Intense informative telling of Narcissism! Walker tells of two sisters living in the shadow of their mother's psychosis of vanity, self-love, and self-admiration. What happens when siblings are made to compete for their mothers' notice while forced to feed her flowery words at every turn? This crime mystery involves a disappearance, kidnapping, or suicide of Emma and Cassandra Tanner. Where were they and why were they taken is explored by the FBI Forensic Psychologist Abigail Winter. Three years later Cass knocks on her mothers's door with a plea to help find Emma. Leads are again delved into aided this time by Cass' clues. Sinister story with many twists and turns leading to an amazing conclusion. "A copy of this was supplied by St. Martin's Press and author via NetGalley with no requirement for a review. Opinion here is my honest opinion."

Dark, suspenseful, captivating.

Thriller/mystery novels aren't my usual genre, but I requested an ARC of "Emma in the Night" after being intrigued by its description. As sort of an outsider dipping my toe in the genre, then, I quite enjoyed this. Kept me on the edge of my seat a few times, especially towards the end as the puzzle pieces of the story truly started coming together.

The language was woven together in a way almost poetic in some passages and altogether was an enjoyable, worthwhile read - a novel exploring family dynamics (particularly mother-daughter, sister-to-sister), the human psyche, trust, female sexuality, and prioritizing those things most important to us based on our own perceptions of morality.

4/5 stars

Tried to review on Amazon but it is not allowing me to do so yet. it was a well written, carefully plotted out book, full of enough twists to throw you off balance. I did not see that ending coming at ALL!

This is my second Wendy Walker novel and I am officially hooked! Both novels are some of my all time favs!

Do you know what it’s like growing up with a mother who has narcissistic personality disorder? Emma (17) and Cass (15) do, after years of suffering under the emotional and mental torture of their mother they finally decide to runaway.

At least that’s what Cass is telling authorities after having been missing for three years. She spins a tale of kidnapping, a baby, and her sister still being held captive against her will.

With the help of Dr. Abby Winter, who has a unique insight into the family dynamics coming from a family whose mother was also suffering from narcissistic personality disorder, she uncovers the narrative that isn’t being told, and all the horrid family secrets that everyone is trying to keep.

Fast paced suspense that had me falling asleep with this book on my face as I could not put it down! This is one of those rare occasions where you could go back and re-read and gain something entirely different, I know I plan on doing so!

EMMA IN THE NIGHT is a fascinating look at a dysfunctional family who has a mother with narcissistic personality disorder.Emma and Cass vie for mother Judy's love in this intense page turner. The plot twists will keep your mind working - don't think you've figured out all the answers! This one is a tough one.

Mystery aside (which I really enjoyed), I learned a lot about NPD. How amazing was that? I won't go into it except to say that I think everyone will get something out of this book. It's truly a mindbender.

Thanks so much to St. Martins Press for offering me this excellent novel to read. I highly recommend EMMA IN THE NIGHT to everyone who enjoys a great mystery/thriller.

What a twisting psychological thriller, involving two sisters,Emma and Cass, their narcissistic mother and t heir lives growing up. One night both sisters disappear, no one has any knowledge of where they have gone. A couple years later Cass shows up at the family house, with a long story of both Emma and her living on an island with a couple. The FBI has been involved since the beginning , so the lead investigator and forensic psychiatrist are back to investigate. What follows is along tale of Emma having a child, living on the island and the take-over of the baby by the couple helping them. You won't be able to put this story down as you are wound like a clock, trying to figure out where the other sister is! Very entertaining right through the end! I received a copy of this book from Netgalley,and would like to thank them, Wendy Walker, the author, and publisher St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to give my thoughts.

*4.5 stars. I could NOT put this one down--the psychological drama between these characters is fascinating!

Cassandra and Emma Tanner disappeared from their home three years ago and now suddenly, Cass has reappeared on her mother's doorstep. She has a story to tell about being held on a remote island on Maine's rugged coast and is desperate for FBI authorities to find her sister.

The story is told from not only Cass's viewpoint, which is totally unreliable, but also from that of the FBI's Forensic Psychologist, Dr. Abigail Winter, who has been working the case with Special Agent Leo Strauss since the girls' disappearance was first reported.

As a young girl, Cassandra learned that her name comes from Greek mythology: "Cassandra had the gift of prophecy but the curse that her prophecies would never be believed." In her own short life, she has also learned that: "People believe what they want to believe."

Dr. Winter is an expert on narcissistic personality disorder and sees signs of that disorder in the behavior of the girls' mother. She has always believed the roots of this 'crime' lie in the family dynamics. Teens are frequently driven from their homes by dysfunction, abuse, neglect or instability. Are these girls the daughters of a mother with narcissism? This is something that Abby Winter has experienced in her own life and wrote her dissertation on in graduate school.

What is a narcissist? "In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter who was consumed by his own beauty and pride." He fell in love with his own reflection in a pool and "stared at himself until he died." A narcissist has a "grandiose sense of self-importance; fantasies of unlimited success, power, beauty, brilliance; requiring excessive admiration; elevated sense of entitlement; takes advantage of others to achieve their own ends; lacks empathy; unwilling to recognize or identify needs and feelings of others." Hmmm...sounds like someone we know who is always in the new these days, eh?

Cassandra's story unfolds over the next seven days as tests are done, drawings of suspects are made, and the search for the remote island begins. The reader always has the sense that there is a hidden agenda playing out here and that keeps one turning pages to see what will be revealed next. I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful novel and highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an arc of this new book.

Wow! This book has left me speechless. I did not see the ending coming. I was totally shocked by the twist. Everything is brilliantly and cleverly written. I was totally taken in by the version of events Cass tells. I believed the whole way through that Emma had to be found. This book is definitely worth reading. It is a fast paced thriller which has a brilliant ending and which led me in to thinking I knew where Emma was and then blindsiding me with the answer.

WOW! I have never read a book like this. So well done! Unique, multi-layered plot. Twists and turns? More like twirls and swirls! I loathed every single character, except Leo and Abby. But I find this a true talent of a gifted writer. Ms. Walker deftly crafted characters that were deliciously perverted, repugnant and abhorrent. I was rooting for their demise! I hope this doesn't mean I am as sick as they are. 😜 I would definitely recommend this masterpiece to any reader who enjoys heart-stopping psychologic thrillers.

"Emma in the Night" is a journey into the mind of an abused child, and her ultimate revenge on those responsible. I enjoyed this book immensely. The story is told from two POVs, Cassandra Tanner, whose narcissistic mother ruled over Cass and her sister Emma by a system of rewards and punishment designed to maintain her own feelings of self worth at any cost-and Abby Winter, a psycologist with the FBI, whose upbringing was similar to Cass's. The girls disappeared three years ago, but only Cass returned with a tale designed to bring about the return of her sister Emma. The ending was great, but it is the journey to the conclusion that makes this novel a page-turner!

Since Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, psychological thrillers seem to be everywhere. Unfortunately, many of them seem to fall into two camps: predictable or jump the shark. This novel falls into the later category. Well-paced, this started with potential, but the entire story fell into the category of tell, don't show (large swaths of the narrative is the main character in monologue with police investigators) and the plot is tangled to the point of no return. By the end, the twists felt very contrived.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

Enjoyed this mystery...have shared it w/ all of my reading friends...and libraries.

An abandoned mystical island, family secrets, a kidnapping and a missing sister! Get ready for some twisted family secrets to be uncovered! Emma is missing and the circumstances of her disappearance are more than unusual! Get ready for a ride that will be both thrilling and have you questioning who to believe!!

Labelled a thriller, Emma In The Night crosses the YA boundary by depicting the disappearance of two girls and the return of one of them. As a combination of two of my favourite genres, I could tell from the first chapter that this book would be a winner. The story-line is embedded in my brain, making me wish I could write something just as good.

When Emma and Cass disappear, no one knows whether they were kidnapped, murdered or runaways. Three years later, Cass returns without her sister and tells a story of how they were held captive on an island. Psychologist Abby Winter doesn't think the story adds up but plays along to uncover the real truth.

Told from the perspectives of Cass and the psychologist on the case, Abby, there is a growing sense of tension that shifts between character to character. The cast of the book are the line-up and you as the reader have to point the finger at one of them with blame.

Emma In The Night is a reading experience like nothing else as it's told in a reflective past tense. Rather than the pacey present/immediate past tone of many thrillers, it looks back on the traumatic incidents from three years ago like a chilling bedtime story. In the same way, it is not told from the "main" character, Emma's, perspective. Cass is the quiet, overshadowed younger sister who's voice is muffled by Emma's drama. As Cass unravels the truth about what happened in the build up to the girls' disappearance, it becomes clear that she really was an active presence that no one ever saw before.

The family dynamics are all over the place, but I mean that in a good way. With step-fathers, divorced parents, step-brothers and a strange mother leave room for all sorts of chaos and behind the family facade, there is a lot of room for darkness.

Written in a compelling way with a bold story-line, I highly recommend picking up Emma In The Night. It's one you won't forget about in a hurry.

Fantastic, thrilling and dark. Couldn't put it down.

This novel draws the reader in from the very first sentence, and keeps your attention up until the very (surprising) end.

This is the first novel I have ready by this author, but it certainly won't be the last. Ms. Walker has away of weaving together a story that is not only brilliant in its complexity, but engaging as well. And while I had expected a lot of things as the story unfolded, what I did not expect, and truthfully did not see coming, was the way the author choose to end the story. It fit perfectly, but it was the absolute last thing I ever would have considered.

The fact that this story is told from two different perspectives, Cass' as she retells the story of where she and her sister have been for the last three years, and FBI agent Abigail Winters, adds a layer of depth and complexity that I feel would have otherwise been missing. To be able to experience the same story from two different areas of expertise was invigorating. The fact that the author also chose to highlight the cycle of abuse that comes from growing up in a household where one of the parents suffers from narcissism was a cold dose of reality, but one that helped define the characters, who they were, and what drove them to act (and react) in the ways that they did.

Overall, I am sure this story will definitely appeal to those who enjoy a well put together and executed thriller novel, and I would read more from this author!

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing for providing me with an ARC of Wendy Walker's newest psychological thriller.

I loved Wendy's debut novel, ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN, so I was very excited to read an early copy of her newest thriller. Emma in the Night revolves around two sisters disappearing and only one returns several years later. What does Cass know? Where was she all this time? And where is Emma??? It's up to an FBI psychologist to figure out what Cass is hiding and if her dysfunctional family is holding more secrets than truths. Lots of twists and unexpected turns. A solid story and satisfying mystery.
A real page turner!!! Perfect for a beach escape.

Three years after teenage sisters Emma and Cass disappear without a trace, Cass returns home with a story of being held captive on an island, from which she escaped. The agents on the case try to find Emma and the island, while psychologist Abby Winter, who always suspected that the girls' mother was a narcissistic personality and should have been investigated more closely, continues to interview Cass, feeling that something is not quite right. I really liked this. At first I was not too excited about it; the whole narcissism thing doesn't really do it for me, but as I read on and tried to get a handle on what exactly was going on and what I was missing (because you know there's something just out of reach the whole time...), I really got into it. The last time I felt that way about a book (The Missing - Caroline Erikkson), I felt let down at the end and disappointed that what I had been racing through the book and chasing after was not really worth it. This time it was worth it. I gave this one 4 stars, but I'd maybe round up to 4.5.

Emma in the Night is the story of two sisters, Emma and Cass, that went missing one night. The only thing found was Emma’s car left on the beach. Three years later, Cass returns with a story of an island where she and Emma were kept.

Emma in the Night is a spectacularly crafted mystery. Revealing just enough at each point to slowly unveil the truth of what happened. I was hugely impressed with how well Walker so carefully gives us progressively more information, but does not show her hand until the very end.

Be careful about reading this book in public places. I gasped, audibly, at the gym, coffee shops, in cars, and many other inappropriate places, where one should not gasp.

This book was very frustrating to read. It didn't catch my interest from the beginning as it seemed to be talking around the issue with little hints here and there about what had happened. Instead of coming across as telling a story it came across more as avoiding telling a story. I just couldn't get into it.