A suspenseful page-turner! This is quite good, and a book you'll have finished in record time. I had my suspicions through the story and there were no surprises for me, but this is still a gem for thriller fans. The main protagonist, Lindsey Nash, is very strong and will do anything to protect her daughter. Many readers will love this book because of the quality writing and the way it draws you in.

This is the first time I've read a novel by this author but it won't be the last. Great character and plot development. The author is good at foreshadowing and then throwing you off the plot line. Intense and troubling at times I really enjoyed it. Definitely keeps you guessing!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! I've read all of Chevy Stevens books and knew from page one I would love this one too. It is disturbing in a can't put it down way, with just the right amount psychological spousal abuse and general. sociopathic naughtiness. Ms. Stevens knows how to take the reader in so many different directions one can only hang on tight until the climatic ending. DON'T start this if you absolutely need to do something else, like work, take care of living beings, or sleep. Bravo for such a fun escape!

This is the book that finally got me out of my reading slump! It also had me up way past my normal “lights out” so that I could read just a few more pages. And truly, the last 50-75 pages are best read all in one sitting if possible. You will not want to put it down.

This is the story of Lindsey and her teenage daughter, Sophie. When Sophie was just a young girl, Lindsey took her and went into hiding from her controlling, alcoholic, verbally (and sometimes physically) abusive husband. Skip ahead about 10 years and suddenly there are signs that someone is stalking her. Could her husband have found them? As you read along, you will begin to question everyone in their lives….who is the true culprit? Is it even just one person putting them through this stress or a few? You will change your mind multiple times as you read along.

Although I’ve had other books by Chevy Stevens on my “to read” list for a long time, this the first one I have actually read. It will NOT be my last. She is definitely an author I want to read more from.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this fabulous page turner in return for an honest review. Loved it!

A pretty good read. Enjoyed the book. A little bit predictable with the outcome.

Another gripping story from this author. Powerful, thought provoking tense thriller that keeps you guessing and full of some really surprising twists. And then it hits you !

This was my first book by Chevy Stevens and I will definitely be reading more from her. Never Let You Go is told from the alternating voices of Lindsay and her daughter, Sophie. The book is fast paced and has many thrilling moments of suspense. If I hadn't been on a super busy vacation, I know I would have finished it within a day or two.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Chevy Steven's Never Let You Go is a story that not only spans Eleven years, but also alternates between two characters: Lindsey Nash, and her daughter Sophie. The story weaves its way through Lindsey's life both while in the past while being married to her ex-husband Andrew Nash, to being a single parent who operates a cleaning business trying to provide for her daughter who is a brilliant artist. It is a story of abuse, of sad circumstances, of choices made on the spur of the moment, and of course, twists that will leave you guessing.

Never Let You Go is set wholly in and around the Canadian Northwest. Lindsey is an interesting character who is realistic in many ways. She truly believed in happiness except when that happiness is shattered by jealously, anger, and feelings of inadequacy thanks to her husband who claims to love her unconditionally. Lindsey is a woman who puts all the blame on herself, never her husband until the realization finally dawns on her that this wasn't normal. Lindsey is a character study in why abusive women remain in a relationship
because they feel that if they leave, they will not survive. Women in abusive relationships often feel little, or worthless. Lindsey eventually gets to the point where she has had enough and runs with her daughter only to discover that she may have played a huge role in an unfortunate series of events.

Never Let You Go is a story that doesn't break any new ground when it comes to attempting to stimulate the reader into staying focused on what the author is trying to weave. It is a story that weaves between Lindsey's past life with Andrew, one that had some warm moments that turned into a nightmare, to the present where she gets the news her husband has been released from prison. What the present shows us is that Lindsey is still terrified of Andrew and will do almost anything to keep him away from her, and Sophie. Then, when strange things start happening where Lindsey works and lives, Lindsey's life once again gets sent into upheaval.

Sophie is a character you have to make up your own mind about whether or not you would have done the same thing in her situation. Would you have tried to reconnect with your father? Would you have met with your father who treated your mother like crap? Imagine growing up not understanding what really happened between your parents. Imagine that you lost your father for years to a bad, no dumb move on his part, and that father returns to hope for a reconnection to his only daughter who he loves unequivocally. A daughter who was told of all the horrible stuff her father did, but still, he's her father. Can one actually forgive Sophie for wanting to connect with her father, and find out if he truly is the monster her mother told her about?

I've said before, and I'll say it again, I read way too many of these books not to correctly guess who the villain of the story is. In this case, I knew who the villain was at an early stage, and noted that I was going to skip over the rest of the book from Chapter 24 forward. It doesn't mean that this story is bad. It just means that I put the pieces together, saw the evidence before it was actually brought to light. My complaint lies also in the ending. I've also watched too many Lifetime movies, and I've seen this happen over and over and over again. I want unpredictably in my diet. I want to turn the last page of the story and say, well, wasn't that freaking awesome!

Chevy Stevens just doesn't disappoint. She is a great suspense writer. I liked the story line in this book - a mom and daughter staying away from the abusive husband/dad. But there were enough other "shady" characters that you didn't know who was messing with them.

Tamara and I featured Chevy Stevens' previous release That Night as a Book Talk with R and T selection. (Read my review here). I already knew what I was getting myself into when I sat down to read Never Let You Go, but I almost stopped after the first couple chapters. To put it lightly, it's intense. I wasn't sure if I could handle it. But I kept at it and of course, I was hooked and couldn't put it down. I wanted to throttle teenaged Sophie a few times but that just made the book more realistic 😉. I especially loved that I didn't have it all figured out. I hate when that happens! I was guessing right to the end! Grab this new release right up but be prepared to not be able to put it down.

This was a very intense thriller about a woman who manages to free herself and her daughter from her abusive drinking control freak husband, only to find he's found them again several years later. When Lindsey finds out that her daughter Sophie had initiated the contact to her father she is furious, but Sophie insists Andrew has changed and is a different man. But fears runs deep and Lindsey won't ever be able to forgive him for what he did to her family - especially when weird things start happening, like someone breaking into her house and snooping through her things. She is intent on getting her life back - once again - and is determined to get Andrew back behind bars. Thankfully, she has new friends that support her - Greg, her 'friend-with-benefits', and Marcus, who teaches her self-defense fighting techniques. Then Sophie starts dating a boy who seems to have a possessive streak just like Andrew, and Lindsey fears her daughter might repeat her own errors. But things are never what they seem in this story full of twists, which is masterfully proven especially at the end.

I loved how the story went along in a zigzag fashion, never following a straight path, but instead taking unexpected detours and suddenly heading towards a totally different destination. The first half I devoured without a blink, and while there came a couple of slower pages after that, I was almost grateful for the short break it offered to take a deep breath before immersing fully myself in the story again. There were a couple of scenes that felt slightly awkward and made me wonder whether to believe what happened, but then again Lindsey's paranoid behavior was as convincing as Sophie's desperate longing for a real father. The story was told in turn by Lindsey and Sophie, which made it easy to understand both their hopes and fears and how they had to collide during the course of events. 'Never Let You Go' is a thrilling tale made of the finest page turner material.

3.5 stars because I had most of the plot figured out. I felt the story had some pretty intense moments as the plot flipped between Lindsay's past and present. Chevy Stevens has a real gift for writing a page turning suspense thriller. Mother-daughter relationships seem to be Stevens forte in her books and the present day narrative passes between Lindsay and her teenage daughter, Sophie. BUT the greatest strength in the story that kept me busy wondering was "How reliable is Lindsay? " It's a side effect of reading so many suspense thrillers with female protagonists that may be unreliable. I feel like I cannot trust anybody in fiction anymore!

If you're interested in picking up a Chevy Stevens book, this is a good book to start with.

Lindsey's marriage was a nightmare. She finally escaped with the help of her brother, and her husband went to prison for another matter. After ten years he's being released. What will happen now? He's not the kind of guy to forgive and forget.

The story opens on a Mexican beach where Lindsey and her husband are vacationing with their young daughter Sophie. When Lindsey accidentally touches fingers with a waiter as he serves lunch, Andrew is enraged. Lindsey is tense and worried about what he'll do to her later. As usual she keeps a happy face in front of seven-year-old Sophie. When she goes to the bathroom and returns to the beach, Sophie and Andrew are missing. Sophie's dolphin float is bobbing far from shore. Panicked she grabs a life guard and together they search for her daughter. Then Andrew comes strolling back, hand-in-hand with Sophie.

Skipping from past events to the present day, the story is told alternately by Lindsey and seventeen-year-old Sophie. Andrew is released from jail and moves to Dogwood Bay where Lindsey has set up a housekeeping business with other formerly abused women. Sophie, who knows that Andrew was abusive but never saw actually saw the abuse (thanks to Lindsey), has been secretly writing to her dad. She believes him when he says he's changed.

Other characters include the men in Lindsey's and Sophie's lives. Jared McDowell is Sophie's first high school boyfriend. He is rich and popular, and at first Sophie can't believe he's interested in the daughter of his mother's house cleaner. Lindsey too has a serious relationship, the first since her divorce ten years ago. Greg is younger than Lindsey and adores her. Lindsey worries that he is too devoted. Marcus is a former psychiatrist and friend who teaches self-defense to the women in Lindsey's abuse group.

Weaving the magic of a good story teller, Stevens soon has the reader wondering if the source of Lindsey's danger is from Andrew alone.

I love reading her books! I thought I knew the murderer and then changed towards the end of the novel to only be wrong! I blew through this book in an afternoon and was unable to put it down. Her characters are naturally flawed and real which pulls you into theirsyoryline and conflicts. I've already told several friends to purchase this book and posted reviews on FB and Amazon.

4 Stars
My mom and grandmother love Chevy Stevens, so when I saw this book on NetGalley I thought I would give it a shot. When I was a kid, I read everything under the sun and loved it all, but as an adult I’m pretty genre specific. Now I know why.

I’m the type of person that escapes into a book. I live the book while I’m reading it. Chevy Stevens is an incredible writer. She has a way of building suspense and mistrust into every corner of her book. I would have to take breaks while reading because this book made me stress so much that I was physically uncomfortable. I’m sure regular readers of this genre don’t have this problem, so hopefully, it is something that will get better as I read more like this. It is a true testament to the strength of this book, that I couldn’t put it down at the end. I was literally sneaking pages at an informal family get-together.

I couldn’t read books like this all the time, but it was a nice change of pace from the romance and fantasy I usually enjoy.

March 14,2016; 384 Pages (St. Martin’s Press)

Genre: psychological thriller, suspense mystery, fiction, canadian

(I received an ARC from the PUBLISHER through NETGALLEY)

Rating: ★★★★

I am a HUGE fan of Chevy Stevens, period. I read Chevy’s debut novel, Still Missing, also as an advanced reader’s copy (ARC). Thank gawd, I started it on my day off, as I spent the rest of the afternoon reading the book. Her writing style reminded me of Karin Slaughter’s – raw, gritty and realistic. At times I have to put the book down and breathe. There is just so much emotion as you read the words that you need to process. I find that the characters and plot still linger in my mind as if they are real people and events. Ever since Still Missing (other than Always Watching – some how I missed it coming out) I cannot wait till her novels come out, and have been lucky to read most them of them as ARCs. I highly recommend her books to anyone who likes psychological thrillers and suspense. I usually finish her novels quickly, but this one took me three days to get through…

When Lindsey meets Andrew Nash at nineteen, she thinks that she has found the man of her dreams. He is sweet, successful and her family adores him. Just as quickly as they marry, Andrew begins to change. The birth of their daughter only increases his abuse on Lindsey. When she finally manages to escape him, Andrew is sent to prison for another crime, and Lindsey starts a new life with their daughter, Sophie.

Eleven years later, Andrew is released from prison and moves to the same town as his ex-wife and daughter. Not long after, Lindsey is starting to be stalked at home and work. Sophie reaches out to the father she barely remembers but suddenly those around her and her mother are getting hurt. Can Lindsey save her family before Andrew gets too close?

The first third of the book was difficult for me personally to read. I’ve read many books on and with domestic violence and controlling abuse but I can usually read it with objectivity. For fiction, I do sometimes judge whether the descriptions seem “realistic” and are written well. I have seen various types of abuse around me, and it effected me to the point that I am passionate about prevention and counseling. I worked at a women’s center, but it was a little too much for me. It was at that point I knew I could not counsel others until I could process my own thoughts on abuse. Then five years ago I met my own Andrew…not to the extent in this novel…and had to dig myself out. Knowing the signs is not enough when there are emotions are involved. This is not the forum I want to discuss this in, but I feel like my reviewing of this novel is dependent on my experience.

As I read how Andrew controlled Lindsey, I started to see some of my own experiences, and felt like Chevy did a wonderful job in explaining and showing how possessiveness is really like. I think she also did a good job in explaining why Lindsey stayed. I think when anyone thinks of an abusive relationship, the first question is why did they stay? I know some people may not think it is a strong enough reason, but that is why for me it seems realistic. It’s not that simple to explain. What starts out as sweet and romantic can quickly spiral into a scary situation. Once I got to the second part of the novel, which is Lindsey’s new life and Sophie as a teenager, I was able to move through the novel quite quickly as the suspense had me flipping pages. I did see the twist coming but I still wasn’t sure if I was right and how it would all come out. The reason I gave this novel a four and not a five was due to some of the secondary story lines I felt could have been a bit stronger or dropped. This novel touched me in a way I didn’t expect and this changed how I did my review for this book. Please read this as a review for a wonderful book rather than my story. Thanks to Chevy for not just providing a great suspense novel, but also making me realize that I am a survivor and stronger rather than just a victim.

Although thrillers are not my favorite genre, I am that annoying person that guesses the ending in every tv show and book. Nothing ever shocks me. So I enjoy reading thrillers in search of one that will. Although I was surprised at the end, I was slightly annoyed because I felt like Stevens was setting up every male in the book so that the reader was wondering if the stalker was them. And then when you find out who it is, those little creepy things about everyone else are never explained, they were clearly just a device to keep the reader guessing, but now you are supposed to forget all about them. I just don't like when the author hides things from the reader and then tries to shock you with something that they never even hinted at. I have never had this issue with Chevy Stevens before. I usually really like her books, and I did like this one, it just definitely wasn't my favorite.

I also didn't really buy the ending, the big reveal.

All in all this book was a look into the human psyche that leaves you unsettled for days, but if you have never read any Stevens before I would start with one of her other books.

Whew, this book kept me on my toes try to figure out whodunit. Lots of suspense and a few twists thrown in. I definitely recommend this book.

With each book that she writes, Chevy Stevens gets better. Suspense like no other!