4.5 STARS ~ Full review closer to publication!

All the tension and tidbits of hidden secrets kept me invested in the story line and wanting to know more about Laura. Told in Before and After Timelines, the past secrets sprinkle out as the story unfolds. When I hit the last stretch, there was no slowing down…. I had to finish! Never saw that end coming!

Okay, so I've met Wendy Walker and she is lovely. Nothing at all like the dark, damaged characters she writes about, damaged from the horrific acts which form the basis for her stories. The Night Before is classic Walker - two sisters, one of them carrying all sorts of baggage and secrets, plopped into a disaster that may or may not be of her own making. The structure is brilliant, bouncing between before and after, each chapter narrated by the other sister and building steadily to a whopper of an ending. Push this one to the top of your TBR pile, you won't be sorry!

This is a read-in-one-sitting type of book. I think to set it aside for even a short time could ruin the tautness and unease Wendy Walker has masterfully created in this story.

I feel like I white-knuckled my way through this book like an addict needing a fix. I ate an entire bag of M&Ms, and I don't mean a single serving bag, I mean the giant bag with the red and green Christmas colors. So now not only do I have a headache caused by the tension in my neck, I'm pretty sure I'm heading for a diabetic coma.

This could have easily been a 5 star book for me had the ending been less cluttered. After enjoying a gradual escalation of foreboding anxiety, I found myself jarringly thrown into a rushed and muddled ending.

I don't know why this is a trend with thrillers as it ruins so many potentially exceptional novels. I much rather my finales like I enjoy my M&Ms, slow and deliberate until I feel like I might explode before I get to the end.



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

Wow! Just wow! Extremely fast paced thriller. The story of friends who grew up together and are forever linked by a chilling murder of ones boyfriend. If you enjoyed Wendy Walker’s previous books you will love this one. Dark, twisty roller coaster ride of a book that you will not soon forget.

I was given this book by Netgalley for an honest review -
Friends that played together - but do you every really know each other?
Then grown up -
Laura goes on a blind date and disappears. Rosie , her sister searches for her and worries that Laura is in danger or maybe she is the danger after childhood trumas are remembered.
This was a great red and an ending I wouldn't have guessed.

The Night Before is a fast paced thriller that I couldn’t put down! Wendy Walker always keeps you guessing and this new book was no exception. I loved the relationship between Laura and Rosie. They couldn’t be more different but the sibling intuition was super strong. Lots of twists and a great ending!

**I read this book 2 weeks ago and have sort of forgotten a few things**

I did enjoy reading this book. It was fast paced but not like it was rushing through the stories. I like how the alternating perspectives worked together to tell the story. A great quick twisty and turn book.

Wow! A heart-pounding what will happen next Suspense! My heart is still pounding! It does not get into the; I cannot put down this book until about one-third of the way through! However, once it does, it plays with what you believe happened, and what is in reality happening!
I highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley!
carolintallahassee

I just loved this book! I think it is now my absolute favorite! The author's characterization skills are phenomenal. She has the knack of being able to make her characters very realistic. No cookie-cutter characters here. They are not all sweet and full of fluff. No there are some mean ones, some very stubborn ones, some pathetically clueless ones, as well as strong and forthright ones. This just makes the conflict in the story that much more real, which, in turn, makes the resolution of the conflict Thank you Netgalley for letting me read it

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book. My reviews can be found on my GoodReads page at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

Thank you so much for this ARC!


Wow, fabulous! In the past, I tried to read Emma In The Night but couldn't get into it. That was certainly not the case for The Night Before. This book grabbed and held my attention instantly. I loved the writing and how the story was told by both Laura and Rosie.

The description is soooo vague, but do yourself a favor and read this book. You will certainly be surprised, I know I was!

Laura has had trouble connecting with men since her high school boyfriend died under clouded circumstances. Her last breakup sends her back home to her older sister's family. She never seemed good enough for her parents, but her sister, Rosie, always took care of her.
Her online date takes a bad then when she disappears the next day. Rosie, her husband Joe and Gabe begin a search.
The story flips between Rosie and Laura. One helps to set up and explain the other. I had a rough idea of who was guilty about three quarters through. I was thrown off a few times. It took awhile for all the pieces to be put together. It added to the suspense. It will keep you guessing. It will stop and turn you around while you think What?.
Definitely, a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of this book!!

I have to say, I thought for sure I had it all figured out half way through - Boy was I wrong!

The synopsis of the book was very vague - this book is so much more than that. I was drawn in and didn't put it down.

The writing is well done, and is very easy to get involved in. I read it in 2 days and am so glad I did.
I think it helped with the tension of the novel by not stopping.

Definitely a must read!

Wow. Wendy walker knocked this thriller right out of the park. I read this within 2 days, I could not put it down. The style of writing was on point. I especially loved how she went back and forth between before and after. I never saw the ending coming at all. At first I was thinking Joe (Rosie's husband) was the one who kidnapped Laura. Then I was thinking someone from their past found out Laura was back in Bramston, never gave Gabe a second thought.
Fantastic book, this will do very well.

A solid thriller that kept me guessing the entire time. Twists no one will expect! Although the ending feels solid and final, there’s certainly room for a sequel. I hope Wendy Walker treats us to one.

Tense thriller unputdownable .Drew me right in as in Emma In The Night did another of the authors books that kept me guessing it revolves around two sisters. ,Will not give anything away raced through the pages Highly recommend,#netgalley #st.Martins.

This was an interesting read but a bit confusing and all over the place. It was good, but I can’t rave about it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.
3.5/5 stars

This was definitely a great read! A woman with a troubled past and trouble with men decides to try online dating. When she doesn’t return home after the date her sister panics and starts a search for her. This was a fast paced page turner!

Laura is meeting a guy she "met" on a dating site. It is their first date and she is nervous and excited. She leaves for her date but then she doesn't come home. What happened to her? Who was the man she was meeting?

I do not normally like books that switch back and forth between characters and times but I did not mind at all with this book. I loved how this book kept me guessing. Now after finding out what happened, it makes me want to go back and read it all over again and see if I missed something. Do not start reading this book unless you have a few hours to devote to it.!! I could not put it down. I was reading in every spare minute so I could find out what happened.

Great book! It was a quick, easy read with enough twists to keep me entertained. I enjoyed the characters and the way the book followed the 2 sisters.