Laura had resigned her job and left her apartment in New York city to return to Connecticut where her sister Rosie, brother in law Joe and young nephew Mason lived, after a disastrous relationship went wrong. Moving into Rosie’s apartment meant they were under one another’s feet, but their support for Laura was paramount. For some reason she was always unlucky in love – now she had a date lined up with a man she’d met on an internet dating site. The blind date worried Rosie and Joe – Laura was confident though.

When Laura hadn’t returned the following morning – after promising she would return – Rosie immediately hit the panic button. Not calling the police – yet – she began her search by trying to find the man Laura had met. She only had a name, but was it his real name? Laura didn’t answer her phone, the car was missing, Laura was missing – what was going on? With a suddenness that took Rosie’s breath away, the past and its secrets started rising to the surface. What had happened the night before?

The Night Before by Wendy Walker is a psychological thriller which I have been looking forward to reading. The author’s previous two, All Is Not Forgotten and Emma in the Night were both 5 star reads for me, but this one didn’t seem to have the same pull. I couldn’t connect with Laura; her constant inner bickering while with her internet date became irritating and her focus on herself annoying. I was disappointed I didn’t enjoy The Night Before as I'd expected to.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

I love psychological thrillers and was really looking forward to reading this book, having heard a lot of good things about her previous book, Emma in the Night. The Night Before definitely kept me turning the pages, but ultimately had me rolling my eyes. I didn't end up caring about any of the characters and the writing was disappointing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

The Night Before is another fast-paced, addictive psychological thriller from Wendy Walker. Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. My mind was constantly running through all of the possible theories and endings. The alternating time periods and points of view flowed perfectly from chapter to chapter and helped keep the story paced just right. Wendy Walker knows how to expertly craft a realistic mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.

I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book that I read by this author and it did not disappoint.

Laura has moved in with her sister Rosie and her family after a bad break up that left her feeling somewhat vulnerable. She finally decides to go on a date with a man she met online. Laura does not come home from her date which leaves her sister Rosie a nervous wreck in trying to find her.

Everything during this date and after is very questionable. The story alternates between Laura being on this date and what happens after, to Rosie’s present day when Laura is missing and Rosie’s quest to find her. You also get a scoop into Laura’s childhood past and an understanding of what makes her so vulnerable with men and some questionable childhood decision making that comes back to haunt her in her adult life. Which keeps you guessing who she can trust to save her from The Night Before.

I got an ARC in return for an honest review on NetGallery

The Night Before is truly a twisting and turning delight of the largest magnitude with unsuspecting revelations and jaw-dropping discoveries. A story of secrets between friends and family in a fast-paced, page-turning and surprising conclusion.

If you like deep and dark and twisty, this is it. Pulse quickening and brilliant I loved every second. This is the type of thriller I appreciate. One that makes the hair on your arms stand up and keeps you guessing. I want more from Wendy Walker!

"Me, a twenty-eight-year-old who needs a shrink to tell her how to behave. I didn’t tell him about my childhood here, running wild in the woods behind our house with the neighborhood kids. Me and Rosie–and Joe, whose family lived up the street until he went to high school and they moved closer to town. And I didn’t tell him why I’ve stayed gone all these years."

Laura has been running from her past for 11 years. That night in the woods where she was found with a dead body. She only wants to love someone and be loved in return, but people end up dead around her. Will this first date be different? Will Laura’s sister, Rosie, be able to find her before something terrible happens?

Set in Branston, Connecticut, the story is told in three parts surrounding Laura’s first date with a stranger: Laura’s past sessions with her shrink, Laura in present day and Rosie in present day.

The suspense is inescapable and builds slowly to the point where you read into the night to find out what has happened to Laura.

The characters are believable and go through a lot of internal turmoil to trust their instincts and try to wrap their heads around a shocking finale. I choose Rosie as my favorite character who has had to be her sister’s protector all of her life. I see her sacrifice happiness in order to defend her sister’s reputation and her frustration of constantly witnessing her sister’s bad choices. She’s a strong woman who loves her sister unconditionally.

I loved this psychological thriller with a surprising twist. I have found yet another author who I plan to place on my TBR pile. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Ms. Walker and NetGalley for letting me review this book with no expectation of a positive review given.

I enjoyed this book; it was a fun, quick read. From the beginning it sucked me in and I needed to find out what happened. It was engaging in the fact that the reader was suspicious of the characters at all times. It was a different writing style and the change was welcome.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

An interesting mystery that had me on the edge of my seat! While I didn’t love all of the characters I found the story to be engaging. Would recommend!

This is a case where absence might have made the heart grow fonder. When I originally finished The Night Before (months ago, because I suck at posting timely reviews), I found the ending to be satisfactory, but not really any sort of a “wowzers!” type of experience. However, the more I think about it the more I realize how refreshing it was to not read an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type of thriller. Obviously not a whole lot can be said about this one without ruining the entire thing - but I can say the premise here is that Laura left NYC and moved in with her sister Rosie’s family after her last (bad) breakup. Deciding she might be ready to move on, Laura agrees to a date with a man she’s been chatting up via the interwebs. You know how that goes, right????

*cough Catfish cough*

When Laura doesn’t return home, her sister is left in a panic. What could Laura’s date have done to her? Or even worse, what could Laura have done to her date?

This story relies on the oft used wibbly wobbly timeline and dual narrators as it bounces from past via Laura’s therapy sessions to Rosie’s present. The present is offered up at a good, urgent pace, but the past???? That’s where things are juicy . . . . .

While All Is Not Forgotten is such a hard act to follow that unfortunately every following book will probably end up being compared to it, I enjoyed this sooooooo much more than Emma in the Night (standing by the “sophomore novels are HARD” belief) that Wendy Walker is sure to be an auto request at this point.

Recommended for poolside readers who like to get their stab on : )

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!

I could not get through this book. It felt so haphazard and not cohesive at all. Could not follow along with the plot line.

This was definitely a page-turner! I read most of it in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. It’s an interesting premise, and at a certain point in the book, I suspected that any one of the characters may be the one to fear. May be the one who might kill…

Laura left her Wall Street job and New York City apartment after a devastating break up to stay in her sister’s home in the neighborhood where they grew up. A tragedy in her past coupled with a string of bad relationship choices has caused her to question her own feelings and judgment. When she goes out one night with a man she’s just met on an Internet dating site and doesn’t return the next morning, her sister fears the worst and begins a desperate search to find her. But she’s not just worried about what this man may have done to Laura. She’s worried about what Laura may have done to him…

My favorite thing about this book was the internal life of Laura. She reminded me of a Shirley Jackson-esque character who is full of doubt, mood swings and neuroticism, which makes her seem at times sympathetic, at times unreliable and at times dangerous. I loved the character!

It was an incredibly fast and exciting psychological thriller that kept me reading and guessing, and now I want to read more by Wendy Walker!

This comes out May 14, and I’d definitely recommend it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Most people know Wendy Walker from the hit “Emma in the Night” which was one of my favorite books in 2017 so I was so excited when I was able to read an advanced copy of it via Netgalley. Lately I feel like the recent thrillers I’ve read have not been as I expected but this one was very twisty and just when I thought I knew where it was heading it changed. Love when books keep me guessing. I enjoyed this book and will definitely recommend it to my friends!

I read A LOT of mysteries & thrillers. So many of them seem to follow the same formula, and I find myself predicting the twists before they even come. I am not complaining, because obviously, I keep reading them - but this book really threw me. It has been a long time since I had NO IDEA what was going to happen. I was genuinely surprised by the twists, and I really enjoyed this book.

I would definitely suggest this book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an unbiased review.

I'm keeping this one short. An interesting mystery, no huge surprises though.

Likes: the twists were good, even if they were mostly expected.

Dislikes: the characters and the writing... I thought the dialogue seemed stilted and unreal and the inner monologues of the main characters were something eye roll inducing.

To say I’m surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did would be an understatement. I normally don’t read thrillers but this book might have changed that. I loved the complexity of the character of Laura. Many times you questioned every she said or thought. Loved the relationship between Laura & her sister Rosie. A relationship that proved the bonds of sisterhood are iron clad. There were lots of twists and many unexpected turns in this novel. Kudos to the author Wendy Walker for possibly converting me into a reader of thrillers.

Laura has been through a lot. A rough childhood with divorced and neglectful parents coupled witha traumatic event in high school that haunts her on in to adulthood, she starts meeting with a therapist to sort through her thoughts. When a sudden breakup causes her to leave her job and come back to her hometown, her sister Rosie gladly takes her in, but she’s wary. What has happened to cause Laura to come back after so long? She’s always gone for the wrong men, desperate for one to love her, so she turns to online dating and finds someone she really connects with and agrees to go out with. Anxiously Laura puts on cherry red lipstick and a black dress as she gets ready for her date with Jonathan Fields-forty, good career, divorced, with a black BMW.

But when she doesn’t return the next morning after the blind datex Rosie is in full blown panic mode. But it’s not because she’s afraid of what Jonathan Fields did to Laura, she’s more afraid of what Laura could have done to him…

Told from Rosie and Laura’s point of view in the hours after the date as well as leading up to it, with some of Laura’s therapy sessions sprinkled throughout, you’ll be on the edge of your seat trying to help Rosie find Laura, but what you find out will shock you! I’m still thinking about the crazy ending!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advance copy. The Night Before releases May 14th!

Laura Lochner has been unlucky in her relationships with men her whole life. She attributes it to overheating a remark from her mother when she was young calling her “ hard to love”. Shortly after, her parents divorce and her father seems indifferent to her refusal to visit which leads to her further believing she is unlovable and she falls into one bad relationship after another.
Laura has recently moved home after yet another failed relationship- this time she was dumped through a text. She really felt she had found love this time and she begins questioning herself and how she responds to men. She has moved in with her sister, Rosie and her husband Joe who were high school sweethearts and seem to have the ideal marriage.
Laura decides to try online dating and agrees to meet a guy named Jonathan Fields. She borrows her sisters car and promises to be home early.
When Rosie wakes up- Laura is nowhere to be found and she is thrown into a panic. This stems from an incident when they were teens.
The chapters alternate mostly between Laura and Rosie. Laura’s self doubt is very relatable.
I got a little bored with Rosie and her overreactions and it seemed to be repetitive in places but for the most part this is an enjoyable read.!
This is another author who has been in my TBR pile for a while and I will have to pull out “ Emma in the Night” next.
Thank you to #netgalley and #Macmillan publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my opinion. This should be on everyone’s summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wendy Walker for the chance to read and review this novel.

One of my favourite things is when you go into a book with a vague synopsis. For me it heightens the tension and mystery. So I was excited to read this book as not only was the synopsis vague but the book has been receiving quite a buzz on bookstagram.

Laura has always been unlucky in love and had a fragile psyche. Fresh from her latest heartbreak she returns to her hometown and decides to try online dating. As she gets ready to go on a first date she is hopeful yet apprehensive. Her protective sister Rosie worries it’s too soon but Laura assures her she’s ready. When Rosie wakes the next morning to find that Laura has not returned she fears the worst. Laura’s not replying to calls or texts and they have no idea who she went to meet, what he looks like or where they met. As Rosie, her husband Joe, and childhood friend, Gabe search for Laura they discover more about her mysterious life and become increasingly worried about what they might find...

Wow!! This was my first read by this author but it certainly won’t be my last. I loved how the story was written in chapters that would alternate between the present day which mainly concentrated on the search for Laura, and flashbacks to Laura’s date the night before. I particularly loved Laura’s chapters. The author skillfully conveyed her insecurities, second guessing and over analysis of everything alongside her eagerness to appear “normal” and not do the things that have steered her in the wrong directions so many times before. She was someone I empathised with an related to as I’m a terrible overthinker myself. I also loved how like Laura we were never quite sure what was true and what wasn’t and that all of her chapters seemed to end on a cliffhanger so I wanted to do nothing but keep reading!

While there is much more I could analyse and say about this book I will stop here because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else. Part of the joy is in not knowing.

The Night Before is a spectacular psychological thriller that I didn’t want to put down and couldn’t stop thinking about when I did. An easy read that is also a compulsive roller-coaster ride with a jaw-dropping finale and shocking twists. All Is Not Forgotten has been languishing on my shelf for a while, but after this incredible book I will be reading it as soon as possible and buying the author’s other novel. This is a thriller you don’t want to miss.

Laura has moved back home after taking a leave from her job and after her relationship ended badly this was one of many failed relationships.. With some push from her sister Rosie and her brother in law who she believes have the perfect marriage. Laura decides to give online dating a try. She signs herself up on findlove.com and she soon finds the very handsome charming man named Jonathan Fields. They soon decide to meet up for a date. She decides to wear bright red lipstick and her sisters black dress and give this date a go! When she arrives she’s relieved to see the date matches his picture and they decide to take a drive and walk by the harbor. As their leaving a woman yells for Jonathan but he ignores the other woman. When they reach his car laura sees its not the car he told her he drove it’s an old Toyota not the BMW, he seems a little to eager to get her in the car but she gets in anyways she wants to prove she’s not the broken girl from her childhood and she’s capable of love, and now Laura is thinking maybe this date was a mistake... Rosie wakes up the next morning and realizes Laura never came home. She starts to get frantic laura isn’t answering her phone her calls go right to voicemail and she begins to investigate with her childhood friend Gabe why her sister never came home. You see Laura has her own dark history her childhood boyfriend was murdered when they were both in their teens and no one knows exactly what happened since she can’t remember certain facts. I flew through this book. It’s told in three POVs Laura’s, her therapist Doctor Brody and her sister Rosie. This book had me wanting to know what happened the night before with Laura!! Laura’s chapters had my hair standing up it was creepy and makes me happy I’m married! Rosie’s was definitely the caring sister who wouldn’t take no for an answer and the doctors chapter had me wondering what was laura seeking his help for! I give this five thrilling stars! This book is available May 14 2019 will you be adding it to your TBR?

Overall the start of the book was really well done but for me, it started to fall apart as it went on.

Pros
- Good pacing
- Grabbed my attention from the start
- Character development started off good and I felt like I had a good handle on them a short way into the book.

Cons
- A bit jumpy - telling one story then on to another quickly, a lot of info to absorb in a short amount of time.
- Some spelling/grammar errors
- Gets redundant very fast, seems like the date is dragging on, I was not invested in the story much any more as I had grown tired of it.
- Laura divulges too much to a stranger too soon, maybe that is a character flaw of hers but I don’t think it is executed well in the writing. At first she comes off strong but then in the next few pages she is a bumbling mess, I grew confused by her character.
- The first date gets more and more unbelievable as the time goes on. What does Laura have to gain by confiding EVERYTHING in this man on a first date? Why does she do this? I find it hard to believe that someone who is attending therapy regularly as she is closed off - has such an easy time coming clean to a complete stranger. It would have been nice to see some deeper character development into Laura rather than her just 'telling' her story to a complete internet stranger.