WOW! I’m struggling to find the words for just how intense this brilliant book is!

Olympic athlete Miley is abducted in the wilderness while out for a run, close to the summer camp she has taken a job with. When her torn and bloodied clothes are discovered, the search is called off, as it was for another young girl who disappeared a few years earlier. Bears actively hunt in the wilderness and that seems the logical answer to the mystery, for all except Miley’s oldest friend, Brett, who ventures out with Wes, another summer worker at the camp, to find Miley.

The story is narrated by Miley herself, who has been abducted by two men and is being trained as a “pet” and Brett, as he and Wes fight for their own survival as their supplies quickly dwindle.

The tension at so many points had me holding my breath, it was completely gripping and my heart broke for Miley as her captors fought to break her spirit. An incredible book, with a final “twist” in the author’s note, when she reveals that the novel is based on a true story! OMG!

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Noelle W. Ihli and Dynamite for an ARC in return for an honest review.

😳😳😳😳😱😱😱😱‼️‼️I couldn’t put this down! I wouldn’t recommend to those are triggered by sexual assault, torture, and abduction. I enjoyed the ending. We need more Brent’s in the world. Such a page turner. Noelle keeps me in suspense once again!

Well, Noelle W. Ihli fueled a fear I never knew I had! This suspense filled thriller is terrifyingly based on true events, married with fiction in a perfect storm of truth and plausibility that will bring you to the edge of your seat.

Miley, an Olympic biathlete, takes a job at a resort in a remote area of Idaho so she can earn some money while she trains daily for the next Olympics. The vast wilderness brings peace to Miley as she sorts through trauma so deep that it manifests in physical pain. The resort staff, worried about her safety, warns her of a bear mauling that ended in a former employee's grizzly death. Determined to up her training and armed with bear spray, Miley continues to train with daily runs through the forest.

When she doesn't show up for her shift one day, a friend become concerned about her wellbeing, and by the next day, it is apparent that something has gone terribly wrong.

Miley's boss calls her emergency contact, Brent - who is her teammate, best friend, and happens to be madly in love with her. Brent drives all night to reach the resort and join the search for Miley. After her bloody clothes are discovered and she is presumed dead by the police, Brent and Miley's coworker from the resort, Wes, are unconvinced and set out through the widerness to find clues.

For weeks, Brent and Wes search for Miley. Following every track, footprint, and clue they find. As their food supplies grow thin, Miley is fighting her own perilous battle. Kidnapped by survivalists intent on taming her to be a subservient wife, she is beaten and belittled repeatedly. Her only company is a woman named Mary, that after some thought, Miley comes to realize it is the girl that was presumed killed by a bear all those years ago.

Weak and inured, Brent and Wes are ready to head home when fate (in the form of a chicken) reunites them with Miley. But can they escape the wrath of the angry survivalists coming after her? What are the chances they can get out alive?

Gray After Dark is loosely based on the story of Kari Swenson, who was kidnapped by father and son survivalists in 1984.

Thank you #NetGalley, Dynamite Books, and Noelle W. Ihli, for early access to read this harrowing tale in exchange for an honest review. It will most definitely stick around in the dark cubbies of my mind for years to come.

Wow! What a read. I read this during every spare minute I’ve had for the last couple of days. There were definitely parts I had to struggle through. It’s not an easy book to read by any means, but it was more than worth it. I found myself pacing, scrolling through so quickly, then having to go back and read parts over because I couldn’t believe what Miley was going through. If you like thrillers, I would absolutely recommend this book. Please check the trigger warnings!

Thank you to NetGalley, Xpresso Books, and Noelle W. Ihli for the ARC.

This five star thriller was very intense!! It had me on the edge of my seat.. while I bit all my nails off! We follow a dual timeline of a girl who’s held captive and her fight to escape! This just became my new favorite of hers!

A MUST read that comes out tomorrow. Miley ia an olympic athlete that has taken a job at a summer camp in the wilderness of Idaho. While not working as a cook in the kitchen she continues to train by running the trails every day. It was her habit to stop at one of the small lakes and remove her running clothes to go for a swim. Her nightmare begins when she hears a shot in the forest and sees two men walking towards her. This book really scared me. These two men are psychos and Miley never knows what they are going to do next. Get this book! Gray After Dark by Noelle W. Ihli. 5 stars

Wow wow wow what another winner by Noelle. If I can count on any author to give me a heart racing, reading on the edge of my chair experience it's Noelle W .Ihli.

This book started strong from the start and I was addicted the whole way through. The characters were well written with emotion and depth, the villians were extremely anger inducing and the content very unsettling at times. The authors epilogue just sealed the deal for me that this book was so strong and emotional.

It was excellent told from multiple POVs and the ending was the perfect way to finish it off. Can't wait for more from this author who is now an auto-buy for me!

Thank you Dynamite books & Noelle for this excellent read!

4.5/5

Oh my goodness what I ride! First book by Noelle W. Ihli and it was amazing!

The book is inspired by a true story, a biathlon who was kidnapped, while out o her run.

So many feelings in this book. It is in two POV and you can really feel the emotions from both sides. I couldn’t put it down. There are so many trigger warnings in the book(listed in the beginning).

This is a very on the edge of your seat thriller. Many times while reading I kept thinking, geez did I really just read that?

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Dynamite books for an opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for a review.

Gray After Dark gripped me from the very first page and didn't let me go until I turned over the last page. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I recommend it if you like thrillers and reads full of suspense. My only warning is that it can be dark at times.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the Author for providing me with an ARC copy of this book.

“You don’t know Jack shit about taming a woman. You break them. Not the other way around.”

I love thrillers, I read a lot of them, and often they don’t hit every mark. This one did, as sharply as Miley can in her biathlon.

The characters in this book are beautifully fleshed out even the side characters, you really get a sense of who they are, what drives them and their feelings will be entwined with yours as you go through this fantastic book.

Kidnapping, FMC with skills and just excellent writing all around. This is one of the thrillers you have to read in 2024.

This book had me tied up in knots from the first page and I could not stop guessing as to what was going to happen and who I thought was involved. This has been my favorite read of the year thus far.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dynamite Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 3/22!

This book was a crazy ride from start to finish. I found myself reading this whenever possible just to know the next thing that would happen in the story and I could not put this one down. Told by 2 POVs, this author did an incredible job at creating time-sensitivity within the plot. I think I have a new fear after reading this! The characters were also well-developed and relatable. Definitely recommend picking this one up if you’re a horror or thriller fan, but please read any appropriate trigger warnings before doing so!

WOW.
This had me on the edge of my seat, sweating and and absolute nervous wreck, my first read by Noelle and I will be adding more to my TBR!
I absolutely loved this thriller, reading it in two days (fast for me) and have recommended to a number of people when i was barely half way through.
I love a kidnapping and the workings of "survivalists" but the two put together made for a tense, unputdownable read.
I only recently discovered this was based on the true story of Kari Swenson- a story I was unfamiliar with but will now never forget. A harrowing tale of survival and when the odds end in your favour.

Thank you Noelle and Dynamite books, all the best for release day!

As usual, Ihil has managed to keep me on the edge of my seat! I've always been a big fan but I think this may be my new favorite book by her! The suspense and twists and turns were done so perfectly!

Miley is a biathlon athlete training for the Olympics. She takes a summer job in the wilderness of Idaho working at a lodge before starting the heavy training needed to prepare for the next Olympic Games. Miley goes off on an early morning jog near a remote alpine lake when she she abducted by two wilderness “preppers “ (people preparing to survive in the wild when the rest of the world is destroyed or taken over). Miley is also carrying with her a lot of emotional baggage from her mother’s death two years earlier, and a lingering shoulder injury that may or may not be real. I went into this book without knowing much about it. It was disturbing and difficult to read at times, but yet, I couldn’t put it down. I think it was especially difficult to read knowing it was based on a true story. I think the book was well written and the characters were written in such a way that created strong emotions for me - there was fear, desperation, courage, determination, etc. I highly recommend this book, but be aware of triggers - kidnapping, violence (emotional, physical and sexual), Stockholm Syndrome, misogyny. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. It is due to be published on March 22, 2024.

This was my first Ihli book, and it won’t be my last. This gave me so much anxiety… being chased or in a situation where I have to escape is one of my worst nightmares. I wanted to scream RUN! like a million times. The best parts of this book though? First, the My Favorite Murder nod. I have been a fan since the podcast came out… I am an OG listener, and have been to multiple live shows. I was internally screaming SSDGM!! The other best part: the authors note. I had no idea this book was loosely based on a real life story.

4.25 ⭐️

For those who do not know, this book is inspired by the true story of Kari Swenson and her kidnapping in 1984. Kari was 23 years old when she was abducted by a father and son (for the purpose of keeping her as a bride for the son) in the Montana wilderness. Kari was rescued over 18 hours after her abduction and nearly died from a gunshot wound. I think Noelle did a beautiful job of portraying key details of Kari’s story, while fictionalizing it with the main character, Miley.

Miley is a 24 year old Olympic biathlon athlete (Kari was as well) who decides to take a summer job working at a resort in the Idaho mountains after a loss at Olympic gold and to further heal from a shoulder inquiry (due to an accident that occurred five years prior).
Despise her coworkers’ protests to wander about the woods and a tale about another resort worker who had been killed four years before by a bear, Miley still uses her spare moments outside of work to run and train (with hopes to try for the Olympics again in four years).

The day before the resort opens to guests, Miley decides to go for a run to a lake she had found days before. She doesn’t tell anyone, even a new friend/coworker, Wes, where she is going to run. While swimming in the lake, she encounters two men, father, Fred, and son, Hamish, dressed in pioneer styled clothing who have her exit the water by force. They claim to be the “last of the mountain men.” They live in a cabin deep in the mountains and believe the mountain belongs to them, killing and taking as they please.
Miley spends the next three months held captive by them, with the intention of becoming Hamish’s wife. Miley spends that time being brutally abused and brainwashed. She endlessly plans her escape.

The book quickly gets intense and it was difficult to put down. It does not let up to the satisfying ending. It was a great thriller. The conditions that Miley suffers are brutal. It is heart wrenching and terrifying, especially knowing a version of it truly happened. The last half had me shrieking with anticipation and worry.

Reading about Kari’s story after reading the book, Noelle inserted the major circumstances of Kari’s abduction quite faithfully. She dedicated the book to Kari and Kari’s friend, Alan (who was sadly murdered by her abductors).

I really enjoyed this book. It had my heart pounding. If you are fan of true crime, this would be a book for you.

I cannot wait to read more books by Noelle (already have them waiting on my shelf)!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me access to the ARC of this book. I greatly appreciate the opportunity.

i wanted to like this more but it was soooo dark. I know it's based on true events but it was too dark for me.

*Thank you NetGalley for the ARC*
(This comes out March 22- do yourself a favour and read this if you are a fan of thrillers)

This was inspired by Kari Swenson, a biathlon athlete who was abducted, assaulted and shot & nearly killed by a father and son living off-grid.
This book had me flying through the pages, I couldn’t finish it fast enough. It was fast paced, well written and had my attention the entire time. 10/10 recommend!

Thriller • 370 pages

“Today I was the torch” 🔥🔥🔥
WOW. I have read 3 of her books, and this one is my favorite so far! It is heart pounding, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. I couldn’t put it down, and it made me feel ALL of the emotions in the best way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to @noelleihliauthor and @netgalley for letting me read this a few days early! This is my first ARC, and I definitely started them with a bang. ♥️

Gray after Dark will be out on March 22! 📚