This author is an automatic buy for me. This book kept my attention from beginning to end. Probably one of my favorites from this author!

Miley has had a hard life. She has always dreamed of being an Olympic medalist, and she has been training for the day. In preparation for Winter Olympics 2026, she is training and running, building stamina while also taking a summer job at a vacationer's resort. One day while out on a run and a swim in her favorite alpine lake, things go bad quickly and her life as she knows it will change forever. Forest mountain men kidnap her and take her back to their rustic cabin. "Preppers" think they are saving her from the end of the civilization as we know it, but in reality they are ruining her life. Will she escape? Are her chances of competing in the 2026 Olympics over? This is not my first read from this author, and it definitely won't be my last! Thank you NetGalley for giving me this opportunity to read and review this ARC!

Gray After Dark is a thrilling new book by Ask For Andrea author, Noelle W. Ihli.
Miley is an Olympian athlete who was injured in a tragic accident. Now in an attempt to get back on her feet and on the road to recovery and training, she takes a seasonal job at a mountain guest lodge.
During a routine run, Miley is abducted and held captive in an off-grid cabin in the middle of the Frank Church wilderness. Will Miley survive or will she become part of the local lore?
Gray After Dark kept me up late into the night, turning page after page to find out what happens next. It is a fast-paced thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Please be aware of trigger warnings listed in the beginning of the book. Thank you Noelle and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Reading Gray After Dark, felt so much like Noelle W. Ihli's book Run on Red which I did enjoy. When reviewing mystery/thriller novels, I try to keep my synopsis as simple as possible to let other readers piece together the clues as they read because that is my favorite thing about reading this genre and why it is my favorite genre.

In this book, we meet Miley, who is an Olympic athlete recovering from some emotional and physical injuries while working at a "resort" in the wilderness of Frank Church, Idaho. Given that she competes in the biathlon, what better place could she choose to work so that she can train for the next Olympics? Or is it?

Everyone at the "resort" warns her of a young woman who was working there 4 years prior and was attacked by a bear and never found. Miley is a strong young woman who has overcome such adversity, but she is also incredibly stubborn; pushing away someone who cares very deeply for her and not heeding the warnings given to her, ultimately leading to her abduction. Will Miley be able to escape her captors?

I truly enjoyed this book and now want to do some research into the true story this book was based on (the description is in the author's note at the end) because I am a huge fan of true crime. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions reading this book and felt like I could relate to the main character; her determination, stubbornness, and wit. The character development in this book was very well done, and the ending was not rushed, which I greatly appreciate in a thriller novel. There are some trigger warnings I feel are important: Stockholm Syndrome, violence, murder, animal cruelty, and SA. That being said, I do recommend grabbing this book as it is a riveting read and very well crafted, despite the difficult subjects that are addressed in this book.

I give this book 4 stars, only because the storyline felt all too similar to Run on Red, by the same author.

A huge thank you to Dynamite Books for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC of this book!

⚠ search for tws
⚠ contains spoilers

𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘆, 𝗮 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗛𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗿𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻. 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘄𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

I just learned that this is based on a true story from reading the author's note 🥶 Reading this made me shudder and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Every chapter ends on a cliffhanger, which makes me want to read it more (+ it has SHORT chapters) 🤓 It has been awhile since I read a thriller/mystery book because I'm always left alone at home (not complaining tho bcs I'm an introvert 🤸‍♀️) and being alone brings flashbacks to the books I've read in the past (bcs my mind ALWAYS plays me like that - ALWAYS anxious 😃). This book made me want to read Run on Red more!!

I used to silently wonder in the beginning of the book why she didn't tell Brent how she felt since she was already in love with him, but by the middle of the book, it all made sense. Rayna's constant criticism of Miley, which was also addressed in the middle, made me upset as well. 😅 Surely now I can relate because being in the woods for 4 years surely would alter my brain also. She has flight of ideas, delusion and dissociative identity disordee. She is also denial. (lol why am I incorporating psych here).

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆. 𝑶𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚! 🥳

"Opening up your heart is messy-and risky. But keeping your heart spotless is risky too."

Ihli brings you a devastatingly skin tingling layered story of survival against the elements and a story of survival against human evil while spotlighting the unyielding strength that determination and love can spark inside someone. A truly thrilling and powerful tribute.

This book was so much more than what I was expecting.Its so much more than just a thriller chalked full of jaw dropping twists and turns. Ihli brings grit, struggles, and raw and real emotions.I almost couldn't handle it. The combination of survival and fighting human evil just had me feeling some sort of way.

I was holding my breath in anticipation and my stress level were through the roof for the entirety of this book. Ihli wrote the imagery and descriptions to where it all felt a little too real and I was so enamoured there was no way I could tear my eyes away.

With a chilling fast pace and the intensity building with the turn of every page you won't be able to put it down. Chalked full of the good, bad and the ugly, there's something for everyone to walk away with.

It defenitly resonated with me and will for a very long time to come especially after reading the authors note.

If you love high stakes thrills you should definitely pick this up

A huge thank you to Noelle W. Ihli and Netgalley for the advanced hike through Frank Church and to Wes for thinking ahead and leaving a trail of yellow to find the way back home.🖤

I am sitting here speechless with my jaw on the floor. 🫠 This book had my heart racing! I think the author did an amazing job at recreating a story that was true from the start.
I enjoyed being able to follow both sides of the story, between Miley and Brent. I think the author was very creative in the writing of this story and the twists just kept coming.

There was only one part of the story I was able to guess but I wasn't disappointed when it happened! If you like books that will keep you on your toes, this is the one for you.

This is easily my new favorite book by Noelle. Even though I would like to throat punch a couple of the characters! (You'll know who I'm talking about! 😂)

Huge thank you to Netgalley, Noelle Ihli and Xpresso Book Tours for the advanced copy.

This was a 6 star read for me. I absolutely loved everything about this book. I didn’t even feel like I was reading, more like I was watching a movie. This author will be an always read for me from here on out.

I’m… completely speechless with this one. I think I’ll need several days to process what I just read because WHAT. All I can say is that this book could be used to define the suspense thriller genre. Be prepared to read the whole thing in one sitting. And know that it’s not for the faint of heart. 5+++ stars.

Huge thank you to NetGalley, Noelle W. Ihli, and Dynamite Books for giving me a free e-ARC in exchange for this honest review!

Took a little while to get into the book, but once I did it was a fast-paced thriller. I loved the fact that Gray After Dark is loosely based off a true story.

Make sure you check trigger warnings. This wasn’t an easy read- lots of dark material. But I liked Noelle’s style of writing and look forward to what she puts out next.

Thanks NetGalley and Dynamite for the ARC!

Thank you to Noelle W Ihli and the publisher for the advanced copy. This was my third book by Ihli and it definitely will not be my last. Gray after Dark follows Miley, an Olympian Biathlete who took a summer job at a resort in the Frank Church Wilderness area. We follow along as Miley faces a challenge greater than any other that she has faced. The story was fast paced and I could not put it down.

i really enjoyed this thriller! it took me a little bit to get into the story, but the background is essential to understanding the motivation and psychology behind the main character, Miley. i thought she was very well-written and i was rooting for her! this book gets super tense and i couldn't put it down! if you want a book with a similar stress level to No Exit, i definitely recommend this one. Noelle W. Ihli is quickly becoming a go-to thriller author for me, as this book is tied with Ask for Andrea as my favorite. she writes characters well while serving up a fast-paced plot.

i enjoyed getting Miley's POV, as well as Brent, Miley's friend's POV. Brent sets out to find Miley in the depths of the forest. i did feel like some realizations he came to about her disappearance happened a little too quickly/conveniently, but i understand that it's probably not the most entertaining thing to have him meandering around the forest with no direction. i feel like he could have struggled a little more with figuring out the clues, so to speak.

i didn't feel like the villains in this book were caricatures, which is important for me when reading a thriller with a clear antagonist. they were awful people, and all of the characters felt like they could be real--which may be the scariest thing about the villains in this book.

this was a tense book with short chapters that you won't want to put down. i loved being in Miley's head the most and being with her as she discovers what she needs to do to survive. this book is very psychological and can be disturbing, especially since this was loosely inspired by a true story, which is so incredibly sad. i would recommend picking this up if you like:
- fast paced books
- characters with trauma & secrets
- the movie Split
- books set in the wilderness

Gray After Dark is available now. thank you to Dynamite Books, Noelle Ihli, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This author knows how to keep me up at night. This book was so great. I love a book that has me thinking about how I can't wait to get home to keep reading. Adrenaline pumping thriller!!!

This was such an amazing story! It had me clutching my kindle for dear life and my anxiety through the rough as I continued reading.

Ihli’s writing was perfect. She captivates your interest from page one and keeps you I a chokehold til the very end. I loved Miley as a FMC, she was determined, strong, smart, and just an overall bada**.

This is officially my favorite book by this author. It was such a heartbreaking story, but at the same time, it was a story of survival. Love the fact that she was moved to write a story like this about a real life event. It makes the book all the more gut wrenching and terrifying. It was inspired by Kari Swenson, a biathlon athlete who was abducted and assaulted by a father and son in Montana in 1984. She went on to compete in the Oslo Norway Olympics in 1986. Amazing.

There were so many moments that my anxiety was so high I had to step away. I felt like I was in the story, right next to Miley seeing everything she had to endure.

Do yourself the biggest favor and add this book to your TBR. There’s not enough good things to say about this one. So perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to receive this ARC early! I’m always thankful!

** I received this book as an arc for free through NetGalley from Dynamite Books in exchange for an honest review.**

After a tragic accident derails Miley's Olympic dreams, she finds solace in a summer job at a remote mountain lodge. However, her peaceful retreat turns into a nightmare when she is abducted during a morning run. Held captive in a desolate cabin, Miley must rely on her athleticism and wit to survive. With an unexpected ally, she plans a risky escape as the tension mounts. Inspired by true events, 'Gray After Dark' is a gripping psychological thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the final page.

Overall rating: 4.3/5

Ratings:
1. **Plot and Storytelling:** 4/5 The plot of the story was well-crafted, and the storytelling kept me engaged throughout. While there were a few moments of slower pacing, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

2. **Characterization:** 5/5 I became invested in the characters, appreciating their strengths and flaws. It was easy to empathize with the characters I was meant to dislike and root for the underdog. Witnessing the main characters evolve and grow throughout the book added a unique depth to this thriller.

3. **Writing Style:** 4.5/5 Noelle Ihli's writing continues to impress me, showing improvement over time. The pacing was generally excellent, although I did encounter a small slowdown at one point.

4. **Originality:** 4/5 The story felt refreshingly original, especially with its basis in true events, adding an extra layer of eeriness to the narrative.

5. **Emotional Impact and Resolution:** 4/5 This book genuinely frightened me, particularly knowing its basis in reality. Experiencing a true thriller was captivating, and while the resolution tied up most loose ends, I wished for a bit more detail in the epilogue.

I do recommend that you get this book. It was eerie and entertaining. It would be a good summer thriller.

If you enjoyed this book I recommend Ruth Ware’s “In a Dark, Dark Wood.” This novel follows a reclusive writer who reluctantly attends a bachelorette party in a remote cabin in the woods. As tensions rise among the group, dark secrets from the past resurface, leading to a chilling and suspenseful tale. Another good one is Darcy Coates’ “The Haunting of Ashburn House.” While not strictly a wilderness thriller, this novel features a remote estate surrounded by dense forest. When a young woman inherits the eerie Ashburn House, she discovers horrifying secrets hidden within its walls and the surrounding woods, making for a suspenseful and atmospheric read.

Noelle W. Ihli’s suspenseful read Gray After Dark kept me so engaged I had difficulty putting it down. Loosely based on a real incident it tells the story of an Olympic bound athlete taken and held captive by two “mountain men”. Miley was an incredibly likable character, as were Brent, Wes, and finally, Rayna. Reading the Author’s Note after my marathon “I can’t put this book down” session I was so disheartened to read about the way the press handled Kari Swenson after her harrowing ordeal.
While the topic was gruesome, Ihli put the focus on Miley’s resilience, including dreams and encouragements from her deceased mother and Brent. I also loved how Miley helped transform Mary slowly back into Rayna. Ihli made the scenarios so very realistic as I found myself cringing, gasping, and ready to run. I know I would never have been able to endure living in that cabin. The men in the movie Deliverance have stayed in my mind since I saw that movie more than 50 years ago and I do believe the “mountain men” will join them there.
Many many thanks to Noelle W. Ihli for making me so thankful for the life I have lived, Dynamite Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of Gray After Dark which will be published on March 22. Four and a half stars!

My first book by this author, and wow!!! This is a super intense thriller. I could not put it down and it had me perched on the edge of my seat. Side note.. Please read the TW’s. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the chance to read Gray after dark by Noelle W Ihli. 5 stars

Fast paced, heart pounding scary. It was absolutely an intense read. Make sure to read the TW. It shocked me when I found out this was based on true events. If you love Noelle W. Ihli you will love this book. Thank you so much for allowing me read this book for an exchange for an honest review.

File this under: books that kept me up too late. Pulse pounding thriller is a way overused term, but that’s exactly what this is. In fact, it is legitimately all the cliches. Nail biting, anxiety inducing, page turning, edge of your seat - it all applies.

Miley was a strong character and easy to root for, and I liked having Brent’s perspective as well. I won’t give too much away on the plot - go into this one blind unless you are sensitive to certain topics.

Do I have some questions about logistics/timeline/location? Sure, but I’ll let it pass for keeping me turning pages way past my bedtime. Well written and engaging with solid characters. Knowing that it was loosely inspired by true events makes it even more compelling.

Thank you to Dynamite Books and NetGalley.

What have I just read? I'm in awe of Ms Ihli! This is an absolutely amazingly written story of 2 incredibly brave and strong women. Set in a remote part of a million acre pine forest in America. It follows their traumatic story of endurance in way that you feel you're right there with them. It can be really hard to read at times but stick with it.
If you thought Ask for Andrea was good, then this is way way bettèr and even more of an emotional read. It will stay with you for a long time and will be one of my top reads this year. Just absolutely fantastic.