Emma and Cassandra, sisters, disappear. Three years later Cass returns. It is quickly obvious that the situation is anything but normal. The same with their family: Cass calls her mother Mrs. Watson. What follows is a somewhat drawn out game involving Cass, her mother, and the FBI psychologist. Each of them are hiding things and each of them know the others are too. While it felt like the book dragged on a bit, the journey was enjoyable and the end was satisfying.

Wow!! That ending!!

When I initially started this book, I felt like it moved slow. But then it started to pick up and when things started unraveling...it got really good. Without giving too much away, I was surprised at the ending. I had guesses several times where Emma & Cass had been, but never hit it right on the nail. I liked how the auhor kept me guessing. And the writing was really good as well. Overall I would give this book 4 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It held my attention throughout the entire book and was very interesting. I attempted to figure out the twists and turns and while some of my ideas were slightly right I was still pleasantly surprised by the ending.

There is so much more to this book than meets the eye. In a time when 'missing girl' books are quite popular, Emma in the Night stands alone in complexity that the others fell flat on as the reasons and motivations behind the disappearance loom so much larger than the missing girl herself. (Which can be good or bad depending on your perspective as a reader.) Emma in the Night is now one of my favorite books of the year and one of my favorite psychological thrillers of all time. Walker's prose is engaging and mysterious, mind-bending and seductive. You just *have* to turn the page. There is a consistent under-the-current feeling to the storyline that I found enticing.

Each character in the book was fascinating. Cassandra lives up to her glorious name and I don't know if I have ever rooted for a character more than I did her. I also have great appreciation for the description of the mother, Mrs. Martin. I've read quite a few books with a narcissist character but they were always trope-y, overdone, or downright incorrect when compared to the actual psychological profile. The insight that Dr. Winter shares about how many people don't believe true narcissists exist is quite true. But, I can say from very personal experience that Walker masterfully creates the real deal with Mrs. Martin where so many other authors have failed.

And, that ending! Wow. Surprising and satisfying. Once the ball gets rolling toward the climax, you won't be able to put it down. 6 of 5 stars.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin's Press, and the author Wendy Walker for the opportunity to do so.

Headline:
Emma in the Night‘s ending has the rare perfect balance between being surprising, yet still fitting with the story and it’s the first 5 star thriller I’ve read since Gone Girl.

Major Themes:
Childhood Trauma, Abuse, Family Secrets, Sisters, Narcissist Personality Disorder

What I Liked:
- I could not put this book down! And, I liked it so much better than All is Not Forgotten! If I had the kind of life where I could devote a whole day to reading, I could’ve read this book in one day. It’s the first 5 star thriller I’ve read since Gone Girl. If you’re looking for an immersive, edge-of-your-seat page turner for your last vacation of the summer, Emma in the Night is your book!
- It’s a bit of a cross between a psychological thriller and a dysfunctional family novel. Both paths are extremely well-developed.
- I was fascinated by the focus on Narcissistic Personality Disorder and the psychology of how this affects a family. - I love how Walker went deep with the psychology angle throughout the whole book and explored how this disorder can be passed down through generations.
- This novel is full of ambiguity. I spent most of my time reading wondering who was telling the truth, who was the real manipulator, and how and why everything played out like it did. I literally changed my mind on these questions dozens of times throughout the story.
- Finally…a thriller with an ending that is surprising, yet absolutely makes sense with the story!! This is the number one characteristic I look for in thrillers and the number one thing that often goes wrong (hence why I’ve been turned off by thrillers lately). Kudos, Wendy Walker, for getting this exactly right!

What I Didn’t Like:
Not one thing.

A Defining Quote:
"And so they were fierce competitors in their secret club, for each other’s love, for the love of everyone around them. And all I could do was watch from a distance, one short enough that I could see the escalation. Two nation-states in a constant battle for power and control. It was unsustainable. And so it continued, this war between my mother and my sister, until the night we were gone."

Good for People Who Like…
Psychological thrillers, dysfunctional family novels, secrets / betrayal, unputdownable books

I see that most readers liked this book, but it was not my favorite. I felt it just dragged along and at times the plot just seemed choppy-it did not flow smoothly. The ending provided a good twist to the story!

Disturbing, intriguing mystery of the disappearance of two sisters and the FBI agent haunted by the unsolved case three years later. One sister returns and the ensuing drama will keep you turning pages long into the night. Complex plot, twisted relationships and wonderful characters.

Wendy Walker has done it again and is quickly becoming one of my "go to" authors. Emma in the Night is deliciously deceptive and I could not put this book down. Right from the very first page, I was drawn into Cass's story. The tale she weaves is dark, twisted and horrifying and I could not get enough.

The blurb tells you everything you need to know and I highly suggest that you let Cass tell you the rest. Don't read too much about it, don't read any spoilers, just lose yourself in the masterful storytelling of this book. The characters are well developed and the story moves along at a very fast pace.

I highly recommend this book.

I had to wait a day to try and collect my thoughts on this book. The blurb promised ‘From the bestselling author of All Is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back...

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held.”

My description of a thriller has to include a tense and gripping plot with some action to keep me turning pages, well developed characters that I want to keep following and a great ending.

Here is why this book didn’t work for me. I felt like I was reading a psychologist’s notes on a case, a patient. If I wanted to read that I would have read non fiction which described narcissism. The story is told “to me” in dialogue and sometimes stream of consciousness. I never felt that great tingle and tense feeling of a well written thriller, I never felt that I was along for a great ride with these characters but rather I was told what happened to them.

The book focuses basically on the narcissistic mother and do nothing step father of Emma and Cass. We are told about the things that she did to the girls that definitely would have shaped the people they become and their relationships with others. This was a dysfunctional family for sure. When Cass showed up at the door her mother was shocked to see her, we don’t really find out why until the end of the book. The story that Cass tells about where she and Emma were the past three years isn’t very believable and Dr. Winters, Abby, isn’t convinced that she is telling the truth, but doesn’t know why.

I didn’t really like any of the characters very much. Emma seemed over the top narcissistic as well as her mother. Cass is in awe of her sister and basically does whatever she does, always trying to please her. The father and stepfather both come across as ineffectual parents along with their mother. The team of Dr. Winters, forensic psychologist and Leo Strauss the FBI agent had worked the case when the girls first disappeared three years before. After I read the ending, don’t worry I won’t spoil this for you, I just felt that they certainly didn’t do a very good job in the beginning because there were many signs that pointed to the outcome of this case.

I struggled to finish this book and felt that it dragged, there was no action of any kind. I did think that the ending was interesting but also not very believable.

If you like to read deeply psychological books told in dialogue and stream of consciousness then you will probably like this book. There are many positive reviews on this book, it just wasn’t for me.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley.
Review also posted on Amazon

Over the past few years, I have had the misfortune of dealing with a couple of people who I’m pretty certain have narcissistic personality disorder, the subject of Wendy Walker’s new thriller Emma in the Night. These are truly toxic individuals who can ruin the lives of those close to them. For those of us further out in their orbits, the best thing to do is just disengage.

In the novel, Cassandra Tanner is the victim of her mother’s noxious parenting style, which frequently pitted her against her older sister Emma. After her parents’ divorce, 11-year-old Cass made the mistake of asking to live with her father, which sealed her fate: “Don’t ever call me Mother again! To you, I’m Mrs. Martin!” her mom raged. And so Cass “became the outsider… all [she] could do was watch from a distance.”

A few years later, both Emma and Cass disappeared. Until one day, Cass returned alone, recounting how she and Emma had been living on an isolated Maine island with a couple who essentially kept them prisoner. Then Cass drops the bombshell that Emma had been pregnant when they left home, and that she had given birth on the island. The childless couple began to raise the infant as their own, despite Emma’s protestations. Finally, after months of planning and scheming, Cass was able to escape, but unfortunately, she has no idea where the island was located or how to find it. The couple were using fake names. How can she figure out how to get back and save her sister and the child?

First-person chapters narrated by Cass alternate with third-person chapters told from the point of view of Abigail Winter, an FBI agent working on Cass’ case. As it turns out, Abby also grew up with a narcissistic mother, so she identifies deeply with the girl. There are strong hints, however, that Cass is that old thriller standby: the unreliable narrator. Abby needs to figure out which of her tales are true, and which are pure fiction, in order to solve the case and find Emma.

This book should appeal to the many thriller readers out there who love twists, but I found it somewhat hampered by pedestrian prose; Abby’s mind “was spinning… round and round like a dog chasing his tail,” or Cass “just raised the stakes in a game [her mother] didn’t even know she was playing.” Or, “Evil can dress up as love so convincingly that it blinds you to the truth.” That’s not bad writing, just not terribly fresh or insightful. Perhaps it’s more noticeable because a lot of readers (me included) will turn back to the beginning and reread portions of the book once all has been revealed, to see if Walker played fair. I believe she did; the clues are all there, if you look closely enough.

Wow, talk about pulling the rug out from under you. I did not see the main twist coming whatsoever! There were so many along the way, but one (and you will know if you have read the book), was super messed up.

This is the story of two sisters that disappeared on the same night when they were 15 and 17. One reappears a few years later and the search is on to find the still missing sister. Emma in the Night is told from the point of view of the returning sister (Cass) and an FBI agent assigned to the case (Abby), both of which suffered under mothers with Narcissist Personality Disorder. I can't say much without giving away the story, but believe me when I say this book will have you wondering what in the world is going on and when you think you have it figured out, you will realize you were wrong all along.

Fantastic suspense thriller! This is my second Wendy Walker. I read All is Not Forgotten last summer and was blown away. I was a bit worried I wouldn't enjoy this one as much, only because the first one was so good...can she do it again? She can! And did.

The story is about two sisters who go missing, Cass, 15 and Emma, 17. Their life at home is full of chaos, secrets, and lies ...with their mom being a narcissistic parent who is pretty scary. It's really messed up. The story is told from Cass's eyes and Abbeys, who is a forensic psychiatrist. Three years after the girls go missing, Cass turns up alone at her mothers house. Where is Emma? Where have they been for 3 years? Why did they run away? Is Emma still alive? Cass says she is and they must find her. She is on an island and must be saved.

The subject matter was well researched and that impressed me. The story is well paced and kept me turning pages till late in the night. Actually, while I was given this on NetGalley months ago, I got behind on my reading when life got too busy and I used a credit on audible to get this to listen to the day it was published. I had read a few chapters and was intrigued. I highly recommend the audio btw. One of the best narrations I have ever heard. And I listen to a lot of audio books. I got to 50% yesterday while doing house work, etc. I couldn't put it down and ended up staying up way into the night to read the kindle version because I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Emma and Cass.

This is a thrill ride from the very beginning. No slow or boring points. I highly recommend it for anyone who likes a good psychological thriller. 5 stars from me. I look forward to more books by the author.

Many thanks to Wendy Walker, St. Martins Press, and NetGalley for providing me a digital copy to read in exchange for a review. Very enjoyable!

This book is really exciting and full of suspense. I had trouble putting it down. It is a great puzzle and I am not sure which narrative I found more interesting.
On the one side there is Cass, she is giving a lot of details about the family life. How things were in the house before they went missing and about the developments in the investigation now. Dr. Abby de Winter is giving a lot of information about the psychological aspect of the story. Her ideas and stories are interesting and combined with the information you get from Cass it makes the possibility to puzzle along endless.
Somewhere halfway the book slows down a bit. Some of the things mentioned there feel forced to put you on the wrong track and other things are repeated a few times. Still the curiosity about what exactly happened never vanished and the end is exciting again.
If you pay careful attention throughout the story you will be able to solve the puzzle before the end but no matter when you discover what exactly happened you will be surprised by it.

This book gave me some serious chills. The story was interesting and haunting in a way that made me want to stop reading, but I couldn't because I just had to get to the end.
I usually don't like thrillers, which is why I was nervous about this book initially, but it's really entertaining and awesome.
The unreliable narrator is my favorite aspect of this book and if you're into that, then I recommend this book.

Wow!! What a book!! This book really makes you think about how a true narcissistic person acts in the world especially with their family. You start with Cass returning 3 years after her and her sister disappeared. This book is in your head wondering what is going on, what is Cass's real game in all of this. What happened to Emma. You learn all lot about the past, a lot about narcissistic people and about how everyone manipulates other people. This book is a great thriller and makes you keep guessing about what is going on. The only problem I had was the level of Cass's game and all her thinking, I just kept thinking no 15-18 years would really think this way or act this way but other then that it was a great book.

Cass and her sister Emma have been missing for three years. When Cass returns home, without Emma, she tells a tale of a kidnapping, hostages, and a mysterious island. Dr. Winters, a forensic psychiatrist, was drawn into this case when the sisters originally disappeared--and now that one sister is back, and talking, Dr. Winters finds there may be even more going on within this family then she originally thought.

This is a book full of so many twists and turns, which I absolutely love. One of the biggest revelations near the end caught me completely by surprise. I really liked that Walker kept me guessing over who to trust and who to believe.

Walker has a really excellent writing style as well, that really draws you in. This is a story that had me flipping pages, having to find out what happened.

I also really liked the use of psychology in this. Walker has done her research, and uses Dr. Winters almost as a surrogate to explore the ins and outs of this mysterious family.

The book occasionally moved a little slow, especially after the initial impact of the beginning. I also felt that the very final revelation, while making sense with the character's provided explanation, didn't seem necessary to me, and felt a bit out of place.

This was a good read that absolutely had me hooked. I would definitely recommend this for fans of the genre.

This book took so many twists and turn I almost got sea sick, in the best way possible. Cass may be the narrator of the story but everything out of her mouth is calculated and you can't believe everything she says.

Three years ago Cass and her sister Emma went missing. When Cass shows up alone Dr. Winter the psychiatrist that was assigned her case is called in. Uncovering all the family secrets of the family. The family dynamics of this blended family are so dysfunctional, I was captivated the whole way through this book.

This is a difficult review for me to write, simply because I don't know if I can explain exactly how I felt about this book. So here goes. I applaud this author for trying different things, her first book and this one were a little different, covering physchological issues in an original way. In this one she tackles narcissistic personality disorder, and the mainstream effects on the family, but she turns it into an unsolved mystery.

I know someone who grew up with such a mother, saw the games played, the harmful effects and the manipulations. In my opinion the author doesn't delve far enough into this issue for Cass to set things up the way she did after her return. It didn't make sense to me, and so I was doubtful of what followed. It is very slowly paced as clues are uncovered, and Cass tells her story in bits and pieces. Which also didn't make sense, because if her motivation was true, wanted her story to be believed, wouldn't she have wanted the searching to begin immediately? So much of this, for me, didn't hang together. We are meant, I think to feel sympathy for Cass, but except for her half brother, I didn't really like any of these characters. Plus, since the story was so drawn out I figured out most of it before books end.

I did keep reading though, and this can be seen as physchologically twisty. Many have loved it, and many more will. It is as I said a little different from what is out there right now, which is why I rated this a three. Just wish there had been more of some things, and less of others. Still don't think I explained this well, but this will have to do.


ARC from Netgalley.

This is twisted!! That's the only way I know how to describe this novel, COMPLETELY TWISTED!

Emma and her sister,Cass, have disappeared. Three years later Cass returns home with a strange story about her and Emma's whereabouts. I really do not want to get into more of the story than that. I will give something away. And believe me….you do not want to know about it till you read it!

A large amount of research went into this novel. I learned a great deal about narcissistic behavior and its effects on a family. The coping mechanisms of a family member to survive this disorder are incredible.

I have no words to describe the creativity of Wendy Walker. She can come up with some psycho characters and tales which take a long time to get over. Her first novel, All is Not Forgotten, was a five star read for me. Just like this book….I did not want to give the story away. You must read these novels, especially if you love psychological thrillers.

The story bogs down a little for me in the middle. This is the only reason I did not give a five star read. But the twist at the end……oh my my! "What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive." – Walter Scott

"I could feel the scream inside me. I had felt it that morning when I had to cover my mouth with a pillow so no one would hear." - Emma in the Night

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review.

Last year I spent one day reading All Is Not Forgotten, it was a new author to me, but I liked the premise - what if you could get treatment right away to have traumatic memories erased for your child? Would you do it? On the surface, I think everyone would say yes, but every decision has consequences. It was a great read, so I was thrilled to get a copy of Emma in the Night.

I actually think I liked this book even more than her first. Cass and Emma disappeared off of a beach one night three years ago and the police never had any clues as to where they might have went. Now Cass has reappeared and is frantic for the police to find her sister. She's also worried about a baby that no one knew about.

Abby, the forensic psychologist who helped to investigate the girls disappearance is back to interview Cass. She has had grave misgivings about their mother since the beginning of this case, but she isn't sure how much of it is based on her own personal experience with a narcissistic parent.

The book starts with a mystery, moves into a different mystery and ends up with a mystery being solved that creates more questions.

This was definitely a page turner, and I never felt like I could predict what was going to happen. I was never sure what was the truth and what was a lie. And this all added up to a great read - this is definitely an author to follow.