Another hit from Wendy Walker, and in my opinion her best yet. The main character is both mysterious and sympathetic, which is often difficult to pull off. The story feels very grounded in reality, yet leaves you turning the pages to find out how things will resolve. Highly recommend.

Brilliantly tense thriller. So many secrets need to be uncovered before the finale and how tightly plotted they are. Read it in one hit, totally unputdownable.

Laura and Rosie are sisters whose lives have gone in very different directions. Rosie marries her childhood sweetheart Joe and they start a family in the town where they grew up. Laura, on the other hand, knows a thing or two about choosing the wrong men and after another breakup, she flees her apartment, her job, and her life and comes to stay with Rosie.
So what could possibly go wrong when Laura makes a date with a man she found on an online dating site. At worst, Laura doesn't 'click' with her date, and at best, she has a good time. When Rosie discovers that Laura didn't come home and that she isn't answering her phone, she is frantic to find her sister. Chapters alternate between Laura and what happened on her date, Rosie's search for her sister, and Laura's therapy sessions before she moved in with Rosie.
The book description is very short, more like a teaser, and it piqued my interest immediately. I don't want to say much more about the story except that many secrets will be revealed and what I was sure was happening wasn't even close to what the author penned. This was a quick read(320 pages) that had me flipping pages to find out what happened to Laura.
I loved Emma in the Night and added Wendy Walker to my 'must read more by this author list'. The Night Before kept me guessing, had well-written characters and a plot that moved along at breakneck speed. If you haven't read her other books, now would be a good time to add them to your list since this book won't be published until next year.
I received an e-ARC from Jordan Hanley at St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

A great read!

This kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting to know more. Laura's history is certainly troublesome, and I loved the perspective of a narrator/main character I wasn't sure if I could trust. That's echoed by her sister, who doesn't seem to 100% trust her either.

The Night Before is a solid read and held my interest through twists and turns. Would recommend to a friend!

Something happened ten years ago that caused Laura to leave her hometown and not return except for an occasional day trip on a holiday. Now after suffering a broken heart she returns to stay with her sister and her sister's family for a while. She finds a date on a dating website and heads out for the evening, but never returns...

This book is told through three different points of view - Laura's, her sister Rosie's as she searches for where Laura is, and sessions Laura has with a therapist. All three points of view are at different points in time, but they work really well together. Wendy Walker has done a great job of keeping the different narrators separated, but keeping the story together. This story has lots of twists and turns and leads you in many different directions. The ending was amazing and as you read it, you can think back and see how the story was pointing to it in an indirect sort of way. I did not guess what was going to happen, but I really liked the fact that it wasn't just out of the blue, there were clues I just did not pick up on.

Laura is an unreliable narrator, which has been done a lot recently, but The Night Before was different than other books. In only took me a few pages to get sucked in and realize that it wasn't the same old story line again. I highly recommend this page turner!

The Night Before is the latest story from Wendy Walker. Ms Walker is consistent, making this book difficult to put down, as were her previous titles. In The Night Before, the current story takes place in just a couple of days with the past woven in, bringing the reader needed information. I was given an early copy to review.

I received this book "The Night Before" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. "I don't know....She was just born that way. Born with fists for hands. It's hard to love a girl like that." Laura has felt unloved her whole life and this is her story.
This book has to be the best book I have read this year! I loved this book!!! Suspenseful, page turner, did not want to put this book down, words flow smoothly, must read, will keep you guessing, highly recommend!

What a rollercoaster! This book had me on the edge of my seat for most of the read. I was thoroughly satisfied with how the book turned out and how it ended. A well written, suspenseful psychological thriller.

Where is Laura? What is Laura? Killer or victim? This was a surprisingly great book! I didn't know what the book was about which was perfect because once you start reading no matter what your captivated into reading this mystery till the end! Plan on staying up all night reading!! Loved the book flipping between Rosie and Laura! The end was a total surprise! I can't say enough about how much I loved this book. I don't want to give any spoilers because not knowing what is going on is the best part of figuring out this mystery.. Where is Laura! Loved.. buy this book.. read it today! You will not be disappointed!

I was super excited to be receive an email telling me I was auto approved for this title as I had reviewed Wendy Walkers previous novel Emma in the Night.

Again, this novel has strong psychopathic theme central to it. Laura has returned to her childhood town after a 10-year enforced ostracization. Laura has an unsettled history, that saw her childhood boyfriend beaten to death with a baseball bat, and a mentally ill man convicted of the murder. But Laura was found with the baseball bat in her hand and blood on her dress. Was she as innocent as she claimed to be?

After the break-up of a relationship Laura returns to her childhood town to live with her sister. Keen to start afresh she signs up to a dating website and goes on a date. But when she doesn’t return her sister becomes concerned that history might be repeating itself and goes in search of her sister.

This is a good old fashioned twisty page turner. The dual narrators, Laura and Rosie make a good slant to the unfolding of events, and the ending is clever. I enjoyed this, and for me it’s the better of the two Wendy Walker novels I have read.

Thank you to Netgalley, and to the publisher for offering me the chance to review this novel super early. I just loved it.

Laura has an unsettling history of instability, so when she suddenly leaves her job and apartment and moves in with her sister, Rosie is not surprised. Rosie is, however, wary. With the hope of cheering Laura up, Rosie convinces Laura to sign up for a dating website. That first date made everyone nervous – Laura, Rosie, Rosie’s husband Joe, their longtime friend Gabe – and when Laura didn’t come home, they began searching for any clues she might have left behind.

I don’t want to say too much, since this book won’t come out for a while, but I was definitely hooked. Laura’s history, Rosie’s considerable concern, Gabe’s talent for digital searching, Joe’s strength and stability…this is a fast-paced, excellent, and suspenseful read.

Another page turner fromWalker, and a book I happy to talk up. While I thought the end seemed rushed, I enjoyed the thriller and was happy to read it in one sitting!

I received an early ARC - reading the premise had me curiously interested.

I enjoyed her two previous books, but this one blew me away! WOW!!

I highly recommend this book!!!

She was hard to love as a child and was told so.
So she rejects anything remotely feminine- the color pink, dresses, smiles, ...willing away
all "girly" things and her good looks

Now, escaping a previous boyfriend
who was a manly man, who made it safe to lay down her sword and shield.
She had a starving inner child who was hungry for love, for some compassion and understanding
I could completely relate to character!!

I highly recommend this book!!

Rosie's sister Laura moved in with her and her husband after a bad breakup. When Laura tries to reenter the dating world, she goes out with a man she met on a dating website and doesn't return home the next day. But are Rosie and Joe afraid of what her date did to Laura or what she did to him?

I was invited to read this on Netgalley and took St. Martin's up on the offer. I'm glad I did.

The Night Before is a tale of secrets, obsession, and the past acting as an anchor. Or is it? Laura is a woman on the run from her past, a past that saw her high school boyfriend beaten to death with a baseball bat and a mentally ill man convicted of the crime. But is that what really happened? As one of the characters says "You never really know what's lurking inside someone" or something to that effect.

The story is split into three timelines: Laura with her therapist months before, Laura on the night of, and Rosie after Laura has disappeared. It wound up being a great tool for building suspense. Misdirection is one of the hallmarks of a good thriller for me and I think Wendy Walker had my number from the first page. I made all the wrong assumptions based on the trail she laid down, just like most of the characters. I had an inkling something was amiss but couldn't lay my finger on it until it was way too late.

I'm a gumshoe from way back. I've read a few hundred mystery and suspense novels over the years. There's nothing I enjoy more than having an author pull the wool over my eyes and make me feel like a rube. Wendy Walker accomplished just that. Four out of five stars.

This book gives a roller coaster a run for its money! So many twists and turns and I never expected any of them! Refreshing and new for the thriller genre.

This is the second Wendy Walker book I have read and it didn’t disappoint. Well written, and I love the unpredictability, you never know which way it’s going to go. No spoilers here. Just read it!!

Have you ever read a book and thought "holy crap, I need to read every book this author has written, right away?" Well, that's me right now. I read it in almost one sitting, and got irritable when my husband interrupted me. "I'm at 98%, Lemme BE!" It's a good thing he is so forgiving.

Wendy Walker got my attention with this book. A protagonist who returns home to her sister and their group of life-long friends in small-town CT in order to heal from a bad breakup in NYC. The next step in the recovery plan: try dating again. One first date. Only, the next morning, she is missing. And in the shared past of the four friends is a murder...and the past has them second-guessing everything.

Well-developed story. Believable characters. Very good read. Suspenseful. Ending feels satisfying.
#TheNightBefore #NetGalley #Goodreads

I enjoyed reading Emma In The Night. So, when I got the request to read another book written by Wendy Walkers, I dropped what I was doing and started reading. I could not put this down until I finished reading it.

The description doesn’t give you much information. But that turned out to be part of the attraction to the book. I don’t think the technique would have worked if I had not already read and enjoyed one of Wendy’s books. So, take it from me you do not want to miss reading this book if you like psychological thrillers, suspense or mystery. This is a must read! After you have finished reading this book you will be a Wendy Walker fan reading her others.

I don’t want to give any spoilers and keep in line with the brief description. In addition to being one of the best psychological thrillers I have read, it was also a great family drama with enjoyable lifelong friendships. This was not a predictable storyline. There were plenty of twists and turns I did not see coming.

The author alternates from past to present and from different characters points of view. I felt this was an effective and enjoyable writing style for this particular book. I would love to see this book made into a movie.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley. A special thank you to Jordan at St. Martin’s Press and to Wendy Walker for choosing me to read the book prior to publishing in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Laura's gone out with a man she chose off a dating site and she hasn't come home to her sister Rosie's house so Rosie goes looking for her. This tale of a woman wrapped in by a man has several levels- Laura's high school date was killed, she's worked with a therapist to get through her trauma, and now, something isn't right about Jonathan, if that is his name. The chapters move back and forth in time and between narrators, although they are primarily Laura in the first person and Rosie in the third person. This one will have you guessing for quite some time. The first twist seemed gratuitous and I wasn't sure why it was relevant. The second twist- the big one- could have been better foreshadowed because it came pretty much out of nowhere. Nonetheless, this was a quick page turning read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Be careful who you date!

When I got the rare opportunity to do a super early read of Walker’s latest I was ecstatic! This one isn’t even out until next summer, no cover yet even and the blurb is still very short so I’m going to keep this brief so as pique your interest but not to spoil anything.

Really the only thing you can tell from the brief blurb is that a woman is missing, that’s Laura and then you also hear from her sister Rosie. This is not your run of the mill missing persons story, Walker puts her own unique spin on things and she wrong footed me more times than I can count. I had a new theory practically every single chapter and in the end none of mine were right. The pacing was awesome, it started out strong and steady, hooking me instantly and then the closer you get to the end the faster it gets. It all ends in a whirlwind of surprising revelations and it’s only then do you realize the depth of Walker’s plotting and keen ability to weave a dark tale. I loved this one and urge you to preorder it, must read!

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

The Night Before in three words: Compulsive, Fast and Clever.