I’m glad to see The Night Before getting a lot of great feedback - but unfortunately, I did NOT like this novel.

Premise: Laura goes on a blind date. She promises her sister, Rosie, to have the car back in a few hours. But Laura never turns up and Rosie freaks out. She recruits her husband Joe and their friend Gabe to help find her.

The setup of the story seemed unrealistic to me. The people closest to Laura made it seem like “if a guy lies to her and she finds out, who knows what she could do to him, aka possibly murder.”

I thought the ending was great and not at all predictable, but the hasty setup of the novel was just something I couldn’t get past.

Wendy Walker has a gift for writing about how childhood trauma manifests in adult life. Her debut novel All Is Not Forgotten, published by St. Martin’s Press in 2016, offered a particularly brutal look into the difficulties young sexual assault survivors’ face in carrying on with normal life, especially those who suppress their memories of the event. Her sophomore book, Emma in the Night, released in 2017, explores the life of a young woman who endured trauma in the form of mistreatment by a parent. Walker’s upcoming book follows much in the same vein, telling the story of a woman who, decades after witnessing the murder of her high school boyfriend, struggles to connect with men in appropriate ways.

While thematically The Night Before is quite similar to Walker’s past works, it struggles to live up to its predecessors. Where All Is Not Forgotten and Emma in the Night were fast-paced and full of daring twists and turns, The Night Before is much more introspective and slow, lacking the imaginative plots of Walker’s past two novels to drive it forward.

The novel unfolds for the most part over the course of one evening as Laura, a young woman who has recently moved in with her sister after a bad breakup, tries to venture back into the dating pool by spending a night out with a man she met online. Her sister, Rosie, struggles to understand her erratic behaviour. When Laura doesn’t return on time from her date, Rosie becomes increasingly concerned about her wellbeing. Rosie’s neurosis about Laura is the result of a traumatic event that took place when the two sisters were in high school. At an end of year celebration party, Laura was the sole witness to her boyfriend’s brutal murder, and became one of the main suspects in the criminal investigation. The crime rocked both girls’ lives, and sent Laura on a spree of dating terrible men and refusing to form lasting relationships.

The Night Before is told in alternating points of view between Laura – whose plot line takes place on the night of the date – and Rosie, whose story covers the day after the date and the search for Laura. While marketed as a suspense novel or psychological thriller, The Night Before doesn’t properly fit into either of those categories. There are moments of mystery and suspense, but for the most part the novel reads as a surface-level character study of a woman who’s never recovered from the trauma of her youth.

It would be unfair to call Laura a completely boring main character. Her history and life experiences are quite interesting, but have manifested in rather irritating ways in her character. She over analyzes the actions of each person she meets and spews an inner monologue of arm-chair psychology and self-pity. Her past is undeniably upsetting, but her present day over-compensation feels forced and unnatural. Her inner dialogue doesn’t translate well into written word. Making it more difficult to like her is the fact that she’s never described in any great detail. Laura’s character, while central to the story, is somewhat hazy and generic.

The Night Before’s plot is equally as lacklustre as its main character, revolving more around a bizarre first-date scenario than around a mystery. With no character to root for and no real twists and turns, the storyline fails to hold attention. If you are going to read Walker’s work – which I highly recommend you do – start with something other than The Night Before. It’s not a terrible read, but in comparison to the brilliance and excitement of Walker’s past novels it just isn’t as compelling.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker is a psychological thriller full of secrets from a past nightmares are made of. Laura Lochner has 'daddy issues' when it comes to falling in love, she can't seem to find the right guy. After a devastating break up, she finds herself back at her sister's house in Connecticut with her brother in law and nephew. Laura turns to an internet dating site, as she is getting ready to leave, she assures her reluctant sister she will be home that night. When she doesn't return, Laura's sister Rosie is fearing the worst...what has happened to Laura, or even worse...what could she have done this time?

This book was awesome! I really liked how the characters all had their own equal parts in this book. They each had secrets they kept from one another, yet all truths are told in the end. Laura is such a flawed person, you really feel sorry for her. Her past just sucks, she can't find a decent guy, her family life wasn't great...except for her sister, so that made up for it a little bit.

The ending will definitely surprise you and keep you turning the page. I would like to thank Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Definitely a solid 4-4.5 stars! This is a must read of the Spring!

Outstanding 5 ⭐️ read!! My new favorite book so far this year. Great psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the final chapter.

The story alternates between the perspectives of two sisters, Laura and Rosie, plus transcripts of therapy sessions. Their family suffered many tragedies and it left Laura with extreme feelings of self doubt. A specific diagnosis was never given. She was definitely anxious and I wondered if she was either bipolar or had multiple personalities.

This was a quick read for me and I strongly recommend this book!Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Night Before is a deliciously thrilling and suspenseful novel. It moves between the perspectives of sisters Laura and Rosie and they are equally strong. Laura is an incredibly compelling character and Walker does an excellent job of defining the differences between the sisters. While the pace did get a little slow in the middle, The Night Before was primarily fast-paced and full of twists and turns. There is more than one shocking moment and my jaw dropped more than once! Many thrillers have a tendency to be implausible; The Night Before is a great novel because it is both believable and creepily relatable. The concept of internet dating gone wrong is not new but Walker manages to make it feel fresh and exciting.

I really enjoyed The Night Before and want to read Walker's other books!

I enjoyed this book. I have to say the "main revelation" was not surprising to me at all. However, there were a few other twists and turns that were very interesting so in the end, it really didn't matter. This book certainly moved at a fast pace and I liked that there were a number of characters involved. The fact that they were all childhood friends and brought with them history and a past made this premise even more intriguing. If you enjoy thrillers with a psychological bent, this is one for you! What is sure to be a great and compulsive spring/summer read!

I couldn't put this down. The dual timeline was done very well and I did not guess who the culprit was until right before it was revealed. I would recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers!

This book is an intense gripping thriller that had me hooked from Laura Lochner's first therapy session. The story begins with Laura Lochner who is out on an internet date for the first time after a breakup with the man she thought loved her. Laura left her NYC Wall Street job and after many years is back home living with her sister Rosie, in CT where haunting childhood memories start to surround her again. Rosie is scared, she is beside herself, Laura is not home from her date and it is almost dawn. She knows Laura's deepest desires and fears she has made a terrible mistake. Alternating chapters go back and forth with Rosie and Laura narrating as deep dark family secrets emerge and threaten to change the history everyone thought they knew. Obsessions and attachment disorders darkened the mystery and the twists and turns were hard to believe as the plot thickens. There were many hidden clues but the shocking ending was one I didn't see coming. I love Wendy Walkers writing and look forward to reading more.

I found Walker’s new book to be a middle of the road novel. While there were red herrings, I guessed the outcome very early on, leaving me turning the pages to see if I was right. I had a difficult time believing that the characters could really be that deceived for so very long. An interesting premise, but could have been executed better.

Three weeks ago, Laura Lochner, reeling from a split with her current boyfriend, took a break from her job as a financial analyst in New York City and relocated to a small town in Connecticut to moved in with her sister Rosie and her family. Laura has a lamentable tract record when it comes to men as well as the accompanying emotional baggage. With Rosie’s encouragement Laura has gathered her courage and accepted an invitation for a first date from a man she met on line.

Now Laura is missing and Rosie has not been able to get the police to act. She, her husband Joe and their trusted friend Gabe take it upon themselves to investigate and track Laura’s movements the previous night.

As author Wendy Walker spellbindingly spools out the evening’s events the more revelations and insights into Laura’s life are divulged until the reader is caught up in this psychological roller coaster ride of secrets, misdirection and multiple timelines culminating with an ending you didn’t see coming.

This is the first book I have read by this author and though I did not love it, it was not horrible either…just really different and not really my reading style. The premise was intriguing and enough to pull me in to give it a try; it was just not one that I would rate as memorable. With that said, I was still flipping pages because I really wanted to know the outcome…did Laura or didn’t she? It was a complicated, suspenseful thriller told by multiple (both sister’s) POV’s and also included some flashbacks into Laura’s psychologist’s sessions, which added a bit more insight into her character. There were also a couple of twists and a surprise thrown in that I was not expecting, nor did I see coming. If you are a fan of this author and really enjoy her work, I am sure you will probably be happy to add this one to your list.

*I received an advanced copy via the publisher thru NetGalley and I am providing my honest review. All thoughts/opinions are strictly my own.

I go through phases where I binge watch true crime. I am always baffled watching investigations unfold where there are multiple suspects and all of them have good evidence against them. Was it the clingy guy at school? The guy who she got fired at work and really didn't seem to like her after? The ex boyfriend with the criminal record? Soooo many possibilities, making you think this person was doomed one way or another. Then when the investigation is concluded...it was none of those. That is how this book made me feel. I never knew who to trust. Who was hiding something big. Who was just telling white lies. Either way, the story line kept me thoroughly entertained and I could not put the book down.

4 stars

The Night Before is the first thriller I've read in about 8 years and it was perfect to get back to that genre.
The description on NetGalley intrigued me and got me hooked right away.

Twelve hours earlier, she was...
Hopeful.
Excited.
Safe.
Now she's gone.

To tell you a bit more about the story, it begins with Laura getting ready for a date with a man she met on an online dating site. As the blurb suggests, she won't make it back from the date.
The story is told from Laura and her sister, Rosie's points of view and with different timelines, which I really loved. It adds to the suspense and makes you want to read even faster! At some point I couldn't even put the book down, I had to know how it ended.
There was not a moment I was bored, you always get more info, more details that just leave you yearning for more.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers and who's looking for a book full of suspense that you can't put down!
I'm really happy I read this book and I'm super ready to go back to reading thrillers more often.

This was really confusing. I was just waiting and waiting to things get more clear, but they never did. It was a strange reading experience, not knowing what was going on at all. Normally I don't mind the not knowing, but in this case with the style of the writing I just wasn't really enjoying it much. The writing didn’t let me connect to any of the characters and the ending was a bit underwhelming.

All in all not a bad book, but I was expecting more.

I couldn't stop reading this fast paced thriller. So many clues and secrets to unravel. Where is Laura; what has happened to her or what has she done! A thrilling ride to the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC

Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced version of this book.

I had never heard of this author before, but the premise of the book was intriguing. I honestly enjoyed the heck out of it and wasn’t disappointed. There’s a good build up throughout that kept me guessing and second guessing trying to figure out what was really going on and why. I couldn’t put the book down when I got to the last few chapters and it all started really coming together. I’ll be looking for more from this author for sure.

The first half was a bit iffy, kinda slow and I couldn’t figure out where the hell it was going. But halfway through the secrets and twists started spilling and I couldn’t put it down. Damn!! The characters were semi-likable and nothing was as it seemed. I only wish there was a bit more of an explanation as to why the person did what they did. At this point I’ll read anything she puts out.

https://twitter.com/PaulaSofia_71/status/1108523919538036737

"There's a good reason to stay with the herd, {they told her] Nothing less than survival itself. If you keep leaving the herd, the wolves will come. Laura always had the same response 'good thing I like wolves.' "

Rosie and Laura are sisters and Laura lives with Rosie and her husband at the moment. The book starts with Laura getting ready for a date and really heats up when Rosie wakes up the next day and realizes Laura isn't home yet. The blurb for this book said:
"Twelve hours earlier, she was...

Hopeful.

Excited.

Safe.


Now she's gone."
and really that's all you need to go on. If you want more I refer you to the quote that started this review.
If you like psychological thrillers and domestic suspense you'll love this. The sister relationship and drama was just a bonus to me. The story goes on in a lively and lyrical pace and kept surprising me with fresh details to obsessively think over.
This was my second time reading a book by Wendy Walker after being a bit disappointed with Emma in the Night and I'm so glad I gave her a second chance! You can tell she's just getting stronger as an author and I cannot wait to see what she does next!

The Night Before is psychological thriller about a troubled woman who’s online date goes awry. But it’s much more than that, with several twists and turns that keeps the pages turning. As the story progresses, so does the mystery, as each chapter unfurls with more storylines, but never to the point where the reader gets confused. The author pulls it all together nicely in a fast paced, riveting book. Highly recommended.

When I read the description of this book I HAD to read it. Was NOT disappointed! An absolutely bonkers ride. And what a twist! Cannot wait to recommend!