Well done!

Is it a page turner? Does it keep your attention? Does it keep you wondering who's the bad guy? Do you keep on questioning what's true and what's not?
YES, YES, YES and YES!

If you love a book with manipulative egocentric characters who don't give a sh*t about you as a reader and do their own thing: go for it!

I chose not to review this book because I didn't like it. I only read about a quarter of the book. If I don't like a book I don't write a bad review.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy.

This book was so much fun to read. It kept me guessing the whole time.

Well that was a fun ride.
Walker kept it rolling nicely with some well placed teasers that kept me turning those pages!

You switch between Cass and Abby's POV's throughout the story. My only complaint would be that Cass seemed much younger than her 18(?) years. I guess that may be a result of how she grew up but I would have thought this would have made her more mature....the tone just seemed off to me.
On the 'Twisty Scale' I give it a 6 out of 10. I didn't find myself floored by the revelation but it was a good one. I would place this one firmly in the mystery genre instead of the thriller. The wrap up was fairly satisfying as well, there were a few items that I thought would be left hanging but they were resolved.
I would certainly give Walker another try.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

"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. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might just be the beginning of the crime."

I mean, seriously, does anyone reading that description say no to picking up this book?

While I definitely enjoyed my experience reading this book, there are some issues with pacing and character development in the middle that left me wanting just a bit more.

The story starts with a bang, as 18-year-old Cass Tanner knocks on her family’s front door late one night. Cass has been missing and presumed dead, along with her older sister Emma, after they both disappeared one night three years prior. As family and investigators gather around her to hear her account of what happened that night, Cass begins to tell her story – a story that involves a baby and an escape from an island where she and Emma were being held captive. The forensic psychologist assigned to the case of the missing sisters, Dr. Abby Winter, is suspicious of how polished Cass’ story seems to be, as she has long believed something else was going on in the Tanner household when the girls disappeared. In alternating chapters, Cass tells investigators how to find her sister while Abby seeks to discover what, if anything, Cass feels she still needs to hide.

The multiple POV style seems to be gaining popularity in the genre and sometimes it feels overused but here it was executed perfectly. You get to hear Cass’ inner thoughts as she narrates her story for her audience, all the while following Abby as she becomes increasingly emotionally invested in the case and begins to see herself and her family in Cass’. As the book goes on both characters become *less* reliable, leaving you on unstable footing as a reader. For a less talented writer this could cause the characters to seem inauthentic or less sympathetic, but in Walker’s skilled hand this feels more like two sincere people who cannot both possibly be telling the truth. The narration unspools like this gradually until you suddenly realize that you don’t know what has been the truth and what has been a lie. Small revelations appear at just the right time, hinting at something larger that dances just out of view of the reader. When the truth comes out, it’s jaw dropping. In most of my reading I can say that I saw bits of the ending coming even if I didn’t actually guess the entirety of the outcome. With this one I was completely blindsided and couldn’t have been happier to have been so surprised. It was entirely satisfying, especially because the book stayed strongly character driven throughout.

My only real criticism of this novel is that some of the mental illness suffered by the characters was dealt with in a heavy-handed way. I think most readers would recognize the problems this family was facing without it being spelled out so directly and it felt a bit like a “tell” rather than a “show” by the author. However it was such a small problem that the rest of the novel’s strengths more than made up for this flaw.

To find a thriller that examines mental illness and it’s devastating effects on a family while also maintaining a strong pace and compelling characters is a treat. This is a novel I highly recommend.

This was a bit of a strange psychological thriller for me.

The story felt off somehow. It was told from the perspective of Cass Tanner, the sister who returns home after being missing for 3 years, and Dr. Abby Winter, the forensic psychiatrist assigned to the case. It was interesting to have the psychological viewpoint, but some of Cass's view was told through Dr. Winter reading notes or listening to recordings of Cass, which seemed unnecessary. I suppose it could be an interesting writing tool, but I could take it or leave it.

I was curious about the story and wanted to know how it would play out. It did get a little over the top for my taste, but others may love the twists.

Overall, I thought it was a decent a story. I didn't love it, but I didn't dislike it either. Middle of the road book for me.

This book keeps you guessing all the way to the end. I have to say, I have read some twisty things, but I was a little surprised about how it all played out. Loved it!

I always loved a good psychological thriller, so when I saw this one I knew I absolutely had to have it. This is the first book I read from Wendy Walker, and I think there will be more later. Two sisters disappears, then one miraculously resurfaces years later. But what happened to them? The plot is relayed through Cass, so we can not witness the happenings firsthand but I still think this was a good addition to the mystery. I really loved this story, so I can only recommend it to the fans of psychological thrillers.

This book is an absolute hit !!! Psychological thriller ,with several plot twist and turns you never see coming ... Well done

I know I say this a lot, but I am not much for thrillers or mysteries. I find them a little bit boring sometimes, and I often find myself guessing "who did it" or the twists and turns in the plot. I read this in a day, so it is definitely compelling, but I found myself getting a little bored around 66%. Then by the time the rising action popped up... I was just kind of ready for the story to be over. I didn't find Cass to be that unreliable of a narrator... and I didn't really care where Emma was/what happened with her story by the time I got to the end. I enjoyed it enough, again, it just may not be my genre. If you like thrillers, you would probably enjoy this book, it's just not my cup of tea.

This was a quick read that kept my interest. I really enjoyed the book.

Emma and Cass disappear one night. Three years later Cass returns. The story jumps back and forth between now and where Cass has been. Everyone wants to know where Emma is. Cass and Emma's home life was never great; their mother is a narcissist and makes their life miserable. My favorite parts were with Dr. Abby Winter, the forensic psychiatrist brought in to help figure out what went on. An okay book, but not great.

“We believe what we want to believe. We believe what we need to believe. Maybe there’s no difference between wanting and needing. I don’t know.”
Emma In The Night by Wendy Walker is a twisted psychological thriller about a dysfunctional family. I love unreliable characters and this book is full of them! There is a great mystery to this story and I didn’t want to put it down. I think the psychology standpoint really enhanced my feelings towards this one. I’m looking forward to reading more by Walker.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wendy Walker for the opportunity to read Emma In The Night. It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

I am not into this story like I thought I would be. Thank you for the chance to review it.

4.5 stars

Wendy Walker leads readers on a dark tale of two sisters and a dysfunctional family:

Three years ago the Tanner sisters, seventeen year old Emma and fifteen year old Cass, disappeared together. All that was left was Emma's car on the beach along with some shoes. Now Cass has come home and she tells a tale of kidnapping, betrayal and heartbreak on a mysterious island where they were held captive, where Emma is still being held. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter was assigned to the case three years ago and it always felt like unfinished business to her, but there is something about Cass' story that does not add up. There is something strange about the Tanner family, they are not the perfect family that they wish to portray and with Cass returning buried secrets and lies are going to be revealed.

This is the second book I have read by Walker and the first one All is Not Forgotten, was one of my favourites from last year. I am happy to say that Walker does not suffer from second book failure or repeat. This book has a completely different story, is told in a different way and has a completely different plot lines. I love and appreciate that Walker changed the formula in order to tell Emma in the Night.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was enthralling to hear Cass' story and the way that Walker decided to tell it, mainly from Cass' point of view was just the right thing to do, as it is really her story to tell all the other characters are secondary. We do have some chapters from Abby's point of view as she tries to dissect the family dynamics as well as what happened three years ago. Abby's point of view provided a different perspective on the situation that would have been lacking if we only had Cass' story to tell. I guess what I am really trying to say is be prepared to stay up all night or take the whole day to read this one; You wont want to put it down.

I thought I had it figured out, maybe I was a little more twisted in my thinking, but the end was a surprise as well as satisfying but maybe a little bit more cookie cutter than I would have liked especially with some of the bomb shells that are revealed throughout the novel.

This book was just as good as the first one that I read by Walker and I hope that she can keep up the success and creativeness that she has shown so far. I look forward to reading the next book that Walker decides to release.

Enjoy!!!

Its an imaginable thought. Your child going missing. What do you do, where do you go for help. And then, your other daughter goes missing as well.....
This was a thrilling read, with a neat ending which answered all my questions. Recommended.

Cass and her older sister, Emma, disappeared one night and after three years they are still missing. That is, until Cass knocks on her family's door alone. What happened to Emma? The FBI are called back in with the same investigators as there used three years ago. One of them is forensic psychologist, Abby, leading the interviews. Mrs. Martin is a narcissistic,a self-involved mother who pits her daughters against one another. However, this whole family is a bit dysfunctional. The two sisters have an overprotective half-brother, a whiny, ineffectual father, an out-of-control stepbrother and a stepfather that likes to cross personal boundaries within the family. Coincidentally, Abby the expert, grew up with a sister, too, and their own mother was a textbook narcissist. She knows firsthand what Cass and Emma may have been dealing with at home.

The entire story is told in alternating, sometimes confusing narrators. There is a first person narrative coming from Cass and a third person narrative from Abby. I must say this author has tackled a very interesting topic as she did in her last book. In this one she tackles narcissistic personality disorder, and the mainstream effects on the family, but she turns it into an unsolved mystery. I had heard of this disorder before but had no idea that it was so damaging to the other people in his/her life. This book has all my favorite elements in a mystery. There are missing persons, the surprise ending, unreliable narrators, and a psychological disorder at the heart of the story. It was not a fast moving story as it was all told through interviews and sharing information, but I still enjoyed it and read it relatively quickly to find out what happened to Emma.

Emma in the Night is the story of two sisters and the trauma that occurred that drove them from one another. Three years before sisters Cassandra and Emma disappeared. Now Cass returns home alone to tell her story. Cassandra is a classic unreliable narrator. It is clear she is lying but for what end?

She has an awful family. A narcissistic mother, wealthy but distant stepfather and stepbrother who has motivations of his own.

Part of the story is told from the POV of the detective running the case who has her own family trauma to process. The book is filled with twists and turns. It was an enjoyable read, though filled with quite unlikable characters.