Cass and her older sister, Emma, disappeared one night and after three years they are still missing. That is, until Cass knocks on her family's door alone. What happened to Emma? The FBI are called back in with the same investigators as there used three years ago. One of them is forensic psychologist, Abby, leading the interviews. Mrs. Martin is a narcissistic,a self-involved mother who pits her daughters against one another. However, this whole family is a bit dysfunctional. The two sisters have an overprotective half-brother, a whiny, ineffectual father, an out-of-control stepbrother and a stepfather that likes to cross personal boundaries within the family. Coincidentally, Abby the expert, grew up with a sister, too, and their own mother was a textbook narcissist. She knows firsthand what Cass and Emma may have been dealing with at home.

The entire story is told in alternating, sometimes confusing narrators. There is a first person narrative coming from Cass and a third person narrative from Abby. I must say this author has tackled a very interesting topic as she did in her last book. In this one she tackles narcissistic personality disorder, and the mainstream effects on the family, but she turns it into an unsolved mystery. I had heard of this disorder before but had no idea that it was so damaging to the other people in his/her life. This book has all my favorite elements in a mystery. There are missing persons, the surprise ending, unreliable narrators, and a psychological disorder at the heart of the story. It was not a fast moving story as it was all told through interviews and sharing information, but I still enjoyed it and read it relatively quickly to find out what happened to Emma.

Emma in the Night is the story of two sisters and the trauma that occurred that drove them from one another. Three years before sisters Cassandra and Emma disappeared. Now Cass returns home alone to tell her story. Cassandra is a classic unreliable narrator. It is clear she is lying but for what end?

She has an awful family. A narcissistic mother, wealthy but distant stepfather and stepbrother who has motivations of his own.

Part of the story is told from the POV of the detective running the case who has her own family trauma to process. The book is filled with twists and turns. It was an enjoyable read, though filled with quite unlikable characters.

Unfortunately, I didn't like this. I found the plot to be implausible - and confusing. Usually, I love a good mystery but this just didn't hit the right buttons for me. Thanks for the opportunity to read!

This is a book that will keep you reading and keep you wondering. I went back and forth between whom I believe and what I thought had happened, and I truly couldn't put the book down until I was done. Walker is a great writer, and I highly recommend this book.

This is about as twisty as it gets, the story begins when a sister returns home after three years of her and her sister being missing. She meets with the detectives that handled her and her sisters case and the case begins to slowly unfolds as you watch the family dynamic with Cassie's return. Lacking the return of her sister Emma. We also get flashbacks to how life was at home when the girls were growing up. It's not necessarily that the story is suspenseful or nerve wracking, you are just watching the elements of the story build. I was pleasantly surprised at how the story was written as well as the ending. It is heart wrenching and you do fear for the characters at certain points. Dreading where the story is going. I also loved that the characters were unreliable and you never knew who you can trust. All in all it was well written and kept me guessing until the end. Amust read mystery in my opinion.

I downloaded this back in August before it was published but lost track of it. Found it last weekend and boy am I sorry I neglected Emma in the Night. It was fantastic. And now I'm reading Social Lives, one of her previous novels. Wendy Walker is the best thing I've discovered (belatedly) this year.

My Takeaway

So right off the top, I didn't enjoy Emma in the Night like I thought I would. I felt the story dragged and I struggled a bit to finish it. I absolutely loved All is Not Forgotten and found it unputdownable! But Emma in the Night lacked some of the oomph I most look forward to in psychological thrillers. I also did not care for any of the characters and felt they were all kind of blah. So even though this wasn't a favorite, I still believe Walker is talented and one heck of a writer (yup, I'm still a fan).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Cass and Emma are products of a blended marriage raised primarily by their narcissistic Mother. Their Mother pitted the two against each other as punishment for Cass requesting to live with her father after the divorce. That is until they both disappear without a trace.
Three years later Cass reappears without Emma. Her tale unfolds slowly and intensely. It is the best kind of twisted psychological thriller. If you enjoyed Gillian Flynn's books, particularly Sharp Objects, you are going to want to read this. Even when you figure out the person behind their disappearance, the end is going to blindside you.

This was the first novel by Walker that I have read. That being said, I will definitely be reading more by her! I loved how she grabbed ahold of the reader and dragged us through this insane plot- both through Cass’ memories and in real time. The family drama was so much to take in, but made the story the best seller I think it could be. Dr. Winter’s detailed perspective on the case yielded a completely fresh take on the situation as well. Walker’s storytelling skills are second to none and the whole of the novel was intriguing and surprising. It was impossible to put down and the perfect thriller to keep you up at night- it’s that good!!!!

Very suspenseful read. I wasn’t entirely sure where it was going until the very end!

While this book took me quite awhile to finish, it wasn't because it was bad. I had to keep guessing at what was going on. The book starts with the return of a girl who had been missing for three years and the desperate search for her Emma who is still missing. Cass struggles to give the team clues to help the find the island where she had been held and where her Emma still was. This book will keep you guessing. Will they find Emma or not? I thought this was a great read and really liked the part the that Dr Winter played into it. Her history and the way she researches and interviews Cass is quite interesting.

I received this via Netgalley for review purposes. Pretty good psychological thriller, but a bit confusing trying to keep track of everyone and everything. The ending was great and I really liked Cass and Emma's storyline.

This book was hard to put down, but also hard to read. The deception and cruelty throughout made it difficult. I found it hard to like most of the characters, but I could understand where Cass was coming from with her lies. When Cass comes back without her sister she has a plan to not only find her, but to right the wrongs of the years before. It takes her tale with its twists and turns to get it done.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one. This was my first Wendy Walker book, (though I've heard that her debut is pretty fantastic, so I hope you read that one soon too!) and I was immediately captivated by her writing style. I loved the questions, assumptions, and confusion I was forced to have. When I neared the end of this book I was shocked and quite satisfied with the way this story played out. I'm definitely interested in reading more of Wendy Walker's work in the future.

This book had me hooked from the very beginning, following Emma and her sister Cass in the disappearance from their hometown.

Once I entered the lives of Emma and Cass I couldn’t put it down. The writing was so captivating and it was so easy to connect with some of the characters, even if you didn’t want to.

I’m not going to give much away, but this book is going to be my most recommended this year! So thrilling - all I’m going to say is when you read this, you will never guess what is coming.

RATING: 4 STARS
(I received an ARC from the PUBLISHERS via NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

"One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might just be the beginning of the crime." (From Amazon)

Sorry, I had to use the synopsis given, as I couldn't think of how to describe this one. I enjoyed Walker's last books was excited to read this new one. It was even better than All is Not Forgotten, the psychological twisty dark story had me from the beginning. I was on edge not wanting to believe anything until the truth came out. I definitely recommend this one!

Wendy Walker's ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN is a great psychological thriller, but EMMA IN THE NIGHT exceeds even that. It's wonderfully gothic, starring missed-up families with hidden agendas. The big reveals, along with the attention to detail (the counting!), make this a thriller not to be missed. I'm eager to read whatever Wendy Walker publishes next - two five-star novels in a row make her a must-read author.

I honestly could tell by the writing of the first 2 chapters that it wouldn't be a good fit for our box and had to put it down. I may read it again in the future!

This is one to keep you guessing. Once started, the reader has to rush to the end to obtain the answers to so many questions. Very good mystery.

Sisters Emma and Cass disappeared one night 3 years ago. Now Cass has reappeared at the house of her narcissistic mother and step father. The story is told from the point of view of Cass, and occasionally from the point of view of Dr. Abby Winter of the FBI (who coincidentally also had a narcissist mother). There are few characters in this book who wouldn't fit neatly into the pages of a clinical psychology text book. They were seriously unpleasant people - manipulative, dishonest, mean, envious and that's just for starters. They also all seem to have weaponized sex. Personally, I would have found the text book more interesting and believable. As the plot grew more and more convoluted it became more implausible.

In addition to the plot my major problem with the book was the way in which it was written. It's basically a Cass monologue, all tell and no show. The details of the dysfunctional family were doled out laboriously. Really, I got the point that the family was a complete mess pretty early on and I didn't have to be hammered over the head with that fact for chapter after chapter. Once you're told that you are required to refer to your mother as "Mrs. Martin" you pretty much know everything you need to know. I got to about the midway point of the book and begin to skim to the end and I wish that I had just skipped to the last two or three chapters which is where anything at all happened.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.