How far would you go to protect someone yourself or someone you love? Would you give up your name, your family and your entire support system?

A mother’s love is a powerful thing and that’s exactly how Ruth has justified many of the choices she’s made. Catherine has only known her mother’s love, as she has no other family to speak of. She has no siblings and her mother’s family disowned her when she got pregnant…

When her mother begins experiencing symptoms of Alzheimers, and Ruth states that her mother had it too, Catherine realizes she needs to know more about her family history, specifically her mom. This curiosity creates tension between the mother and daughter, but Catherine is determined.

As Catherine digs into her mother’s past, Ruth keeps a watchful eye on James a man from before that led to her choice to hide.

When James is released from prison, Catherine unintentionally connects with him in an effort to understand who her mother actually is, not realizing the danger she’s put herself in…

Ruth knows she needs to protect Catherine from James and share the truth, but could it be too late?

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Gone Tonight is expected to be published August 1/2023.

A fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing-and surprised. Catherine has never understood her mother Ruth but now she's worried because just as she's about to move to Baltimore for a job at Hopkins, Ruth has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Ironic, because Catherine has worked in a memory care unit and is a nurse who specializes in the geriatric. But is Ruth really ill? Ruth has a secret, a big secret, and now Catherine is picking it apart. This moves between the two women and between two time frames, with Ruth's history spelled out in a diary she writes for her daughter. This deserves to be read without spoilers so none from me. I admit I wondered a bit about both of them but wait....I also found myself down the google rabbit hole over the lasagna pizza thing- grew up near Towson and never heard of it or a restaurant specializing in it until this novel where it's important to the plot! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC Great storytelling makes this a page turner.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

This was such a chilling story on so many levels. Twenty four year old Catherine Sterling works in the most acute unit of the memory care section at Sunrise, a facility for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s. Now she's dealing with the nightmare that her own mother, Ruth, is showing the signs of early onset Alzheimer’s. Just when she was ready to get out on her own at a new job in another city, finally to be out from under her mother's loving but smothering and constant presence, Catherine's plans are shattered by the need to stay with her mother.

The story is told from two POVs. There is Catherine's POV, as she worries that her mother seems to be showing the same symptoms of many of the people she works with. Then there is Ruth's POV, as we slowly learn just what she would do to keep her daughter safe from the past. Sadly, things from the past are finally coming to a head and Ruth feels she cannot let her daughter out of her sight. So she preys on her daughter's fears and sense of duty to manipulate her to not leave her mom when her mom surely needs her the most.

Ruth's past is a humdinger and we learn about it as she writes to her daughter in a notebook that will explain all. But Ruth's story isn't finished and the biggest danger is to come. It's in the second half of the book that my interest ramps up. With Catherine pulling away from Ruth, drastic measures must be taken but is it too late for Ruth to insure that Catherine doesn't fly the coop? This story is very much about family and this family is something else once all the past is laid bare.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

Gone Tonight is Sarah Pekkanen’s latest domestic thriller told in dual POV from a mother and daughter. It’s perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Lisa Unger.
24-year-old Catherine Sterling was raised by a single mother and knew no other relatives. She worked as a nursing aide at an upscale assisted living facility while going through nursing school. Now that she’s graduated, she’s ready to move to Baltimore to work at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
42-year-old Ruth Sterling is quiet, a hardworking diner waitress, dedicated to her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now that Catherine is ready to move away from her, Ruth fakes having early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease to keep Catherine nearby. Ruth starts writing some of her memories about her past in a spiral notebook.

Since Catherine knows nothing about her family history, she starts investigating and learns that her mom has been lying to her all these years. She also stirs up danger from the past. It’s a cat-and-mouse between mother, daughter, and Catherine’s biological father.

I liked Gone Tonight because it was an original premise and featured strong female characters. The story was gripping, and the truth was revealed near the end of the story. The author revealed a lot of medical knowledge throughout the story, although I would classify this as a domestic thriller.

I received an Advance Review Copy (ARC) from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!


𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I absolutely loved this one! I enjoyed the alternating POVs of Catherine and her mom Ruth and the journal entries that gave us a glimpse of the past-so fun! This was a suspenseful read about a mother who will stop at nothing to keep her daughter close to protect her from her past. Catherine starts to slowly unveil the truth about her mother and her identity. She begins to question everything about her own memories of her childhood, her mother, and begins to wonder if she can really trust her own mother-the one person she has trusted for her whole life. I really loved both of the main characters, they were totally unreliable narrators, and I enjoyed how they left me questioning things and wondering how everything would play out in the end. Also, I LOVED the short chapters! There are many twists that I did not see coming, and an ending that will blow your mind🤯

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞?
If you enjoy psychological thrillers, a book full of secrets and lies-then this one is for you!

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

4.5 stars.

WOW! As someone who has read each of the collaboration novels Pekkanen wrote with Hendricks with less than stellar results (none ranked more than 'fine' to me), I expected much of the same from a Pekkanen solo-thriller outing; I was wrong. Gone Tonight is compulsively readable and hard to put down. This is a book where the synopsis gives next to nothing away and even almost misleads in terms of what the novel is about to great success.

I basically read this book in two sittings because it kept getting crazier with each chapter. Just when one thing started to come together another wrench was thrown in. But even with reading it quickly (which sometimes means a disconnect with characters) I still found myself getting a tad emotional throughout the novel, something that doesn't happen to me with thrillers.

This is a thriller I could see myself recommending to a lot of my friends when they ask for recommendations. While I can't say that I will be picking up any other collaboration novels that Pekkanen does with Hendricks, sign me up for the next solo novel!

My thanks go out to St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. I started off thinking it was about one thing then realized with horror it was not. The daughter's distress about not knowing her month was annoying. Just ask her already. But then there might not be much story. Maybe could have stretched out the back half to give more suspense.

Gone Tonight
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
St. Martin's Press
Release Date: 8/1/2023
Mystery & Thrillers

I was so wrong when I initially thought I knew the direction that Pekkanen's plot was taking in Gone Tonight. The gripping story of a mother and daughter relationship is intense and full of unexpected twists. As the past and present collide, the tension builds as readers learn of secrets, deceit, and danger.
This book is skillfully told in alternating points of view of Ruth the mother and her daughter Catherine. Ruth fervently tries to keep Catherine from moving away to pursue her career. If you like psychological thrillers as I do, add this to your reading list.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance readers' copy. My review is my own.
#GoneTonight #StMartinsPress #SarahPekkanen

3.75 stars.

A domestic suspense read with good pacing and effectively told from two points of view, Catherine and her over-protective mother, Ruth. Ruth’s notebook entries describing her past were well done and slowly revealed the many secrets she was hiding. Good, unexpected turn in the first quarter of the book. However, parts of the plot required suspension of belief. Not my favourite thriller read but it was a quick, easy read.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

WOW! What a ride! Riveting book! I could NOT put this book down! I don’t want to give any spoilers but I’ll give a brief overview. Catherine has just graduated from nursing school and is getting ready to move away. She’s been raised by her single mother Ruth. Ruth is suddenly diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. Should Catherine stay and help her mom or move away? What happened to her dad? So many questions! Such a good book!

Catherine Sterling has gotten her nursing degree and has a job offer from John Hopkins to work in their geriatrics unit. She has already given notice at the nursing home where she works on the memory care wing. Then her mother Ruth, whom she lives with, breaks the news that she has been diagnosed with Early-Onset Alzheimer's. Catherine prepares to ditch all of the plans she has made for her future so that she can stay and be there for her mom. Curious about her family background, and knowing that she needs to get answers while she still can, Catherine starts questioning her mom about her family and where she grew up. But the more evasive Ruth becomes, and the more Catherine digs for answers, the more lies Catherine uncovers. Is anything Ruth has told her over the past 24 years the truth? And what exactly have they been running from?

This book started out as a bit of a slow burn, but once it picked up speed, I didn't want to put it down. It was told in the alternating viewpoints of Catherine and Ruth, and a lot of the chapters by Ruth, were her writing in a journal, detailing the past, so you found out exactly what it was that had happened to make Ruth go on the run. I really liked Catherine, but I have to say, Ruth creeped me out. She was manipulative and a compulsive liar . I loved getting to slowly find out the backstory like that. It added to the suspense. If you are a fan of thrillers, then you are definitely going to want to add this to your TBR pile!

I went in blind to Gone Tonight by @sarahpekkanen and this had so many surprises for me. When I first started, I was learning about Ruth and her daughter Catherine. Ruth thinks she has early on-set Alzheimer’s. Catherine has just gotten a job at John Hopkins’s, several hours away from her mother when they learn of the diagnosis. I thought the beginning was an odd way for a thriller to start and then the story took off with lots of twists. It was a very interesting domestic thriller in the sense that there wasn’t much of a mystery to solve and I wasn’t necessarily trying to figure out what was going to happen but it was still a really interesting thriller!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

I love Sara Pekkanen’s books and I was thrilled when I received a copy of both ebook and audio files from St.Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio in exchange of my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Told in 2 voices, Catherine, a fresh nursing graduate and her mom Ruth, this suspense- thriller was a slow burn that turned into a sudden rush race of time in a matter of life and death situation. I enjoyed it because to me it was a fast paced enough to keep me on my toes. No crazy twists that will cause one a whiplash, nor unbelievable surprises. It was a steady, what is gonna happen and what is the ending kind of a read.

The audio was narrated by Kate Mara, though her delivery was great, I wished that there were different voices between Ruth and Catherine. The mono-sound was a little dragging to me, but overall, it was still a good read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC! I will post my review on my bookstagram account - @bookofthemeg on publishing day- 8/1!
I really enjoyed this fast paced thriller from Sarah Pekkanen. I was excited to read this author as a stand alone- I loved all the books with Geer Hendricks so I knew this would be a good one!
The dual viewpoints worked well throughout the story and the short chapters made it so easy for me to go, “just one more chapter!”
There were lots of secrets revealed and ai would recommend Gone Tonight to anyone who loves thrillers, family secrets, and mother daughter relationships.

Ruth has always been driven by her need to protect her daughter, Catherine. The only thing she doesn’t do for her is tell the truth. When Catherine becomes suspicious of her mother’s behavior, she unknowingly brings the past Ruth is running from right to their door.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen AUDIO opens as a simple tale of a woman dealing with her mother’s early onset Alzheimer’s but it quickly morphs into a thriller in which her mother reveals herself as an accessory to a murder, which took place before Catherine was born. Ruth has done a fabulous job of covering it up, not only from the authorities, but from her own daughter as well.. Ruth is writing in a journal, telling the whole story. Catherine knows something is not right and is investigating on her own based on the minimal information she has gleaned from Ruth. It is all pretty much accurate, but very misleading. It is an exciting listen.

Both are strong characters. Ruth has believed she is acting in the best interests of both Catherine and herself. Catherine feels lied to and rightly so. James, who is far from innocent, I read as maybe not as bad as Ruth believes, at least as far as she is concerned. Maybe he loves her. Maybe not. It is full of emotions which can often present as confusing. Both Ruth and Catherine are clever and that almost leads to their downfalls. It was a compelling listen. Very well done.

Kate Mara is the reader and holds an even tone no matter what is happening, which really adds to the horror of it all. In the beginning I was confused as to who was who, but that was not her fault. I was not listening carefully enough. Good reader. It was an excellent read, both in audio and print, possibly easier to empathize in print. First of Pekkanen’s novels I’ve read so I have little to compare to.

I was invited to listen to a free audio version of Gone Tonight Macmillan Audio and print version by St. Martins Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #MacMillanAudio #StMartinsPress #SarahPekkanen #KateMara #GoneTonight

This was a quick read/listen. I was pulled in from the start with QUESTIONS! The first half of the book was so well handled as we switched POVs and tried to see what was going on with Ruth and Catherine. Once the pieces came together in the second half, the story took a new twist and kept me invested all the way to the end. Thumbs up from me!
I was excited to listen to Kate Mara’s narration. While I like her voice, she could do with some inflection and character training as the narration itself was kind of flat.
*Thanks to St Martin’s Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the advance review copies.

Catherine and her mother, Ruth have always been alone and extremely close to one another with no other family members in their lives. At 24 years old, Catherine, a geriatrics nurse, decides that it’s time to live a separate life from her mother and accepts a job at John Hopkins Hospital and makes plans to move away. But suddenly, Ruth develops symptoms indicating that her health is deteriorating so Catherine gives up her plans so she can stay close to her mother. However, Catherine begins to uncover clues about Ruth’s past that open suspicions that things may not be as they seem, while unknowingly putting both women in danger.
This story is told in the alternating perspectives of Catherine and Ruth in present time along with Ruth’s journaling and musings about her past revealing how their current lives unfolded. I really enjoyed this creative technique for telling a story that builds and builds into an exciting and suspenseful thriller. Both characters are well developed and I found myself being pulled in and empathizing with both of them. The author is very creative with making the characters’ actions believable and not far-fetched which is something I appreciate in well written thrillers. This is definitely an engaging book that is hard to put down.
#NetGalley #St. Martin’s Press

Considering I'm all packed for a three week trip, I would fit right in with the characters in this book who have up and moved at a moment’s notice a few times. Told in dual POV chapters alternating from Christine (24 year old nurse) and Ann (40 year old waitress and Christine’s mother), Gone Tonight follows their relationship as Christine prepares to move away from home.
I did a mix of the audiobook and the ARC - thanks to both Macmillan Audio and St Martin's Press for advanced copies from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. Being that there is only one narrator of the audiobook, I had to follow pretty closely with the text in the first few chapters to make sure I knew which character’s view was being heard (thanks for the heads up about this, Laurie!). I enjoyed the narration once I got over that hurdle. Although marketed as a thriller, this felt more like a contemporary fiction read - there are some mystery and thriller devices and plot points, but the twists seemed secondary to the mother-daughter relationship and the mother’s backstory. I enjoy contemporary fiction so that’s not a problem for me, but I just want other readers to know the emphasis for this domestic thriller. It will be available Tuesday 8/1!

I really enjoyed this slow paced thriller . The storyline had some really unique aspects and the ending left the reader wanting more - a second book would be nice - while still filly wrapping up the story