Sarah Pekkanen is now on my “gotta read” list. Gone Tonight is a roller coaster read with twists and secrets throughout. I consider myself a savvy reader, but quite a few plot turns fooled me completely.

Gone Tonight is a psychological thriller about a mother-daughter relationship that is both thrilling and heartbreaking. The story follows Catherine, a young woman who is ready to spread her wings and move from home, and her mother, Ruth, who is determined to keep her daughter close.

Pekkanen does a masterful job of creating a sense of suspense and tension throughout the novel. The characters are complex and well-developed, and the plot is full of twists and turns. The novel also deals with some dark themes, such as secrets, lies, and manipulation. However, it is ultimately a story about love, family, and redemption.

I highly recommend Gone Tonight to fans of psychological thrillers. It is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Here are some of the things that I liked about Gone Tonight:

The characters are complex and well-developed. Catherine is a sympathetic and relatable protagonist, and I found myself rooting for her throughout the novel. Ruth is a complex and fascinating character, and I was never sure what she was going to do next.
The plot is full of twists and turns. I was never sure what was going to happen next, and I found myself turning the pages quickly to find out what would happen.
The novel deals with some dark themes in a sensitive and thoughtful way. The themes of secrets, lies, and manipulation are handled with care, and the novel never feels exploitative.
The writing is sharp and evocative. Pekkanen's prose is beautiful and atmospheric, and she does a great job of creating a sense of suspense and tension.
Overall, I thought Gone Tonight was a fantastic novel. It is a well-written, thought-provoking, and suspenseful psychological thriller that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

Here are some additional thoughts on why I liked Gone Tonight:

I appreciated the way that Pekkanen explored the themes of secrets and lies. These are dark themes, but Pekkanen handled them with care and sensitivity.
I also liked the way that the novel dealt with the theme of redemption. Catherine is a flawed character, but she is ultimately a good person. I found it satisfying to see her overcome her challenges and find redemption.
I thought the ending of the novel was perfect. It was both satisfying and open-ended, and it left me thinking about the novel long after I finished reading it.
If you are looking for a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end, then I highly recommend Gone Tonight. It is a well-written, thought-provoking, and suspenseful novel that I highly recommend to fans of the genre.

3.75 - 4 ⭐️

I believe this is my first book by Sarah Pekkanen and after this book, I will be reading more of her books! This book is medium paced and you can finish this book in one or two days! The way that the twist and secrets revealed as you turn the pages is what kept me hooked. There are TW associated with this book so please search up the TW before proceeding into this book. The alternating POV between the mother and daughter as well as the mystery unraveling was great. I haven't read a lot of thrillers that has the mother daughter dynamic and this was a eerie bingeable read!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I could t decide between three and four stars, but since I stayed up late to finish it, I went with four. The story begins with mother and daughter trying to deal with moms Alzheimer’s, takes a quick turn into a much different storyline. I enjoyed the different perspectives of both characters; mom covering up her past and daughter digging for info. It’s definitely a slow burn but good read, I just didn’t see a wow factor at the end, so I let my imagination just go with it, which is possibly how the author meant it to be. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy. All comments are my own.

How far would you go to protect the person you love most in the world?

I have never read a book Sarah Pekkanen has written without Greer Hendricks, and I am happy to say it didn't disappoint! This captivating story delves into the intricate relationship between a mother and daughter, raising questions about the mother's intentions. Is she protecting her daughter or holding her back from embracing her adult life?

At the center of the narrative is Catherine, a 24-year-old woman whose mother, Ruth, had her at a young age. The book opens with Catherine accompanying her mom to doctor's appointments, as Ruth, despite her youth, appears to be showing signs of dementia. Catherine puts her own life on hold to care for her mother, but in doing so, she begins unraveling the web of lies that Ruth has spun over the past 24 years.

What struck a chord with me was how relatable Catherine's character was, as I've personally experienced struggles with my own mother. However, unlike my life, this novel takes a darker turn, making it a thrilling read. The story unfolds through two points of view—Catherine's and Ruth’s, and there are also flashbacks from Ruth's perspective mixed in. Both narratives, along with the well-crafted flashbacks, kept me interested.

While not an action-packed thriller or a book you can binge, this book gradually exposes secrets, lies, deception, and unexpected twists. I particularly enjoyed the honest conversations about the complexities between young women and their mothers. All in all, the constant presence of lies kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. It's a slow-burn suspense that I really enjoyed.

This delivers a great tale of a mother-daughter dynamic, filled with gripping revelations.The writing style immediately pulled me right in. If you enjoy suspenseful reads with a touch of emotional depth, this one is definitely worth diving into.

📆 Thank you NetGalley & St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! Pub date is 8/1/23!

Put this on your radar for August! This book is a slow burn full of secrets and twists. I will definitely recommend this book to other readers.

I have devoured the thrillers written by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. This is the first time I've seen Sarah on her own so I wanted to give her a try. I was blown away! The writing was just as wonderful, the characters deep and real. The relationship between the mother and daughter, a push-pull dynamic, was so similar to my own. The twist at the end was perfect! This was by far the best book of 2023. You've got to read this!

Holy Moly y’all! I just finished Gone Tonight by @sarahpekkanen and it blew me away!

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. Catherine is now ready to spread her wings and Ruth will do anything to prevent that from happening. 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 mother daughter story has everything to make a good thriller…multiple POV’s, dual time line, fast paced, whodunnit. I was truly invested in Ruth and Catherine’s relationship. Highly recommend picking up this thriller when it comes out August 1.

Tell me about the last thriller you read!

I really liked this! Some decent twists that some seasoned readers could probably see coming but it worked well for me. A story of a mother & daughter relationship, secrets & lies. This was fun to unravel Ruth's story along with Catherine. The parts of Ruth's childhood sprinkled in throughout were placed well to give the reader breadcrumbs along the way. I wasn't sure who to root for more, Catherine or Ruth. Lots of childhood trauma discussed as well as Alzheimer's if you have TW.

Big thanks to the publishers for widget/ approvals for the ARC & ALC to read & review!

Wow! I really enjoyed this and was super ingested start to finish. The Alzheimer’s storyline was interesting and overall this kept me turning pages and needing to know how it ended. And it made it a little personal for me because my hometown is mentioned a lot throughout the book. Put this one on your TBR, it’s worth the read!

It has always been just the two of them, mother Ruth and daughter Catherine, frequently moving purportedly due to financial concerns. Ruth is a waitress; Catherine has just graduated as a nurse. Catherine has invariable believed her mother’s story about being estranged from her very religious family because they kicked her out when she became pregnant. As Ruth seems to be developing Alzheimer’s, Catherine begins questioning her familial history; things just don’t seem to add up and her investigation into it may put both of them in danger.

Told in alternating mother daughter POVs, the book is divided into three acts, an interesting technique. The story is nicely plotted. There are twists, turns, deceptions. Some may find the daily minutiae in the first act as the action builds a bit of a slow burn; I did not. I was totally engrossed. I don’t want to spoil anything, but be sure you hang in there until the reveal at the end!

This is the fourth book I have read written or co written by Pekkanen and I have like all of them. She has become a “must read” writer for me.

I received a ARC copy from St Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!

This is the story of Catherine Sterling and Ruth Sterling. Catherine is Ruth's daughter. Catherine thinks she knows her mother extremely well. However, when Catherine decides that it is time for her to leave the nest and begin a new career. Ruth will go to any length to stop that from happening. Just as Catherine thinks she knows Ruth. Ruth thinks she knows her daughter. Ruth feels like Catherine would never rebel against her. However, when Catherine begins looking into Ruth's early life. There are some secrets and such that just may be uncovered. Both will go at great lengths to make sure the other does not find their secrets. However, the truth always comes out right?

This book keeps you on your toes all the way through. There were some great twists and turns that I did not expect coming. I was intrigued all the way through. There were a few times where I felt like it went on for a little to long. I also enjoyed the audiobook slightly more. Overall, a fantastic read!

What you thought you knew, could disappear in an instant 💨

Thank you SO MUCH to @netgalley & @stmartinspress for the ARC.

➡️ Swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

MY REVIEW::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME! Sucked me in from page one. The story was so well written, and the twists were so well placed. I can't tell you how many times I gasped and had a jaw drop. 😱

I was a huge fan of Sarah's co-authoring in 'You Are Not Alone' with Greer Hendricks. Since then, I've bought every book the two of them have written together, and when I saw this - I just HAD to request it on netgalley!

If you're a thriller reader or have read any of her previous work, I hope you pick this up. The story is heartbreaking, intriguing, and so suspenseful, you won't want to put this down!

@sarahpekkanen

QOTD: Would you lie about a medical ailment to keep a family member from leaving you?

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#thrillerbooks #suspensethriller #thrillerreader #thrillerlover #thrillerobsessed #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram #bookaholic #booklover #bookstagrammer #booklove #bookcommunity #bookobsessed #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookishfeatures #tbr #tbrpile #bookbuzz #mysteryandthrills #BookstaBFF23 #thrillerbooklovers #gonetonight #sarahpekkahan

Sarah Pekkanen’s Gone Tonight starts off slow, alternating between Catherine and her mother Ruth as Catherine believes her mother is suffering from early stage Alzheimer’s disease. But then things begin to shift, leaving Catherine not only doubting her mother’s illness, but everything about her mother. She has good cause, as the secret Ruth has been keeping is massive, and one that could put their lives in danger. The dynamic between the pair makes sense for the storyline, and yet it still isn’t as intense as I thought it would be, since they only had each other. It also seemed to be a little bit too easy for Catherine to begin figuring out what Ruth was hiding, although this creates the opportunity for the story’s climax. The shift in the story did make the book more interesting, but the pacing was slow enough that this never turned into a page-turner for me. It was okay, but not stellar. Pekkanen’s books with Greer Hendricks are still more propulsive in my mind. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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.

An exciting mother - daughter thriller where the reader gets to find out exactly what the character is trying to hide from the other. Ruth is doing everything she can to keep a secret, but Catherine is getting a little too good at uncovering secrets. Until she begins asking questions to the wrong person. Enjoyed the suspense building, and really, the entire second half of the story. Great narration and enjoyable to listen along. Entertaining read!

Thank you Netgalley for the ebook and audio version so I didn’t have to put it down!

This is another great thriller from Sarah Pekkanen! It gave me Pieces of Her vibes thanks to the mother/daughter storyline and alllll the secrets the mom was keeping. There were several little plot twists throughout the book, and based on the ending, I might just need a sequel 👀 this is a quick, bingeable thriller!
TW: Alzheimer’s, sexual assault, domestic abuse

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read before pub day on August 1st!

This is my first book by Pekkanen written by herself - I have read the others written with Greer Hendricks and this book has the same suspenseful build up. I may have been a little underwhelmed at the ending but I did enjoy the writing and I thought that the characters were well developed. I was intrigued with the story from the beginning and thought that the story was well paced and it kept me reading

An excellent thriller about a mother and daughter who have a close bond, but the daughter learns her mother has been keeping (potentially dangerous) secrets. I don't want to say too much and ruin the plot, so I'll just say this one kept me on my toes and I couldn't put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I received a gifted copy of GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen – thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley.

GONE TONIGHT follows Catherine and Ruth Sterling, a daughter and mother who have been very close throughout their life together. Catherine is working to move forward in life, branching out from her life with just her mother, but her mother isn’t quite ready to let go. There are secrets being kept and high stakes each one doesn’t quite understand.

This was a really interesting story in the way it becomes a bit of a cat and mouse game between our two POV characters. I was more drawn in to Catherine’s storyline initially as she works in a caregiving field and is the daughter to an older mother who is dealing with health crises. Ruth is showing signs of early dementia and that adds and interesting element to the story. I am sometimes wary of having mental issues be a storyline there for twists in a thriller, but I think that it worked out okay with this story line.

Through Ruth we start getting more of the backstory and the reveals of what is going on in the bigger picture and I was soon very invested in her storyline as well. We get a satisfying number of twists and turns as things progress.

Overall this is one that I found a bit slow to engage, but it did keep me wanting answers and kept me listening. I wound up finishing the whole thing in less than 24 hours! GONE TONIGHT is out 8/1/23!

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: August 1, 2023

Rating: 3 stars

I've read all of the other books that Pekkanen co-wrote with Hendricks and I loved them! I was over the moon when I saw that I was approved for this arc.

My favorite part of the whole book was the 3rd Act because it finally had all the intensity I was searching for when reading a thriller. The majority of the book was slow, dry and had a lot of extra details that I felt weren't needed. I did love that we have a popcorn thriller on our hands! (Short chapters) As a mom, I love the short chapters because I feel like I'm flying through a book.

Unfortunately, I think Pekkanen was trying to go for a sense of unease during the first two parts but it left me bored. It may be that I have read my fair share of thrillers so I have a certain expectation. This would be perfect for young adults who are new to the genre or just starting out.