Those Girls

Publisher's Summary

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father's fists. One night a fight gets out of hand, and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. Events spiral out of control, and a chance encounter with the wrong people leaves them in a horrific and desperate situation. They are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later they are still trying to forget what happened that summer when one of the sisters goes missing, and they are pulled back into their past. But this time there's nowhere left to run.

As much a thriller as it is a deep exploration of the bonds among sisters, Those Girls is an unforgettable portrait of desperation, loyalty, and evil.

©2015 Chevy Stevens (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Not good, not good at all

Do you remember being a kid and watching Scooby Doo and asking "Why are they doing that don't they know the bad guy is going to get them?"

This book is exactly as frustrating as an episode of Scooby-Doo. The characters keep doing things that make you wonder "Why are they doing that?"

The three sisters also have about as much complexity and dimension as Shaggy and Scoobs only, and this the really unforgivable part, it also includes the repeated rape and torture of teenaged girls. Nice reading. Such a waste of time and it's time you will never get back!

140 of 147 people found this review helpful

Uncaptivating

This story has a boring plot line and at every turn you question why on earth the characters would make the decisions they do, and then create an unrealistic "escape". The sexual violence was too much.

61 of 64 people found this review helpful

Wasted hours from my life

Would you try another book from Chevy Stevens and/or the narrators?

I have one and really enjoyed it BUT after this one, I'm not so sure.

What could Chevy Stevens have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The first half of book was decent. Clearly she ran out of steam and ideas in the second half. I HATED this book. It was so illogical. The main characters made stupid decision that no one would ever make in the same situation. I literally stop listening twice because I was so irritated by the stupidity of the characters.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

No

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Irritation

36 of 38 people found this review helpful

Disappointing

I've enjoyed this author's previous works, but was very disappointed with this book. The story was generic and predictable, and about halfway through I realized that I didn't even care what happened to the characters. I made myself finish the book, but am just glad it's over.

36 of 38 people found this review helpful

I TOTALLY agree with the Scooby Doo Review!

What didn’t you like about the narrators’s performance?

Stupid, frustrating with whiney narration -- I have really liked Chevy Stevens in the past -- this one is painful!

Any additional comments?

DO NOT PURCHASE!

22 of 23 people found this review helpful

Just too violent for me

Would you try another book from Chevy Stevens and/or the narrators?

Did not expect such sexual violence.

Any additional comments?

Would prefer not to listen to this graphic a story.

21 of 22 people found this review helpful

Familial Ties All Over the Place

Still Missing by Ms. Stevens is one of the darkest suspense novels I have ever read. I was incredibly impressed by the author and the book.

Those Girls is the latest book by Ms. Stevens and while I didn't find it as compelling as Still Missing, I found it intriguing and very difficult to put down. The author did an excellent job of not just developing her characters, but also developing their relationships to each other and the roles they play in their family dynamics. Their childhood roles carried through to adulthood and once those roles were understood, the conclusion was the only logical one. I loved the sections of the book that dealt with the interaction between the sisters, especially when they were young.

The familial theme was carried over to the brothers the girls regret ever meeting and many years later it is picked back up by including their children as well.

There is a great deal of violence in this book. Parts of it were difficult to read. And even though the book tried to be somewhat redemptive in the end, the reader knows that the main characters will continue to have very difficult and sometimes tragic lives. They were simply too damaged.

I did not see the point of multiple narrators. If anything it seemed to disrupt the story rather than enhance it. But I thought the 3 narrators all did a good job.

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

Ehhhh... Don't waste your time

I really tried to like his book, but I just couldn't. I made it through some of part II and couldn't take it anymore. Really predictable story line. In the first part of the book, the Narrator's voice is enough to make you want to quit right then and there. Idkkkk nothing really good to say.

24 of 26 people found this review helpful

Disappointed

Pre-ordered this book because I enjoyed her other books so much but this one definitely didn't compare. Shallow characters and improbable events. Skip this one and check out one of her other books instead.

33 of 37 people found this review helpful

The Past Is Never Really Past

A number of reviewers (on other sites so far) have been critical of Part 2 of the book, which is narrated by Jamie's daughter. But I find Part 2 to raise more interesting questions than Part 1 (which could stand on its own as an excellent suspense thriller novella).

What do you tell your teenager about your horrible past and her existence? I think many parents would do what Jamie did and invent a plausible lie. But when her daughter finds out, she feels betrayed and then sets out on a really stupid journey and gets herself into trouble.

But what I wanted to ask to 17-year-old Skylar is "what do think you mother should have told you and when?" When you were three? six? 15? When should a child be told that her father is a violent rapist? When should a mother share her worse nightmares with her child?

In each of the three books by Chevy Stevens I have read, she has done an excellent job of weaving together past and present, showing vividly how one event can change the entire course of your life and reverberate through it forever.

23 of 27 people found this review helpful