All her life it has just been Catherine Sterling and her mother Ruth, but Catherine has graduated and is planning to move. Suddenly she notices forgetfulness and odd symptoms in her mother. The doctor gives them the awful diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's. How can Catherine possibly leave her mother now? This story goes back and forth in chapters between Catherine and Ruth. We start to learn their backstory in these chapters, but there are discrepancies that leave the reader and indeed the characters wondering. As this story plays out we investigate these discrepancies in delicious plot twists and an ending that will shock you. The characters were strong and well developed. I mostly liked Catherine, the dutiful daughter and conscientious worker and felt sorry for the derailment of her plans. I went back and forth between love and hate for the Ruth but in the end I understood her better and admired her attempts to keep Catherine safe. The pace of the story was fast and kept me reading to finish in one sitting. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early copy and give my honest review.

An insanely intense mother/daughter thriller!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
“Gone Tonight” is a mother/daughter thriller that turns insanely intense as Catherine discovers all the secrets her mother has kept throughout her childhood. No daughter knows everything about her mother but how can you hide so much for so long?

This dark and entertaining story is told from alternating viewpoints. Mother and daughter each tell their story, so the reader hears the secrets they are keeping from each other. I love hearing secrets. Especially when I don’t have to keep them to myself!

Ruth Sterling left home and became a single mother at 16 years old. She has a plausible explanation. It was her only choice because of her family’s rigid religious beliefs. Her life hasn’t been easy. Without a high school education, Ruth didn’t have many opportunities. She worked hard as a waitress and put Catherine through nursing school.

It’s finally time for Catherine to leave home and have some freedom. Then a big revelation prevents that from happening. This story is shocking and emotional as we slowly learn how Ruth ended up where she is.

Pekkanen has written another gripping five-star read!

Sincere thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for providing this gifted ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

#GoneTonight #SarahPekkanen #macmillanaudio #stmartinspress #audiobook #womenwriters #giftedARC #justfinished #comingsoon #igbookreels #thriller #ad #honestreview #thrillerfriendsunite #mysteryandthrills #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #suspense #mystery #lovetoread #bookworms #lovebooks #lovetoreadbooks #fortheloveofbooks #booknerd #bookreviewer #booksbooksandmorebooks #instabook #readaholic

The premise of this book intrigued me from the beginning and the dual perspectives between mother and daughter kept me engaged until the final page.

The major twist is revealed around the 30% mark so the rest of the novel is more domestic suspense than thriller. However, at the very end you get one more piece of information that adds to the intrigue of the novel.

Some of the events that transpire are a little hard to believe, but if you’re willing to suspend belief here and there you will still enjoy the book. Overall, this was an interesting novel that will appeal to readers who love suspense.

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

SYNOPSIS:
- Catherine and her mother, Ruth, have always just had each other.
- Ruth’s past has always been a well-kept secret. As Catherine prepares to move out on her own, she starts digging into her mother’s past

MY THOUGHTS
- Slow-burn suspense told in dual perspectives (Catherine’s & Ruth’s); also offers some past mixed with present. In some of Ruth’s chapters, she also journals within those, where she writes about the past. The journal portions were my favorite.
- Well-plotted & executed.
- I am a fan of Pekkanen, but this is the first solo book of hers that I’ve read. The others were written by both her & Hendricks.
- The plot was unique & kept me interested.
- The ending was fine, but nothing spectacular to me. With that being said, I really enjoyed the book & would recommend it.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Slow-burn suspense. Well-written, unique plot. Ending was fine, but nothing spectacular.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on August 1, 2023.

All of Catherine’s life it has only been her and her mother, Ruth. Ruth doesn’t talk much about her past and every time Catherine tries to learn more about Ruth, she gets upset so Catherine drops it. When Catherine starts to pull away from Ruth and wants to move away, Ruth comes up with a devious plan to get her to stay. You see Ruth can not let Catherine go and will go to great lengths to keep her daughter close.

This book started off slow for me but I’m so glad I stuck with it because it quickly goes from 0-100 and it was fantastic. The book is told in alternating views from Catherine and Ruth including Ruth’s past and her present. They play a cat and mouse game and you really don’t know who is doing the right thing. As a mom though this made my heart race and gave me all the feels.

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.


MY THOUGHTS:

When we first join Gone Tonight, we are thrust into the relationship between mother and daughter in alternating narratives. We believe that the mother, Ruth, has early onset Alzheimer’s disease. But soon we realize that the truth is hiding from us. Ruth’s story comes to us gradually in her narrative as she offers a peek into her past and how she has been hiding things.

An intensely driven story that kept me enthralled throughout, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The conclusion was brilliant and had me biting my nails. A 5 star read.

***My ARC came to me from the publisher via NetGalley

***

Book starts out interesting. The mother is hiding secrets but also dealing with losing her memory. I wanted to like this book more. It kind of lost my interest. It felt like it kept going on and not giving enough at the same time. I struggled to stay interested sadly.

Thanks @netgalley for read number 90 of 2023. I really enjoy @sarahpekkanen’s books, and this one was no exception. It hooked me from the first chapter and never let go. I could not put this book down. I read it all in one sitting. Some very disturbing moments for sure, but also some amazing examples of love. This book brought me to tears more than once, which is unusual for a suspense novel. Some great twists as well, including a couple that I did not expect. A ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read in my books. I loved this one! ❤️ #avivaandfriendsrecos

📣 BOOK / REVIEW 📣

I am really on a book binge these days! With some newly found free time, I am able to dedicate a lot of my power to both physical and #audiobooks.

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of #gonetonight by @sarahpekkanen (huge thanks @stmartinspress - you're the best!) My virtual #bookclub has been raving about this one, so I wanted to start immediately!

As a mom, I felt all of the stress and anxiety that Ruth was facing. While I didn't agree with all of her lies and decisions, I couldn't say that I didn't silently cheer her on the entire book. Both she and Catherine were unreliable narrators throughout the story, which definitely kept me guessing and invested in the truth.

I loved the "diary entries" woven throughout the chapters and really appreciated all the lengths that this mother <> daughter duo went through to keep each other safe.

This book is TENSE and fast paced - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It will be available on August 1st!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I found this book a little slow pace. I kept waiting for some big thing to happen and it never did. It was just an ok thriller.

Book : Gone Tonight
Author : Sarah Pekkanen
Pub Date : 01 August 2023

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s press, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Do you love:

- Domestic Thrillers
- Suspense
- Twists & Turns Left & Right
- Family Ties
- Dual POV w/alternating chapters (MY FAV!)

This book is for you!

I love a good twisty domestic thriller & I had never read anything from Sarah before and let me just start by saying that I will continue to watch for her releases because her writing style really does something for me. The characters in this read were so well done and the dialogue and storyline was perfection. This was one heck of a book. I sat down and opened this up and lost track of the entire day.

Without giving too much away because I think with this one I would…we follow a Ruth (the mother) who got pregnant with her daughter (Catherine) in high school and raised her into a beautiful young adult and she just graduated nursing school. Not long after we realize that her Ruth is forgetting things and they begin to wonder if possibly she has the early onsets of Alzheimer’s causing her daughter to put her life journey on hold — but the story takes a twist and we follow them on a wild ride that will have you hanging off the edge of your seat.

This book was hands down just wonderful! So many secrets, so many twists and mysterious turns. You never really know what’s going to happen next. I was not expecting the ending that was for sure. This book was probably another one of my favorite for the 2023 year. If you haven’t thought about picking up this book yet, this is your reminder. Cannot wait for the next one!

At first, I was really surprised that Pekkanen had written a sad book. It was like nothing I’d ever read of hers… but then I saw the “thriller” side of it and it all made sense. 😂

I enjoyed this story, told in alternating points of view between a mother and daughter who are all on their own.

I thought Ruth’s back story was really sad, which made the book feel more real and tragic. I hated all that she went through as a young girl, but I loved how she worked very hard to move past all the trauma in her life.

I saw the twist coming so it wasn’t surprising for me. I thought it was a good story, though a little unbelievable in spots and a little slow at times.

Absolutely brilliant! I have been a big fan of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Henrick's dual thrillers so when I saw Sarah was releasing her own thriller, I knew I had to read it ASAP. I'm so happy to share that it completely lived up to the hype! I loved the dual-POV and the twisty mother-daughter relationship. The pacing was perfect and the story just totally engaging.

4.5 stars! LOVED how fast paced this was. Kept me on the edge of my seat, a truly suspenseful and thrilling read! Highly recommend! Will be filming a more in depth review on my youtube channel at the end of the month as well :)

A mother and daughter go HEAD to HEAD in Sarah Pekkanen’s “Gone Tonight” 🥊

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

It has always just been Ruth and Catherine … a closely knit mother and daughter duo that have braved the world together. But now Catherine has been offered a nursing job at a world renown hospital and is ready to flee the nest. BUT is Ruth willing to let her go??

Catherine has never asked too much about Ruth’s past and why they have no family ties. Ruth just explains that everything that she has done in her life has been FOR Catherine. When Ruth reveals something tragic about her genetics, Catherine feels the need to stay home and care for her mother. She begins to dig into her mother’s past and the two of them play a game of cat and mouse around each other while covering up and uncovering secrets and lies. Will Catherine ever find out the REAL truth and escape her mother??

I went into this book blind and I am thrilled that I did! What I thought was happening completely took a turn and I was astonished by Ruth’s past and the lengths she will go to protect her daughter!

Thank you kindly to @sarahpekkanen @stmartinspress @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 1, 2023!

Kept me glued to the pages. Fabulously entertaining. Loved it! Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Single mom Ruth has raised her daughter Catherine all on her own for the past 24 years, now Catherine is ready to leave the nest and pursue her passion for nursing. A week before Catherine is due to leave and start her own life Ruth has an appointment that has Catherine feeling like she has to hang around and watch over her mother. Catherine thinks her mother is showing signs of Alzehimers but the signs are almost textbook…..

I loved this book and could not put it down, I finished it in less than 24 hours. So many twists and turns, everytime I thought I had the plot figured out another twist in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

This is from one of the authors who brought us The Golden Couple and The Wife Between Us. I enjoyed both of those books so was intrigued by how this one would be. I was not disappointed. What a roller coaster of a ride!

Catherine Sterling and her mother Ruth have always been a pair. They live together and have rely on each other through all things. All seems well until Ruth starts showing signs of Alzheimer's. Catherine works at a memory care facility and immediately goes to worst case scenario on where their life is heading. However, she notices a chink in her mother's story one day. She finds that she has checked out a book called Understanding Alzheimer's. This gives Catherine pause and makes her start to question EVERYTHING. Why does her mom never talk about her past? Why do they move around so much? What is she hiding?

I thought this was a wonderful thriller that kept me guessing until the end what direction it was going in. I liked getting glimpses into Ruth's past to get a better understanding of her story. This is a story of a mother who will do ANYTHING to protect her daughter. Maybe even kill for her. I really enjoyed this book and hope you do too. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Gone Tonight had me hooked since the first few pages and it was one of those books that when I started I could not stop reading it and I finished it in one sitting! Sarah Pekkanen did a tremendous job keeping the suspense, and providing plot twists that I never saw coming in this engaging thriller. Fully recommend for all thriller fans looking for a great story and fast read!

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

As soon as I saw the name Sarah Pekkanen I wanted to read this book immediately. I’ve loved all the books she has co-written with Greer Hendricks, but this is the first solo book of hers I’ve read. I went in completely blind and it was not what I expected. While I didn’t find it to be very thrilling, it was pretty suspenseful. The story alternates between the POV of a mother and daughter and I thought their relationship was interesting. The book is definitely a slow burn. Once the pace picked up though I couldn’t put it down. 3.5 stars rounded down.