The Night Before was a solid thriller that kept me on the hook until the end. I really had no idea what was going on throughout the entire book ... and every time I thought I had it figured it out there was a new twist!⁣
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Didn’t enjoy the book It wasn’t interesting and didn’t keep my attention. I’ve never read this author and I don’t know if I’d give her another chance.

The Night Before was a fast-paced and captivating read because it was the first of it’s type for me to read regarding the relationship between technology, social media, and dating.

While Wendy Walker is not a new author, this was the first introduction for me to her writing and it will not be the last. I look forward to checking out some of her previous novels. Some other authors that I follow have commented on this novel and I have shared their insight below along with a description of the book.

First dates can be murder. "Ferociously smart." --AJ Finn "Riveting." --Riley Sager "Addictive." --Liv Constantine "Wonderfully tense." --Aimee Molloy "Irresistible." --Mary Kubica "Impossible to put down." --Megan Miranda Riveting and compulsive, national bestselling author Wendy Walker's The Night Before "takes you to deep, dark places few thrillers dare to go" as two sisters uncover long-buried secrets when an internet date spirals out of control. Laura Lochner has never been lucky in love. She falls too hard and too fast, always choosing the wrong men. Devastated by the end of her last relationship, she fled her Wall Street job and New York City apartment for her sister's home in the Connecticut suburb where they both grew up. Though still haunted by the tragedy that's defined her entire life, Laura is determined to take one more chance on love with a man she's met on an Internet dating site. Rosie Ferro has spent most of her life worrying about her troubled sister. Fearless but fragile, Laura has always walked an emotional tightrope, and Rosie has always been there to catch her. Laura's return, under mysterious circumstances, has cast a shadow over Rosie's peaceful life with her husband and young son - a shadow that grows darker as Laura leaves the house for her blind date. When Laura does not return home the following morning, Rosie fears the worst. She's not responding to calls or texts, and she's left no information about the man she planned to meet. As Rosie begins a desperate search to find her sister, she is not just worried about what this man might have done to Laura. She's worried about what Laura may have done to him...

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion. I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend you add this to your TBR stack! This will pull you in from page one. as it’s fast paced and very suspenseful and leave you hanging until the end. Can’t wait to read more by this author!

As always, huge and heartfelt thank you to Wendy Walker, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy to read in exchange for my honest review.

The Night Before made me want hit fast forward and find out what happened ASAP... but no- it burned at a slow pace and I could not stop turning pages and read it fast enough.

I went in blind and while I didn’t LOVE the ending, I do think I understood why WW wrapped things up the way she did. I look forward to more books by this author!

While I genuinely enjoyed this title, I found it fairly predictable. Maybe it's because I read so much of the same genre? I really liked the relationship between Rosie and Laura. Family dynamics can be a lot of fun to write and read, and I really like what the author did with the sisters. I think this is great for a light day mystery read. like a vacation book.

overall this one was just okay for me. I had high hopes for The Night Before after reading the synopsis, but it really just fell flat for me. The characters were not likeable and I couldn't get invested into the story. Overall 3/5 for me.

This was a total flop for me. I was really invested in this book just by the sypnosis. I was under the interpretation that Laura was a crazy ass bitch and she waa out killing people but I was sadly mistaken.
I'm thinking that this was a mystery thriller and that's why I didn't care for it. The whole brother situation where Laura is Rosie's husband sister was stupid. That really wasn't needed. The plot twist of this story needs some work. I'm sorry but once I found out the whole "reveal" I laughed. I understood the story but I just wished it was executed a bit differently.

Now that is a psychological thriller! Buckle your seatbelts friends and clear your schedule.

Reasons why I loved this. 1) alternating POV. This is a favorite because it propels me to read one more chapter and before you know it, it's over. 2) Laura 3)plot (internet dating isn't exactly original BUT this is great)

Laura has moved in with her sister to get a fresh start. Her sister, Rosie is protective of Laura and her emotional state after a traumatic incident when she was younger. She also doesn't trust her. When Laura doesn't return home after a date with someone she met on the internet, Rosie needs to find her for her safety as well as her date's safety. It's a race against time and time is flying as clues are dropped about Laura's past and present.

Dark, twisty, and didn't see it coming.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc

3.75 stars Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for allowing me to read and review this book.

At the center of Internet dating, Laura, never lucky in love, takes a chance - again. But upon meeting this new man, a blind date, she goes missing. Her sister, her brother in law and a childhood friend are all looking for her. They are scared for her life - but also scared of what SHE may have done.

A real 'who-dun-it' mystery. Many twists and turns coming to the final outcome. Just when you think you have it figured out another twist happens.

This one missed the mark for me. Unfortunately, I did not mesh well with the writing style, and the plot did not engage me enough to continue in light of this.

I had high hopes for this one. I was a big fan of Emma in the Night. While this one had a psychological element, I didn't feel it was on the same level as what we saw in Emma in the Night.

Laura Lochner has been told she's broken... she can't be loved. Laura doesn't believe it, yeah, she hasn't always made the best decisions in the past when choosing men, but there's still a chance right? She has hope that she can still find love, that there is someone out there that can, and WILL love her. She meets Jonathan on a dating app and agrees to go on a date. As they begin to get to know more about each other, it's clear that both are harboring secrets, but who is the real threat?

When Laura doesn't return home from her date, her sister, Rosie begins to worry. Rosie has always worried. She wants to trust her sister, but after all, she knows her better than anyone.

Wendy Walker does a great job of keeping you guessing. It's a page-turner for sure. What turned me off in the end? Well, it comes down to "show, don't tell". I wanted to be in the moment more. I wanted to feel the emotions as if I was right there with the characters, and at times, I just didn't think this was possible. As a result, I couldn't connect with Laura.

I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wendy Walker for allowing me the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for my review.

Others have called it “compulsive reading”, and I have to agree. Very interesting characters, and NOT an easily guessed plot. Well written.

I found this book a little slow. I didn’t feel very attached to the characters. The ending picked up. This one was just okay for me.

I felt this was a pretty standard thriller and didn't offer anything new or exciting to readers who tend to gravitate towards this genre. The characters are pretty standard and none really stood out.

The story alternated between past and present, giving readers a glimpse of Laura's activity the night before. Although the backstory was required, I felt that it took away from any suspense the author was trying to build. It didn't allow my mind to wander and come up with ideas about what happened to her so the read was less interesting.

This book was well written, but seemed to drag at times. It came together nicely, but it seemed to take too long to get there. This was my first book by Wendy Walker, and I'm sort of hoping I will like her next one a little more

I found this book to be an average thriller. I love thrillers and was excited by the premise of this book, but just found it to be an okay read. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and fully appreciating their back stories and motivations which was needed for this book. Laura and Rosie were not like unlikeable characters, but at the end of the novel, they still felt like unknowns to me. Accordingly, I could not understand the significance of why certain events were happening which left me feeling disconnected with this thriller. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ stars.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin Press for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

Laura is a complicated woman with a sketchy history. She is lacking self confidence and filled with anger and she is not clear as to why this is. When she doesn’t return from a date with a man she met in an online dating service, her sister, Rosie, panics and the hunt for missing Laura begins.

Things aren’t always as they seem. This plot twists and turns. The characters are interesting and believable. The author, Wendy Walker, connects all the dots for you and she makes sense of everything by bringing all the threads of the story together.

I found this interesting mystery/thriller to have some new and creative ideas. If you think you have it figured out before it ends, you may be wrong.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of The Night Before by Wendy Walker.

Laura has "fists for hands, is hard to love." You learn this quickly because it's repeated often in the book. Laura has always been volatile and difficult. She has also been desperate for love, but seems to look for it in all the wrong places. After leaving another sour relationship, Laura moved in with her sister Rosie in order for a fresh start and companionship with her sister and brother-in-law. But Rosie is now saddled with worrying even more about her sister and what her sister in capable of doing. This becomes all the more real after Laura doesn't come home the night after her Tinder date. What has happened to Laura, or more troubling, what has Laura done to her date?

Ugh, I don't know. I can see the appeal to this book. It wasn't awful, but it was a bit too much of a slow burn, and it reached way too far. I really struggled to invest in the story or the characters. The one thing I did appreciate was the spotlight shone on how people will respond to how they are raised and the narratives created about them.

Loving Wendy Walker, I jumped right on the opportunity to read The Night Before. Actually recommending and including both titles as picks for my book club being All is Not Forgotten was unforgettably amazing. Unfortunately, this one was just an average psychological thriller for me.