trying to keep a low profile in the town whom most residents think she got away with murder. Trying to make amends with her childhood best friend (whose mother was the one saving grace in her life during that time, and whose father was the one killed that fateful night.) There are several other incidents that happen that change her motivations. There is a lot of talk about mental health issues, and some mention of drug use/abuse. The book is written in a way that you can't really predict the outcome. With the murder or the other incidents, you just never know which way it will go. Was she guilty of that crime, or did she take the fall for someone else. It could go either way. I do wish there was maybe an extended epilogue that answered some of those questions we are left with. It had as somewhat open ending. But then again, this is a thriller/suspense novel, so it didn't disappoint in that perspective. There is no sexual content, and no violence in the pages. I'd say this is ok for teens and up (as long as they are mature enough to understand the whole mental health aspect of it.) It alternates POVs.

*I received an copy of this book from Netgalley.

I am a huge fan of Minka’s books so I was super excited to read this (thank you to Minka & Netgalley) for a copy.

After Dark tells the story of high school best friends, Afton and Sydney, following their lives into adulthood. 

The book captivated me from the prologue and I could not put it down, finishing it in one day. While it is not my favorite of Minka’s, I still found it enjoyable; a quick page-turner with a plot twist that was certainly surprising. My only wish for this storyline was to make the main character, Afton, a bit more lovable. I felt little attachment towards her and wanted to feel more. Overall, it’s a great day read and I highly recommend it!

It was my first Minka Kent book. It's a quick and simple read. Although there are a few surprises, much of what occurs is what I expected. Despite not being the most fascinating novel, there are a number of enjoyable moments. Sincere appreciation to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book for an honest review.