This book follows an extremely close mother and daughter relationship where the daughter is hoping to spread her wings and move away. An unexpected medical emergency for the mom emerges conveniently delaying the daughter's plans and as she starts to seek help for her mother, she begins to uncover secrets and an unknown past. I had high hopes for this book as I have really enjoyed previous work by this author & while the concept of this book had potential, the execution fell flat. The mother and daughter were supposed to be extremely close but yet their relationship was portrayed very surface level with little character development. The plot was fast but felt slow due to its predictability and being very unrealistic in parts. The author used lots of detail in areas where it wasn't need to compensate for some of these flaws, but lacked it in areas where it would've added depth. Someone newer to thrillers may enjoy the dramatics and pace of the plot but there were too many issues to get past for me.

Well, 2.25.
I am really disappointed in how much I did not enjoy this book. There was so much focus on the boyfriends of the main characters instead of the mother and daughter themselves. I honestly wonder if this book, about a mother and daughter, would even pass the Bechdel Test. At no point does the reader get the feeling of a close bond between the two of them. Ruth, the mother, lives in fear and high level stress the entire book. I'm not sure how she actually can survive like that. And not until she is forced to does she tell her daughter, Catherine, what is going on and why she is acting this way. Instead she uses Alzheimer's to trick her daughter into staying with her. Wow! That's not a way to endear a character to the reader. Along with that, Ruth spends a lot of time throughout the story writing down her earlier life to tell Catherine what happened. Again, this was done out of necessity rather than desire to enlighten her daughter. However, most of this could have been skipped. It goes on and on in detail neither Catherine nor the reader need and just takes up space. Meanwhile, Catherine is trying to uncover her mother's past and gets way too many lucky breaks. No way this process would have ever been this smooth in real life. And finally, I just didn't understand some major decisions made by the characters. It felt like the teenagers being chased by the axe murderer who run down into the dark basement with only one exit. Needless to say, this book didn't work for me. I know it will work for many others but I got myself too stuck on the horrible relationship and poor choices to enjoy the story.

The bond between mother and daughter can be unbreakable. But will that be the case as Catherine starts digging into her mother, Ruths, past? They have been extremely close even sharing location with each other at all times, which is odd for a 24 year old daughter but adds depth to their odd relationship. Chapters alternate between their perspectives and part of Ruth’s story is told by diary entries she is writing down for her daughter just in case anything happens to her—I really enjoyed the diary entries and having the past unfold that way. Her level of control over her daughter is over the top. Was a different family drama/mystery/slight thriller—but kept me thoroughly engaged and wanting to know the whole story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martins press for my electronic advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

Rounding up to 3.5. Sarah Pekkanen is a talented writer. She develops characters that you actually care about and her books are easy to read. That said, I was expecting more of a thriller. I didn't find this very twisty, and there were no real surprises. Still, it was a good read and I would recommend it.

Gone Tonight is a new twist on the domestic drama. Instead of a husband and wife, it focuses on a mother and daughter. They have always been a close mother/daughter duo with no other family in the picture. When Ruth (the mother) begins experiencing symptoms of dementia and keeps it from her daughter Catherine, Catherine begins to wonder what other secrets her mother is keeping. A cat and mouse game begins between mother and daughter with several twists along the way. Fans of Sarah Pekkanen’s previous works should check this one out!

Available August 1, Gone Tonight by @sarahpekkanen is an amazing thriller I could not put down! Sarah co-authored several books with Greer Hendricks that have been very popular and my intro to her writing. I've really enjoyed all of her work.

Gone Tonight is about a mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine, and Catherine's curiosity about her mother's past and the secrets she is keeping. Catherine's curiosity reveals the cracks in their relationship and uncovers the truth that Ruth has been working to hide all of Catherine's life.

It is so good! I won't give away any spoilers, but the story is fast paced and thrilling. While some of it feels slightly predictable, there are a few twists I didn't see coming. I rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy! This book is available August 1!

The onset of dementia is not an easy thing to read about, but Pekkanen crafts an engrossing suspense tale through a daughter's effort to tease the truth about the past from her mother's failing memory. The more she learns, the more dangerous the situation becomes for both of them. Powerful themes of family and the obligations of both parent and child provide a strong platform for the twisty plot.

This is the first book I have read from this author but I have heard her talked or mentioned often before.

This book did start out kind of slow but it was a slow burn, in a good way. So don’t give up on it. It picks up at about 30% and stays on the up and up after that point.

This is a story of a mother’s love having no limitations but on steroids. The book is told from Ruth (mom) and Catherine’s (daughter) point of views.

How far would you go to protect your child from a life that you ran from?

Ruth Sterling, has constructed the “perfect” safe life for her and her daughter. It’s always been just the two of them and Ruth has worked very hard to give Catherine everything she needed, even if it meant she went without.

Catherine, however has graduated and is ready to take her own step in life and spread her wings for herself. Catherine wants to move away and start her new career but Ruth can not let that happen. How well do these two truly know one another… is everything what Ruth has made it out to be?

I loved how it built up and had you on edge until the last page once you actually got to that point in the story. I will be honest until that moment, it felt like a chore to keep on BUT DO IT.

I like how Ruth had everything so constructed and was a step ahead the whole story, or at-least to her knowledge.

This was one of the better books that I have read year to date, but I gave it four stars because I wish it hadn’t taken so long to pull you in because then it felt kind of rushed to wrap it all together and finish it up. I also did figure out one of the main twist but not the full combination of the whole story.

Overall, it kept me engaged, I did end up LOVING it and it was a unique story from start to finish. The author definitely took her time to plan out this plot, her characters, their motives, the twist and the overall storyline the way that she did. To make it all wrap up the way that she did was really incredible.

These are all my personal opinions and I would like to thank Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for my own honest feedback.

Gone Tonight is set to release 8/1/23 and is definitely one to have on your TBR for Thrillers of 2023!

Gone Tonight started out slow and I almost set it aside, but I'm so glad I stuck with it cause it was a pretty good read. Ruth a hardworking, poor woman suddenly starts to suffer with memory issues. Her daughter, Catherine, recently graduated from nursing school and working at a memory care unit, knows all too well what this might mean. Katherine is determined to learn about her mother’s past before it’s too late. Her mother has worked hard to hide her past from Catherine, including the identity of her parents or Catherine’s father. The book alternates between the two women, and the reader gets to see the past through their memories. I loved the book. #netgalley #gonetonight

Gone Tonight was my second Sarah Pekkanen book (The Wife Between Us was my first) and both were three stars and "ok" reads. The narrators alternate between the mother Ruth, and daughter Catherine. It helped see two sides to the same story and made reading a little more interesting, but the overall story felt slow, I wanted it to be faster paced, with more twists. It did pick up and there were a few twists towards the end, but not enough to boost my rating or overall feelings. It seems like you either loved this book or it was just ok, so take my review with a grain of salt. Fans of Pekkanen might enjoy Gone Tonight more than I did.
.
.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ugh I did not like this book. There were parts that grabbed my attention like when the coach was killed. However, the storyline about the girl and her mom fell short. There were some interesting starts like when the mom implied that the daughter may have been a killer or something was psychologically off about her, but then they never really took that storyline anywhere. I also did not care about the mom and the guy (sorry I am terrible with character names). I was about to put down the book multiple times but forced myself to finish.

Ruth had Catherine at the tender young age of seventeen and they have been a team ever since. Always on the poor side and frequently running from one place to the next, Catherine has just taken it all in stride. Now at twenty-four Catherine is ready to stretch her wings and start a new career. She’s accepted her dream job as a nurse at John Hopkins, but she has to move away. As her move date draws closer, Catherine starts to notice things about Ruth. She’s forgetting things, losing things and getting lost. Catherine is all too aware of the devastating affects of dementia as she works in an Alzheimer’s care home. Willing to give up her dreams, she starts to notice other things amiss, her mother has secrets and she’s determined to find out what they are. Ruth is also determined to keep her secrets to keep Catherine safe, but Catherine won’t be stopped. What is her mother hiding? Told in two voices as well as journal entries, this was a slow burn of a book, but as the story builds, so does the tension. With an original storyline, Pekanen keeps the reader riveted until the very end and in the audio version, Kate Mara brings the story to life. Thank you to Saint Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC and ALC of this book.

Wow, this book was just what I needed in a thriller. The last two thrillers I read didn't hook me like I would have wanted them to. This book sucked me in from the start. I honestly didn't want to put it down. The only reason I didn't finish it sooner was because I'm exhausted from the heat and had work. If not, this probably would have been a read in one day book. This book has so many twists and turns and just information keeps unraveling as the story goes on. Seriously a messed up family. Each chapter you gets wilder and wilder. You get two povs. One is the pov of the mother and the other is the pov of the daughter. The mother's pov she's slowly telling her life story to us and what she wants to leave her daughter just incase? The daughter's pov is her slowly figuring out that her mom isn't the person she thought she was. It was fun seeing the mom tell things and have the daughter trailing behind. It was such a good pace and kept me hooked. I can't wait to see what Sarah writes next. I'll definitely be picking it up.

This is one of the best thrillers I have read in awhile and any review I write will not do it justice. Preorder this. Read the book. You will not regret it.

Dual POV between Mom (Ruth) and Daughter (Catherine) play out so well in this story as Ruth mostly tells a history about how they got to where they are and the reasoning behind her current habits, while Catherine is trying to unravel the lies that her mother has given her throughout her entire life. This in itself leads to conflict where Catherine is figuring out the secrets her mom is trying so desperately to keep hidden.

This book leaves you at the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next until the very last page. While some of the storyline is somewhat predictable, there was plenty that was not. I could not put this book down!

3.5/5
Gone Tonight was a slow burn thriller. It started a little slow and then the started to pick up when Ruth and her daughter Catherine began unveiling each other's secrets. It really picked up at about 70% and became much more heart pounding and exciting. I definitely enjoyed the twists and turns of this novel and I was pleasantly surprised when the pace picked up. Layer by layer the characters grew on me and I appreciated the approach of the book.

I ended up listening to this novel and feel like I wish I would have read the book instead. I think since the novel switches between multiple characters and multiple timelines, I would have had an easier time in the beginning if I would have read the physical copy. I enjoyed the storyline and it was a good thriller.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for granting me a free copy in exchange for my honest review!

Wow, this gives a gut punch right from the beginning and just keeps hitting. So many plot pivots and the separate narratives of mom and daughter makes for a superb story. What a mother would do to protect her child. Love it.


Thank you Netgalley for this arc

I have read everything Sarah Pekkanen has written, and this is by far the best book yet!
This book is about a mother (Ruth) and a daughter (Catherine). It tells their life story through both characters. Things happened in Ruth's life that have affected Catherine's life,
and all is revealed in the end.
Thank you, #netgalley and #stmartinspress

Ruth Sterling is used to blending in and has adjusted to life on the run with her daughter after her boyfriend put her in an impossible situation many years before that gave her no choice but to flee. What Ruth does not plan for is her daughter Catherine’s persistent questions and inquest into her mother’s past. Catherine catches her mother in lie after lie and decides to go on a mission to figure out why her mother keeps secrets from her. Ruth’s past comes back to haunt her just as Catherine gets closer to finding out more about her mother’s past. The two women must act together to stop the man Ruth once loved who is hell bent on getting revenge against Ruth for leaving him many years before.

This was a highly engaging plot to read as the first part of the story focused on mother and daughter trying to get ahead of one another on Catherine’s quest for the truth about her mother’s past. When that truth is revealed, Catherine has to push her anger with her mother aside to protect her from the man she has been running from for 25 years. The timeline, characters, and all the little details inside this book were carefully written and engaged me more and more with the turn of each page. This was a solid 4 star read for me. I thought it was a well written book. A few parts were a little out there, but it was still very entertaining and I liked the character. I docked 1 star only because something was missing that packed the usual punch of a 5 star read. It ended nicely, but as I turned the last page the book overall lacked the usual thrill I get when I finish a 5 star read.

This is a psychological thriller told from the point of view of the two main characters. Mother and daughter are on a collision course as they are both keeping secrets. The story is told in the present and the past and keeps the reader interested as it unravels the plot. The characters are mesmerizing as they reveal to the readers their true self. The dialogue is also interesting and page turning. The story will hold your interest from start to finish.

This had a slow start, but once the mystery and suspense picked up, I was hooked! I loved the ending, which I did not predict! The multiple POVs added depth to the story and made the characters very interesting, even if not quite likeable all the time.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.