I read A LOT of mysteries & thrillers. So many of them seem to follow the same formula, and I find myself predicting the twists before they even come. I am not complaining, because obviously, I keep reading them - but this book really threw me. It has been a long time since I had NO IDEA what was going to happen. I was genuinely surprised by the twists, and I really enjoyed this book.

I would definitely suggest this book.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an unbiased review.

I'm keeping this one short. An interesting mystery, no huge surprises though.

Likes: the twists were good, even if they were mostly expected.

Dislikes: the characters and the writing... I thought the dialogue seemed stilted and unreal and the inner monologues of the main characters were something eye roll inducing.

To say I’m surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did would be an understatement. I normally don’t read thrillers but this book might have changed that. I loved the complexity of the character of Laura. Many times you questioned every she said or thought. Loved the relationship between Laura & her sister Rosie. A relationship that proved the bonds of sisterhood are iron clad. There were lots of twists and many unexpected turns in this novel. Kudos to the author Wendy Walker for possibly converting me into a reader of thrillers.

Laura has been through a lot. A rough childhood with divorced and neglectful parents coupled witha traumatic event in high school that haunts her on in to adulthood, she starts meeting with a therapist to sort through her thoughts. When a sudden breakup causes her to leave her job and come back to her hometown, her sister Rosie gladly takes her in, but she’s wary. What has happened to cause Laura to come back after so long? She’s always gone for the wrong men, desperate for one to love her, so she turns to online dating and finds someone she really connects with and agrees to go out with. Anxiously Laura puts on cherry red lipstick and a black dress as she gets ready for her date with Jonathan Fields-forty, good career, divorced, with a black BMW.

But when she doesn’t return the next morning after the blind datex Rosie is in full blown panic mode. But it’s not because she’s afraid of what Jonathan Fields did to Laura, she’s more afraid of what Laura could have done to him…

Told from Rosie and Laura’s point of view in the hours after the date as well as leading up to it, with some of Laura’s therapy sessions sprinkled throughout, you’ll be on the edge of your seat trying to help Rosie find Laura, but what you find out will shock you! I’m still thinking about the crazy ending!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advance copy. The Night Before releases May 14th!

Laura Lochner has been unlucky in her relationships with men her whole life. She attributes it to overheating a remark from her mother when she was young calling her “ hard to love”. Shortly after, her parents divorce and her father seems indifferent to her refusal to visit which leads to her further believing she is unlovable and she falls into one bad relationship after another.
Laura has recently moved home after yet another failed relationship- this time she was dumped through a text. She really felt she had found love this time and she begins questioning herself and how she responds to men. She has moved in with her sister, Rosie and her husband Joe who were high school sweethearts and seem to have the ideal marriage.
Laura decides to try online dating and agrees to meet a guy named Jonathan Fields. She borrows her sisters car and promises to be home early.
When Rosie wakes up- Laura is nowhere to be found and she is thrown into a panic. This stems from an incident when they were teens.
The chapters alternate mostly between Laura and Rosie. Laura’s self doubt is very relatable.
I got a little bored with Rosie and her overreactions and it seemed to be repetitive in places but for the most part this is an enjoyable read.!
This is another author who has been in my TBR pile for a while and I will have to pull out “ Emma in the Night” next.
Thank you to #netgalley and #Macmillan publishing for the advance copy in exchange for my opinion. This should be on everyone’s summer reading list.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Wendy Walker for the chance to read and review this novel.

One of my favourite things is when you go into a book with a vague synopsis. For me it heightens the tension and mystery. So I was excited to read this book as not only was the synopsis vague but the book has been receiving quite a buzz on bookstagram.

Laura has always been unlucky in love and had a fragile psyche. Fresh from her latest heartbreak she returns to her hometown and decides to try online dating. As she gets ready to go on a first date she is hopeful yet apprehensive. Her protective sister Rosie worries it’s too soon but Laura assures her she’s ready. When Rosie wakes the next morning to find that Laura has not returned she fears the worst. Laura’s not replying to calls or texts and they have no idea who she went to meet, what he looks like or where they met. As Rosie, her husband Joe, and childhood friend, Gabe search for Laura they discover more about her mysterious life and become increasingly worried about what they might find...

Wow!! This was my first read by this author but it certainly won’t be my last. I loved how the story was written in chapters that would alternate between the present day which mainly concentrated on the search for Laura, and flashbacks to Laura’s date the night before. I particularly loved Laura’s chapters. The author skillfully conveyed her insecurities, second guessing and over analysis of everything alongside her eagerness to appear “normal” and not do the things that have steered her in the wrong directions so many times before. She was someone I empathised with an related to as I’m a terrible overthinker myself. I also loved how like Laura we were never quite sure what was true and what wasn’t and that all of her chapters seemed to end on a cliffhanger so I wanted to do nothing but keep reading!

While there is much more I could analyse and say about this book I will stop here because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else. Part of the joy is in not knowing.

The Night Before is a spectacular psychological thriller that I didn’t want to put down and couldn’t stop thinking about when I did. An easy read that is also a compulsive roller-coaster ride with a jaw-dropping finale and shocking twists. All Is Not Forgotten has been languishing on my shelf for a while, but after this incredible book I will be reading it as soon as possible and buying the author’s other novel. This is a thriller you don’t want to miss.

Laura has moved back home after taking a leave from her job and after her relationship ended badly this was one of many failed relationships.. With some push from her sister Rosie and her brother in law who she believes have the perfect marriage. Laura decides to give online dating a try. She signs herself up on findlove.com and she soon finds the very handsome charming man named Jonathan Fields. They soon decide to meet up for a date. She decides to wear bright red lipstick and her sisters black dress and give this date a go! When she arrives she’s relieved to see the date matches his picture and they decide to take a drive and walk by the harbor. As their leaving a woman yells for Jonathan but he ignores the other woman. When they reach his car laura sees its not the car he told her he drove it’s an old Toyota not the BMW, he seems a little to eager to get her in the car but she gets in anyways she wants to prove she’s not the broken girl from her childhood and she’s capable of love, and now Laura is thinking maybe this date was a mistake... Rosie wakes up the next morning and realizes Laura never came home. She starts to get frantic laura isn’t answering her phone her calls go right to voicemail and she begins to investigate with her childhood friend Gabe why her sister never came home. You see Laura has her own dark history her childhood boyfriend was murdered when they were both in their teens and no one knows exactly what happened since she can’t remember certain facts. I flew through this book. It’s told in three POVs Laura’s, her therapist Doctor Brody and her sister Rosie. This book had me wanting to know what happened the night before with Laura!! Laura’s chapters had my hair standing up it was creepy and makes me happy I’m married! Rosie’s was definitely the caring sister who wouldn’t take no for an answer and the doctors chapter had me wondering what was laura seeking his help for! I give this five thrilling stars! This book is available May 14 2019 will you be adding it to your TBR?

Overall the start of the book was really well done but for me, it started to fall apart as it went on.

Pros
- Good pacing
- Grabbed my attention from the start
- Character development started off good and I felt like I had a good handle on them a short way into the book.

Cons
- A bit jumpy - telling one story then on to another quickly, a lot of info to absorb in a short amount of time.
- Some spelling/grammar errors
- Gets redundant very fast, seems like the date is dragging on, I was not invested in the story much any more as I had grown tired of it.
- Laura divulges too much to a stranger too soon, maybe that is a character flaw of hers but I don’t think it is executed well in the writing. At first she comes off strong but then in the next few pages she is a bumbling mess, I grew confused by her character.
- The first date gets more and more unbelievable as the time goes on. What does Laura have to gain by confiding EVERYTHING in this man on a first date? Why does she do this? I find it hard to believe that someone who is attending therapy regularly as she is closed off - has such an easy time coming clean to a complete stranger. It would have been nice to see some deeper character development into Laura rather than her just 'telling' her story to a complete internet stranger.

*****Some spoilers ahead!!!!!!*****



This is a very peculiar novel… all the action happens in a short amount of time with flashbacks of the character's past that slowly unfold the plot.

There's a lot of effort to throw the reader off as to who is bad, who may have harmed whom but to me at least, all seemed pretty clear from the beginning. Also, once the real culprit is revealed, I didn't quite feel the tension, the desperation in the other characters, perhaps because it tool too long to get there and by then the book was already ending.

All in all it's now a bad read but definitely not as good as Wendy Walker's debut.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars!

Wendy Walker, you have a new fan in me! This is the first I've read from this author and it won't be the last.

The Night Before is about a woman who struggles with relationships. We've all been there, right? After a devastating break up, she moves back to her childhood town to live with her sister as she mentally recovers. She decides to give online dating a try. Again, we've all been there, right? I met my husband on match.com seven years ago so I can totally relate. But when she doesn't come home from her first online date, her sister will panic and desperately search to find out what happened the night before.

The thing that really struck me about this book is how well the story unfolded. Wendy Walker did a fabulous job of releasing information to the reader at just the right times and places along the way so as not to reveal too much information but also to keep the story moving and exciting. While I found it a tad unbelievable that the main character would have revealed so much personal information on a first date with a stranger, I decided to look past it for the sake of entertainment. Who knows, maybe people are more open that I am with their personal information on first dates?!

I really enjoyed the story being told from different perspectives. It's somewhat common in the thriller genre, but it worked really well here. And I appreciated the timeline changing from past to present and back. It added a lot of mystery to the story line and kept me guessing. There were plenty of twists in this book and I would say about 50% of them surprised me and 50% of them I saw coming. But the ones that surprised me were really shocking and unexpected.

I can't say much more without giving away key plot elements, so I'll just leave it at that. This is a really solid thriller that I think a lot of people would enjoy. It is exciting, shocking, twisted, and clever. I look forward to reading future works by Wendy Walker.

-I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Walker, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review.-

Laura’s always had bad luck when it comes to men so after a painful breakup she leaves her life in NY and returns to her childhood home in Connecticut to live with her sister, brother-in-law and nephew. Not long after, she decides to start dating again in the hopes of finding a man who truly loves her. Enter Jonathan, the guy she meets on a dating website. After going out on a date with him she fails to return home so her sister Rosie starts an investigation to find out what happened the night before. But, is she worried about her sister or about what she might have done to her date? After all, it wouldn’t be the first time someone close to Laura ends up dead.

The night before is a well-written and intricately plotted psychological thriller told through Laura and Rosie’s perspectives and some transcriptions of Laura’s therapy sessions so we follow both the investigation and what happened during Laura’s date. You can’t help keep turning the pages as the tension grows while the date unfolds and everything goes wrong. You won’t know which characters you can trust until the final reveal which I didn’t see coming.

Though more of a character driven thriller I would recommend this if you’re looking for a smart page-turner that you can read in a sitting or two.

After reading this and Emma in the night, Wendy Walker is fast becoming one of my favorite thriller authors.

from my review on instagram @brettlikesbooks:

alternating points of view between rosie and her sister laura, who disappeared while on a date with a man she met on the internet + dubious characters leave you questioning who to trust + the tension and suspense steadily ratchet up with each chapter, building to a twisted conclusion

"The shrink told me that i would find it here, at home. The answer to this question about me and men. ME and love. Why I lack the skills to find it, and why I beat it away when it finds me. Me with my fists for hands. The girl no one can love. So here I am."

thanks @stmartinspress and @netgalley for sending this digital advance copy to review! release date is may 14!

Laura Heart has found herself back home in the community she grew up in, living with her sister who married the boy next door and spending time with the her other childhood friend. Fresh off a breakup with a man she cared for deeply. Laura is dipping her toes back into the dating pool and meeting a man she met online. When Laura doesn’t return home, her sister Rosie fears the worst. Was Laura involved in the death of her high school boyfriend and did her disappearance after meeting a man who was not being truthful with her have anything to do with her disappearance?

Wendy Walker’s tale of coming home to face the past while trying to move forward is filled with so many twists and turns. Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, something new was revealed and I was completely caught by surprise. This is a terrific story, told from the perspective of both sisters that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page. Highly recommend The Night Before!

Fabulous book full of twists and secrets to reveal. Laura, just out of a relationship doesn’t believe she can trust her own judgment when it comes to men. Rosie doesn’t trust the violence inside Laura when it comes to men. While Laura begins dating using a dating website, we find out where these beliefs come from. Sit back and enjoy. You won’t be disappointed.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the multiple POVs, the suspense, the possibility of an unreliable narrator, and not knowing who to trust. I liked the many directions that I was pulled in while reading and if it wasn't for jet lag and exhaustion, I would have likely read this entire book in one sitting. I already know that my friends who love thrillers as much as me will adore this book! Thanks for the early copy.

Well that was certainly a tense, intriguing and complex story! It takes us through a thrilling and emotional search for Laura who has disappeared after a date with a man off a dating website. The book goes back and forth between past and present and gives us some backstory on a tragic past and the issues that still plague some of the characters. A very well done fascinating book!

5.5 Stars

First off I would like to thank Net Galley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first novel that I have read by Wendy Walker and I really, really enjoyed this book!

Just twelve hours ago Laura was excited to be going on a date with a man she met on the dating app Findlove.com. Johnathan Fields seems like a pretty perfect match for her, handsome,intelligent and nice. Now she is missing and her sister Rosie is determined to find her before it's too late.

Told in three perspectives Laura's first person starting twelve hours ago and working slowly the towards present. Rosie's third person starting from the moment she realizes that Laura is missing and notes from Laura's session with her psychiatrist. The novel hooked me from the start. I must say that the Laura parts of this book read like a play to me. I could picture every scene between Laura and Johnathon as if it was on a stage. I loved the interaction between the two characters.

The tension mounts as Rosie begins to worry more and about what happened with Laura. Is she okay? Did Johnathon do something to her or did Laura do something to Johnathon? We find out that Laura has more than a few bad experiences with men in her past.

Well written with interesting characters the story unwinds slowly and holds your attention. I found myself wondering the motives of each character besides Rosie. There is a chance you will figure out the twist but the reasoning behind the twist will really get you!

This was a solid thriller, if a little bit slow to get to the good parts. Laura Lochner is a girl “with fists for hands” and a dark history. The novel opens with her getting ready to go on a blind date with Jonathan Fields, a man she met online. After getting out of a bad relationship, Laura now lives with her older sister Rosie, Rosie’s husband Joe, and their infant son. Laura goes on her date and you get the sense that something might go wrong - there’s someone you can’t trust. When Laura doesn’t come home the next morning, Rosie launches into an all-out manhunt for her. The book takes place over the course of 2-ish days, painstakingly unfolding key events.

The chapters rotate between Laura on her date and Rosie searching for her sister. Walker does a pretty sneakily amazing job at shifting who has the more interesting story - at first, you want to skip through Rosie’s chapters, then you realize that Rosie’s side is much more fascinating. The ending of the book is one of those twists that makes you gasp for how unexpected it is, but then makes less and less sense as it goes on.

Overall, I wish this was a little more fast-paced, but I did enjoy the shifting perspective and the gradual reveal of important details. Walker didn’t go too hard on the ominous threat of what is yet to be revealed; she played it just right.

The Night Before is an interesting story that primarily spins out over a weekend. Laura's been unlucky in love and goes on a date with someone she meets online, but she doesn't come home. Her sister panics and with her husband and their close friend from childhood, tries to retrace Laura's steps so they can find out what happened. But are they scared for Laura, or for her date? Laura has a past that includes a boyfriend that ended up dead in high school, and a relationship that ended unexpectedly that is the reason behind Laura returning home and moving in with her sister and her sister's husband. This book does have a twist to it that's interesting, but in some regards I was busy enough with trying to keep up with what part of the story's timeline I was in and not feeling bored out of my mind as Laura explains to the reader and her date about how horrible her past relationships have been that it wasn't something that it wasn't the most exciting, page-turning thriller that I've read.

Will leave review on Amazon on 5/14/2019

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker, this was my first book that I have read from this author. I have to say that I found the storyline very original and well written. The storyline is basically told from the prospective of two sisters Rosie and Laura. The book was a page turner, and the outcome was totally unexpected. I would certainly recommend this book to those that enjoy suspense/thrillers.