I have been a big fan favorite of Sarah Pekkanen since her first book. This particular book was a bit slow to start, but as the story developed my interest grew and grew to the point I did not want to put it down because I need to know what the secrets were. It was a melding of really 2 stories - an overall arc of a story with an underlying story of what a mother will do to protect her child. Definitely made me think and question - what would I do?

I was eager to get my hands on a copy of Sarah Pekkanen’s newest book Gone Tonight after seeing some of the good reviews and I wasn’t disappointed!

Ruth Sterling is a quiet hardworking woman who’ll do anything for her daughter. Catherine is all grown up now and ready to spread her wings. She’s got a brand new job and is ready to strike out on her own. Ruth will do anything to make sure that doesn’t happen.

It’s a simple concept, but it unfolds beautifully. Told through alternating perspectives, the first act of this book sets the story up well so that by the time you get to the second act, you don’t want to put this one down. As Catherine starts to look further into her mother’s past and her mother fights to keep it from her, tensions rise and I found my heart racing a bit to figure out what was going on.

I definitely recommend checking this one out when it hits shelves.

Publishing Date: 8/1/23.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gone Tonight is about a mother, Ruth Sterling, and her daughter Catherine. It's always been just the two of them, and they're very close. Catherine plans to move to Baltimore and start a new career, but Ruth seems determined not to let that happen.

We learn the story in chapters which alternate between their POV's. Turns out, each is hiding a lot of secrets the other, and not small ones, either. Secrets don't get much bigger than these!

This is a quick, engaging, and fascinating read that is hard to put down. Pekkanen revs up the suspense with each new chapter and I couldn't wait to get to the resolution. Packed with surprises all the way, I highly recommend this novel.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read a DRC via NetGalley. The book will be released 8/1/23. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

This book grabbed by attention right away. I enjoyed the story, including the bit of mystery trying to figure out the true story. It did drag a bit about 2/3 in but all in all it was a good read. Thank you to NetGalley for free pre-release copy for an honest review.

One of my favorite thrillers of the year! Sarah Pekkanen keeps you on the edge of your seat with Gone Tonight. I couldnt wait to see how it would all play out. Thank you to net galley and the author for allowing me to read and review. Can t wait to continue to read more by this author.

Wow, she does it again! Sarah Pekkanen's writing grips me instantly, keeps me in suspense the whole time and shocks me in the end! Honestly, the more I think about this the more clever it becomes!

This story follows Ruth and her adult daughter Catherine. It's always been just the two of them and they've always had a close relationship, but Catherine begins to wonder if there's more to her mother and her past than what meets the eye. Is she keeping secrets from her? If so, what and why? The answers are revealed slowly and build upon each other as everything unfolds.

This almost reminded me of a darker version of These Silent Woods and also reminded me of Scarlet in Blue (I highly recommend both of those if you're into Father/Daughter or Mother/Daughter secrets and suspense).

I quite literally could not put this down as I NEEDED to know what was going on with this mother/daughter duo.

Thank you so much to both Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for the audiobook and e-book respectively.

This will be available for purchase on August 1st!

Gone Tonight is a slow burn that packs a punch. I absolutely loved the mother /daughter relationship and their different POVs and timelines. Pekkanen did a fantastic job portraying the complexities in their relationship, which is crucial to the story

Novels that drop hints and nuggets of information along the way only to pull the rug out from under you when you think you have it all figured out are my absolute favorites. And let me tell you, nothing is quite as it seems with this one. This was a compelling and twisty read which kept me interested page after page.

I was lucky to receive both and ARC and an ALC of this novel. Brava to Kate Mara who did an outstanding job with the narration.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, St Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the ALC and ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sarah Pekkanen for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Ruth and her daughter Catherine have always only had each other. Now that Ruth has developed early onset Alzheimer's Catherine knows she must put her plans of moving away on hold to help her mother. When things with Ruth's diagnosis don't start to add up Catherine begins to question and delve into her mother's past to find the truth. Who is her mother?

I found this story to be a slow pace burn. It took awhile for me to get into it. I did end up getting approved for the advance audiobook version of this and it went much better as an audiobook for me. I personally loved how the narrator gave a voice to the characters. The second half of the story was much better than the first. Without giving it away we really get into things in the second half. For those who love slow burns this will definitely be the one for you. I am a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks so I absolutely recommend this one!

I have loved a few others written by Sarah Pekkanen but this was so different. This thriller follows a mother and daughter who have a contentious relationship due to the web of lies the mother has woven and the secrets she has kept. As her secrets are slowly uncovered and her former life is revealed, this ramped up in drama and had me on the edge of my seat. I really liked the backstory of the mother and found that to be very interesting. I wish there had been even more of it because it was giving me Ginny & Georgia vibes. I do think the ending was a bit lackluster and not dramatic enough for my liking, but I didn't hate it. I just wish that the ending had been more shocking and not as neatly wrapped up in a bow. I thought it was justified and the epilogue was a nice added bonus though.

Sarah Pekkanen has once again demonstrated her mastery of the thriller genre with her latest novel, Gone Tonight. This gripping tale weaves a complex web of secrets, lies, and suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
In Gone Tonight we have a mother, Ruth, who is willing to do anything for her daughter, Catherine. Catherine is now an adult and is ready to leave the nest but her mother has other plans for her and her life.

Gone Tonight is a captivating and suspenseful read that will leave you eagerly turning the pages. Sarah Pekkanen's writing is fluid and engaging, and her ability to keep readers guessing is truly impressive. Fans of psychological thrillers and mystery novels will find much to enjoy in this well-crafted tale of suspense.

Gone Tonight is a highly recommended thriller that showcases Sarah Pekkanen's talent for crafting compelling narratives. With its compelling characters, intricate plot, and unrelenting suspense, this novel is sure to captivate fans of the genre and leave them eagerly awaiting Pekkanen's next literary offering.

Where to start this review??
The book grabbed my attention right away. By the end of the book I was wondering if telling the daughter the truth right away or soon would have be better but by the end of the book the mother choose the right answer.

I loved the way the book played out and was constantly wondering how it was going to end. Very well written!!

Thank you to #netgalley for this #arc
I usually like books by this author, but this story line had too many plot holes for me.
Ruth is on the run with her daughter Catherine trying to escape her old life, while keeping the real reason from her. She only tells Catherine minimal details about her past so that she can't put any clues together about her old life. When Catherine starts getting suspicious is when some of the plot becomes unrealistic to me.
I know this was an early version, however-I got lost at one point in the story when Catherine was talking to her mother Ruth in their living room, and the next sentence places them in the same scene driving past their old apartment in their car. I get what the author was trying to do, and it may even make a good lifetime movie, but this was just an ok story to me.

Catherine lives with her mother Ruth and they are very close, but now Catherine wants to start living a life away from her mother. She has a great opportunity awaiting her, but just as she is finalizing her plans to move away, she finds out that her mother has early Alzheimers. She wants to be with her mother during this confusing time of her mother's life, but slowly she realizes that maybe her mother has an ulterior motive for keeping Catherine close.
I thank the author, publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

This was an excellent slow-burn, literary thriller. Catherine Sterling thinks she has a strong sense of who her mother is. Ruth is stoic, hardworking, and fiercely loyal and protective of her daughter. As Catherine prepares to move away and attend graduate school, though, Ruth will go to great lengths to make sure that doesn't happen. So begins a "dance of deception" that will keep you guessing from beginning to end.

Read if you like
-Cat-mouse stories
-Mother-daughter relationships
-Secret pasts
-Deception

I liked this but not as much as previous books by this author. This was a good plot, something different and kept me reading but a little bit all over the place with the alzeheimers plot. The characters were ok. It was a fast read.

This was a very enticing, addicting book that hooked me quickly. This story is told between alternating points of view; Ruth, a mother, and Catherine, her daughter. They have pretty much only had each other and depended on each other their whole life. Ruth has always been protective and obsessive in her relationship with her daughter.

Catherine wants to move away from her mother for a new job opportunity. That causes problems when her mom shows signs of Alzheimers. This story deals with families and things that hold them together. What would you do to protect your mother or child?

Pekkanen weaves a psychological thriller that you cannot put down! She sets the stage in Act One and when Act Two starts she does t let you go!! Fantastic book!!

I’m a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen, especially her earlier books. Unfortunately this one felt a little flat to me. When Catherine‘s mother Ruth is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, Catherine is determined to know her mom better. But it quickly seems that Ruth isn’t who she says she is. As Catherine digs deeper into Ruth’s past, she puts herself and her mother in terrible danger.
I didn’t find this to be Pekkanen’s best work, I prefer her prior writing style.

I really enjoyed the dual POVs in this book. While you’re reading act one, you think the story is going one way, and then as act two comes around, you discover a whole new set of twists and turns that continue until the end of the book. I would recommend it!

Gone Tonight is told from the voices of Catherine Sterling and her mother Ruth along with flashbacks from Ruth’s troubled youth.
Catherine is a twenty-four year old nurse and ready to start her new job and begin her life In Baltimore. Upon learning her mother Ruth has Alzheimer’s, Catherine’s plans for her future abruptly changes. She must now immediately stop everything and care for her mother.
Her mother explains there there is a history of Alzheimer’s in the family. Catherine’s grandmother struggled with the disease until her death.

Catherine’s mother has told her little of her past so she starts researching, longing to know who she is, other than Ruth’s only child. She has concerns that her mother is deliberately keeping things from her. Could her mother be protecting from something dangerous about her past?

Well, she’s got that right because Ruth has bern running and looking over her shoulder since she was sixteen years old. That’s why they are constantly moving and never are allowed to get close to anyone.

The book is tense, twisty, jaw dropping and you won’t want to put it down.

I loved the author’s style here with the alternating chapters as Ruth and Catherine tell the story. Just when you get to a really tense point from Ruth’s life the chapter ends as Catherine tells her side of things. I couldn’t wait to read more and more.

I highly recommend this one for mystery/thriller readers