Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a gripping thriller with an interesting premise, but it didn’t quite live up to the suspense I expected. The plot moves quickly, yet some twists felt predictable and the characters lacked depth. While entertaining enough to keep me reading, it didn’t leave a lasting impression. A decent thriller, but not a standout.

This was such a great book. It had me sucked in right away and I have to admit I did not see the way that it would end. I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ – Gripping, Emotional, and Full of Twists

Gone Tonight is a riveting psychological thriller that delivers suspense with a deep emotional undercurrent. Sarah Pekkanen masterfully weaves a dual timeline narrative, centering on a fiercely protective mother, Ruth, and her daughter, Catherine, who begins to uncover long-buried secrets.

The story builds with slow-burning tension, revealing just enough at each turn to keep the pages turning. Ruth’s voice is particularly compelling—layered, vulnerable, and chillingly mysterious. The mother-daughter dynamic is the heart of the novel, infused with themes of sacrifice, survival, and identity.

Pekkanen’s writing is crisp and atmospheric, and while the pacing drags slightly in the middle, the final third more than makes up for it with its revelations and emotional punches. Some plot twists felt a little convenient, but the core emotional resonance—especially around the strength of maternal love—hit home.

If you enjoy character-driven thrillers with psychological depth and dark secrets, Gone Tonight is a worthwhile read that will stay with you after the last page.

I can definitely see what the hype surrounding this author is all about! This book grabbed my interest the second I read the summary and it did not disappoint its readers with its promise to grip and entertain!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Netgalley, and Sarah Pekkanen for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press. I am a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen and this one did not disappoint! Such a great thriller that kept me guessing and wanting to read more. I will always read anything she writes. 5 stars!

Absolutely fantastic read, as are all of Pekkanen's incredible supsense/thriller novels. I could not put this one down!

Twisty and addictive, this thriller had me hooked from page one. Sarah Pekkanen does a great job peeling back the layers of a mother-daughter relationship hiding some serious secrets. I loved how the suspense built slowly but never dragged. If you like domestic thrillers with emotional depth and a few jaw-dropping moments, definitely give this one a shot.

A woman learns some shocking truths about her mom. She begins snooping around and learns her mother was raped and became pregnant when she was in high school. Her mother's ex spent time in prison for killing the man that abused her in high school.

Sarah Pekkanen delivers another tightly written psychological thriller that keeps the tension simmering throughout. The writing is crisp, the pacing steady, and the emotional undercurrents surprisingly impactful. While not quite a five-star standout, it’s an absorbing, well-executed read that’s hard to put down. Pekkanen proves once again that she knows how to hook a reader and keep them guessing until the very end.

Gone Tonight is a razor sharp thriller that paints a haunting portrait of just how far a mother will go to protect her child. The tension in this book is palpable and I felt myself holding my breath in suspense. This book held me in haunting trance, and the alternating POVs fueled me to fly through the chapters. This is definitely one of those “don’t talk to me I am reading” books.

Catherine’s mother, Ruth, has been doing some funny things: placing eggs in the cabinet instead of the refrigerator, calling ice cubes “water squares,” and forgetting to turn off the gas stove. Is Ruth showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s, or is she simply just distracted by something bigger (and maybe more sinister)? I wasn’t sure about this book until about 100 pages in. I should have known that things aren’t always what they seem; I was 😮😱 at this book several times. Minus a star for a lack of believability, but overall it was a great thriller about the lengths one may go to in order to keep his or her loved ones safe.

Just finished Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen and wow—what a ride. It’s one of those thrillers that pulls you in fast and keeps you flipping pages. The story follows a mother and daughter, and let’s just say… both of them are hiding way more than they let on.

The relationship between the characters adds a nice emotional layer to all the suspense. If you’re into psychological thrillers with secrets, lies, and a little bit of family drama—definitely worth the read.

Oops, I must have forgotten to review this when I downloaded it. I was not compelled by the concern over a daughter inheriting unpleasant traits from her father, given that the daughter reached adulthood and her adult self has not a single concerning interaction. It just felt a little forced! I wanted to like the mother/daughter relationship more than I did.

I just finished "Gone Tonight" by Sarah Pekkanen, and honestly? It was a real rollercoaster. You know those books where you're constantly thinking, "Wait, what's really going on?" Yeah, that was this one.
The premise is super intriguing: Catherine, the mom, has this whole mysterious past she's clearly hiding, and Ruth, her daughter, is starting to get seriously suspicious. It's told from both of their points of view, which, in theory, is great! You get to see things from both sides. But, and this is a big but for me, I kept getting mixed up! Like, I'd be reading and think, "Wait, is this Catherine or Ruth talking?" I swear, I had to flip back a bunch of times to figure it out. It wasn't a huge deal, but it definitely pulled me out of the story a few times.
Otherwise, though? Pekkanen really knows how to build suspense. I was totally hooked on finding out what Catherine was hiding. And Ruth? She's trying to figure out her own life while also dealing with this whole family mystery. It's a lot!
Honestly, it's one of those books where you just want to keep reading to see what happens next. The twists and turns were pretty good, and the whole mother-daughter dynamic was really interesting. It's definitely a page-turner!
If you're into thrillers with family drama, you'll probably enjoy "Gone Tonight." Just be prepared to maybe get a little confused about who's talking sometimes! I'd give it a solid 3.5 stars, so let's round that up to 4. It's a fun, twisty read, even if I did have to do a little mental gymnastics to keep track of who was who!

This book was a wild ride. It took a little to get into, but once you get about a third in- it's utterly suspenseful.

I love Sarah Pekkanen, but i think this may be my least favorite of her books that I've read so far.

I think I assumed this was a thriller, but it was definitely more suspense. Suspense is hit or miss for me because I find they tend to be on the slower side.

I really liked the dual pov and how this kept you guessing where things were heading. I had no clue who to believe, Ruth or Catherine, and just how deep the lies were. I loved the relationship between mother and daughter and finding out just how someone you think you know, can be someone you know nothing about.

The end was just okay for me. I think I would have loved the cat and mouse aspect of it to go on a bit longer to create more suspense, but it seemed to all happen pretty quickly and then just be done.

I enjoyed the audio of this and will keep reading SP's books.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a book that completely pulled me in from the start and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. The story revolves around the complex relationship between mother and daughter, with deep secrets and a thrilling mystery at its core. I found myself completely absorbed in the main character, Kate, as she navigates a life full of deception, hidden truths, and the struggle to protect her daughter while dealing with her own personal demons. Pekkanen’s writing is so compelling that I couldn’t stop turning the pages, desperate to uncover what would happen next.

What I loved most about Gone Tonight is how Pekkanen masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth. The twists and turns in the plot were unpredictable, and I couldn’t help but feel invested in every character's journey. The tension between the characters is palpable, and the themes of memory, trust, and identity really hit home. It’s a psychological thriller that doesn’t just rely on plot twists, but also on the emotional journey the characters go through. By the time I reached the last page, I was left in awe of how everything came together. Gone Tonight is a brilliant, heart-pounding read that’s as emotionally gripping as it is suspenseful.

I usually love this author but this book was a miss for me. I liked the writing and the storytelling, I liked the alternating chapters, and I liked the journal/diary aspect. What I found hard to like about the book was the actual storyline. A lot of it seemed unbelievable and like it could never happen. It was too easy for the main character to evade police and with all of her circumstances (no spoilers), it felt impossible like it wasn’t thought out well by the author. I will continue to read pekkanen’s other works, this book just didn’t do it for me.

Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors while writing with Greer Hendricks so I was excited for this one. Started off slow but picked up a bit over half way. The story involves a mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine Sterling. Ruth was only seventeen years old when she gave birth to Catherine. And are alwayson the run. Ruth is constantly switching jobs, schools and residences so they can’t seem to just stay in one place. Why can't they stop moving? Is Ruth just an overprotective mother, or is there something more to the story? Catherine after all these years decides to delve in to find out what exactly her mother is hiding. Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the advance ecopy.

Thank you to NetGalley for this E-ARC.

WOW WOW WOW. sitting alone in my house clapping cause this book was amazing. But then again, what was I expecting from Sarah Pekkanen. Her books are always good. And so suspenseful. And wildly thought out. It’s crazy the amount of details in her books. I feel like she for sure has one of those red thread walls at her house while she’s writing. I enjoyed every second of this book. I listened to it on audio, which Kate Mara is the reader so also yay for that, but it is amazing. I know a book is good when I find myself coming up with things to do to keep listening. If I start organizing my sock drawer to keep the audiobook going, it’s a good one.

Catherine lives with her mom Ruth. It’s always been just the two of them. And they know each other better than anyone else in the entire world. So when Ruth gets diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s Catherine is crushed. She wants to know everything about her mom and spend as much time with her as possible. But her mom is acting very strange. How can she go off to work 20 minutes after getting the diagnosis? Catherine starts looking into her mom strange behavior and everything just becomes more strange?

Ruth has always kept a close eye on her daughter. Maybe even closer than Catherine knows.
Her entire life Ruth has planned for the worst. Expecting Catherine to silently follow. But what happens when you find out that maybe the Apple doesn’t fall so far from the tree? What happens if both people are full of deception?
Read and find out.