Wendy Walker's latest book The Night Before started off strong. Highly suspenseful and somewhat unsettling, it was a story that kept me turning pages. Family secrets, family dysfunction and the perils of online dating. The plot build up was compelling and I was eagerly anticipating a thrilling ending but....it fizzled for me. The plot took a turn to ridiculous. The characters suddenly seemed cliché and shallow. The reveal came way too early. I was left feeling deflated and wondering why the story kept going? Surely it was best to quickly wrap it up now that we know?

3 stars because the first half had me hooked but the ending just didn't deliver.

Thank you to publisher for an ARC on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A blind date, an emotionally broken women and a murder from the past that won’t go away-what could go wrong?

That question and more are answered in Wendy Walker’s latest novel, The Night Before. Told in alternating voices and timelines we meet Laura and her sister Rosie. It is clear early on Laura is reeling from a breakup, so much so that she left her job in NYC and moves to her sister’s home in Connecticut-a town she is usually reluctant to visit let alone live.

Laura meets a man online and we are introduced to her brother-in-law Joe and best friend Gabe (who happens to live next door) while she’s getting ready for their date. Her sister is nervous that Laura is meeting a man-but not because something might happen to Laura.

The next chapters take us through a high school romance with a deadly end to a blind date where readers will be constantly questioning: just who is the villain? And why didn’t Laura come home after her date? How well do we know our family and friends?

The story’s pace picks up during the alternating timelines with the blind date and morning after. The anger Laura had as a child and her relationship with her sister and family isn’t as well developed as relationships in previous novels by Walker but it’s a twisty, quick read.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of this ARC.

I had to give this 3 stars. It was not bad, the characters were well written and the plot was enough for me to want to finish the book!
Laura moves in with her sister in Connecticut after going through a breakup in NYC. We are left with questions as to her last relationship, her growing up with her sister and some neighborhood friends, and most importantly, what happened to her after a date with a stranger from a dating site. I liked Laura’s mind, being very aware and noticing and questioning everything. I liked her sister’s point of view as well. I also liked the end. I just could not say I loved anything about this book. It didn’t fully suck me in, and it took me a while to read. The writing style was just not my favorite (although was not bad!)

As soon as I saw this cover I knew I had to try and get my hands on an ARC! So huge shoutout and thank you to Netgalley, St Martins Press and Wendy Walker for providing me a digital copy in exchange for an honest review. With how big online dating is in this day and age I thought that the author did a great job at portraying what it’s like. From the nerves before the date to questioning the other persons background/stories, etc. I felt on edge the whole time that Laura was on her date. For a while I felt like the book got kind of dry because I thought I had figured out what was going on, but I should've known that Walker was going to rip the rug from under us and stray away from the usual thriller clichés. With that being said, the ending to this book completely blew my mind. I did not see the twists at all until they smacked me in the face. I loved that the book description didn’t give too much away (I went in blind-didn’t read the description until after. I loved the cover that much).

This book was so WEIRD, but in a good way!It starts out with two sisters, one that has run home after a bad breakup. This same sister has a bad past that is slowly revealed throughout the length of the book.The thing is, throughout this entire book I could not figure out if Laura was bad or good. I couldn't figure out if Rosie was bad or good. I was utterly confused the enter time, and I found myself racing through this book because I had to know what was going to happen next.I could see where this book may frustrate readers, and at times I wondered what kind of road I was being lead down. But all in all this was a fun thrilled that I really enjoyed.

Just not for me stars

I hated the main character, Laura, a girl we are told was a tomboy, brave fearless, full of spit and vinegar and yet as an adult she grows to be a sniveling spineless, fall into bed with anyone bc LOVE is what she seeks. What??? She goes on a date with a man from an internet dating site, spills her life story to him, and then guess what??? she falls in bed with him!!! Months before, she falls in love with her married therapist ...and of course sleeps with him (a big no no for him in the medical field btw). He drops her and she never tries to contact him again after receiving the email dropping her??? Guess that is a good thing bc the guy is dead......but wouldn't you have at least tried to get in contact with the supposed love of your life? Wouldn't you at least spent a moment and not gone oh well, it happens all the time to me?

Then there is the ridiculous family who is not really the family we thought they were. Husband Joe who is really sister Laura's half brother and is married to Rosie who it turns out is now a half sister as well. So ridiculous!
Then there is the circle of friends and who couldn't figure out that one of them was the murderer.

To me it was so contrived, so inane, and totally off the scale in the eye rolling category.

I think I am on thriller overload.
I guess you now can guess this one was definitely not for me. I despise books that make a woman character lacking in common sense, some type of morals, and fessed out as being an idiot. Ugh!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reader copy of the The Night Before. This might be the best suspense/thriller I've read so far for 2019. The Night Before is about Laura, a woman who recently experienced a break-up and moved home to be with her sister. Laura is also still suspected by some of murdering her first boyfriend in high school although she was not convicted or charged with the crime. Laura goes on a date with a man she meets online. It turns out he googled her despite changing her name and he knows all about her past and the crime many suspect her of. Laura has felt broken since some trouble in her childhood and is always chasing the wrong man. There are alternating timelines between the present, the hours of Laura's date and her therapy sessions while still living in NYC. This book kept hooked me at the very beginning and I did not want to put it down. There were so many twists and turns that kept you guessing the whole way. The ending really took me by surprise. This is my first book by Wendy Walker, but it won't be my last. I highly recommend picking this up on May 14th.

My review will be posted on www.instagram.reading.is.my.happy.place on May 14th

I was completely off when trying to guess the ending from the very beginning.
This story follows a young woman, Laura who has found tragedy or heartbreak with every one of her relationships and goes missing after an online date. She continues to blame herself for her dating issues and looks to a therapist for guidance. The story switches between present day where her sister Rosie is trying to find her and what transpired the night she went missing and in the days after from Laura’s perspective and months to weeks before with her therapy sessions and trying to find the truth in her issues. Towards the end of the book, she finds a family secret that brings to light her issues with her father and men in general. The ending of the book was a total surprise. Would definitely recommend.

I haven’t read any of her other books before so I can’t compare it to her other books. It kept me on edge and I love a good thriller!!

I loved this book until the end. I read a ton of thrillers and maybe the ending was too predictable for a seasoned thriller reader but perfect for a novice. It's hard to say. I loved the alternation between current and past conversations but as soon as the ending came somewhat forcefully, I was not interested. I expected a twist at the end and it just never happened.

"If you keep leaving the herd, the wolves will come."

The premise of Wendy Walker's The Night Before is certainly a fresh one, diving into the modern world of online dating and its potential scares. I really enjoyed that this book focused on something so common in this day and age, but with more twists and turns as well as deeper issues. The plot starts simple, a blind date and a nervous girl with a damaged, and actually infamous past. The book focuses on more than the blind date, going into the territory of mental health, self awareness, and challenging upbringings. That's all I really want to say about the plot itself, for fear of giving too much away, but just know its more than just a book about dating.

With that being said, I want to start out my review by saying that this blurb was PERFECT and should be a lesson to the whole thriller genre. The blurb was maybe five sentences, just enough to draw you in without giving a single plot line away. (Side rant: way too often I feel like I can basically guess the whole premise by just reading the long, drawn out blurbs and spoil the whole book for myself. Some blurbs give away the whole twist! OK end rant.)

As I said, I don't want to give too much away about the plot itself, but I do want to share my thoughts about the other aspects of the book. I've actually been pretty torn on how to rate this one, because there were some parts I loved and some parts that I felt had potential but didn't get all the way there. On one hand, I think the pacing was excellent and constantly kept me on my toes. This is going to be a huge hit this summer for the unique plot line and immersive writing alone. I actually had to force myself to turn off my Kindle and go to sleep- it's that thrilling. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen, and who the real villains were.

Unfortunately I do think I figured out the plot twist a little too early for my liking, and would like to have been more surprised by the end, but that's just personal preference. Some readers really love to use their armchair detective skills, so they would probably really enjoy this slow reveal. I think I just felt like the plot was a bit spoon-fed for me and tried to hard to make everything neat and perfect. Another possibility is that I read too much of this genre and can't be totally shocked by what I read anymore, which is also just a personal issue!

Although I liked the pacing and the alternating perspectives, the other aspects of the writing fell a bit flat for me. I didn't ever really connect with any of the characters, in fact, I didn't really like any of them at all. I think they could use some more flushing out, maybe by making the book a bit longer and diving deeper into each of their histories? I don't necessarily need likable characters, but I think I would have liked to see a bit more character development here. Although I do understand the book takes place in basically one day. Again, I really did love getting multiple perspectives on the same night and getting constant cliffhangers at the end of each chapter!

Overall, I think The Night Before is a fresh idea and I absolutely know it will be a hit this summer, I think it was just kind of middle of the road for me, and that's ok. It was still a very fun read that I finished in a few sittings and would still most likely recommend to my other thriller friends! I will definitely be checking out Wendy Walker's previous novels too.

Thank you NetGalley, Wendy Walker, and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel and the opportunity to enjoy early in return for my honest review.

Wendy Walker has done it again! This book has some elements of her other books- sisters, secrets, psychological drama, and a thrilling resolution. I love how it kept me on my toes, not knowing exactlybwhat was happening or who to trust. Both sisters had conpemking voices and the timeline with past and present narration made it exciting!

I loved this one! It had a great mix of themes of some common thriller types which makes it unique the way the themes go together! It's a little missing person, a little social media and online dating, a little family history/mystery and a whole lot of different interlinked stories and backgrounds that you just have to keep reading to know and understand more and more!

I believe this is Wendy Walkers best book yet. It’s both suspenseful and intriguing and once I started reading, I was hooked and simply could not put the book down.

I loved Emma In The Night so I was so excited to receive an arc of Wendy Walkers latest! This book drew me in from page one and kept me guessing for most of the book. I definitely thought I had "figured it out" part way through the book, but boy was I wrong. Such a fast paced and fantastic thriller! I highly recommend it!

I received an advanced copy in exchange of an honest review.

Another great thriller! As good/if not better than her book "Emma in the Night". I was in suspense the whole time wanting to know what was going to happen. Definitely recommend.

2 sisters uncover long buried secrets when an internet date spirals out of control. What more can you want in a book than suspense! An addictive and gripping read that will keep you turning the pages. Fast paced and tension filled-- a fascinating read! Thank you NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning to finish--it was that good! Wendy Walker has a gift for writing psychological thrillers. I remember how completely unpredictable Emma in the Night was and this book was equally unpredictable. The story opens with a conversation between Laura (the main character) and her psychiatrist. I was immediately intrigued with this format and couldn't stop reading. The story alternates between Laura's POV, her sister Rosie's POV, and the snippets of conversation between Laura and her therapist. It was very interesting to see the same events through different perspectives. It's hard to talk about this book without giving something away so I will just say that if you like psychological thrillers, this one is not to be missed!!!

This was my first time reading a book by Wendy Walker. The description had grabbed my interest and I really wanted to read the book. I was more than happy to get an advance copy. The subject and plot are really interesting and make you want to read more. As far as the plot goes, it feels like something that could happen in real life, to a very unfortunate person. The structure of the book really worked: some elements are revealed, yet you know there is so much more going on, and you keep on reading in order to find out exactly what happened. However, I had a hard time liking the characters. As much as I tried, I just could not like the main character Laura. While I wanted to know what happened to her, I felt detached at the same time. I am not sure if I will read another book by the author, I do hope that the character development will be different in future books.

Wendy Walker did it again!

Absolutely thrilling read with believable characters and interesting premise.

Thoroughly enjoyable read. Didn’t have any idea where it would go and it was a startling ending!