Review: The Other Side by Chevy Stevens

Title: The Other Side   

Author: Chevy Stevens    

Published: April 2013, St. Martin’s Griffin   

Format: E-book, 44 pages    

Source: Personal copy  

An original ebook short story from New York Times bestselling author Chevy Stevens featuring Psychiatrist Nadine Lavoie and Staff Sergeant Sandy McBride, from Never Knowing. Sandy
is working the biggest case of her life—the Campsite Killer, who has
been hunting women for almost forty years. She’s finally close to
nailing him, if she can just keep her head in the game. But when an old
friend calls with a lead about Sandy’s mother’s murder, Sandy is pulled
into the past—a past she thought she’d closed the door on. Her life is
about to get real complicated, real fast. 

My thoughts: This short short is quite interesting as it is actually tells a parallel story to Never Knowing, which I had just finished listening to. At first, I thought this was a prequel and thought I should have read it beforehand, but as I was reading it, I was quite glad I had read it after as there were quite a bit of spoilers to Never Knowing.

The Other Side actually focuses on Staff Sergeant Sandy McBride who, while working the Campsite Killer case, gets a call about a lead on her mother’s murder. This is a case that’s haunted her her entire life and something she’s wanted closure on for a long time. It was interesting seeing a different side of her – she’s all business in Never Knowing, doing her job and trying to capture this serial killer, but when the tables are turned and it becomes more personal, it affects you differently, despite your job.

I liked this short story, but again, I would definitely suggest reading this after you read or listen to Never Knowing. It certainly doesn’t have the same feel as Chevy Stevens’ full-length novels do – there wasn’t the same intensity or tension, but it did help fill in some character development. And I really liked how she managed to create the parallel storyline – very interesting!!! I think if she had added it to the book, it would have been way to much, so creating a short story seemed to be the way to go.