Gray After Dark by Noelle Ihli

Gray After Dark by Noelle Ihli

I love thrillers that combine tension and emotion. Stories that make me pause and reflect on my own life through the shades of humanity and meaningful themes.

Gray After Dark by Noelle Ihli delivered that for me.

“I’d never won a medal and I’d definitely never carried the Olympic torch, but today I was the torch.” -Miley

Miley, the main character, ain’t nobody’s punk!

My first favorite read of 2026 and it wasn’t even on my radar.

We have this tradition where we order movie theater takeout for New Years Eve. I sat at the bar sipping on an extra dirty martini while I waited for our spicy beef nachos and cheesy pepperoni pizza. It was a 25 minute wait, so I opened the kindle app on my phone to browse Prime Reading for a free eBook, as if I don’t already have enough unread downloads. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a new book not already in my possession. If you know, you know.

The cover caught my eye first. I remembered my friend Ruby (also a thriller junkie) telling me it was good so I downloaded it and didn’t put it down for the next 24 hours.

This was my first Noelle Ihli novel. I have two other books on my shelf by her (Ask for Andrea & Such Quiet Girls), but I wanted a new book. A free eBook.

As soon as I finished Gray After Dark, I immediately read Ask For Andrea. And although it was a great story, I liked Gray After Dark better. I’ll eventually get to Such Quiet Girls, but I’m in no rush.

The Feels. I couldn’t even tell you what her writing style was like, because I was completely transported inside the story. I was at the lake wading in the water next to Miley as the whole nightmare unfolded. I felt the vulnerability and fear through the pages.

Come to think of it, I felt a lot of things. Probably the reason I loved the book so much. Feelings show what’s inside of me, fear, judgments, biases and desires. There’s power in knowing oneself.

I felt annoyance, anger, sadness, exhilaration and oh my god, I cried so much. I even cried during a scene about chickens.

There was tension, empathy, love, grief, gratitude…dude, everything is in those pages.

Except laughter. There is nothing funny about this story. If you haven’t read it, make sure to check the trigger warnings.

Yes, there is horrific violence in this story but there is also sweetness, a compelling plot, complex characters and some cool nuggets to walk away with.

I’ll close with my favorite takeaway. It’s kind of a spoiler. Stop here if you haven’t read it.

“I ran until the night turned gray with the approaching dawn” -Miley

Miley the hero. In the beginning, she did not make the best decisions for her safety. I constantly found myself shaking my head and tsk tsking.

She just needed to slow down, chill out, take some time to breathe and think.

And when she did, she ran and ran until the night turned gray. She was the torch and she knew that shit. She’s always known it.

Everything that had been set in motion, her mother’s dedication to Miley’s training, Brent’s love in action, Wes’s kind heart and Miley’s fire, came together in the end to save some key characters.

This is what I consider a beautifully written dark story.

I will be forever grateful for all the amazing authors who give us a space of solitude to sort through our own feelings, thoughts, judgments and opinions through their amazing stories.