A young carnival worker Maureen finds herself in Opal Beach, the perfect summer vacation town of multiple wealthy families. While in town with the carnival, she meets and befriends a couple of people who advise her to plant her roots in the small town. But before Maureen can follow her friends' advice - she suddenly disappears.

A few decades later, Allison, a fresh divorcee and a woman who carries a close resemblance to the missing teenager, moves into the town. Per her sister's advice, Allison is devoted to making this relocation a new phase of her life. As days go by, Allison learns more about her neighbors, town's residents, and most of all - the terrifying secret a charming little town of Opal Beach has been hiding for years.

I have been struggling with the plot of the novel for a good first half of the book, I didn't find it catching. However, the second part has been more thrilling and entertaining. I think I would have loved the story a lot more if I had found the characters more likable and less predictable. Thank you NetGalley and Graydon House publisher for a free advanced copy of the book.

I was drawn into the setting of an upper class beach town with a mysterious disappearance and two time lines, but I just couldn't stay interested and I kept mixing up the characters from the 1980's and the present time.
I grew up near the Jersey shore in the 1980's and I thought thought the dialogue sounded somehow forced and not quite right. I was disappointed that I just didn't care about any of the characters - it seemed like it was going to be a good read, but it just didn't do it for me.

One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might be too good to be true, and before the summer is up, she vanishes.

Decades later, when Allison Simpson is offered the opportunity to house-sit in Opal Beach during the off-season, it seems like the perfect chance to begin fresh after a messy divorce. But when she becomes drawn into the mysterious disappearance of a girl thirty years before, Allison realizes the gorgeous homes of Opal Beach hide dark secrets. And the truth of that long-ago summer is not even the most shocking part of all...

I’m not sure why, but sometimes I feel like I’ve read a different book from books that get glowing reviews. One Night Gone started off with such promise. We meet Maureen, a young woman who goes missing in this beautiful rich beach town she calls home and the story is told from her POV and Allison’s POV who has moved to this town 30 years later, aka present day.

Let me just say, this book took me almost 3 freakin' weeks to finish. By the grace of the universe, I made it to that finish line but I was literally crawling to it. I felt it was painstakingly slow for my liking and I almost DNF. Not to mention, I felt that one of the characters story was unnecessarily bastardized by the author and I hated the direction it went in and just felt icky about the whole thing. Then the plot twist was just overkill 👎🏽 By then I was ready to throw my kindle across the room. Typically, I like more action in my thrillers, a good pace, and a somewhat realistic story with a few “omg I never saw that coming” moments. I didn’t get any of that from this book unfortunately. Something about this book rubbed me the wrong way. Hopefully some of you will have better luck with it than I did! 😐

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "One Night Gone" by Tara Laskowski. A perfect read for the spooky season. This was a very compelling read. There is nothing bad I can say about this book except certain events were a little predictable. Other things that happened were very surprising. The characters seemed real and it was easy to imagine them while reading. I highly recommend this novel!

I enjoyed parts of this books. I was very interest in the Maureen storyline and was bored by Allison's. I wanted more character development and plot line from Maureen. I guess I am just not a fan of the writing style, using a dull current day person to unveil a much more interesting mystery of the past.

Having looked at a few other reviews I am not the only one that feels that Allison's point of view took away from the story.

I would give it a 2.5.

It is not something I would recommend my friends to read but I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it.

Precisely what I needed at this time. This moderately paced suspenseful mystery of a read has a dual time line. Allison in the present day, still getting over her divorce and public humility, trying to start over by house sitting in a small beach town. Maureen in the past, a carnival "summer girl", who gets involved with the *rich* group - a terrible family home, making bad decisions and just trying to make things better. Instead, she's in an endless loop of getting nowhere.

It didn't make much sense why Allison was SO involved in what happened to Maureen. I get the curiosity but to make it her intention while away - well, maybe she just needed something to focus on. Either way, she becomes entangled in this small town, their secrets and puts herself in danger along the way.

I loved the atmosphere the author creates and could almost feel that coldness - whether from the weather or from the people themselves. The back and forth kept me intrigued and I found myself equally curious of both women. The main theme seemed to be how men find women disposable. They're selfish users who get what they want and if they don't - bye. And yet the women use them in their own way as well. Oh why do women get so emotionally attached to the men that don't treat them as they should?

Did this book give me a draw dropping ending? No. I wasn't surprised. I wasn't wowed. But I was pleasantly satisfied in the entirety of this read.

Maureen Haddaway is desperate for a fresh start. She comes to Opal Beach as a member of a travelling carnival. What she finds is a town where she thinks she could build a new life. A town she could call home. There is the opportunity for friendship, romance, and freedom from the turmoil she left behind. Everything is seemingly going perfect or is it? Maureen mysteriously vanishes from Opal Beach one night, never to be seen or heard from again.

Decades later, Allison Simpson is offered the opportunity to house-sit in Opal Beach during the off-season. She’s looking for a new beginning after a messy and public divorce. As she starts to make friends in town Allison learns about Maureen’s disappearance. Something sparks an interest inside her and Allison is immediately on the hunt to find out what happened. Is there something dark lurking behind the gorgeous oceanfront mansions in Opal Beach?

Tara Laskowski delivers an atmospheric, suspenseful mystery within the pages of ONE NIGHT GONE. The story is set between alternating timelines, one set in the winter and one nearing the end of summer decades earlier. Each story arc transports the reader directly into that version of Opal Beach thanks to Laskowski’s clever writing abilities. Maureen’s timeline, set in the mid-1980’s is filled with not only perfect summer beach vibes, but also an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. This timeline was absolutely intoxicating to read about, but it was Allison’s present day winter timeline that aided in the air of mystery and suspense to ONE NIGHT GONE.

Each timeline was told from a different voice, which allowed the reader to gain a first hand exposure to the events taking place. Maureen’s story was narrated by her, not someone who knew her, which meant the reader was along for the ride that led to Maureen’s disappearance. Mixed throughout Allison’s present day investigation into Maureen are various accounts from people who knew her. Their opinions on what happened that summer and where Maureen went. Was she simply a carnival girl looking to meet a wealthy prince charming? Did she have to vanish because she got in with a bad crowd?

As the alternating storylines from Maureen and Allison build closer to the truth, the reader is left feeling as if everyone in Opal Beach might have had something to do with the disappearance. Clearly everyone here is hiding something. Laskowski kept me guessing right up to the very end with several fun red herrings and twists that kept me on my toes. The story itself is extremely bingeable, but it is the ending that truly made me unable to put the book down.

If you’re looking for a suspenseful, atmospheric, and intriguing mystery I highly recommend adding ONE NIGHT GONE to your TBR!

Maureen is a carnie who makes new friends at the Opal Beach and just when things are looking up things quickly go downhill and she ends up missing. About 10 years later Allison Simpson is offered to house sit while she picks up the pieces of her life after divorce and no longer having a job during the quiet off season on Opal Beach. As she spends her time there she learns about the disappearance of Maureen and is left trinkets and such leading her to think that she wasn't just a runaway as everyone was led to believe. The further she looks into it the more dark secrets surface.

First off this was just what I needed for this month a good mystery with no romance, just the mystery and suspense of wondering what is going on. I loved seeing with every clue the closer Allusion was getting to figure out what really happen. Then there was the back and fourth through time seeing how things started for Maureen and what eventually led to her end. It was such an interesting difference between characters. The way the book ended as well was surprising and you know what there was so much going on and I recommend you lovely readers to check this book out. Such a great read, highly recommend!

Thank you so much to Graydon House Books and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book for my review.

I’m still trying to process this amazing book that completely blew me away. After reading the synopsis I wasn’t sure what I was in for but I really, really enjoyed this book.

I’m always looking for great thriller and mystery novels, especially at this time of year, and this book went above and beyond what I wanted. It had tons of plot twists, suspense, and even some ghostly, spooky things occurring. The plot and storyline were set up perfectly and I loved how the story went back to the 1970’s so you got a true feel about the story overall.

I also loved the character of Allison, she’s sad and depressed from her divorce and losing her job but that doesn’t stop her from digging into the disappearance of a girl decades later. She was so relatable and I loved how relentless she was in finding out everything.

Definitely a book I will be purchasing and rereading again!

This book just didn't do anything for me. I am from the Philadelphia area so it was really cool to read a book set in areas that I know for a short part of the book. I didn't care about our main character. I felt like she didn't grow and even though she got pulled into the disappearance, I felt like she just felt sorry for herself the whole time.

"One Night Gone" is a suspenseful, atmospheric novel that will keep you turning pages late into the night. If you're looking to sink into a good mystery this fall, this makes for a great pick.

After being fired for her live rant on tv about her cheating husband, Allison takes up a house-sitting job in Opal Beach. As she gets to know the town, she discovers a 30-year-old mystery about a young girl who disappeared. Despite being told to quit digging, she continues to unravel the lies and deceit within the town. What happened to the girl? Why do people want her to stop looking into it? Told through alternating points of view, readers get a glimpse of the life of the girl who is missing as well as Allison. The characters are intriguing. The plot is full of twists and turns. Readers who like mystery, suspense, and spooky fiction will enjoy reading this book.

Disclaimer: This book was received as a free e-galley from NetGalley and the publisher. Please note that the majority of the books that we (The Keepers of the Books) review are complementary copies from publishers and authors. We are not paid for these reviews. The copies are provided in exchange for an honest review, and all opinions are our own.

A haunting mystery just perfect for any spooky-light October reading list. The interlacing dual timelines and expertly unveiled secrets and crafty characters will pull you into this mystery more and more with every chapter.

One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski was a great read! I was pulled in quickly and found myself reading faster as the story went on.

The author did such an amazing job of setting the scene - Opal Beach was so real feeling that had I woken up there, I wouldn't have been surprised.

The characters of Maureen and Allison were well written, real and relatable. They mystery of what happened to Maureen was well plotted, interesting and even though I figured out what happened, it didn't lessen my interest at all.

I would definitely recommend this book to mystery / thriller readers.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me an ARC at my request. All thoughts in this review are my own.

When I saw this title come up on Netgalley, I wasn't sure about it, but I thought I would give it a try. I was happy to be approved rather quickly and initially the book started out good enough where I liked it and wanted to keep reading. At around the 75 page mark, I thought about stopping, but I wanted to give the book a chance (so many of my book friends liked it, I try to push through more when it's an arc), but I honestly should have given up.

Even though this was an almost DNF for me, I don't think this would be a low rated or DNF for most. The story is intriguing enough - we have Maureen, a carnival worker in a beach town in 1985. She is young, has a troubled past and gets mixed up with the rich kids in town, but she can certainly hold her own. Then we have Allison, the present day perspective from a former television meteorologist who is retreating to previously mentioned beach town after an embarrassing and ultimately job ending, on-air rant against her cheating husband. Allison meets Maureen's best friend, Tammy, who now runs the local coffee shop and they become friends. Once she learns about the disappearance of Maureen, she increasingly becomes more interested to the point of not being able to let it go.

I think it was a good book enough debut, but it just wasn't for me. I found Allison kind of annoying and didn't quite understand her motivation for becoming so invested in the mystery of Maureen. While reading Maureen's perspective, it felt kind of like I've read this all before. I didn't connect well with her plight either. When you find yourself not caring for both characters or their outcome, it's hard to provide a glowing review. Those feelings are purely personal and many others find themselves feeling the opposite of what I did. The book is good at keeping you guessing, my problem was that I just didn't care that much. If you find yourself stumbling on this review and wonder what to do - I would read it. I am clearly in the minority.

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin and Tara Laskowski for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Review Date: 10/11/19
Publication Date: 10/1/19

The tag line: “It was the perfect place to disappear…” was just as true for Maureen Haddaway thirty years ago as it is for Allison Simpson today. The two women each have a “sad story,” and they’re light-fingered, observant, and more than a bit broken by life. One Night Gone’s perspective shifts between each woman’s experience at the Jersey Shore.

Opal Beach is a fictional town on the Jersey Shore (“somewhere halfway between Ocean City and Atlantic City and way less touristy”)—a community comprised in Maureen’s day of the one percent: the rich summer families, the townies, and the carnies. Maureen is a carnie who works for C&D Amusements. After Jacqueline, a new acquaintance, introduces her to Clyde, he hires her and she thinks “it’s not a bad gig,” but that opinion likely reflects the life she’s left behind.

Clyde hires some locals to fill the spots, but we are the core crew that travels. The season picked up in late spring, and we did a few quick two-week carnivals, and then in early June we settled in Opal Beach for the summer to feed people terrible food and make them queasy on shitty rides. After Opal Beach, Jacqueline tells me, we move on to state fairs and harvest festivals, but this is only a temporary gig for me, something I need until I can figure things out, start fresh.



“Sure,” Jacqueline says in her sweet sarcastic way. “Melvin’s temporary, too. He’s been here seven years now.”



“This could be the place,” I say, ignoring her, refusing to think about Melvin and his sad eyes. I open our trailer window and let the salty air inside. “There’s a magic here. I can feel it.”

Allison doesn’t fit in with the current crowd of one-percenter folks nor is she a townie. She is notorious, however, and although she doesn’t talk about her past, everyone knows. If you blast your unfaithful spouse on a live weather report, that scene lives on in infamy. Allison’s sister, Annie, finds her a divine, off-season at the beach place to house-sit. It almost sounds too good to be true.

I tried not to roll my eyes at my sister’s undying optimism.



“And I’m sure these heavenly people are just going to hand me over the keys, right? Without even checking up on my… background?” I asked.



A large cumulus cloud whipped over the sun, dimming the patio and turning the strong wind cold. An omen, my mom would say, but quickly dismissed it.



“No, no, no.” Annie leaned forward, and I caught my reflection in her large lenses—a hunched-over, thin waif of a person with hair too long for forty. Ever since I’d gone off-air I’d let it grow past my shoulders, thought vainly I still dyed it every five weeks.

We learn a lot about Allison—her sister is worried about her, she’s gun-shy about her background, she was once an on-air personality, and she knows about clouds. Allison is tempted by the opportunity to live in Patty and John Worthington’s “oceanfront home, rent-free for the winter.” Being a divorcée at forty was never in the cards. No, she reflects, she “was supposed to be in Annapolis, living in a large, single-family home not far from the water, giving the morning weather report on WDLT Annapolis with a beaming smile and a jaunty flair, married to Dennis “Duke” Shetland.” Maybe it is time for a “new space” where she can “get perspective.”

Read More: Tara Laskowski’s Top 10 Scooby-Doo Monsters!
Annie and Allison christen the beach house by having a sisters-sleepover. They “celebrate” by playing a favorite game—hide-and-seek. While searching for a good hiding spot in Annie’s bedroom, like maybe under the bed, Allison finds a “bunched-up piece of fabric.”

It had a green-and-blue paisley print that shone like a mermaid’s scales. I loved silk and couldn’t help but run my fingers over it. It seemed brand-new.

It turns out not to be Annie’s so “finders keepers.” Allison decides that she’ll “just wear it for a little while” and take it to the dry-cleaners before Patty returns. Allison is quite enthralled with the house, particularly “Jim Gund’s art on the wall.” Gund is famous for his pictures of Ferris wheels.

The Ferris wheel, a bright yellow blur in motion, looked like it was going to spin right off the wall. There was something about Jim Gund’s paintings that felt alive. Something cracked through my thoughts then. I felt faint, and I had to grab on to the back of the couch for support.



I was his lobster baby—



A voice. A woman’s syrupy voice, a hint of a laugh but somehow cold and sinister, too. With the combination of the damp smell, which seemed to be getting stronger, I felt a little ill. I shook my head to clear it.



Lobster baby. Where had I heard that before? A movie? Something someone had said to me? It was there, just around a corner of my memory, but it flicked away as soon as I tried to focus on it.

How eerie is that? There’s something spooky about the house. Allison visits Sweet Spot coffee in town after Patty’s Keurig dies on her. She’s wearing Patty’s scarf in her hair. The barista seems uneasy and nervous around her so Allison sits down and catches up on her phone messages.

My phone beeped with a text from Annie: This is the first day of the rest of your life!



I chuckled, and when I looked up, the barista was standing there, holding out my coffee. “You’re her sister, aren’t you?” she said.



“I’m sorry?” I shut off my screen and put my phone down on the table.



“Or a cousin?”



The surprise must’ve shown on my face. She breathed out heavily. “You’re not…related to Maureen?”



I shook my head. “I don’t know a Maureen.”

The barista introduces herself: she’s Tammy. Years ago, her friend Maureen wore her hair with a scarf in it, just like Allison. And Tammy hasn’t seen Maureen since that summer. The paisley scarf and Gund’s carnie pictures are talismans or objects that guide Allison’s investigation into Maureen’s past. Many people who knew Maureen years ago still live in Opal Beach and the lives of the women became irretrievably intertwined. One Night Gone has an autumnal feel, there’s a sad patina to an empty beach town in the fall. Salt, sand, and cold winds form a chilly backdrop to unresolved stories. One Night Gone will inexorably draw you into its twists and turns, just like Allison becomes obsessed with Maureen’s long-ago fate.

Title: One Night Gone
Author: Tara Laskowski
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4 out of 5

When Maureen Haddaway arrives in Opal Beach, she’s a Summer Girl: working at the carnival that sets up at the beach town during the tourist season. She makes her first real friends and decides that her destiny—and her future—is in the seaside town. But some of the people Maureen has met are hiding things, and before the summer is over, Maureen disappears.

Years later, Allison Simpson arrives in Opal Beach to housesit in the off-season as she recovers from a very messy—and very public—divorce. Soon she finds herself drawn into the details of Maureen’s disappearance thirty years before. But Opal Beach still hides secrets, and Maureen’s fate isn’t even the most surprising one.

The setting in One Night Gone is such an integral part of this novel! The beach in the winter is something I have no desire to experience and reading this novel did not change that perception at all. I enjoyed reading the dual perspectives as Maureen’s and Allison’s stories unfolded, and the intricate connections in them kept me reading a little too late at night. I definitely recommend this read!

Tara Laskowski is an award-winning author. One Night Gone is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Graydon House via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

This is your typical before/after-time-line mystery with the rich vs. poor, etc. Nothing new, but an enjoyable mystery definitely doesn't need to be new, just have an engaging story. This was somewhat engaging, but I can't say I was eager to get back to the book - it was actually more of a chore than not, so I guess I found the whole plot a little dull. I was actually much more interested in the current timeline than the past one, finding myself not really connecting to Maureen in any meaningful way. The current timeline character, Allison, seemed much more fleshed out to me than the past characters, and no one else really filled their outlines, unfortunately.

All in all, it'll do what you need a flash-in-the-pan mystery to do to get you through some hours. But I can't say it will be memorable.

I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down from the minute that I picked it up. Flipping between Maureen and Allison's story lines keeps the reader entertained and the pages turning. The description of the places and people is absolutely wonderful, this book will leave you wanting more.

In 1985, Maureen moves to a coastal town for the summer where she works for a carnival. She becomes friends with a girl named Tammy and they find out that they both like the same boy, Clay. As the summer goes on they all become closer but by the end of the summer Maureen goes missing. Thirty years later Allison moves to the same town to start fresh and finds a job housesitting this really nice beach house. Allison meets Tammy at the local coffeeshop and tells her that she looks like her friend that went missing years ago. Allison starts digging up the past and starts finding dark secrets.

I really like this one a lot. I loved how atmospheric it was. I loved the dual timelines and I felt like it was done really well. I also loved the carnival aspect told from Maureen’s POV. This book is a slow burn mystery so don’t do into as a fast-paced thriller. I loved the build up of the story really enjoyed this one.