Emma In The Night
By
Wendy Walker



What it's all about...

Emma and her younger sister Cass disappear for three years. Or so we are led to believe. Only Cass returns with a far fetched story about a baby and a childless couple and a boat pilot...but is she believed by Dr. Winters...the FBI specialist who will solve this dilemma/crime? Who really knows...truly...this is a family formed by a narcissistic mother who forces Cass...her own daughter...to call her Mrs. Martin when she is displeased with her. That's all I will tell you about this incredibly dysfunctional family that involves multiple marriages, manipulation and a myriad of lies as well as deviant sexual activities.

Why I wanted to read it...

Narcissism prevails throughout this book and I really wanted to read about the ways it affected this family.

What made me truly enjoy this book...

The mystery of it all...I truly had no real idea about what happened until the end of the book. The only thing I didn't enjoy is that Mrs. Martin didn't get enough just rewards.

Why you should read it, too...

Readers who love a great dysfunctional mystery should truly love this book. It reminded me...in a good way...of other dysfunctional mysteries I have read...perhaps some of Mary Kubicka's books or Shari Lapena's Couple Next Door...

Excellent book. Great main characters and plot. I would recommend this book.

"People believe what they want to believe. They see what they want to see."

There is nothing like being the daughter(s) of a narcissist mother. The tension at home escalates. The daughters, Emma and Cass, go missing and three years later -- only Cass returns. Where has she been? And where is Emma?

The tale is told in alternating points of view as Cass relates the events of that night. Do both Dr. Winter and FBI agent believe her -- they surely want to. Mrs. Martin hints that Cass is traumatized and not remembering correctly. Just what is true and who is playing mind games?

I really enjoyed this and was a bit suprised by the revelations. It's a neat psychological drama with interesting, though not really likable, characters. I'd recommend it!

I've read both books by Wendy Walker and appreciate her talent.

Books like these make me glad I have my degree and background in Psychology because I feel like I can enjoy them more. There is definitely a lot of clinical information and focus on psych disorders in this book as it’s a necessary plot point but I can see where someone who isn’t in love with the field of psychology like me can feel they got bogged down.
As you read through the story line it’s obvious the author had to put tremendous work into creating a detailed outline because her character development is meticulous in that the reader knows all the motivations, thoughts, and feelings without feeling lost as to what the characters are doing or why. Her character point of views add another dimension of interest so you get a fuller picture of where she’s trying to take this story.
If the reader plunges through those parts then midway her pace picks up and smoothed out to a great conclusion that makes it all end up being worthwhile. Books like these are what define the psych thriller genre.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT is extraordinary. Two teenage sisters go missing. One returns home three years later, frantic to tell her story and make sure her sister is found as quickly as possible. The reason the sisters disappeared is a mystery, as is the elaborate psychological game Cass, the returned sister, is playing with everyone, especially her narcissistic monster of a mother. I gulped this book down as quickly as possible, my heart pounding the whole time. Walker's pacing is masterful, and the suspense she creates is overwhelming. Anyone who enjoys a good psychological thriller will love this, perfect for fans of GONE GIRL and THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN. Cannot recommend highly enough.

So have you noticed that every time a reviewer compares a book to GONE GIRL or GIRL ON A TRAIN, what they are really trying to tell you is that you are about to read a book with an unreliable narrator? Well, I am sure the same comparisons will accompany reviews of EMMA IN THE NIGHT. And while it is true that one of the narrators (there are two) is certainly unreliable, Wendy Walker doesn't make much of a secret of it. There are clues that the main character, an eighteen year old girl named Cass, is unreliable right from the start. The fun of the book, and what kept me reading, is that it is hard to discern what parts of Cass's story are truthful versus subtle and deliberate lies. The reader learns that Cass and her sister Emma disappeared from their mother's house three years ago and now Cass is back - with quite a story to tell. We learn that Cass's mother, who she refers to as Mrs. Martin, has narcissistic personality disorder. It has greatly affected the lives of her two daughters and may have been the main driver behind their disappearance. A truly twisted tale cautiously unfolds. Walker's writing is so good that I wanted to slow down and savor the book but the desire to discover the truth made me want to turn the pages as quickly as possible. This was a great read that truly fulfills the definition of "psychological suspense." Don't miss Walker's earlier work, ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN, which was also a riveting and satisfying read.

Thrillers with a woman/girl who has disappeared/died and sometimes another woman investigating seem to be a really popular plot point in the last year and a half or so. In this case our main character and her sister disappear, only for her to come back a year later without her sister and a crazy story. This is also the case that nearly broke the FBI agent investigating. My problem with this book is that I feel like I've read similar versions of this book recently. Also, almost all of the characters in this book are completely awful which is just tedious and irritating to read. Will we order it? Probably, until thrillers like this stop circulating. Was it for me? Not really. If I'm going to read a thriller, I really want something new and different.

Great read! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!

I really loved the premise for the book...as well as the ending. The middle though? That part I had some trouble with.

I think that being given so much about narcissism, and the children of narcissistic parents at the front of the book made it harder for me to stay engaged. You know that something very bad involving the mother happened to make these girls run away. It's also pretty clear Cass is an unreliable narrator who is likely not telling us an accurate tale of how it happened. However, we still have to sift through many chapters of her telling the tale anyway and that was the part of the book that started to drag a bit for me. (Perhaps I'm just an antsy reader.) Once we DID get closer to the truth though, the book picked up speed and was more engaging for me, personally.

Emma in the Night is a story that will capture you from the very first chapter. The way Walker introduces the complicated relationship between Mrs. Martin and her children is done flawlessly. Her execution of the first chapter really sets the tones and captures your complete attention. Not many books have me hooked from a few pages and barely an introduction, but Walker sure as hell did.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a topic introduced from the very beginning of the story. This is my first time reading on the issue. If you are like me, you think a narcissist is someone all about me, me me. But Walker provided an in depth explanation of what a narcissist really is and how they can affect those around them. For me, page 63-66 hit home a little too much. For the first time in my 26 years, I understand my mother and what is wrong with her. Reading this novel was felt like déjà vu. My whole life, I have tried to understand what my mother’s malfunction was and Emma in the Night provided me an answer. It’s a strange feeling to find an answer in a story when you weren’t even looking. While the story isn’t meant to be life changing, it certainly will have a lasting effect on mine. I wouldn’t be surprised if this story touches other reads in the same way it did myself. While it was a bitter sweet experience, the read was very enjoyable.

I did have a rough time sometimes with the story jumping from current times to the story Cass was telling. Or chapter two with Abby, it jumps around a bit. But after you get going, the transitions become much smoother as you grow use to the style.

One of my favorite things about being a reader is that I have learned quite well to pick up on foreshadowing. I always share my guesses as to what will happen with someone, so I can proudly proclaim I guessed correct. Yeah….that wasn’t going to happen with this story. So many times, I was so sure and confident I knew what was happening. Turns out, I had no fricken clue. The whole story is full of twist and turns with no character which you fully trust. I found it very exciting.

Overall, I think this story could be something big in the year 2017.

Thanks NetGalley for the early read!

This was a big fat "meh."

I really liked Wendy Walker's bestseller, All Is Not Forgotten. So I was super excited when I saw this novel on Netgalley. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

While this book loosely kept my interest, it was not the pageturner that All Is Not Forgotten was for me. While I was interested in the mother-daughter relationship in this book, as well as Cass's secrets and motives, this was ultimately a very forgettable book. I finished it about a week ago and I already had to look at the book summary to remind me what it was about. Not a good sign. The narrator was not a unique or compelling voice and the twist didn't resonate for me.

This is a good thriller if you are in a total slump and need a quick read. Otherwise it's not memorable or a standout the way that All Is Not Forgotten was. I'm surprised it is the same author, as I had a lot of disappointment after this one.

I loved, loved, loved this book. Wendy Walker is an amazing writer who tells complex and unexpected stories. The first book of hers i read established that and this one has only continued that. With so many twists and turns i never knew what was coming and finished it one night because i had to know what was happening next.

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing a complementary copy EMMA IN THE NIGHT in exchange for my honest review.**


Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

Seventeen-year-old Emma and her younger sister Cass disappear into the night. Three years later Cass returns with a bizarre tale of an island, a baby and a strange couple. Forensic psychologist Abby Winter is back on the job, this case uncomfortably reminiscent of her own childhood with her narcissistic mother. But is Abby too close to remain objective and will this case be her undoing?

Told in both Cass's and Abby's points of views, EMMA IN THE NIGHT is a twisted tale of family dysfunction, secrets and how far desperate people can go to meet their emotional needs. Much of the psychological aspect of the story centers around narcissism, specifically a concept coined by DW Winnicott the "Narcissistic Mother" where the primary caregiver (often, but not always the mother) views the infant as an extension of herself and uses the child to meet her emotional needs. Abby used this concept for her doctoral dissertation, in part as a way to understand her own mother and childhood. A good chunk of my doctoral dissertation focused on Developmental Theory, including a section on Winnicott, so I was quite familiar with Wendy Walker's use of psychology theory as a framework for the novel. Walker did her homework and while I wish she had distinguished between degrees of narcissism, because the personality disorder isn't that uncommon to a lesser degree and the extreme narcissism she describes is closer to Antisocial Personality Disorder or an amalgam of all cluster B personality disorders, though I do not think readers care.

I never knew the veracity of either narrator, Cass because of her honesty (or lack of) and manipulation of Abby, because her own psychological state seemed to cloud her judgment. Even at the end of the story, I still didn't know how much I could believe.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT is a page-turner. The mystery pulled me in and I couldn't wait to see if my theories were correct. The only downside to the writing was a lot of telling and explaining, rather than showing. I guessed much of the resolution. No parts of the ending shocked me and most held true to the plot. I can't say anything else without spoilers.

If you like psychological thrillers, EMMA IN THE NIGHT is for you.

I'm fascinated by narcissism in its psychological disorder sense, not the "vain" way it's commonly used. It's a condition that leaves a legacy of abuse, so combined with the hook of this child who disappeared coming back, I couldn't wait to dive in.

I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to watch this story unwind. Cass is an unreliable narrator with an murky agenda that I couldn't wait to decipher. Like Abby, the forensic psychiatrist, I kept trying to sort the nuggets of truth from this spiderweb of a tale.

Heartbreaking, enthralling, and a definite must-read, if you enjoy getting lost in a thriller, you'll want to pick up Emma in the Night. I got an ARC so you'll have to wait until August 8, but trust me, the wait will be worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thrillers are a hot commodity on the publishing circuit right now, and I admit to being a huge fan. That said, there are some rather ho-hum books being passed off as thrillers. Have no fear, as, Emma in the Night is the genuine article. Three years ago, fifteen year old Cass Tanner and her seventeen year old sister just disappeared. When Cass returns three years later, she’s alone. She tells authorities she and her sister were kidnapped and held against their will on an island, but psychiatrist Abby Winter doesn’t believe Cass is telling the truth. Why would Cass lie, and where is Emma? Narrated by both Cass and Abby, readers learn quickly that Emma and Cass had a disturbing relationship with their narcissistic mother and with each other. A disturbing portrait of mental illness and creepy family secrets that may have led to murder. One to read with the lights on!