BIG pieces of her vibes! And my review will almost be the same.

This one was okay, I liked the ending but I had troubles staying engaged throughout. I was definitely interested in the mom and if there had been more lead up or more suspicious circumstances surrounding the initial crime, that would’ve hit right. The mothers story was more interesting than the daughters and I didn’t feel like the whole Alzheimer’s plot point at the start made that much sense overall. The ending was more interesting guyyyyyyys. It was all just “wow how convenient” things don’t happen like that. There is a 2% chance (being generous about it) that the main thing occurred…

I did audio and it took me awhile to understand who was talking but once I did it got a bit better.

CONTENT WARNING: parental abandonment, death of a parent, terminal illness, alcoholism, child abuse, emotional abuse, racial slur (for Latines), prejudice, bullying, sexual assault, violence, murder, blood, mention of self-harm

I’ve loved the Hendricks/Pekkanen books, so when I saw this, I just couldn’t resist. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I still had some high hopes for this one. And I was really happy to see that it met all of my expectations plus it briefly featured a chihuahua, so that basically sold me on the book even more.

The narrative switches between the POV of Catherine and Ruth, and we slowly get to see the carefully constructed world of these two women unravel. In the beginning, it’s blatantly obvious that these two have a desperately unhealthy relationship. They’re extremely codependent, and don’t seem to have any other relationships with anyone else, with the exception of an ex of Catherine’s from the past. Of course, it’s really hard to build relationships with others when you’re constantly on the move.

It’s easy to empathize with both main characters. While I don’t necessarily agree with all of their decisions, I could see where they were coming from, at least. Catherine is on the verge of making her first big change in life, by moving to work for Johns Hopkins hospital as a nurse after graduating. But her mother is determined to keep Catherine close to her. For her part, Catherine is working hard to unravel all the little lies and inconsistencies that she discovers slowly about her mother. Pekkanen is fantastic at misdirection, revealing small clues and letting the reader try to put things together for themselves before everything is revealed.

As for Ruth, bits and pieces of her story are revealed over the course of the book, and I liked learning about her slowly. It was interesting to compare present-day Ruth to the younger version of herself and see how much she has changed. And I appreciated how realistic the escape plans that Ruth maintains were—she’s watchful and prepared to run at a moment’s notice, with money, a go-bag, a burner phone, and identification. Seeing how far in advance she’s been prepping was impressive.

While this isn’t the kind of book that has a lot of jump scares in it, the tension both between the two main characters as well as the tension that builds in the story itself kept me hooked. I was invested quickly, and the short chapters kept me reading late into the night. This is a wonderful thriller, and I will definitely be looking into reading Pekkanen’s backlist, which I didn’t even know existed until now. Just adding them to the extra-long TBR.

Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC read.

This book follows our main characters Ruth and Catherine, who are mother and daughter. For all of Catherine's life she has only had Ruth, she knows her father and grandparents didn't want her and she had no friends as they moved so often. Recently Catherine notices her mom is having issues with her memory, she's doing weird things like forgetting how to get home from the store or putting eggs in the cabinet. instead of the fridge Catherine is a nurse so she knows this is all adding up to where Ruth needs to get tested to see if she has early-onset Alzheimer's... only to find out Ruth's mother has died from exactly this. Catherine is freaking out because she is wondering if this is going to be her fate.. she does some digging in her mom's past and things slowly start coming to light that Ruth has tried so hard to bury. Who is the person she calls mom? Will Catherine wish she left her mother's past uncovered?

I won't say more as I don't want to ruin any of the story. I think this book was very well written and kept me engaged but I felt like I was able to guess the story and major plot twists, I left feeling like something was missing for me. I don't think this is the author's fault, I just felt like it was missing something for me.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read. I love when authors do dual POVs but the past and present could have been a little clearer as I found myself having to read a couple of sentences before I noticed it changed. I will definitely check out more from this author.

Gone Tonight was a 5 star read for me!! It was addictive and so mesmerizing. This story is told in short chapters & I couldn’t listen fast enough!!!

I have really enjoyed the writing duo of Sarah Pekkanen & Greer Hendricks since their debut novel in 2018. Such incredible storytellers together and individually!

Gone Tonight is a domestic thriller that’s layered, full of suspenseful twist and turns, an emotional tale of a mother and daughter and ends with an unexpected conclusion!! This one kept me on the edge of my seat and guessing the entire time.

This is most definitely a story of how far will a mother go to protect her child?! And wow! What a ride!! Buckle up your seatbelt because it’s about to go fast and furious from the start to the very end.

Like I said I gave this a 5 star review because I absolutely LOVED this story. However, sadly, I wasn’t a fan of the audiobook. I had to replay some chapters back. The narrator is a newer narrator with this being only their 5th book as a narrator from what I read and I just think it wasn’t the best performance. The reason it didn’t work for me was the narrator was so monotone throughout their performance of voicing the characters that it was hard to distinguish who was who at times. Due to the storyline being told not only from dual timelines it was also told from dual POVs. So again, at times I’d have to re listen to the chapter because one chapter went into the next and I got slightly confused at times because I didn’t realize the switch of chapters because the POVs sounded the same. I think this is a skill set that will happen over time. And for a story like this one, that monotone experience was not the fit for this book.

Hands down still HIGHLY recommend this addicting book, just read it physically & skip the audiobook of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ALC in exchange for my honest review! The story was amazing!

GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen
Publication Date: 8/1/2023
St. Martins’ Press
Macmillan Audio: 10 hrs 9 min by Kate Mara


Wonderful slow-burn mystery thriller chock full of twists, turns and red herrings. Watch the unravelling of the perfect mother-daughter relationship between single mom,Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine. Secrets will surface as Catherine is about to move away and embark on her nursing career. She has given notice to the nursing home, where she excels in treating and dealing with the dementia patients. She has been accepted for her first career job as a nurse, at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. This will be the first time she will live separate from her adoring mother, Ruth. Suddenly she starts to notice disturbing changes in her mother’s behavior and actions…. she suspects early onset Alzheimer disease. A trickle of her mother’s past history is revealed with glaring inconsistencies.
Pekkanen proves to be a masterful storyteller, as she unspools a complex narrative told from the perspective of not only Catherine and Ruth, but in a piecemeal fashion Ruth’s backstory as an adolescent. Secrets will be revealed with disastrous implications that ratchet up the intrigue and suspense, culminating in an explosive denouement.
I personally switched back and forth between my kindle and the excellent audio narration provided by actress Kate Mara. She was able to bring life to the mother daughter duo in the theatre of my mind. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing an Uncorrected Proof and Advance Audio version of this wonderful mystery, in exchange for my honest review.

Catherine, 24 years old, has been under her mother’s thumb all her life. But when she accepts a new job far from home, her mother desperately needs to keep her close, and Catherine begins to uncover her mother’s lies. Gone Tonight is a taut and suspenseful story told in alternating POVs between Catherine and her mother Ruth, with the details of Ruth’s life deftly revealed through Ruth’s entries in her journal. This is a definite page turner, as the reader eagerly devours Ruth’s story as Catherine unknowingly puts both their lives at risk as she searches for the truth. A mother’s undying love for her child propels this expertly plotted book, and will keep you glued to the pages. I received an arc of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gone Tonight
Sarah Pekkanen
4-4.5⭐️

Blurb: Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother.
Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter.
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.

If you’re in the mood for a slow-burn, suspenseful, cat & mouse story, Gone Tonight is for you! I was totally hooked from beginning to end with well written story about the lengths a mother will go to keep her child safe. The perfect pacing and the short chapters had me flying through the pages. There were so many twists, turns, and secrets I didn’t want it to end but couldn’t wait finish and find out the truth.

Pub Date: 8/1/23: Absolutely would recommend! I’ve loved Pekkanen’s work as a duo with Greer Hendricks, so I was super intrigued to read her as a solo thriller author. She did not disappoint.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the #gifted digital/physical copies in exchange for my honest review.

Sarah Pekkanen is one of my favorite authors and her new book, Gone Tonight, doesn't disappoint! Great character development and some unexpected twists! One of my favorite books read this year! I totally recommend!

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is an exciting domestic thriller focusing on a strained mother-daughter relationship. Catherine is a young woman about to embark on her new life and job without her mother Ruth who she has always lived with. When preparing to move away Catherine notices her mother has become forgetful which results in a devastating diagnosis for early onset Alzheimer’s. Plagued with guilt and sense of duty, Catherine decides to rescind her job offer to stay and care for her mother. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Ruth is not the person she thought she was and Catherine begins to question everything that she knows about her.


What I liked about this book:
-dual POVs between Catherine and Ruth
-secrets and lies of Ruth that are slowly revealed throughout the book
-the Sunrise Senior Living setting particularity the Alzheimer’s ward where Catherine worked which was a fascinating glimpse into that world
-great character development and psychological insight into Ruth and Catherine
-loved the mother-daughter relationship that was strained by the lies of Ruth who was only trying to protect Catherine
-Ruth’s survival instinct and ingenuity particularly in the past when she lived in Target for several days
-interesting dichotomy between Alzheimer’s disease in deteriorating memory whereas Ruth’s past life was intentionally hidden and lost by her secrets and lies
-the twists and turns throughout the book as well as the satisfying ending
-the present and past timelines that kept me intrigued

What I didn’t like about the book:
-my only complaint would be to see more backstory to secondary characters of James and Rosie

My rating: 4 out of 5

My final takeaway: This was a fun, engaging read and I recommend this book to fans of twisty domestic thrillers who are interested in parent/ adult child dynamics.

Trigger warning: bullying, sexual assault, grooming, domestic abuse, alcoholism

Many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for this eARC.

Thanks to Net galley for providing me a copy of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen.
Well I was really hoping more out of this one. It definitely was a slow burn and took awhile to have something happen which really didnt for awhile. There were a few twists which helped but I definitely needed more so I am only giving it this one a 3 stars since it was just slow for me. It was told by a dual POV which was fine and liked that we got both characters Catherine and her mother Ruth. Lets hope more people will enjoy this one more then me..

What if your mother wasn't who you thought she was? Catherine thinks she knows everything about her mother, Ruth. As she prepares to move away to start a new job, suddenly Ruth starts to become sick. Slowly, Catherine begins to discover secrets her mother has hidden all of her life. In doing so, Ruth learns how deceptive her daughter can be.

What a ride! The twists just kept coming and you kept learning more and more about Catherine. It was literally a fight for survival for Ruth. Kudos to Pekkanen for weaving this tale this masterful.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was so excited to read a novel by Sarah Pekkanen. She and Greer Hendricks are such a fabulous combo. And "Gone Tonight" was AMAZING! I was guessing the entire time and did NOT see the end coming. I loved that this book was told in past and present timelines. Highly recommend this one!!!

Sarah Pekkanen is a wonderful author and she does a great job at exposing the psychological attributes of people. The relationship between a mother and daughter is fraught with secrets and misinformation. Though you will not think this is a thriller from the beginning of the book, it picks up and you are drawn into the story. The dual timeline and dual points of view were handled well and gives you insight into the two primary characters, Ruth and Catherine. Hold onto your seats for an exciting conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

For more reviews, please visit my blog at: https://www.msladybugsbookreviews.com/. Over 1000 reviews posted!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC audio edition of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen.

Family sagas always get me, even if it's only between a mother and daughter. And something doesn't seem right to Catherine when it seems like her mother will stop at nothing to keep her from leaving home to start her life. Is she unwell, or is it more dangerous than that.

This ended nowhere near where is started, and I loved it. The back and forth between the past and present kept me on my toes. I also really enjoyed seeing this unsteady mother daughter combo slowly grow and understand each other amidst all of the new information and activity being thrown at them. Very fun, very engaging.

One of the most refreshing mystery/thrillers I have read in a while!

Pekkanen's latest novel follows mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine as the story of their relationship and past haunt their present and future. Written in a dual timeline, the chapters are incredibly addictive and make this book a real page-turner.

A will say that for most of the book I was waiting for a mind-boggling twist, and while the twists of the novel pop up throughout in a good manner, the story unfolds from both perspectives (both characters are not in the dark for long after the reader), leaving the reader curious about what will be revealed that will rock the story. I think the lack of an absurd twist constructs a fascinating story that devels into psychology, genetics, and how far a mother will go to protect their child. The plausibility of the story made it so enjoyable and reminded me of something that could be an episode of <i> Criminal Minds </i>, which I loved.

I really recommend this to psychological thriller lovers, or anyone new to the thriller/mystery genre!

The vibes of this story are haunting, especially with the epilogue ending, and it makes me really excited to read the next novel by Sarah Pekkanen!

Gone Tonight was a twisty psychological thriller where both of the main characters are hiding secrets from each other, for better or for worse. This story follows a mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine, who just want the best for each other. Ruth is hiding secrets from her past and the truth of Catherine’s identity and while Catherine secretly suspects something is off, she doesn’t want Ruth to know that she’s on to her. Nobody is who they seem to be and as the lies pile on top of one another, the careful faćade that Ruth has crafted starts to tear at its seams.

This book was so engrossing and hard to put down. I really enjoyed the dual POV and being in on the ‘know’ between all of the secrets. I thought the plot was very well crafted and the twist ending was somewhat unexpected, but very welcome. The characters were well developed and the relationship between them felt so tangible and very fragile; I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two MC’s.

There was a part in this where Ruth is recounting her past and references ‘racial slurs I won’t repeat here’ but then in another recounting, she flat out says a slur that is used against Hispanic/Latinx communities, and I really think this could have been left out, especially since she is writing a ‘letter’ to her daughter. It just rubbed me wrong and didn’t feel necessary at all.

Overall, I thought this was entertaining and a very fast-paced enjoyable read. This is a great read for people who love family secrets, psychological thrillers, and rocky mother-daughter relationships.

TW; Sexual assault, grooming, racial slurs, racism, death, violence

This was entertaining, but I wanted more. I was expecting something twistier, something less straight-forward. But it's a leisurely (though never too slowly) paced suspenseful drama that's very similar to the 2002 film "Enough."

I enjoyed this well enough, especially when it picked up in the second half, but I didn't find it particularly mysterious or thrilling.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of Gone Tonight! I ended up liking this book! The first 25-30% was pretty slow for me, but it starts picking up after that. I found myself only wanting to read this book or trying to force my eyes to stay open even though it was way past my bedtime, I just needed to know what happens next! I enjoyed the dual POV and the relatively short chapters. Ruth’s background story was interesting almost more than present day which kept me easily turning the next page so I could find out more. You have to suspend some belief in order to truly enjoy this book. If you think too much about parts of this book, the coincidences could make you not enjoy it as much. Overall I thought it was a good, quick thriller that anyone could enjoy. Thank you again for the ARC!!

📚Book Review 📚
Gone Tonight
by Sarah Pekkanen
Pub Date 8/1/23

Catherine is ready to leave the nest and start a new career but her mother, Ruth, is exhibiting symptoms of early onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Catherine and Ruth believe they know each other very well since it’s been just the two of them Catherine’s entire life. When Catherine notices clues and starts to question her mothers behavior things don’t add up.

This novel alternates POV, past and present between Catherine and Ruth. It was a slow burn wondering and learning about Ruth’s past and why she is very protective of it, herself and Catherine. I did not expect the ending. It was a good read.

Thank you @netgalley @sarahpekkanen and @stmartinspress for an electronic book ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

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Looking for a quick thriller? Add this to your list! I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it grabbed me right from the beginning and was full of suspense. It had me guessing and questioning multiple times. The ending had some nail biting suspense too! Told from multiple POVs (my fave) with past and present details, you will be flipping pages to find out more.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!