How far does a mother go to protect her child (and her own secrets!)

Sarah’s latest book is a slow-burn thriller. Love that it’s told in dual perspectives.

Satisfying to the end and definitely worth the read!

A great psychological mystery that I finished in a day. Unfortunately for me it was a bit slow, with not very much going on in the first half of the book.

Ruth gets pregnant with Catherine at 17. She flees her hometown living on the run pregnant and on her own. They move often to keep out of sight from anyone who might have known Ruth.

25 years later Ruth begins a journal to share about why she’s so secretive and protective of her daughter.

I enjoyed the two POV’s and short chapters especially when Ruth was writing in her journal. I just didn’t connect much with it as a thriller. I do recommend it, because it is quite a shocker and unlike anything I’ve ever read.

A good page turner by an author I have read before. Really enjoyed it and thanks for the opportunity to read. Thanks.

This is my first book written solely by this author. I have previously enjoyed her jointly written books, which is what attracted me to this book.
My first NetGalley read did not disappoint!
This book flipped between:
slow burn and page turner
clichéd twists and shocking twists
Mother and daughter
Secrets and Truths

Halfway through I wasn’t really sold on the plot but I’m glad I stuck with it and it had a satisfying ending

Gone Tonight is the story of a somewhat dysfunctional mother-daughter duo and the secrets a mother keeps from her daughter to keep her safe.

Catherine is the daughter who is finally ready to spread her wings and move for a new job when she finds out her mother might be suffering from early stage Alzheimers disease. Catherine cancels her plans to move in order to take care of her mother but becomes curious about her mother's past. They don’t have relatives, have moved endless times and her mother has lied about the few details she did share about her past.

Ruth is Catherine's mother who is overly attached to and a little obsessed with her daughter. Ruth has been running from her past. But what is she running from and why?

The story is told in three acts and delves into what we pass down to our children and how far a mother will go to protect her child.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This is a must read when this book is released August 1, 2023!

I thought this book was a fun wild ride to see what the mom was hiding. At some points it feel feel a little repetitive and drawn out, but otherwise, I did enjoy it.

A great thriller with lots of twists and turns. the duel point of view was well written and fluent.

This is a fun thriller, a quick read, and a good book to sit down with if you are looking for a beach read type of book. The plot is imaginative, the story is interesting from start to finish, and there is enough suspense to keep you reading until the end. What prevents me from giving it a higher rating is there were a few decisions made by the characters that I couldn’t get behind (no spoilers here)- they didn’t appear consistent with the characters. Without those twists, though, there would be no story. This still did not stop me from reading as I enjoyed the suspense. Definitely worth the read.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC.

LOVED this book!! The suspense and storyline were so good. Wish I could have found what happened to Ava’s mother but I just used my imagination, lol. Great read

My Thoughts

Catherine Sterling is, at 24, still living with her mother Ruth, still sharing not only a shared space but also still believing everything is as she has been raised to believe is the truth.

Their bond is as close as anyone could ever want it to be as she is the only child of a single mother.

When Catherine finished school with her nursing degree she decided that it was time to branch out on her own and sets things in motion by renting a small place in Baltimore, also giving notice at her current part-time job as well.

This is where the narrative changes.

Where cracks start to appear in the formerly solid foundation of her relationship with Ruth.

Where Catherine starts to look for answers, answers that create more questions and a rift that neither she nor her mother can easily bridge once it occurs.

What is explored next as we share both characters alternating points of view from chapter to chapter when the disturbing truth that is Ruth Sterlings past starts to emerge both characters and readers alike better take a deep breath.

In this powerful story a mother’s love for her daughter has such powerful influence in so many ways on her actions that are taken to keep them both safe from harm.

These actions both good and bad can be seen as an attempt to make them more difficult for the wrong person to find them but also to make sure that the child never feels like they were in danger from anything or anyone to begin with.

To say Ruth and her daughter Catherine put readers through an emotional wringer before the end of the book is an understatement.
[EArc from Netgalley]
On every book read as soon as it is done and written up for review it is posted on Goodreads and Netgalley, once released then posted on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles as well.

I don’t know where to start with this book. This book ebbed and flowed. Started off slow, picked up, then fell flat. But then I really enjoyed the ending. I probably enjoyed the ending most, I thought it really made up for the back and forth that was much of the book for me. I also would not classify this as a thriller really. A mystery maybe? I also really didn’t like Catherine’s character. I think some people will really enjoy this, so I will suggest everyone give it a try! 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

I love when Sarah Pekkanen writes with Greer Hendrixs but she's equally just as good on her own. Great read!

Gone Tonight started off a little slow for me, but as the story picked up, the pace steadied and kept me on my toes.

This story is told in two POVs, Ruth, the mother's and Catherine, the daughter's. At points in the story, the two characters play off each other to deliver the full story and show readers what the characters are missing from each other's side of the story.

Ruth has been hiding secrets from her daughter for the entirety of her life. She has her reasons, of course, which are explained throughout the book in glimpses into the past. Ruth has always been close to her child, so when her daughter is grown, and attempting to make it out into the world on her own, Ruth can't let that happen.

Catherine has always been close to her mother, but as she's grown older, she's wondered about the constant moving and lack of closeness her mother had with others. Now as things have taken another turn with her mother, Catherine starts to wonder what her mother is hiding and how far she'll go to keep her secrets.

This was a clever one! Fast, and full of unexpected surprises. Sarah has a knack of luring you in and wanting more! I love her books she co authored and have also enjoyed her solo ventures. Great read!

Catherine and Ruth, what a mother and daughter dynamic?! It took me awhile to get into this book, the talk of alzheimer's at the beginning was a struggle to get through. I am glad that I didn't give up. The ending was so worth it.

Whattttttt did I just read??
I found myself staying up late to read this! I normally listen to Pekkhanen so I was a little worried about how I would enjoy reading the book. However, that did not matter because I definitely enjoyed this.

It was written really well. My only complaint initially was Tin and Timmy were too close in names to me and confused me at first. However, after sleeping on it, this morning I realized this was probably done on purpose. Timmy was to Ruth as Tin is to Catherine. And, that made the connection worth the early confusion.

I especially liked the extra twist in the epilogue. Yes, you read that right - in the epilogue!

This is a slower paced story. Which, I don’t mind, but it definitely took me longer to read since I wasn’t fully gripped until nearly the end.

The secret was…justified? Maybe. Maybe not.

I do think some readers will struggle with the plot device.

This is the kind of thriller that kept me hooked even though I didn't feel amazed by any of the twists but also couldn't stop reading it! Ruth can go to any extent to keep her daughter, Catherine, close to her and away from all other people in this world. Initially, Catherine thinks people drift away naturally in here life but later suspects her mom's hand in everything.

Now she is on a quest to find out the reasons for her mom's lies and also to find her true identity as things keep getting murkier. We get two parallel stories with their current life and Ruth's dramatic past in the other timeline and both were engaging equally. But who is Ruth constantly running away from her entire life and how does she handle it when she comes face to face with this person? Definitely, a binge read thriller!

Sarah has done it again. I really enjoy her writing style. the twist and turns are so good and unexpected. highly recommend if you love thrillers.

Thank you to Saint Martins Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

This thriller gripped me from the very beginning. We meet Ruth who is a single mom, and her daughter Katherine who is 24. Their life is full of struggles, made no easier when they have to flee their apartment and life every couple years. Ruth always has a reason why they have to flee, but Katherine soon becomes suspicious of her mom and the truth behind why they’re always on the run.

The story is told in alternating time lines of Ruth’s early life becoming pregnant in high school, to current times in her and Katherine’s life. As Katherine begins to get closer to the truth about her mother, a ticking bomb explodes in Ruth’s past, that comes barreling into their future. Will Ruth be able to save them again? Or will Katherine stop trusting her mom?

Page after page, I couldn’t stop reading to find out how their story would end. It was such a satisfying suspenseful thriller, with a perfect ending. It also provided such an in depth analysis of the mother daughter relationship, and how far we will go to keep our children safe.