I think this book is a 2.5, but rounded up to three because I really did want to know what happened in the end. The beginning was frustrating to get through. I thought it was told kind of awkwardly when Abby would listen or think back to bits of Emma's confession that we hadn't heard already from Emma's perspective. The whole narcissistic personality disorder was really heavy handed too I thought. Magically Abby knew a lot about this disorder and then it was relevant to the case! Maybe I've just never read a thriller where the set up was similar to this, but I just felt like it took a lot of the surprise out of the book. Thanks Netgalley for my copy of the book!

I've been reading a lot of psychological thrillers lately and what I liked most about this book was the total unpredictability. I had a nagging feeling throughout the story that something wasn't right or that things didn't add up but I could never have predicted the reveal that was coming. The beginning of the book was a little confusing as I was trying to get my bearings but after that, I was hooked. I didn't get the big aha moments that the psychologist kept having and I don't know if that's because there weren't enough clues for me to follow or if I just wasn't picking up on them. Overall it was a highly entertaining and compelling read.

Robert Frost famously said, "Ends and beginnings - there are no such things. There are only middles."
Emma in the Night will have you desperately seeking for the "middle" - what really happened to Cass and her sister Emma after being kidnapped at 15 years old? "Emma" is brilliantly written, with expertly drawn (and fully flawed) characters... and enough suspense to keep you reading long into the night. I rarely give five stars, but this one is well deserved. Don't miss it!

I give this read a 4 star. It kept me engaged and I couldn't wait to solve the mystery.
This book was provided for an honest review by Netgalley and the publisher. I love mysteries and psychological thrillers, so when the two are combined (the mental health of the characters or the narrator with the whodunnit or what-had-happened) I'm delighted and motivated to read more and more.
There are an array of characters who are unreliable. But the only character I did trust, until I could no longer believe, was the narrator. And while the approach to getting out the story was novel (sort of going backwards to go forwards), I wasn't happy to have lost faith in the narrator, but understand her reasons and respected the way she needed to get the truth out.
I liked the pace, which was fast and engaging--sex, lies, and mind games kept me intrigued and wanting to learn about his profoundly disfunctional family. The story line was interesting because it's a mystery that I thought I'd solved but didn't. I hate that and love that. I like to be challenged when I read. I liked the "voice" of the author. There was a touch of derision and sociopathic in the narrator's voice, who I believed was intended to be a victim but was far from it. I enjoyed the first person narration of Cass and 3rd person narration of the the investigation.
What I didn't like was feeling duped by the mystery's reveal. I felt cheated--like I'd developed this intense relationship, invested in her, and she changed the damn thing around on me. I was not happy. But it doesn't detract by the cleverness of the author.
This will definitely be a book that will stay with me. I wish the author well with her future publications. She has a great grasp of story and pace. My thanks to her, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

WOW! Don't turn off the lights. Scarey and creepy, a total thriller!

Three years after two sisters disappear, one ends up on her mom's doorstep with a plea to help find her sister. Throughout most of this book, I wasn't sure where it was going. And I say this in a good way. Just when you think you have it all figured out, wrong turn. And it all culminates with an "Aha!" moment that makes perfect sense at the end.

While I liked the twists and turns of the plot, one thing that stood out to me was the focus on the family dynamic prior to the disappearance and how that may have played a role in all this mess. Even though the scenarios in the novels I read are fiction, it's hard not to take some of them to heart. I love a book that makes me think beyond the story. Makes me think about my actions in life and what I would do in those situations.

Side note: I absolutely loved this quote from the book: "I would smile as I thought my own mean things and said my own nice things." We all do this. Some of us just aren't honest enough to say it.

Read this and LOVED IT! The mystery is fantastic. I even got it as my Book of the Month pick because I wanted a physical copy.

Great book that kept me guessing until the very end. I thought I knew where it was going but a twist was always coming! I highly recommend this book.

St. Martin's Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Emma in the Night. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Three years after the Tanner sisters, Emma 17 and Cassandra 15, disappear with few clues available to police, Cass comes back alone. Dr. Abby Winter, forensic psychologist for the FBI, along with her former partner, Special Agent Leo Strauss, are tasked with getting as much information out of Cass as to her sister's whereabouts. As Cass weaves the tale, it becomes apparent to Abby that the story is not adding up. Will the clues lead the investigators to the truth as to what happened three years before? Will the story that Cass be enough to solve the case?

The author uses many writer's tricks to build suspense and confuse readers, so that the ending comes as a complete surprise. As I have read many psychological thrillers and mysteries, the big reveal did not have that type of impact. Parts of the ending were telegraphed, which helped me to put the missing pieces of the puzzle together. Cass does not come across as a strong main character because most of her story is told in the past. Readers are told about Cass, but are not able to develop their link to her because character development is lacking. The plot lacks a central focus, with too many side plots taking away the cohesion. Overall, readers who like psychological thrillers may find Emma in the Night to their liking.

“Emma in the Night” is a taut psychological thriller that kept me reading from start to finish without putting it down. Not only did I keep second-guessing my theories, I kept feeling ill-at-ease in my own home. It’s difficult to say much more than the book synopsis because to spoil it even a little would take away from the fun. If you like thriller mysteries, you will probably enjoy this.

Emma In The Night

One night, 15 year old Cass and 17 year old Emma go missing. Then, one day, three years later Cass turns up at her home, but without her sister...where is Emma and what is Cass hiding? Something isn't adding up with her story.

I really enjoyed this story, it completely captivated me. Wendy Walker has written another absolute corker of a book with Emma In The Night, and I highly recommend that everyone reads it, you won't be disappointed! Five stars from purplebookstand!

I was lucky to be provided with an advanced copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it.

I never get tired reading about missing person storyline. I always find it interesting how authors will put a twist into it to make their book different from the others. And it is not your usual missing person story. It is quite unpredictable, for start. It is also crazy, disturbing, and twisted yet riveting at the same time. The plot is intriguing with missing sisters and one coming back, coupled with the psychological element, having a mother with narcissistic personality disorder, add to that interesting set of characters and you’re in for a thrilling read. I am not aware of narcissistic personality disorder before reading this and I’m glad to have learned a lot about it in this book. It is truly fascinating. Wendy Walker weaves a twisted novel of emotional abuse, lies, and deception within a dysfunctional family. The family drama is crazy but it is one of the things I did enjoy. It is a great read for sure and something that will stay with you for a long time. A must-read for psychological thriller lover out there.

3.5 stars. Two sisters disappear, and only one, Cassandra, shows up on her mother’s doorstep three years later. Her mother and father are still divorced and remarried, and her mother is as crazy as ever. In mythology, Cassandra was the prophetess whose true prophecies were not believed. This Cassandra is an unreliable narrator, not because she is drunk or damaged, but because she has a secret agenda of her own that she doesn’t tell anyone (including the reader). The other narrator is Abby Winter, an FBI forensic psychologist who worked the original disappearance. Of the two, Cassie is the more interesting. Some good twists.

Read if: You like dysfunctional family dramas and unreliable narrators.

I was happy when I received an ARC of this book and hearing a lot of mixed reviews made me want to read it right away! It was my first book of Wendy Walker and I was told that it’s good but not as good as her other books.

To summarize, the book is about two teenagers, Emma and Cass Tanner, who went missing one night and after three years, Cass just suddenly showed up, ready to tell their story.

“I think there are two types of people. Ones who have a scream inside them and ones who don’t.”

To be honest, I was so intrigued with the story that the pages just flew by in a couple of days. I like how complex the characters are especially Cass that I wanted to figure her out myself, dig into her mind and all! The pacing made it more exciting, with the flashbacks and how Cass tells the stories. I didn’t connect with Abby that much but she’s a strong character. Along with Cass and her family’s story, we were also shown Abby’s past by giving us bits and pieces about her own family. This way we can see how she can relate with them. I hated the Martins and Witt is a sweetheart!

It always excites me when I read psychological thrillers because they promise a lot of things and thankfully Emma in the Night didn’t disappoint. Though I can say that there were times that I wanted to just skip some pages just to get to the ending and finally know what exactly happened! But overall, it was a thrilling experience and I loved the ending!

Maybe I’ll try and get a copy of Wendy Walker’s other book and see if I’ll like it just the same.

A slow burner of a psychological thriller - usually this type of book races along at a fast pace. This was set a much slower pace but still had the twists and turns and kept me engrossed until the end.

It is a story of a completely dysfunctional family, completely twisted characters. I liked how the story is told from different perspectives which gave different views of the story and what had happened. I liked the ending and didn't predict it.

Recommended. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

No October would be complete without at least one thriller to get the blood pumping. I was drawn to the cover of Emma in the Night, so despite not knowing much about the book, I thought that I would give it a shot.

Emma and Cass are sisters with a complicated home life, that only they know about. Despite Cass’s attempts to get outsiders to see that something isn’t right, no one seems to see just how bad it is. It looks like this will continue in this vein until eventually one night both Emma and Cass disappear. The novel follows the perspective of Cass when she returns three years later as well as one of the forensic psychologists, Abigail Winters, investigating the case.

Cass returns with only one goal: find her sister Emma. However, as her story is told, there seems to be some inconsistencies. Where was Cass and where is Emma? And what actually happened the night they disappeared?

Meanwhile, Abigail Winters finds that the case hits a bit too close to home. Abigail may be the one to finally see what is happening in the house and the twisted relationships between the family.

Parts of the book were pretty good and there were some decent twists. However, I had basically zero connection to Emma, so the urgency in locating her didn’t really happen. So I wanted to know what happened, but I didn’t really care too much, which effected my rating. I’d recommend borrowing it for a read, but it doesn’t really have a lot of value in a re-read.

SPOILERS:

OK, so apparently no one will believe that the mother suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, because it’s *so rare*. But I mean, my Psych 101 class covered it, and it’s in all my textbooks, so that didn’t make a ton of sense. Also, if the excuse is that Abigail was too close to the case because of her mother, couldn’t they just get another psychologist to do an evaluation? It just strained credibility so much, I had trouble taking Abigail seriously.

Loved it, read it in 2 days. Didn't know where this messed up family story was going. Kept me guessing. Well worth a read.

What an amazing book!!! Roller coaster ride and kept me on the edge wanting to know what would happen next!!!

I would give this 10 stars if I could. I have read many thrillers, and this is the best one of the year. This author did a genius thing here. I did not see the twist coming. Not at all. Genius, genius. If you like thrillers, you have to read this. You might be a little confused, like I was, but that's on purpose. Keep going. Enjoy!

An interesting premise regarding narcissistic personalities and the mystery of two missing daughters. The unreliable narration tends to be a bit confusing at times but overall a fair read.