Contemporary murder mystery that switches narratives between present and the past. The main character, Allison, has come to a sleepy, small, coastal town just as it moves towards the off-season. As Allison meets people within the town, she learns about Maureen. A young adult girl who arrived in town more than two decades earlier, a stranger with the carnival, looking to find her way in the world. As the story moves between Maureen's life and Allison's, the suspense of what really happened to Maureen builds with a definite plot-twist in the end!

Overall, I'd give this book a solid 4 stars and would recommend to anyone interested in suspenseful mystery! Thanks to Net Galley, Graydon House Publishing, and Tara Laskowski for an advanced review copy. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

Thank to Netgalley and Graydon House for the ARC of this E book in exchange for an honest review.
I loved everything about this book! The characters meshed together but they didn't.
It as a fast paced, exciting read. A definite cat and mouse game with an ending I didn't expect/see coming. I definitely will be following and reading more from this author.

The cover caught my attention and the blurb made me want to read this book. The book started off okay but I had a hard time connecting to Maureen and Allison. I felt both Maureen and Allison had the same personality at times. The story did become a bit predictable and for the most part I was correct. The twist/reveal really didn't much for me and it ended up being just an okay read.

One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski

When Allison gets a chance through her sister to house-sit a gorgeous mansion overlooking the sea in the small town of Opal Beach, she has second thoughts. She is recently divorced from her cheating husband, lost her job and the house she used to live in for years and currently living in a tiny room in her sister's apartment at 35. Allison was a weather forecaster doing a live TV show until she blasted her cheating husband live on TV and lost everything. Hoping that the house and the new town will give her a break from all the known faces, she decides to give it a try. Soon, she is drawn in to the beauty of the gorgeous house and tiny town of Opal Beach, where people were close knit and knows each other's businesses.

However she is intimidated by the disappearance of a young woman back in 1986 from Opal Beach, never to be seen again. It seems to Allison that no one in the town gave a damn for the girl or what happened to her, and that her want to know about Maureen and bring proper justice. Thereby begins her quest as the word spreads fast within the town and Allison finds herself amidst huge drama that is more dangerous than it seems.

The story is narrated from the PoVs of two women - Allion in the present and Maureen in the 1980s. Two different storylines happening in different time periods shuffle from chapter to chapter hooking the readers from the first page. Both women are very different from each other - their ages and brought up totally opposite yet the two stories somehow gets tangled into an intriguing web. At every point, my brain was working with so many theories and assumptions out of which only few turned out to be a right guess!

I was totally teleported to the sandy beaches of the little town whose descriptions were a sight for sore eyes. I love it when a book has good food and wine and Tara Laskowski makes sure her readers gets the perfect treat filled with fun and suspense throughout the chapters. I highly recommend this book to all thriller lovers who would want to cuddle with a light hearted, not-so-dark, suspense thriller over the weekend!

Many thanks to the publisher for my E-galley. All opinions mine and no way biased.

One Night Gone is a well-written mystery spanning 30 years, told in two POVs, Maureen Haddaway in 1985 and Allison Simpson in present day.

Maureen is a girl who has had to fend for herself most of her life. With a drug-addicted mother, she had to grow up fast. She works with a travelling carnival show, and in the summer of 1985, the carnival set up in Opal Beach. She feels an affinity for the town right away, and after yet another run in with her bosses' brother, she runs away from the carnival and decides to start a new life. She makes friends with some of the elite who summer there and feels as if she is coming into her own. One night, she vanishes. The investigation is pretty cut and dried - she left town on her own. Her new best friend is sure that isn't the case, but no one will listen to her or take it any further.

Allison is a woman turning 40 who also is trying to start afresh after finding her life turned upside down. She lost her job as an on-air meteorologist for a TV station in Philadelphia when, in the midst of a nasty divorce, she went into a rant against her husband during a broadcast. After staying awhile with her younger sister, she is presented with the opportunity to house-sit a home in Opal Beach during the winter months. It seems perfect! It gives her time to put herself back together and explore new options. She becomes caught up in the mystery of what really happened to Maureen in the summer of 1985, and her determination forces the case to be re-examined.

I found this a very good read! I really like the way the author sets the scenes, fleshes out the characters, and keeps things moving along. The alternating time-frames and POVs kept me quite interested. If I hadn't fallen asleep, I would've finished this book in one day!

Treat yourself and mark this for your TBR pile!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Graydon House for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. Publication is set for 10/1/19.

One Night Gone is a strong debut novel for Tara Laskowski. It is well-written with a well-developed plot and excellent character development. Written in two first-person perspectives switching between the two main characters - one from the past, Maureen, and one in the present, Allison. Loved that both narrators told their stories in their present time - Maureen tells her story as she lives it not inferring her disappearance but just living in her time frame.
Female empowerment is the imbedded message "women are not disposable" is the message" - a timely message - but it is not overdone only gently infused in the story - well done!
Although, I found two scenarios in which I had to suspend my disbelief a little -the high stakes poker game and Maureen's responses to the situation and the twist in Allison's story involving Tammy and Tammy's motivations. But the story flows so well over these scenarios that it is not hard to move on with the story. I did love the wrap up in the end toward Allison's future. Do I see a future series developing? Loved the subtle nod to the Me Too movement and female empowerment - focusing on awareness and mindfulness.
It is a well-constructed mystery and an enjoyable read.

In 1985 were introduced to Maureen who just recently moved to a small coastal town named Opal Beach, she’s working for a traveling carnival. Soon she befriends a girl named Tammy, when an incident at work causes her to lose her job and her place to live she moves in Tammy. They end up best friends but when they both fall for the same boy named Clay Bishop, who comes from a wealthy local family that holds a lot of influence in the small town , he decides to date Maureen. Soon Maureen realizes maybe Clays family isn’t what they seem to be and she finds herself caught up in somethings she doesn’t know how to get herself out of. When the summer comes to an end Maureen goes missing and Tammy is haunted by never saying goodbye and wondering what happened to Maureen? Fast forward thirty years your introduced to Allison a meteorologist whose been fired from her job , after calling out her cheating husband on air. Wanting a fresh start she agrees to house sit for a couple on Opal Beach. On a coffee run she meets Tammy who tells her she looks just like her old friend maureen who went missing thirty years ago. After talking with Tammy she feels a connection she agrees to help her uncover the truth of Maureen’s disappearance. The more Allison digs and asks questions she begins to realize some one on Opal Beach doesn’t want her to uncover the truth which puts herself and others in danger! I loved this books it sucked me in and loved the alternating chapters from Maureen and Allison! I give this four stars!

“A subtly but relentlessly unsettling book.” - Tana French

If an author receives this kind of praise from Tana French, you better believe I’m going to read their book. And it did not disappoint- wow what a debut!

Allison Simpson, a meteorologist, has just lost her job and her husband to another woman. She’s been crashing at her sister’s apartment when an offer comes to house-sit for a couple in Opal Beach. This feels like the first perfect opportunity to regroup and recover from her messy divorce.

As she settles into her new home and meets some of the locals she learns about a young girl, Maureen Haddaway, who simply vanished thirty years ago on a summer night. Maureen was never heard from or seen again. Allison finds herself completely consumed by the mystery behind Maureen’s disappearance. When she pushes for answers from those who were closest to Maureen she gets more than she bargained for.

I read this in a matter of hours- suspenseful, perfectly paced, and riveting! This is a must read for those that love mystery/crime fiction. I hope to see more from Tara Laskowski. Thank you Netgalley and Graydon House for my advance reading copy. This book will be published 10/1/19.

I was able to read this ARC thanks to NetGalley. This book is told from two different perspectives. One is from the view of a woman going through a rough patch (to put it mildly) in her life and from the view of a girl who lived in the past. It was intriguing and thrilling.

Thank you to Graydon Books for a copy to review! One Night Gone was a very different book, but like I mentioned earlier, also comes out on October 1! I didn’t know much about this book going into it other than it was from two different points of view. The first point of view is Maureen set in 1986. Maureen is working a carnival during the summer time. She befriends others in the town and it follows her through the summer! The second point of view is Allison set in 2015. After a very rough year, she is house sitting for the winter. She learns from Tammy, a friend of Maureen, that Maureen has been missing since 1986. Allison starts looking into what happened! I really wanted to know what happened in the story so I couldn’t put the book down! Part of the end surprised me! It was a quick read and an enjoyable book!

Told in two times, decades apart, by two women.

Maureen hasn't had the best life up to now. With a drug addict mother, she has been fending for herself for a long time. Now she's working as a carnival girl. Traveling from town to town. This isn't the life she wants for herself. But it's the life she has. 

In 1985, they land at Opal Beach for the entire summer. In a town divided, Maureen is even outside the Townies group. But she makes a friend, falls for a wealthy family's youngest son and believes she has found someplace she can put down roots.

But Maureen has misjudged the situation and one day she just isn't there anymore. No one talks about it, but everyone knows about it.

Decades after Maureen, Allison Simpson is offered a house-sitting position for one of the wealthy couples in Opal Beach, after offering her husband and his girlfriend an umbrella while on the air doing the weather! Oh yes, our Allison has caught her husband cheating and isn't afraid to air her dirty laundry in public. Even if it means losing her job. Which is a given.

Now she's divorced, with no job and living with her sister. She has nothing to lose by digging into the local intrigue. And then odd gifts begin to show up at her door. Is Maureen alive? Does someone want Allison to investigate this?

What she quickly learns is these people have dark secrets and have no intention of letting her live to tell the tale!

Really good characters. Very human and scarily real.

Well Done!

NetGalley/ October 1st, 2019 by Graydon House/ Harlequin Mysterys

Back in 1985, Maureen moves to a coastal town for the summer, working for the traveling carnival. After a scuffle at work, Maureen moves in with a girl named Tammy that she met early in the summer. Tammy and Maureen become good friends, but it soon becomes clear that they both are crushing on the same boy—Clay Bishop, who comes from a wealthy family with plenty of influence in their small town. Maureen also gets herself caught up in something she doesn’t know how to get herself out of. And by the end of the summer, Maureen goes missing and no one knows where she disappeared to.

Now 30-years later in 2015, Allison needs a reprieve from her life after her nasty divorce and recently being fired from her job. So she gets a housesitting job in a small town off the coast for a few months in the hopes that a break will help Allison make a fresh start. In a local coffee shop, Allison meets a woman named Tammy, who claims Allison looks like Maureen, Tammy’s friend who went missing almost 3 decades earlier. Allison feels connected to Tammy and decides to help her uncover the truth about Maureen’s disappearance.

But the more Allison digs into Maureen’s past, the more she realizes she might not like the things that she finds hidden...

One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski is a slow-burn, atmospheric mystery. One thing I like in mystery/thriller novels is dual timelines—where something happens in the past and now we’re uncovering the truth years later. This book was extremely slow for the majority of it and I had a hard time feeling fully invested in this story. But there was still something about it that propelled me to keep reading. The ending seemed a bit rushed, but overall I liked how it played out. 3/5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley, Graydon House and Tara Laskowski for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. The alternating story lines from different POVs captured my attention and had me invested in the story and the characters. While the twists were predictable, I still wanted to see how the story ended and it kept my interest. I also enjoyed the descriptions of the scenery. I wouldn’t say it kept me on the edge of my seat but was a quick, good read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

One Night Gone by Tara Laskowski
Graydon House
October 1, 2019
10-152832190
Suspense/Thriller
352 Pages




This contemplative thriller commences in the summer of 1986 in Opal Beach, New Jersey when posters dotted the area of a missing girl named Maureen Haddaway. From there it segues to 2015 when Allison Simpson's world falls apart, and she lands in the tiny town.

Allison, a meteorologist for a local Philadelphia TV, disgraces herself while on the air after learning of her husband, Duke's infidelity. She proclaims to the viewing public during her weather forecast:

"Down here in South Annapolis, you'll be seeing some rain this weekend. So, if my husband, Duke, is watching, you should know, honey, to bring your umbrella this weekend when you and your little girlfriend go off to your beach house weekend getaway.

"And a tip to all your adulterers out there—if you like treating your umbrellas like you treat women, then you can toss out your old one and head over to Macy’s this weekend where they're having a sale.

"Women aren't disposable, Duke."

Because of her angry blunder, she is now without a job or home, but her sister, Annie finds her a house-sitting position for three months in a palatial home in Opal Beach. While licking her wounds, Allison looks forward to regrouping and redefining her life, especially happy to be living at the seashore during the quiet offseason. She hopes she can remain incognito and not be acknowledged as the scorned wife and fired weathergirl.

Welcomed by the locals, Allison is befriended by Tammy, a native to the area. She soon discovers she is recognized, and in this town, everyone knows everyone else's business whether they like it or not. Allison wonders if she should be embarrassed and hide in the ocean-front manse or laugh it off and socialize, though Tammy makes sure she gets her out.

When the story of Maureen, the missing girl from 30 years ago, becomes the main topic, Allison becomes intrigued, particularly after discovering she had been a close friend to Tammy.

One Night Gone could almost be considered two novels as we learn about Maureen, the young runaway who worked for the carnival the summer of 1986, and how she ties in with Tammy.

Allison and Tammy try to discern what happened to her all those years ago.
Both are captivated by Maureen's disappearance as Tammy recalls what the girl was like. Maureen was almost always with Tammy as well as Clay Bishop, a summer resident whom Tammy liked, but he turned his attention on Maureen, though she was considered way beneath his status. Maureen came to love her new friends and wanted to remain in town, but one day she goes missing and no one has any idea to where or why.

A somewhat uncommon element about this novel is that Maureen tells her story in the present tense, whereas Allison's is told in the past. Though these two never meet, their lives almost parallel each other. And it is unusual some residents mistake Allison for Maureen though the latter is older, believing they look alike.

Allison contemplates her current situation:

“It felt as if Maureen had completely taken me over, like she’d seeped into the very walls of the house. I could hear her whispers in the wind gusts. When I closed my eyes, I saw her face flickering from the grainy film, a haunted, hollow laugh.

“She’d had three months, too. Three months of an endless-seeming summer to figure it all out. To hold her life in the palm of her hand. And instead, she’d opened her hand too soon, scattered it all to the ocean breeze. Three months in Opal Beach, and then she’d vanished. How easy it had been for someone to get rid of her without a second thought. How easy for her to just disappear.

“The sadness settled over me. I felt trapped, like everyone here in Opal
Beach. . . . .

. . . “And what would become of me?”

Though a mystery, this story is also a coming-of-age tale and how two lives surreptitiously intermingle through the years. The portrayals of the location with the briny sea air, the tang of coffee from Tammy's shop, and the brisk Fall breezes whet the senses, along with the complex characterization of each character to make this an insightful read.

Gaslighting is just not my favorite troupe. Halfway through I wasn't even sure if I care who done it. I persevered and was not surprised by the ending.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Good mystery novel with an unexpected ending. There is a hilarious present day story included in the cold case mystery--a betrayed woman gets revenge in a comical manner. Loved it.

Two women. First, Maureen, in the summer of 1986. She's in Opal Beach for essentially the summer. After running away from home, a Sad Story as she'd say, she found employment in a traveling carnival. After a few weeks on the road C & D Carnival sets up shop in Opal Beach for a few weeks, like they have for years. It's here that Maureen feels a pull. She feels like maybe this town is the place she gets her second chance at life. She meets a few locals and she's having fun but always feels a little bit on the outside, a "carnival girl." Most of the people she's met can't even give her the decency of remembering her name. Until Clay and Tammy. Clay she starts to date and Tammy she becomes close with, one of her first true friends. But summer is ending and so will this daydream so Maureen has got to find a more stable way to get money. Or come into a windfall. That's where Maureen veers off track, is she making smart decisions or desperate ones?

Then we have Allison Simpson. She's come to Opal Beach for a second chance too. After creating a little viral scandal for herself she wants some time to heal and be anonymous. But as she quickly finds out, that doesn't happen any where, even in a small town. When she stops into the local coffee shop for a caffeine fix she meets Tammy. Maureen's old friend is 30 years older but still the same big-hearted local girl, if not a little jaded now. When Allison and Tammy hit it off the topic of Maureen comes up. Tammy confides in Allison about Maureen's disappearance. Everyone else is insistent that Opal Beach was just another stop on the map for Maureen but Tammy doesn't think Maureen has ever left. And now Tammy has Allison's attention.

Allison feels a connection with the missing Maureen. The more pictures she sees and more she learns of her story, the more Maureen seems to come to life. Maureen is visiting Allison in her dreams and Allison isn't certain, but she think she can feel Maureen's spirit around her. She is compelled to keep digging. Especially after a mysterious package shows up on Allison's doorstep. What is inside begins a heart-pounding search for answers in a town that doesn't seem to want the answers found.

I found this one refreshing. I wasn't terrified to sleep at night or second-guessing if my husband was secretly a psychopath (he's not, but some of these psychological thrillers really get your imagination going, ya know?). Instead, I felt a connection to Maureen and Allison, even though we don't seem to have too much in common. I wanted to hear their stories and see justice and find answers just as badly as Allison did.

The writing was excellent, it was fluid and believable, which always makes a read more enjoyable.

I will be posting a review about this book on my blog on October 1, 2019, the publication date and will update feedback with links accordingly.

This book was alright. Solid 3.5 stars.

What I liked: I enjoyed the setting of this book - the author shows us two different sides of a tourist beach city. I loved the epilogue portion - I thought it was a fitting wrap-up.
What I loved: I can't say I loved anything about the book.
What I disliked: Okay....I'm all for twists and turns in a book. In fact, I want it. This one, though, seemed like the twists and turns were almost too manufactured. It got to be a little too much like a Scooby Doo episode. And one key piece of the whole mystery was never uncovered...which made this very peculiar to me (trying not to spoil anything for anyone).

All in all, not a bad book, just not a great book.

There are two stories in this novel. Allison gets offered the opportunity to housesit a lovely residence on the beach. It’s off-season, so she’s pretty isolated. She should be rebuilding her life after a messy divorce but instead she starts investigating the disappearance of a young girl in the 80’s. Everyone says that Maureen ran away but Allison fears that something bad happened to her. I really liked how Allison gets slowly sucked into the past. She’s not looking to get involved, quite the opposite, but the plot makes it hard for her to stay away. Even if I was interested in Allison’s story from the beginning, at first it was hard for me to get invested in Maureen’s. This usually happens to me, the older I get, the less I sympathize with young characters. It was surprising that, eventually, Maureen’s chapters grew on me until I was equally interested in both characters. All in all, a solid read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/HARLEQUIN - Graydon House Books (U.S. & Canada)!

After a summer of carnivals, beaches, and secrets Maureen disappears, never to be seen again. No one really notices, or cares, except for her friend Tammy.

30 years later Allison comes to town to start her life over and learns about Maureen from Tammy, who has never forgotten the girl who came and went so quickly. Allison and Tammy start to dive into the mystery, finding out that their beach town holds more secrets than they realized.

This book took a little bit of time to get pulled into, but once I did the story took me to places I wasn't expecting. This book really kept me guessing and I was trying to figure out both what happened to Maureen and what was happening to Allison. As the story was told from both their perspectives it was nice to go back and forth as the missing pieces slowly fill themselves in.