Amazing story! I just wanted to read it without stopping! Catherine has graduated from nursing school and has a job waiting for her at a prestigious hospital. Ruth, her mother, is developing signs of Alzheimer’s so Catherine is reluctant to move. The story is told from the POV of Ruth and Catherine. Although the story seems to focus on the relationship between mother and daughter, it is also full of lies and deceit and no one seems to be who they are. Gripping story!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I’ve read several books by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks and enjoyed them immensely so I was eager to read a book written by only one of them to see if it was as good. Pekkanen does not disappoint as Gone Tonight is a riveting page-turner that will keep the reader guessing with all it twists and turns.

The story centers around a mother daughter relationship with the daughter questioning whether she truly knows her mother. Catherine Sterling is about to move to Baltimore when her mother suddenly exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer’s, which causes Catherine to put her plans on hold. Catherine begins to question her mothers symptoms and then becomes more suspicious about little things her mother Ruth has told her. However, Ruth has kept many secrets from Catherine in order to protect her but Catherine doesn’t see it that way and questions everything about her mother.

The story is told from two POVs (Ruth and Catherine) and the chapters alternate. The twists and turns are amazing and the suspense keeps you turning the pages. There are things that happen that I never saw coming and the ending is definitely unpredictable. Gone Tonight is a great thriller and I cannot wait for Pekkanen’s next book. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Another winner from Pekkanen - this time in her first solo thriller! I have enjoyed all of Pekkanen's books (her older women's fiction and her domestic suspense co-written with Greer Hendricks) - she is one of those authors that I drop everything for when her books are in my hands. Gone Tonight is a story of the lengths a mother will go to to protect her child and it had me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next!

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows everything there is to know about her mother, but little does she know the woman she calls mother has a few secrets, one's she has every intention of keeping hidden. Even if it means keeping her daughter completely sheltered from the outside world to do it!

This one had me hooked from it's opening lines and it didn't let up until the last page came!! I'm still wondering what the heck I just read, it's pages held a story that kept me on my toes and questioning my every thought the whole way through. It introduces us to mother and daughter duo Catherine and Ruth. Catherine and her mother are close, almost obsessively so, her mother never lets her get more than two steps away, and now that she has grown older she is ready to leave home and have a life of her own. But mother Ruth can't let that happen, as she has secrets that threaten to come to light if they are separated, she must maintain control. But that becomes easier said than done when her inquisitive daughter starts to poke around in her past!

Gone Tonight is a thrilling little page-turner that is destined to find it's way to the bestseller's lists!! These two women have quite the captivating tale to tell and I highly recommend you invite them into your world!!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

I’m struggling to put one word in front of the other right now. I just imbibed this book in one sitting, and I’m drunk. Is my chair actually spinning, or is it just my sloshy brain? This story did things to me.

When we begin, we‘re introduced to our two main characters in chapters of alternating perspectives: Ruth, a mother suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s, and Catherine, her daughter. All appearances lead us to believe that we’re reading an emotional family drama exploring the impacts of dementia, but appearances can be deceiving. Occasionally, a random line clues us in that things might not be what we think they are. Around the one-third mark, the story takes a sharp left turn, punches the reader right between the eyes, and tauntingly yells, “Yeah, I’m not what you thought I was, huh?” From there, truth and lies wrestle on a precarious battlefield, where shocking revelations lurk in every corner, waiting to leap at you when you least expect it.

Everything about this book, from its structure to its characterization work to its pacing, is absolutely brilliant. I’m always a fan of stories that detail the present while recollecting the past, but this one is a cut above the rest: my heart raced waiting for the jarring impact from that moment when these two timelines crash into each other.

If you’re looking for a compelling story full of complexities that will throw your world off-balance and leave you shaking in your boots, grab this one as soon as possible. This is a book to get excited about; it’s a book to cancel plans for. Don’t miss it.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Catherine is shocked when her mom becomes sick. It has always been the two of them fir as long as she can remember. They always move every couple years. I liked the complexity of the mother daughter relationship in this book.

There is no bond like that of a mother and daughter….

Ruth and her daughter Catherine are inseparable. It’s always been just the two of them. Moving from city to city, never allowing anyone else to get too close.

Now Catherine is in her twenties, and spreading her wings, embarking on a separate career path. And Ruth is starting to panic. She must keep them together. At what lengths will Ruth go - to keep her grip on her daughter, and the past hidden?

But the tighter Ruth holds on, the more Catherine questions the reason why!

Told in the present and past, we learn what led up to Ruth’s obsession with maintaining secrecy. The question is…Is it justified? Well…I’m certainly not going to spill the beans. You’ll have to read this book to find out!

Wow! Sarah Pekkanen writes a gripping, suspenseful read that will keep you reading late into the night! I was captivated from the first page to the last!

Definitely one of my top thriller reads for this year!

A buddy read with Susanne 🤓📚

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press

Momma daughter drama with some thrill! This was definitely one that caught my attention from start to finish which was refreshing. Catherine is Ruth’s daughter and it’s always been the two of them as far as she can remember. No family no father no siblings and life has been good. Catherine is getting ready to move out and start her own life as a nurse but Ruth can’t let that happen. She’s been hiding her own deep dark secrets that leak through all the way until the very end. Slowly Catherine starts to put pieces together and realizes her mom is not who she thought she was. But doing this puts her in danger and she has no idea what’s happening.

It’s a unique twist and a good thrill! It gives you enough at a time that you want to keep flipping. The only knock I have is it didn’t have the aggressive lock you in your seat and you want to pull your hair out which I kind of freakishly love. It’s told in dual POV so you get to enjoy what each person is experiencing and their train of thoughts and discoveries.

Overall it’s a very good read and one I recommend! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Gone Tonight is another winner from Sarah Pekkanen! I kept hoping she would write another book on her own because her previous ones were fantastic so I requested this as fast as I could. I wasn't disappointed! I know fans of the author are going to devour this one!

What a daughter doesn't know can't hurt her... or can it?
Catherine and her mother, Ruth, have always only had each other. Ruth left home at an early age and while on the run discovered she was pregnant. Now that she has a daughter there is nothing she won't do to protect her.
Catherine, now twenty four, never really questioned her mother and believed everything her mother told her about family and why there were just the two of them. While preparing to start her career after graduating, she notices things about Ruth that point to Alzheimer's and realizes she can't leave her mother now. After noticing things about her mother that didn't add up, Catherine starts digging into Ruth's past and finds that she may not even know her mother, she also just stirred up a hornets nest.
Ruth has kept things from her daughter growing up, like why she really left home, who her daddy was and why she's changed her name and address multiple times ever a twenty four year period. She's going to tell Catherine everything though as soon as she can get it all written down in a journal. But the clock is ticking...
I loved this one!
For a good portion of the book as I read the chapters that alternate between Catherine and Ruth's POV's, I didn't know who or what to believe. It really kept me off balance. The characters are so richly drawn and likeable I couldn't help but to root for both of them. As the story unfolds the suspense and intrigue intensifies from one act to the next right through to the thrilling conclusion. It has everything I look for in a good thriller.
If this book is not on your radar yet it should be. Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It's so good I'm confident in saying you'll love it too.

Thank you to the author, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for granting me an ARC for me to read, review and enjoy.

A favorite author writes Gone Tonight of mine, who usually co-writes with another favorite, Greer Hendricks. This dynamic duo has written some of my favorite books. Sarah is writing solo, and I thoroughly enjoyed this delicious slow-burn of a novel. It is a story about a mother on the run with her daughter. One problem - the adult daughter has believed every word about her mother's past and wasn't aware of her mother's deceit. While the mother is showing signs of Alzheimer's, her daughter is digging into her dark past. I could tell you how it ends, but then I would have to kill you.

What a phenomenal book!! I'm thinking best book I've read this year thus far. Love all the lies and deceit going on. And the search to find the truth. Big bang at the end that I wasn't expecting.
Got better and better the more you got into the story.
A definite book you need on your shelf this year!!

This novel is going to be a hit! I give it 10 stars!
It is an intense, thrilling, twisted story that will keep you guessing all the way to the last page!
I wanted to rush through the chapters to see how the suspense would end and yet, I hated for it to be over!
Moms always think they know best and try to protect their children at all costs.
But for Catherine, she wants to begin her new career as a nurse in a big city hospital away from Ruth (her mother). It has always been just the two of them and it is now time to branch out in the world.
However,when Catherine sees signs of Ruth's mental status deteriorating, she wonders if she can really leave her to care for herself.
What should she do?
This new diagnosis leads to the challenge of finding out a bit more about her mom's past.
AND---- It is not what Catherine ever expected and neither will you!

Do yourself a favor and put "Gone Tonight" on your list to read. You will not be sorry!
It is terrific!
Thank you to @NetGalley and to @ St. Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

Gone Tonight, Sarah Pekkanen’s latest book that is coming out is SO GREAT!!! I don’t even know where to begin!!! This is one twisty story and it pulled me right in from the very first page and I stayed up way too late to finish it. Nothing is as it seems and holy cow, the twists are just one right after the other and it’s hard to wrap my brain around it all. I loved everything about this book, the characters, the story line. Just fabulous all around!! You must read this when it comes out, which will be August 1, 2023. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my early copy in exchange for my honest review. It is sure to be a favorite for me for 2023!!

Imagine living with your mother and being under her protection for 24 years. All of a sudden little things she is saying and doing have you questioning everything you had thought to be true. Catherine is beginning to wonder ‘who’ her mother is. Told in alternating points of view, this is a story of how far a mother will go to protect her child even if it means losing her trust indefinitely. I really like Sarah’s stories and am looking forward to her next one!

Gone tonight
St Martins Press
Publication Date August 1,2023
I was so excited to receive this one early in exchange for a honest review! You can’t get any more honest than this!!!
Another great read by Sarah Pekkanen, many many twists and turns and whoa just when I thought I had it all figured out book another cliff hanger to throw me off!!!
Make sure you add this one to your to be read shelf asap because this is not a book to miss! With some dark spots as well as sweet spots what lengths will a mother go to to protect their child! I know I’d protect mine at all costs but then sometimes you have to also protect yourself as well because the world is full of deeply evil people who will do anything to protect the ones they love. And love isn’t all black and white.
Expect some late night reading because you won’t be able to put this one down!!

The story is told through two different points of view: Ruth and Ruth’s daughter Catherine. Just as Catherine has accepted a new job at a hospital far from home, her mother Ruth starts exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Conflicted about taking the position Catherine declined it and decided to take care of her mother. Catherine tries to get her mother to open up about her past because she knows there is precious time left before her mothers mind will be taken by this dreadful disease. Catherine wants to know who her father is and more about her mothers past because Ruth shared very little with her. As Catherine decides to dig into her mothers past, secrets are revealed that unravel with dangerous consequences. I liked Ruth because she was a strong female character that handled crisis with grit and determination. She would not let anything in her way if it meant protecting her daughter. The story alternating between Ruth and Catherine slowly unravels the truth of Ruth’s past as Ruth journals what happened to her many years ago. It was an engrossing read that ramped up in intensity from one chapter to the next.I loved it from the first page to the last. It really showed the raw power of the mother daughter bond.

Ruth Sterling is a hard working single mother who would do anything to keep her daughter, Catherine, safe. Ruth has kept her past a mystery quickly rising to anger whenever Catherine asks questions. Catherine is offered a job that will take her away. Desperate to keep her daughter close Ruth begins to slip up, revealing information that conflicts her carefully crafted history. As Catherine begins to dig into her mother’s past she uncovers a web of lies that may put them both in danger.

Gone Tonight was a fantastic thriller with some very unique twists. Both characters, Ruth and Catherine, begin the story with what appears to be a very simple story. As the novel continues, glimpses of their true past are revealed insinuating that neither character is quite what they first appeared to be. This novel had such a fun and unique twist that I didn't want to put it down. A must read for 2023!

This book was very mild for a thriller. There's no big twist, no real surprises. It's not creepy. The story is interesting, but I had no problem putting it down to do other things.

Just how far would you go to keep your daughter out of danger and away from the secrets of your past?
How well do you really know your mother, what if everything you thought you knew turned out to be lies?

I'm a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's prior novels and was excited to receive this book through the publisher. GONE TONIGHT offers a unique plot which had me turning the pages. Part drama, part thriller, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend to all thriller lovers! 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!