Ruth Sterling has raised Catherine alone since birth. The two of them together have been all each other has known, until Catherine decides she wants to move away to attend school. Ruth will do anything to prevent that, and soon Catherine begins to catch on. She turns the tables around on her mother to try to discover why she might not want her to leave, and the answer is not what you think.

I love Sarah Pekkanen books, and this one is no exception. Her writing is so solid, and she is a master at creating a tense atmosphere. This book is a great psychological thriller - page turner, twisty, and exciting. There is so much that happens in the beginning of the book, and twists keep coming. Just when you think you know what is going on, more twists are thrown in.

The book has a dual time-line, back from when Ruth was younger, that switches back and forth between present day. I like how secrets are slowly revealed that way. There are some times that you have to suspend disbelief, which I am not always willing to do. But when a story is this enjoyable, why not? Definitely a great beach read, vacation read, poolside read.

Special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At the core of Gone Tonight is the story about the love a mother has for her daughter. All her adult life, Ruth has been keeping a secret from her daughter Catherine. That secrets threatens to come to light as Catherine teachers adulthood and Ruth will do anything to keep it buried.

Told in alternating perspectives, I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. Both characters were great, and loved the balance between slow burning mystery and intense thriller at the end.

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I've had this book for a while just sitting. I finally decided to read it and it was good.

Ruth has spent her life protecting her daughter Catherine.

Now an adult, Catherine works in the memory wing of an assisted living facility. She's accepted a new job in Baltimore and is getting ready to move when her mother starts to exhibit signs of alzheimer's. With time running out, Catherine wants to learn more about her mother's life but what secrets will she uncover.

This book is so much more than I expected. Fast paced and worth the read!

4 stars.

Gone Tonight is a fascinating exploration of the mother-daughter relationship between Catherine Sterling and her mother, Ruth Sterling. It's a story of secrets, love, and a mother's determination to keep her daughter close and safe while her daughter wants her freedom.

Catherine is eager to start a new chapter in her life and pursue a new career, while Ruth is fiercely protective of her. But this isn't a typical mother-daughter drama; it's a gripping tale of deception and hidden truths.

What makes this book stand out is the gradual unveiling of Ruth's mysterious past and the turmoil it creates. It's like peeling back the layers of an onion; just when I thought I had uncovered everything, another layer emerges. Sarah Pekannen skillfully crafts the narrative, keeping me engrossed in the story.

The pacing of the book is well-executed, with each chapter revealing more about the characters and their motivations.I found myself eagerly turning the pages to see how the dance of deception between mother and daughter unfolded.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, I found myself wanting a bit more depth in certain subplots and character backgrounds. However, "Gone Tonight" is an engaging read that delves into the complexities of familial relationships and the consequences of hidden truths. If you're looking for a thought-provoking story with well-drawn characters, I highly recommend giving this book a read. Sarah Pekannen has created a captivating narrative that will keep you pondering long after you've finished the last page.

The writing was fluid and beautiful and both main characters were very well fleshed out. But I didn’t think the plot itself was unique or different enough to warrant more than 3.5 stars. The “reveal” was also completely obvious from the start.

⭐️ 5
Age range: 16+
Content Warnings: murder, SA

Quotes:

- I would do anything to protect my child.
- I hadn’t even met you, but I swear, I already loved you, too. You were the only thing good left in my life. If it hadn’t been for you, I would have given up a hundred times that first week.
- I guess I’ve never really looked at my mother as an individual. She has always felt more like a planet that orbits around me. Maybe that’s true for most daughters, at least until we reach a certain point in adulthood. We define our mothers through the lens of how they relate to us.
- there is one thing we women do even better than disappearing: We protect our children.

Review:
Catherine doesn't know any of her family or their history, her Mother Ruth has kept that from her. Ruth has a history that slowly unravels as you read further into the novel and you begin to question everything that Catherine has been told including her Mother's sickness. That’s when Catherine starts to think that her Mother may not be this loving and hardworking Mom but rather a liar or worse. We get both sides throughout the book so we know somethings pretty early on but those things we know just keep turning and spinning until the very end. I couldn’t put this down I was so hooked to the story and trying to get more and more information. I also felt so bad for Catherine early on and then my thoughts changed as I read on. Ruth is one strong Momma!

Tropes & Vibes:
- Murder Mystery
- Psychological thriller

This book totally took me by surprise. At first you think it is just a story about a young woman struggling with her mother's prognosis of Alzheimers but then you realize, there is far more to the story. Told in dual POV, Catherine and Ruth tell their stories. Catherine wants to learn more about her mother's past while Ruth works hard to shield her daughter from it to protect her. All in the name of love. What is Ruth hiding, what is the truth? As Ruth's story unwinds while she records her story in a journal for her daughter to read later, suspense gathers as the past slowly gets close to the present. Will Catherine's delving in to the past put her and her mother in danger? A quick read, this story kept me on the edge of my seat with some twists and turns so that I did not expect the surprise at the end. Well done. Many thanks to #netgalley #gonetonight #sarahpekkanen for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really liked this book. I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. People are never what or who they seem to be.

What a twisty web of lies all in the name of mother/daughter love! I wasn’t immediately sucked into their stories. But as we learned more and more of their dual POVs and timelines, things got interesting! The story provides the reader with some family drama, some thrill, some murder mystery, and an all-around crazy experience.

Thank you NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and author Sarah Pekkanen for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one! It reminded me of pieces of her by Karin slaughter but better. I didn’t even realize going in the author was Sarah pekkanen of the duo of Sarah and Greer (and I love their books!)

Gone Tonight was a great read. Fast paced, kept me guessing.

Catherine has always been a good daughter and listened to her mother. But now that she is older she realizes that their relationship isn't normal and some things are not adding up. I actually was annoyed that her mother thought Catherine should continue to blindly follow her mothers rules. But as the truth was revealed it all made more sense. I especially loved the ending.

Side note- could be entertaining read for people living in assisted living.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the multiple timelines. Some things seemed a bit far fetched but otherwise this was a good book.

Another smash hit from Sarah Pekkanen and one of my top 5 reads for the month of August. Make sure to catch Sarah on the Killer Author Club on October 10th -- links to watch at https://killerauthorclub.com/killer-episodes.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is one wild ride. It is the story of Ruth and Catherine Sterling, mother and daughter, and the lengths Ruth would go to keep Catherine from harm. On both sides, there are numerous secrets that each doesn't know the other is keeping. The story is told in alternating chapters by Ruth and Catherine, giving the reader a good feel and background on each character. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

📔Review 📔
Gone Tonight- Sarah Pekkanen
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Catherine Sterling’s only constant in life has been her mother, Ruth. Frequently moving from place to place made it difficult to build any strong friendships, and she has never known any other relatives. Her mother has been her person, and she has been okay with that.

When Ruth begins to show signs of Alzheimer’s, Catherine begins to fear she will never learn her mothers past, and will be left entirely alone. As she digs into her mothers history, she finds herself with more questions than answers. Who is Ruth Sterling? Does she really know her mother at all?

This was an entertaining domestic thriller, albeit a slow burn. I enjoyed the sense of mystery surrounding Ruth, and appreciated the way Pekkanen unraveled information to the reader through journal entries and Catherine’s sleuthing. The dual POV was a nice touch and kept things fresh.

I did find this story to be more character driven, and it held a bit more mystery than thrills for me. I liked the character development and the relationship building between Ruth and Catherine, however, I think this made things take a slower turn. Although some “twists” were a little predictable, I did find the ending tied together smoothly.

This was an interesting read that focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter and the depths one may go to protect their child. 🖤✨

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book. 🫶🏼

Awesome book!! The story took off right away and didn’t slow down!! If you are looking for a book that will have you guessing back and forth then this is the book for you. The author spins a thrilling web of secrets between mother and daughter.

Good entertaining read, but nothing that will stick with me--the details are already starting to fade! But it did keep my attention with the way it slowly doled out details of Ruth's past and Catherine slowly putting the pieces together.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
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Thanks to NetGalley for sending an early copy
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In this story we follow the POV of Ruth and Catherine. Ruth had to leave her hometown and change her whole identity due to a situation she went through when she was young. She also got pregnant at 16 and had to raise her daughter, Catherine, all on her own. Now that Catherine is older, she find that her mom just not might be who she said she is.
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I was a bit disappointed with this story. The beginning was really slow for me. So much that I almost DNF’d it. It took me about 2 months to finish this book. It did not start to get interesting to me until 70% in and at this point I didn’t care much about the characters unfortunately. It had a great ending and definitely enjoyed the last 30%.

Solid thriller but fairly predictable. It kept my interest and the flashbacks were well done. Overall, a nice read for fall.

I've read every book written by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, but this was my first time reading a book written by just one of the duo. While I was definitely able to garner some of the same vibes as a Pekkanen/Hendricks collab, it's obvious the two writers work better together. That's not to say the book isn't good. It's a pretty solid thriller. I understood early in the book what some of the big twists were, but there were others yet that I didn't see coming.

As a diabetic, I have mixed feelings about use of diabetes as a plot device, but I think I didn't mind it so much in this book. I think it was delivered pretty well. It reminded me, in a twisted way, of the movie "What Keeps You Alive," which I actually thought was pretty brilliant. But that's a different review for a different art work.

Overall, I enjoyed Gone Tonight, but found it to be a little too much at times and a little too predictable at others. Otherwise - pretty solid, and while there's certainly inspiration from other stories, it stood strong as its own.