Twelve hours earlier, she was... Hopeful. Excited. Safe. Now she's gone.

Now THAT is how you draw a reader in! As soon as I read those few lines I knew I had to pick this book up right away.

One Thursday night, Laura goes on a blind date with a man from a dating website and never returns home. From there, the story line alternates between Laura and her sister, Rosie, detailing hidden secrets from their past and the difficulties of the present. Without spoiling any more of the plot, I can tell you that this book completely threw me through a loop.

This was a quick read and very hard to put down. If you want a suspenseful, twist-filled thriller, then look no further!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wendy Walker for the ARC!

I don't know where to begin. I'm in awe of the way Wendy weaves an amazing story together that keeps you guessing from start to finish. Her writing is impeccable. The story flows well and the characters are top notch. From about 70% on I couldn't put the book down. I was dying to know what was going to happen. If you love being on the edge of your seat this is the perfect book for you!

The Night Before was an enjoyable read overall. Although I didn't love it, it was definitely good enough that I'd give another Wendy Walker book a try.

Laura Lochner heads out for a first date and doesn't come home that night. Her sister, Rosie, is worried. Did something befall Laura? Or should she be more worried about her sister's date? The story moves back and forth across timelines and perspectives and I found the first half moved along really quickly and it kept my attention. And it was a quick twisty-turn style of read. And then there was a twist that came out of nowhere and it didn't work quite as well for me. I'd give it a 4 for the first half and then 3 for the second half.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for a review.

The Night Before is the second book from Wendy Walker I’ve read. This thriller follows two sisters who uncover long held secrets when an internet date spirals out of control. I may be in the minority here, but I wasn’t a fan of this thriller at all which is unfortunate because I really loved Wendy Walker’s other book, Emma In The Night. I found this book to be underwhelming and too predictable. The book starts off a bit slow and doesn’t pick up until about a third of the way into it. Though I enjoyed the various perspectives, the writing felt flat and a bit repetitive. The characters lack depth. The main character, Laura, seems to overthink too much and most of the characters just make bad choices which you can’t even feel sorry for them. I’d recommend skipping this one as there are better thrillers out there.

I so wanted to hole up in my safe little den and read this thriller until the last page, but life kept getting in the way! You will find yourself hooked right away and reeled in just so far, thrown back out (with all the puzzles you thought were solved, ripped apart), reeled in again, etc. Love the way the story was told, through the eyes of two sisters, with transcripts of Laura’s therapy sessions slowly revealing pieces of the puzzle, Getting to know the five main characters was a treat, with facets of their stories slowly revealed in chapters clearly labeled with specific time frames, which definitely helped develop both the story line and the suspense. Just when you think you know... another twist and turn...you will be guessing until the end. Many thanks to Wendy Walker, St. Martin’s Press (who seem to publish the best thrillers), and Net Galley for affording me the opportunity to read an ARC of this excellent thriller, soon to be released on May 14th. Don’t miss this one!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

It took me some time to get into this book, but once I did, I was hooked!
Laura Lochner goes back to her hometown after an unexpected breakup with her boyfriend. She moves in with her sister, her brother-in-law and her nephew. When Laura goes out on a date with a man she met online, and doesn't come home the next morning, her sister and brother-in-law are worried. As they search for her, some events from the past resurface and Laura's past and present behaviour is put into question.

I couldn't put this book down once it got going, I just HAD to know what happened to Laura on the night she disappeared. A really good keep-you-guessing thriller!

I enjoyed The Night Before by Wendy Walker. I found it entertaining but sadly, wasn’t as engrossed in the book as I thought I would be. It had a good plot and twists I definitely didn’t see coming but found the end very cliche and predictable. Overall, I’ve rated it a three stars and added my review onto my GoodReads - blog and Instagram review to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Walker and St. Martin’s Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Laura has never been lucky in love because she always falls too hard and fast for the wrong men. Devastated by her last breakup, she fled her current life to move back in with her sister in her hometown. She is still haunted by the tragedy that over took her life when she was a teenager and it makes her more willing to go on dates with men from online. Rosie has spent her whole life looking after and worrying about her younger sister. Laura’s return has upset Rosie’s peaceful life and she can’t help but wonder why. When Laura doesn’t return home the morning after her date and Rosie fears the worst has happened. She won’t answer any calls and she left no information behind for her family to be able to find her. Rosie begins the desperate search for her sister and worried not only about what he may have done to her sister, but what her sister has done to her date.

I loved that the chapters went back and forth between the past and present to see the story unfold from a totally different way and from two different people. I loved how it was so fast paced that I couldn’t help but to keep reading because you just had to know what was going on. There were so many twists and turns in this novel that I didn’t see coming because you begin to trust these characters and there is one that we shouldn’t trust. It is so easy to trust Rosie in this novel and you don’t know what’s going on with Laura, so it was easy to mistrust her even though you didn’t know why. The writing was just fabulous and I was addicted to these characters and the storyline. I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone! It is a must read for me!

Out May 14th!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for giving me the opportunity to read The Night Before by Wendy Walker. in exchange for a honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It had just enough twists and turns and had me guessing "who done it". The book flowed very well and was an easy read. I will definitely be reading more books by Wendy Walker.
I never really got a deep connection with the characters though.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish! I could not figure it out the whole book on who it was that was doing this to Laura. I love books that keep you guessing and also don't have the villain come out of left field. I really liked the character development of Laura, at first you think she is just some airhead but then throughout her story you learn the depth of her character. I love the bond between Laura and Elise, it reminds me of my own sister and my dynamic, yes you love them and will do anything for them but also they get on your nerves and you get fed up with them when they do the same thing over and over again.

Synopsis: Laura has a troubled past. A past that includes murder and abandonment. And those two pivotal moments have stunted her from developing genuine romantic relationships. But she’s set to change her ways. She has a therapist now, and she’s moved in with her sister, Rosie, for support. But one blind date has changed everything. Because now Laura is gone, and no one knows where she is.

If you haven’t read my reviews before, then here’s a fact - I am a sucker for good character development. And Wendy Walker did a phenomenal job. Every irk Laura described, I felt. All the trepidation that Rosie experienced, I winced. All the manipulations that “Jonathan” dealt, I cringed at. It was so well-crafted and so realistic that I couldn’t help but react toward.

But as for the story itself, I don’t want to give too much away. Because the book itself reveals a lot as you go through it. And to be honest, that made me apprehensive. I was thinking “shoot I’ve seen all your cards, what else is there for me?” But I was wrong. This was one of those thrillers where you “anticipate” something and then the opposite happens.

As a seasoned thriller-reader, there were some predictable parts. One of the major plot twists I saw coming, but for those of you who only pick up a few thrillers each year - THIS WILL BE GOLD.

It’s devious, deceptive, and delicious. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this copy.

What a great book! I loved that the description was so mysterious, and it had me hooked from the beginning. Lots of plot twists, nicely developed characters - I really enjoyed reading the book!

I have never read anything by this author and wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got wa a fast paced, action packed story that kept me guessing until the end. I didn’t want to put this one down. There was nothing that I didn’t love. I will most definitely be looking for more from this author.

Told from multiple points of view and time, Wendy Walker weaves the tale of a woman who goes from hopeful and anxious for a first date to fighting for her life in the basement of someone she would never have suspected! The Night Before leaves you on edge and scrambling to put the story together before it is too late! Highly recommended!

*I received an advanced reader's copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

Unfortunately I had higher expectations of this book. While I think it had a lot of potential, the reveals just didn’t live up to the anticipation, and it felt very average.

Another dizzying read that has a shocker of an ending. It really came out of left field for me eliciting a delicious surprise. This easy thriller can be inhaled quickly as it is compulsively readable. The beginning felt a bit slow but the plot ratcheted up the intensity very quickly. When Laura comes to live at her sister Rosie‘s house after another break up, Laura decides to try to look for a divorcée in the world of Internet dating. When Laura goes missing, family secrets are unearthed and relationships are tested while concurrently the sordid world of Internet dating is exposed. Excavated secrets about Laura‘s youth become clear and justice is finally avenged.

Let me just say that this book is banana pants! I thought the formatting was great, it was well written, and the author kept me guessing till the end. Overall a great psychological thriller.

Laura falls in love easily with bad men and tends to be a hot mess. After a break up, Laura goes to her hometown to stay with her sister’s family. Rosie has always been the good sister, worrying about troubled Laura. When Laura comes to stay with Rosie’s family, things are a little stressful. But when Laura goes on a date with a guy she met on the internet and doesn’t come home the next day, Rosie starts to worry. The strange thing is, Rosie is worried about what Laura might have done to the guy…

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. The Night Before will be released on 5/14/2019.

This story begins with a conversation between Laura Lochner and her therapist, Dr. Brody, in New York City, four months earlier than what follows. She feels as though the story of her past is still incomplete to her. She senses that she is forgetting some part of the night that has haunted her through the years that have followed, something that might make her feel whole. Make her believe she is worthy of being loved. Dr. Brody believes if she returns to her home, she may find the answers.

In the present time, Laura is living with her sister Rosie, her sister’s husband and their young son. She’s returned to the town she grew up in, Branston, Connecticut, and after some of Rosie’s persistent “persuasion,” has decided to try dating again, so she signs up for an online dating site. She doesn’t have to wait long before she is reading to meet a man she’s talked to online, a first date. You don’t need to have spidey sense for you to realize there is potential for danger; this is, after all by Wendy Walker. Still, even though I had some ideas of where this might be going, she always throws twists and turns in there that I don’t see coming. And even when I think I’ve figured it out, there are always more twisty, crazy turns.

Laura is a tremendously well-drawn character, desperately wanting to be loved, and yet feeling undeserving of being its recipient. The past still haunts her, leaving her unsure if she will recognize love when and if it finds her. But -- she has a good feeling about Jonathan, and so she agrees to meet him one evening.

This story weaves back and forth a bit, allowing for the story to conclude with an ending that felt as though it came out of nowhere. This is a compulsively readable dark tale that is more thrilling than thriller. I couldn’t, and didn’t, put it down.



Pub Date: 14 May 2019

Many thanks for the ARC provided by St. Martin’s Press

I had high hopes for this one but it wasn't as suspenseful as I hoped. I found it a little on the drawn out side. I didn't seem to connect with the characters and it just was too slow. I can see how others would enjoy this one, however it just wasn't for me!

The Night Before follows Laura, fresh off a bad break-up as she goes on a blind date with a man she met online. Meanwhile, her sister Rosie becomes increasingly worried when Laura doesn't come home from the date. Rosie isn't just concerned for Laura's safety, but also for the safety of Laura's blind date, due to Laura's history of violence.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't work for me. I felt the pacing was slow and while I normally enjoy multiple POVs, I felt that with a few exceptions, the chapters that were flashbacks to Laura's therapy sessions didn't hold much purpose. At the very least, that information could have been revealed in other ways. As I continued on in the story, I found that I wasn't as invested as I like to be for a mystery/thriller and that I ultimately didn't care what the outcome was because I didn't feel as connected to the characters.

2.5/5 stars