All Ruth ever told her daughter, Catherine, of her past was that she left home as a teenager when pregnant with her, never contacting her family again. But when Ruth starts showing signs of Alzhimers, Catherine decides now is the time to secretly dig into her mother’s past. What she finds makes her wonder if she ever really knew her mother at all. Sometimes it’s best to let the past lay burried in the past.

I really enjoyed this book and the way it was written in alternating points of view. Many chapters would end wanting you to read “just one more chapter”. You really won’t want to put it down, especially the second half. The only issue I have is that one small part of the storyline is very similar to another book/movie. One of the characters does call out the fact that they’d seen it in a movie before but as someone who has seen that movie a couple times, it felt very unoriginal.

This book comes out 8/1. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for gifting me with an advanced copy to read and provide an honest review. I really enjoyed it.

Fast paced with lots of twists and turns that I didn't see coming! I liked the alternate POVs, and glimpses into the past through Ruth's journal. It was an interesting premise that made me think what I would have done if in a similar situation, very original storyline.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Catherine is a twenty four year old nurse that works with dementia and Alzheimer patients. Her mother Ruth Sterling is a waitress and they live together. Ruth was a well organized person but suddenly Catherine notices her mom is starting to show signs of dementia. Catherine is concerned enough that she has her mom visit a neurologist.

Ruth had Catherine out of wedlock and Catherine had never known her father. It was something they never spoke about. Ruth was now 42 but she was tight lipped about her past. Ruth’s mother was abusive so she tried to shelter her little brother Timmy from her. Her father tried to protect them but he was working all the time. But he did do special things for Ruth like the ring. This story is set with Ruth’s past and her old boyfriend James Bates and the future. It will definitely keep you wanting to turn page after page and it grabs you from the very beginning!

I received this ARC from Netgalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. I was so excited to receive a copy on NetGalley and devoured it in a couple of days. It was hard to put it down but a girl needs to sleep sometimes! :)

After a slow burn start this book kept me turning the pages as fast as I could! I'm a huge fan of Sarah's work and this one did not disappoint!

Such a good book! Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors. This book has such a unique story line and incredible character development. The twists and turns are genius and truly thrilling.

This was good, a bit slow in the beginning but with a good dose of misdirection not only for the reader but for one of the characters right away. When I started reading I was confused with how it was going to be a suspense/thriller as it was playing out more like a medical drama. Lo and behold, things aren't as they seem, and as I continued reading (alternating POV's between mother and daughter) I figured out one of our narrators wasn't quite reliable.

Good bit of "nature vs nurture" and "mother knows best" throughout the story. The pace definitely picked out about halfway through and I was hooked on finding out how this all would end. I thought the third act plot points were a bit of a stretch but knew a showdown was inevitable. I enjoyed it for what it was, a quick weekend thriller. It probably won't be super memorable for me 6 months from now, but I would read this author again.

What a doozie! Start to finish this one in a few hours. It kept me engaged and wanting to know more. Enjoyed both POV’s and loved the pace.

Thanks to St.Martin’s Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: August 1, 2023

This book was not what I expected at all somehow, but was a fascinating read nonetheless.

Catherine has always lived with her mother Ruth in a very codependent type of relationship. Now, Ruth is in he 40s and showing signs of early Alzheimer’s….or is she? The more Catherine digs into the past, the more danger she is in.

The story is told in alternating POV between Ruth and Catherine, with much of Ruth’s storytelling told via letters to her daughter describing her past. In this way, we get the backstory that led to the present situation. The backstory was one of a hard youth, leading to some terrible choices that Ruth has been unable to fully move on from. It was crazy for me to think of a teenager doing all the things Ruth did as a teen, with the ingenuity it took to get her current life.

I really didn’t like either character during the story. Their codependency turned me off a bit, and I found it hard to understand why this mother wouldn’t let her daughter spread her wings and have her own life. Ruth doesn’t trust Catherine to make any of the right choices and forces her hand often, and Catherine just lets her do it. I was very frustrated by their relationship initially, but could understand it better once I knew the full backstory.

The story built tension up beautifully, making for a tense and uncomfortable read. I was constantly waiting for the bottom to drop out. The back half becomes a game of cat and mouse and had me flipping through the pages quickly.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillainaudio for my gifted book and audiobook.My thoughts are my own.

Catherine is a nurse at an assisted living facility in Pennsylvania. However she has just accepted a job at the prestigious John Hopkins Hospital and she is ready to go. When her single-mom, Ruth, receives a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s, Catherine puts her plans on hold. Catherine and Ruth have always enjoyed a close relationship.

What Catherine doesn’t know is Ruth is hiding secrets and will stop at nothing to protect her daughter. As Ruth’s secrets gradually unfold, Catherine starts to lose trust in her mother. The truth will ultimately try their relationship.

MY THOUGHTS:
This slow-burn novel is told through alternating perspectives of mother and daughter, and the truth is gradually revealed. I guessed the ending early on. I enjoyed the print version much more than the audio version. Though I usually enjoy this narrator (Kate Mara), I felt she used a monotone voice and it was difficult to tell the difference between mother and daughter.

Read this if you:
*Have enjoyed this author’s previous work
*Enjoy slow-burn suspense
*Enjoy family drama

Ruth and her daughter Catherine have always been close. It’s always just been the two of them. Now that Catherine is in her twenties, she is starting to explore the world more. She’s ready to leave the nest for a job offer in another city. Ruth is starting to panic. How far will she go to keep her daughter close and the past hidden? The more Ruth clings to Catherine, the more Catherine wonders why.

Sarah Pekkanen tells the story from both Catherine’s and Ruth’s point of view, alternating between the past and the present. Pekkanen develops two very interesting and well-rounded characters. The suspense and wanting to know what will happen next will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting more. The twists are shocking and keep you wanting more. My favorite part was learning all about Ruth’s past leading up to the reason why she feels she has to keep her daughter so close. I highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys psychological thrillers. I give it 5/5 stars.

3.5 stars
The book to me was ultimately about what lengths a mother will go to to protect her daughter, whether from threats that are real or those that are driven by anxiety.
Ruth does a lot of things and hides a lot of info from Catherine in an attempt to keep her safe. Catherine, in turn, starts to hide things from her mother while she searches for the truth about her mother's past.
There's a good amount of violence in here - a murder is at the center of the backstory, plus abusive relationships.
The books ends up raising a lot of questions as to what characteristics are inherited from parents and what are developed through circumstances and experiences.

Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for sending me an early copy of GONE TONIGHT. This one publishes one August 1.

I devoured this whole book in less than 24 hours. I read it while I cooked, I read it while I did laundry, I honestly couldn’t put it down. This whole book read like a movie in the best way and I can definitely see this becoming a huge hit on the screen. It’s honestly a perfect summer thriller. Go snag yourself a preorder or get your library hold in place because this one is going to be in demand!

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.

This is one of the best thrillers I’ve read all year! It had similar vibes to Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter (in the very best way). I loved the mother daughter dual perspectives and there were so many twists!

Oof this was a sobering book about Alzheimer's. A fun, slow-burn, mystery book that is delicious and rewarding. The author has tried something different in each book and it has worked out, for her and her audience. It is definitely a slow start and you have to put in the work because the storyline revs up in the end and is satisfying.

Gone Tonight

Is it ok to tell lies and keep secrets to protect the ones you love?

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a suspense thriller that starts out slow but builds to a final unexpected ending. It is told from the perspectives of Ruth and her daughter Catherine. When Ruth starts showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Catherine discovers that a lot of things she thought she knew about her mother are not true. Why has her mother been lying? Will Ruth find out the truth before it is too late?

I really enjoyed this suspense thriller. It was a little slow in the beginning but as secrets get exposed the suspense starts building. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this eARC to read and review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I loved Sarah Pekkanen’s previous books that she co-wrote with Greer Hendricks: "The Golden Couple" &
"An Anonymous Girl" so I was excited to read her latest solo novel, "Gone Tonight".
Ms. Pekkanen has written something highly addictive, unique & thrilling.
The final ending reveal was a complete surprise to me.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for providing this book for my honest review. This was my first book by Sarah Pekkanen and now I will have to go and read everything she has ever written. I am so in love with this twisty thriller! This will for sure be one of my favorite thrillers this year. I love all the mother/daughter secrets and the mystery surrounding their relationship. This was a completely unique story and I loved every minute of it! Thank you again for such a wonderfully entertaining and suspenseful novel.

The book features two main characters, Ruth and Catherine, mother and daughter and the story alternates between their two perspectives. Catherine is getting ready to move out on her own and Ruth is desperate to keep her close by. Catherine begins to find things out about her mother and that don’t seem to make sense. Why does Catherine know so little about her mother’s past, her family, etc.? It has always been the two of them, is their relationship going to change now that lies and deception come into play? The story moves along at a good pace and the two perspectives give an interesting take on what’s going on in the minds of the characters. It shows an interesting dynamic between mother and daughter and what people will do to protect those they love. I recommend this book, it held my interest and couldn’t wait to see how everything resolved. I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is to be published August 1, 2023.

I've read previous books by the combo of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, but this is the first one I've read by this author alone. I thought it was a great domestic suspense thriller and took a new twist on an unusual mother-daughter relationship. I liked the back-and-forth POV between Catherine and her mother Ruth. The chapters were short and the suspense really kept me reading.

As Catherine is about to move out of her mother's house and take a new job in Baltimore, Maryland, her mother is suddenly presenting symptoms of Alzheimer's. It's a disease that Catherine knows Ruth won't be able to deal with by herself, so she is contemplating not moving. The two of them have always been best friends and inseparable. But then Catherine starts to discover that Ruth may be lying to her. As we see from Ruth's POV, she has definitely been keeping secrets from Catherine.

There were some good twists in this book that I didn't see coming. A great thriller!