Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen!

This is the first solo Sarah Pekkanen book I've read and I really enjoyed it! I've written a couple of the books she co-authored and it was cool to see the influence she contributed to those books. My biggest complaint about this is that I had a bit of a hard time figuring out who we were following in some of the POVs, but that could absolutely be a me problem. I really enjoyed that we learned things as the characters were experiencing them/learning them themselves, it never felt like info-dumps. This book is not specifically horror but the actual horror scenes were really well done! I definitely would check out other mystery/thrillers this author writes if they're as dark as this!

Gone Tonight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Sarah Pekkanen

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening. Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother's past or background. But when Ruth's desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth's carefully constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception. No one can know Ruth's history. There is a reason why Ruth kept them moving every few years, and why she was ready—in a moment's notice—to be gone in the night. But danger is closing in. Is it coming from the outside, from Ruth's past? Is Ruth reaching a breaking point? Or is the danger coming from the darkness that may live in Catherine, herself?

My Thoughts: Pekkanen is known to team up with Greer Hendricks delivering masterful psychological thrillers but is solo this time, which did not disappoint. This one is a masterpiece, its compelling, twisty, slow-burning character development, apt tension, and a carefully constructed plot. This thriller grabbed my attention from the start and kept me fully invested into the very end. This is one of the better thrillers I have read in recent months. This story is divided into three carefully constructed acts that create a web of twists, the darkness that can reside in a person’s soul, and the very depths that a mother will go to protect their child, no matter how old the child is. The center of the book is Catherine and her mother Ruth, dealing with a possible Alzheimer’s disorder, their relationship is co-dependent, a bit dysfunctional, and at times, obsessive. Catherine cancels her plans to relocate to Boston to help her mother. Catherine soon realizes that her mother has spun her own web of dark secrets that slowly come to light. Will they all unravel?

The premise was original and I have not read before. The story is narrated in alternative perspectives. Our protagonists are unreliable. Catherine is focused, trusting, and concerned about a possible Alzheimer’s diagnosis for her mother, what it would mean if her mother is diagnosed. Ruth is secretive, extremely dependent upon Catherine, and has built up a life based on a false set of facts. When Catherine starts to unravel the family secrets, she finds more than she can imagine. The characters were created with depth, mystery, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and just brilliant. The author’s pace and flow of the story is spot on and delivers the plot in twisty layers, some were predictable but a few I did not see coming, and thrilling, exciting suspenseful tension.

The story initially presents more contemporary and then a twist is revealed and it slides into excellent thriller territory. I had the pleasure of having the audiobook and digital book. The narrator was absolutely fantastic, the voice variation was spot on, she really brought these characters from the pages to our minds. This thriller was compelling, captivating, gripping, on the edge of your seat read. Once I started, I devoured in less than 48 hours. I highly recommend picking up this book, or any of their works.

Wow! This book really makes you question just how far a parent is willing to go to protect their child.

Catherine Sterling is ready to begin a new career in a new city, but that means leaving the only parent she’s ever known. Ruth Sterling loves her daughter, but she’s not quite ready to be an empty nester. These two women think they know one another, but their secrets would make it appear as though they were mere strangers. Ruth’s desperation to keep her daughter by her side begins to backfire, and her carefully-constructed world starts to crumble, putting both of their lives in danger.

I thought this was a fantastic thriller! This is the first solo book I’ve read by Sarah Pekkanen, and I think she hit this one out of the ballpark. It’s not often that I find my jaw dropping multiple times throughout a story, but the twists just kept on coming. Definitely a unique and engaging storyline that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Highly recommend!

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book to review.*

This book was okay. It was a slow start for me when I initially picked it up last month, so I decided to put it on pause and come back when I could dive into it a little better. I'm glad I did that, because I enjoyed it much more when I picked it up the second time around.

I think what would help readers interested in checking this book out is to suspend belief that this is a page-turning, suspense-gripping thriller. Knowing this was written by Pekkanen, one half of the amazing duo thriller team, Hendricks and Pekkanen, we are all familiar with, I went in thinking it would be similar to books I've read by them in the past. It was a slower burn to me. The writing is impeccable. No doubt about that! Pekkanen can write.

Once I changed my mindset of what this book was going to be like, I did enjoy it for the most part. I just like a quicker pace to keep me captivated. Despite the pacing, the twists were great and helped me continue with the book. I really enjoyed the journal excerpts the most. I flew through those pages!

Overall, I wouldn't readily recommend this book. However, I don't think you'll regret it if you check it out of the library if you have been eyeing it like I was.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

Wow. Really well done thriller. Lots of twists and turns. You probably will not figure it all out. Left me totally satisfied!

Breathtaking, twisty, and impossible to look away! I love thrillers about mother daughter relationships, and this one was completely engrossing.

Do not start reading this book on a Sunday night. Seriously, don’t. Especially don’t do it if you have to get up early on Monday morning. You will not be able to put it down and you will end up getting no sleep. Trust me.
It starts somewhat slow, but then the speed picks up and the fast-paced page-turning will keep you glued to the pages. So much suspense, so many horrible events, so many lies and so many weird people, and then some twists and turns, most of them absolutely unexpected.

I’ve read several of Pekkanen’s co-authored books and have always really enjoyed them! This was my first by just her and I found it to be such a bingey, suspenseful, and entertaining thriller!

We follow a mother and daughter duo, where the mother is doing everything to keep her daughter safe from her tumultuous past, even if that means creating layer upon layer of carefully crafted lies to protect her secrets…while her daughter will do anything to expose the truth behind them all.

I loved the alternating chapters, which really just kept me on the edge of my seat. Some of the lengths the mother goes to, to protect her daughter was a bit hard to read about and at times it felt like the story could only be headed in one direction which didn’t leave room for much of a twist/shocking reveal. However, the final chapter turned things around for me and left me with a bit of ambiguity which I love in an ending!

Overall this was such a solid, fast paced read, that I would recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this #gifted ARC!

How far would you go to keep a loved one safe from potential danger? Would you lie to her? Would you undermine her blossoming friendships? Would you control every detail of her life so she’d never have to know the pain you’ve known? Sarah Pekkanen’s startling, breathtaking tale of a mother and daughter will plunge you into a plot layered by lies and trauma but still infused with love. Through deft writing and thoughtful character development, she’s created a fast-paced thriller in Gone Tonight, daring to ask deep questions about love versus fear, and control versus protection.

GONE TONIGHT. Wow, just wow. The book started off a bit slow for me, but I realized it was meant to be to build the story. Ruth is a single Mom who loves her daughter Catherine. Her only desire in life is to keep Catherine close to her at all times. Maybe too close. But why? Catherine wants to get out from under her moms watchful eye and start being independent but why won’t her Mom let her? Why is Ruth acting so strange? What is she hiding? As I went through the pages, I could not figure out what was going to happen next which is the best kind of book to me. I think I got whiplash from all the twists and turns in this book. There is at times some heavy subject matter, but that just adds to the complexity of this book. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read this amazing book.

raveling With T’s Thoughts:

I have to be honest… When I started Gone Tonight, I was a wee bit disappointed. It started off like a daughter saying good-bye to her mother in one of the saddest ways possible.

However, I should have known that Sarah Pekkanen had a few things up her sleeve.

What I Liked:

This cover gives me good book vibes.

There is one particular twist that I loved.

I liked the ending!



Bottom line: While the book may have started off in a different way than I had anticipated it going, once the book got going, I did enjoy it. There was a couple of things that I felt didn’t quite work- but overall, it was a good read.



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

Ruth Sterling will do anything to keep her daughter safe. Catherine is ready to break free from her mother's tight grasp and start a life on her own. Ruth can't let that happen or her whole world could fall apart. Her carefully constructed life of lies starts to crumble and Catherine just wants to know the truth. This mother-daughter pair are at odds pulling truth from lies and a very real danger lies in the truth.

This book has more twists than I ever expected, in the best way. They didn't feel contrived or out of place. They felt like true twists to keep the plot moving toward the resolution point. I don't want to give much away, but I found the mother-daughter dynamic in this very interesting. The way it evolves and reveals itself throughout the story is very well done. A great summer thriller!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Gone Tonight.

This book had very interesting characters, but I am tired of the dirty teacher trope. I will still read other books from these awesome authors, but this was not my favorite.

I normally enjoy books by this author, and while this book was ok, it definitely jumped all over the shop and was distracting to keep track of. I finished it but I did think it was a little predictable.

Sometimes, I'm glad I have a son. This mother/daughter relationship thing is not for the weak at heart.

Gone Tonight Sarah Pekkanen




Can you dislike all the characters and still love the book? Yes

I eagerly picked up this book and read it in one sitting.


A word to the reader, it starts of slow but then it really gets going- stay with it it truly is worth the slow start.
The genre is mystery and while there IS one, I thought it was more psychological suspense or even domestic thriller.

Anyway, Ruth is Catherine's mother and what a pair they are..

The book is told in alternating chapters by both mother and daughter.

Mom has her reasons for wanting to keep her daughter close.

Catherine is concerned about mom's odd behavior and memory lapses and confusion.

Things get crazy in this story.

It kept me flipping kindle pages until the end like most of her books do.
I did not see much of the plot coming, but I was along for the ride for sure.


thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me to review this advanced e arc.
Highly recommended 4***

really good book and kept me on my on my toes of what would happen. really enjoyed the characters and their journey and would read this author again.

One thing is really loved about this book was that it constantly kept me guessing! Told from the perspectives of a single mom and her daughter, the family always seems to be on the run, Right when things start to go so well, life begins to fall apart again. Who is the bad guy? Who is telling the truth? Who’s a liar? Wanting to keep reading until the very end to find out what happened made this a solid thriller for me.

I was very excited to read this book. Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendrix are some of my favorite authors, and seeing Sarah publishing a solo work, I had to read it.

I have to start by saying that this book deals with situations that may be hard for some people to read about. Trigger Warning on teenage pregnancy, homeless hardships, poverty, domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, pain pills, alcohol use, and mishandling of medication.

The book started a little slow for me but after Coach's murder scene, it took off, and the action and adrenaline rush never stopped. Loved the structure of the book, each of the main characters, Ruth and Catherine, get to tell us their story, one chapter after another.

I had to hold my breath for most of the time. I really thought James was going to get out victorious but it was good to see that somehow Ruth got justice for all that occurred in the past with him. Also, I knew Ruth's motives to protect Catherine may have not been the best but I loved to see how protective she was of her as her mother, she would have done anything to make sure she was okay.

I loved this book and enjoyed it a lot, however, my favorite scene is the final one with Ruth, her brother, and her father. It got to my heart, more than I expected and it honestly surprised me.

What a thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat, and I couldn't stop reading.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the Advanced Free Copy in exchange for an honest review.