I loved, loved, loved this book. Wendy Walker is an amazing writer who tells complex and unexpected stories. The first book of hers i read established that and this one has only continued that. With so many twists and turns i never knew what was coming and finished it one night because i had to know what was happening next.

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing a complementary copy EMMA IN THE NIGHT in exchange for my honest review.**


Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

Seventeen-year-old Emma and her younger sister Cass disappear into the night. Three years later Cass returns with a bizarre tale of an island, a baby and a strange couple. Forensic psychologist Abby Winter is back on the job, this case uncomfortably reminiscent of her own childhood with her narcissistic mother. But is Abby too close to remain objective and will this case be her undoing?

Told in both Cass's and Abby's points of views, EMMA IN THE NIGHT is a twisted tale of family dysfunction, secrets and how far desperate people can go to meet their emotional needs. Much of the psychological aspect of the story centers around narcissism, specifically a concept coined by DW Winnicott the "Narcissistic Mother" where the primary caregiver (often, but not always the mother) views the infant as an extension of herself and uses the child to meet her emotional needs. Abby used this concept for her doctoral dissertation, in part as a way to understand her own mother and childhood. A good chunk of my doctoral dissertation focused on Developmental Theory, including a section on Winnicott, so I was quite familiar with Wendy Walker's use of psychology theory as a framework for the novel. Walker did her homework and while I wish she had distinguished between degrees of narcissism, because the personality disorder isn't that uncommon to a lesser degree and the extreme narcissism she describes is closer to Antisocial Personality Disorder or an amalgam of all cluster B personality disorders, though I do not think readers care.

I never knew the veracity of either narrator, Cass because of her honesty (or lack of) and manipulation of Abby, because her own psychological state seemed to cloud her judgment. Even at the end of the story, I still didn't know how much I could believe.

EMMA IN THE NIGHT is a page-turner. The mystery pulled me in and I couldn't wait to see if my theories were correct. The only downside to the writing was a lot of telling and explaining, rather than showing. I guessed much of the resolution. No parts of the ending shocked me and most held true to the plot. I can't say anything else without spoilers.

If you like psychological thrillers, EMMA IN THE NIGHT is for you.

I'm fascinated by narcissism in its psychological disorder sense, not the "vain" way it's commonly used. It's a condition that leaves a legacy of abuse, so combined with the hook of this child who disappeared coming back, I couldn't wait to dive in.

I couldn't flip the pages fast enough to watch this story unwind. Cass is an unreliable narrator with an murky agenda that I couldn't wait to decipher. Like Abby, the forensic psychiatrist, I kept trying to sort the nuggets of truth from this spiderweb of a tale.

Heartbreaking, enthralling, and a definite must-read, if you enjoy getting lost in a thriller, you'll want to pick up Emma in the Night. I got an ARC so you'll have to wait until August 8, but trust me, the wait will be worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thrillers are a hot commodity on the publishing circuit right now, and I admit to being a huge fan. That said, there are some rather ho-hum books being passed off as thrillers. Have no fear, as, Emma in the Night is the genuine article. Three years ago, fifteen year old Cass Tanner and her seventeen year old sister just disappeared. When Cass returns three years later, she’s alone. She tells authorities she and her sister were kidnapped and held against their will on an island, but psychiatrist Abby Winter doesn’t believe Cass is telling the truth. Why would Cass lie, and where is Emma? Narrated by both Cass and Abby, readers learn quickly that Emma and Cass had a disturbing relationship with their narcissistic mother and with each other. A disturbing portrait of mental illness and creepy family secrets that may have led to murder. One to read with the lights on!