3.5 stars. I thought this was a really great and unique concept for a thriller, which is a genre where the premise of many books are interchangeable. Laura has just gone through a really rough breakup and moved back home to live with her sister, when she decides to give dating another shot. She heads out on a first date and the next day her sister realizes she never came home. Her sister, Rosie, knows something is wrong, but she doesn't know if Laura has been hurt or has hurt someone else.

I don't think I've ever read a thriller where you aren't sure if the woman is the villain or victim of the story and I thought that was a great idea. I did find the way people talked about the main character a little odd, I felt like all they did was psychoanalyze her, even her family, but it did make you understand her internal monologue a lot more. I love trying to guess the ending of a thriller, and I will say that I did guess the ending of this one to a T, but I don't usually feel disappointed even when I am able to guess what happens. I felt like this book really grabbed my interest at about the halfway point, but before that it was a little hard to get into, which is why I didn't rate it higher. I liked the writing style and I really appreciated how so many different elements were tied together at the end. I would definitely read more books from this author. I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason I just couldn't get into this. I didn't. Like the characters or the stOry. Couldn't finish.

This book took me on a quite a ride! I was totally invested in the sisters and found myself holding my breath at times.

Loved this book! It was a quick page turner and the author knows how to write a fast paced novel. Can not wait to read more by this author.
Thanks for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of The Night Before!

“You are unloveable”.... that is how Laura Lochner has always viewed herself. Laura goes out on a date with an online match, Jonathan, and doesn’t come home. Has something happened to Laura? Did Jonathan do something? He keeps asking questions about Laura’s past and things Jonathan has told Laura are turning out to be lies. But what if Jonathan is the one in trouble and should be afraid of Laura?? Eleven years ago Laura was found standing over her boyfriend holding the bat that killed him... her mother once described her as having “fists for hands” so did she do something to Jonathan? Wow! This was such a fast paced book and I couldn’t put it down!!! The second I thought I was figuring out what happened eleven years ago and what happened on Laura’s date last night another twist is added and totally throws me off! I would absolutely recommend this book and will adding all of Wendy Walker’s books to my TBR pile!

As we all know the genre of physiological thrillers is highly oversaturated. A lot of the books touted as such are as thrilling as watching Jell-O set. The description of The Night Before caught my attention.
The story introduces us to sisters Rosie (the married mom and responsible one) and Laura (the single, irresponsible, damaged one). After a suspicious break up with her latest beau, Laura takes a leave from work and moves back to town settling in with Rosie and her family. When you leave your job and boyfriend behind what do you do? How do you get over the loss??? That's right; you troll online for a new hottie. We read about Laura getting all dolled up to go on a date with a stranger she meets online. She's making sure everything is perfect, and even though she is hesitant to drive her sister's minivan on her hot date, she decides to "go big or go home."
All is well in the world until the next morning. Rosie senses something is amiss. Her hot hubby wants to get some morning nookie, but Rosie decides that hearing about her sister's possible one-night stand is more important. (Now you know that's total fiction) The problem is, she can't find Laura anywhere…. And the twists begin.
The Night Before was the first book I have read by Wendy Walker, and I must say it was a crowd-pleaser. I liked that the book was told in alternating viewpoints. The story starts off with one of the sisters visiting a shrink. You know nothing good can come from this story.
If you fancy suspense and a good "Alfred Hitchcock" type cat and mouse game, The Night Before is the book for you.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

The perfect fast paced beach read. Laura is missing, her sister Rosie will stop at nothing to find her. Regardless of a tragic incident in her past, a multitude of bad choices in men, Rosie is determined to find out what happened the night before. The night Laura didn’t come home.

Laura recently moved back home with her sister Rosie and Rosie’s husband Joe and son after a heartbreaking breakup. After a few months she decides to start dating and signs up in a dating website.

One night she heads out on her first date and doesn’t come home. Rosie, Joe, and childhood friend Gabe desperately search for her. She has a history of bad choices when it comes to men and has always been haunted by a tragedy in her past. When they finally convince the police to get involved, everyone starts to wonder if Laura is in danger or if she is the dangerous one?

As the book jumps back and forth from Laura’s point of view and Her friends and family’s we find out exactly what happened The Night Before.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Thank you to St Martins Press for a free copy of this book for review. Wendy Walker is an auto buy author for me so I was eager to read her new book. It definitely did not disappoint. This a domestic suspense that kept me guessing throughout. Laura has recently returned to her home town to live with her sister and her husband after a bad breakup. Unfortunately Laura’s life is full of emotional baggage from her earliest memories on. When Laura heads out on a date with a man she met on a dating site her sister is understandably worried about her. Rosie’s worst fears are confirmed when Laura doesn’t return home from the date. This is where the suspense really kicks in. I don’t want to give away too much information in case of spoilers. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing was great as was the character development.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker is not as fast paced as some of the thrillers I have read recently, but that doesn't mean that the twists and turns don't keep coming. The storytelling by Wendy Walker is very different in that it unfolds from two different points of view. One being the main character, Laura, and the other being Laura's concerned sister Rosie. Walker weaves the story of Laura's disappearance after a blind date with her sister Rosie's frantic search to uncover Laura's whereabouts in this thriller that is sure to keep you guessing. Although the story did not seem to be as fast paced as some of the other thrillers I have read, it still managed to keep me engaged, especially because of the way in which Walker develops her characters. Giving them a sense of depth but a mysterious quality that leaves the reader wondering what could this person possibly be hiding.

I've never read anything by Wendy Walker but I've heard great things about her books so I was eager to dive into one. This story follows a woman named Laura, who is preparing to go on a date with someone she met online. Her sister Rosie becomes very concerned when Laura doesn't return home the following morning and goes on a search to find out what happened to her.

This book was full of twists and turns and most of the chapters ended with a small cliff-hanger that made it difficult to put down. I enjoyed the story and the twists but I felt like it wasn't very memorable.

The story bounces between 3 different timelines, the night before, present day, and several months in the past. I wasn't thrilled with this format because I would really become interested in one of the timelines and have to wait to get back to it.

Overall, this was a decent thriller but a bit forgettable.

I received an arc from Netgalley and the publisher to review honestly. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a great thriller. Had me guessing for a while- wasn't sure who was crazy or who was just imagining things. I would highly recommend this quick read for the beach this summer or a rainy afternoon.

Told in the alternating voices of two sisters, Laura who has moved back home after a bad breakup and is getting ready for a first date and Rosie, married with child who frantically searches for Laura when she doesn't come back from her date.

A bit of a slow moving plot but the unexpected twists were more than enough to keep me reading until the end, Enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.

A fast paced thrilling read centered around a missing sister. The Night Before is a story told via dual timeline, one from each sister. One of the sisters, Laura, has you thinking she did one thing, while her sister Rosie and her brother in law have to piece together the puzzle. Perfectly paced with Walker revealing critical information at exactly the right time. A must read for any fans of the suspense or thriller genre.

The Night Before is the story of two sisters who are not as close as they could be, thanks to a wild ride of a childhood. It starts off sounding like it’s going to a be a thriller based on the perils of online dating, and it essentially is. It morphs fairly seamlessly into a thriller based on a very troubled woman and the violent ends that befall the men she dates. And then, then it takes a turn that isn’t expected and seems to come out of nowhere.

Laura Heart Lochner is the very troubled woman. Rosie Ferro is her sister. Rosie is married to Joe. Their best friend, since childhood, is Gabe. They are on odd quartet and that’s part of what makes The Night Before readable… you just want to figure out why it works between the group of them. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t, not really… too many secrets, too many lies.

A good deal of The Night Before is based off a death that happened when the foursome were teenagers. Nobody is quite sure exactly what happened that night, even though they were all there, and nobody has ever quite learned to trust themselves or the others. Rosie medicates herself with Benadryl and wine, Joe drinks after Rosie goes to bed, Laura had an affair with her psychiatrist, and Gabe made a career of investigating other people’s lives.

Laura, recovering from an unexpected breakup (or was it?), is staying with Rosie and Joe when she decides to try online dating, figuring a site dedicated toward older men with established careers would be a safer bet than a Swipe Right-Swipe Left app. Of course, people lie online. Laura lies online. This causes a host of problems for everyone involved, including Rosie, Joe, and Gabe when Laura doesn’t return from her date with the man they don’t know.


Because this is a thriller and a mystery, writing a review is hard, especially when it’s a fairly good mystery and thriller, because spoilers could so easily be tripped into. And I don’t want to do that because The Night Before is definitely worth your time to read. If you do read it, let me know in the comments what you think of the twist. The twist bothers me a bit, but the book is sticking with me and maybe that says more than a wonky twist does.

I received an advance copy of The Night Before through NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest and original review. All thoughts are my own and my review will be posted on multiple sites.

This. Book. Was. So. Good.

I started reading it and immediately I felt my stomach get tight in anticipation... in dread... knowing that Wendy Walker is brilliant at sucker punching the reader with information that leaves you reeling - without it ever feeling like it came out of nowhere.

Told through alternating narrators - sisters Laura and Rosie take us on a 24 hour journey that brings up old memories, distrusts, and pain.

Laura, has moved back from the city and is living with her sister, brother-in-law and nephew while she figures things out. One thing that is clear from the beginning - Laura's past is complicated, and things aren't always as they seem.

Laura goes on a date one night and isn't home in the morning ... leaving Rosie concerned. But not necessarily for her sister. What did Laura do? What follows is the back and forth; Rosie living in the present as she tries to find her sister and make sense of Laura's life: and Laura, giving us the backgrounder of her childhood and life ... all the little details you need to pay attention to while we wait for the plot to thicken and then reveal itself.

If you loved All Is Not Forgotten then this is the perfect book for you. Written in a way that leaves you a little uncomfortable, but also wanting more, Wendy Walker delivers another thrilling read. I didn't want to put it down.

Solid book throughout, with a really great ending. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Meh.

I thought this was a great story premise. It was actually one I was really excited about. Once the reviews started pouring in, I got a little discouraged and didn't want to read it immediately.

Now that I'm done with the book, I can say that I do agree with all of the reviews saying this was a mediocre book. It was a great story, nothing majorly exciting or unlike anything I've read before. But this was just enough of a great story to keep me interested enough to finish the book.

I'm still willing to give another Wendy Walker book another chance though!

Wendy Walker is astoundingly good - this is the third novel I've read from her, and all three are five-star-worthy. Even with a concept that sounds pedestrian (online dating lies), Walker makes it shine with the stellar characterisation of Laura.

Laura is the kind of person we wish we weren't, but fear we might be. Even her own mother calls her "difficult to love". When you hear that as a child, it can screw you up for life. So it's no surprise that she sought out difficult relationships for herself.

Forget "unlikable" heroines - this is an unlovable character that strikes a chord.

Laura moves back to her hometown to live with her sister after an apparently disastrous relationship in New York, and decides to try online dating. But what exactly has happened before? This was a very thrilling thriller, and I would definitely recommend it. The writing style reminded me of The Wife Between Us, so whilst they’re quite different stories, if you enjoyed that then this could be the book for you.

A chilling, suspenseful, psychological thriller about a woman who has been unlucky in love and dating. She tries a dating site and thinks, just maybe, she is finally lucky. Bur she's in danger and doesn't know from whom. A very surprising "who done it!"
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for my Kindle.