Fantastic read. Definitely needed this after the book slump I was in. Wendy Walker is a new author for me and I can't wait to read her other books. This psychological thriller kept me very interested as sometimes that can be hard for some authors. I encourage all suspense and thriller readers to add this to their must read list!!

This was an interesting read-in a good way!

The whole story is told from the 2 sister's POV but in different timelines; past, present, and the past with a psychologist. It probably sounds confusing, but this is one of the things I really enjoyed about this mystery- how it all unfolded! Just when you think you might have a clue as to what's going on, you are swept off to the past where more is revealed, and you realize nothing is as you thought.

Because of this, I think it affected my only disappointment, which was character development. I didn't feel completely connected to either POV's as much as I would have liked.

Still a solid read that I think will appeal to all thriller lovers like me!

ARC provided by NetGalley

I was lucky enough to receive this book early in exchange for an honest review.

WHAT A STORY!

I was hooked from the very start and couldn't stop reading it.

We read the story from the sides of two sisters: Laura and Rosie. They experienced something as teenagers in their hometown and now Laura has moved back to her hometown and in with her sister Rosie and her husband Joe, who also grew up with them. The book begins with Laura going on a date with a man she met online.

We learn a little bit more throughout the book and that is one reason I was so hooked. Things started clicking a little at a time (and not too much information that it was overload). This was my first Wendy Walker book so im going to immediately go and read more of her books- thrilling and entertaining!

The Night Before # NetGalley #
WendyWalker

This was my first book to read by Wendy Walker and I was excited to do so after all the early hype given it. For me, it did not draw me in immediately and I found myself hoping it would peak up my interest. It took a good 25 pages to reel me in and make me really get into the book. It is definitely a good psychological thriller nd I will definitely recommend it to my friends and family. It will keep you guessing until the end, but Miss Walker ties up all the loose ends nicely. For me a solid 4 stars.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced read copy of this book for an honest review.

This was a solid mystery/thriller! I've never read any of Wendy Walker's works, but after reading this one, I definitely want to check out more from her.

I really enjoyed the dual POV throughout. I think having one POV taking place in the present and one the night before (hence the title) really added to the suspense and build up of the plot. The pacing was also well done and kept my attention throughout. There were definitely some plot twists that I wasn't expecting, which always enhances my enjoyment of a thriller novel.

I did kiiiiiiiiind of guess who the "actual villain" was, but I had no idea of what the actual circumstances would be, so I didn't really feel all that spoiled.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

What happened here? With some suspense, we read about Laura. She's going on a date with Johnathan. Now, while we might worry that it's a set up because it's internet dating, maybe Laura is more of a risk than Johnathan? While pondering that, Laura vanishes. Rosie, her sister, and Rosie's husband want answers. Told from both Laura and Rosie's POV, this book was quite fascinating. It does manage some twisting, and I like that.

My copy came from Net Galley. (Thank you!) My review is my own, left because I can do that.

I was pulled into The Night Before from the first chapter and I devoured it from beginning to end. This is one of those twisty psychological thrillers that keeps you guessing until the very end and I enjoyed the journey. I very much recommend this to all fans of the genre. I know it will be a hit come Spring 2019.

The Night Before is a good story told from the perspectives of two sisters, Laura and Rosie. Rosie is happily married to Joe, and they have a young son. Laura has recently moved back to Connecticut and is staying with her sister and family, after a difficult time and painful breakup in New York. She begins on-line dating, and the drama begins. Wendy Walker is fast becoming one of my favorites! I thought Emma In The Night was such a good book and this new book is terrific as well.
Everybody has a story!

Suspense, suspense, suspense. It has been a while since I have been so on edge while reading but my heart was in my throat through the entire book. The main character, Laura, suffers a traumatic experience in a relationship as a teenager that leads to distrust and emotional stress throughout her adult life. After another failed relationship, Laura moves out of NYC back to her childhood hometown where her sister and her husband live. Laura thinks she is ready to move on with her life but her past is not ready to let her. What unfolds is a suspenseful race to see who else cannot let go of Laura's past.

This tale from Wendy Walker is full of twists and turns that I didn't see coming. There are two sisters, Rosie and Laura, that are very different. As you might expect, one sister, Rosie, is living the typical good life – a husband and an adorable child. The other sister, Laura, is struggling to forge her place in the world and seems to be followed by bad luck with relationships.

Laura has recently left her job in New York and moved back home to live with Rosie. She’s enjoying time with her nephew and reuniting with childhood friends. When Laura goes on a blind date and doesn’t come home, Rosie needs to find her, but is afraid of what she’ll discover.

This tale has dual timelines that were perfectly paced, we are following Rosie on the search for Laura after the date and this is contrasted with Laura going on the date. I felt like I couldn’t wait to get to the resolution of the date, but then there was an unexpected twist! The tension builds up and ultimately wraps up very cleverly in the end.

I really enjoyed the author's first book "All is Not Forgotten" so I was excited to get an early copy of this one. I missed her book “Emma in the Night” so someday I’ll get to that one as well.

*Goodreads review will be updated close to publication date

Wow. Great original premise, different enough from the other thrillers I read to keep me interested and flying through this book. Great twist at the end, made sense looking back but was not telegraphed too much going in.

Wow, wow, wow, what a wild ride this book is. Amazing read with so many twists!

Laura moves in with her sister (Rosie) and brother-in-law (Joe) after a bad break-up. After a while she decides she is ready to try dating again. She meets an older man through an online dating site. Because of her past (childhood) and her recent break-up, she has this strong and odd feeling about him. She decides to go ahead and go out on the date anyway, only to disappear. Her sister, brother-in-law and life long friend, Gabe are frantic and desperate to find her. Or is it too late?

This book is an edge-of-your seat thriller that will keep you guessing till the very end.

Even as a Laura who leans towards overthinking myself, I kind of found this overthinking Laura to be extremely tedious. I don’t mind a narrator who spends a lot of time in introspection if she has some great epiphanies along the way. Laura just felt like she spent the whole time, until the last couple pages, going round and round in circles.

There’s a couple attempts at misdirection but I think they were easy to spot early on, especially if you’ve read enough thrillers.

There is a surprise or two that I didn’t see coming but they didn’t land with much impact because they come from parts of the past that aren’t very fleshed out.

Twelve hours earlier, she was...

Hopeful.

Excited.

Safe.

Now she's gone.

I’m so glad I went into this book sort of blinded. Usually, I like to read the blurb and decide if I should read it or not. With this book, I noticed the author and thought I couldn’t go wrong since I enjoyed her other books. And reading those lines above…the suspense alone made me want to read this one! I especially loved the cover of this one and that is what ultimately drew me to this one.

This psychological thriller made my head spin at times! But that’s a good thing. This story is told in several timelines with alternating points of view between Laura, her sister Rosie, and therapist.

I felt like the story got a slow start, but really intensified by the half way mark. I found it to be entertaining, wondering what twist the author was going to throw my way next. I enjoyed the excitement of not knowing what was going to happen next or where the story was going. I did figure out a couple of the twists, but then Walker would throw me a curveball and I was back to guessing again.

This one is set to release in May so make sure you add it to your TBR list! You won’t want to miss this one!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story and how it was presented. It wasn’t a huge mystery but there were parts that kept me guessing. It would still benefit from a good proofread and edit, but nothing major.

Wow! This quick read is a taute thriller! Well developed characters and and a tight storyline that pushes the reader forward.

Thank you Net Galley for an early copy for an honest review.
I enjoyed this book so much , I was tempted to peek at the end to see if I was right. I settled for reading it all night. GREAT READ.

Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Night Before.

I have a love/hate relationship with Ms. Walker; I look forward to her books, hoping she will surprise me (in a good way) but I'm always left wanting (in a bad way).

The Night Before falls in this category.

Laura is a troubled young woman with bad luck in choosing men who goes on a blind date after a bad breakup.

At the same time, she is receiving threatening notes and wonders if her past is catching up to her.

In the morning, Rosie, Laura's older sister, realizes Laura never came home from her date. As she, her husband, and BFF set out to find Laura before its too late, Rosie worries that Laura may do something terrible again.

First, the suspense is seriously lacking. Not once did I wonder who the evil note dropper may be; there is a serious shortage of suspects.

Second, the blind date is torturously slow and meandering. I know what the author is trying to do; spook us and throw a red herring (or two).

Who is this dude? Why all the questions about Laura's past? Does he know her real identity?

As Laura and this dude banter, the narrative skips to the present and past as readers see how Rosie retraces Laura's steps the night before.

Third, there is a lot of repetition, not surprisingly when there is very little action or urgency in a plot.

How many times does Laura have to mention her 'fists for hands' and that she makes 'mountains out of molehills' and is looking for a man to 'look up to' like a little girl who is looking up at her daddy. Super Freudian gross, by the way.

Also, Laura keeps saying she has a 'bad feeling' about this blind date and yet she stays with this stranger. She doesn't leave!

Fourth, the plot is just boring. Boring characters I didn't care or sympathize with at all.

Fifth, everyone has been pulled out of Central Casting; Laura is the unruly younger child and an unreliable narrator. She makes poor choices because of her 'bad childhood" or so that's implied and is always looking for a man (daddy substitute).

Rosie is the good girl; she married a childhood friend and they have a beautiful son and cozy home. She is nearly convinced Laura is up to no good when she fails to return home after her date.

There is a shocking (not shocking) family secret that explains the daddy issues Laura has never resolved (but most of us never do).

The bad guy is an eye-roller. It took a lot for me to suspend disbelief to believe in this one but it really didn't matter because I didn't care about the story.

The writing is mediocre, poorer than I expected for the author and that might be due to the shifting timelines of past, present and childhood flashbacks.

The very brief excerpts of Laura with her shrink reads as just filler, useless data to pad an already flimsy story.

What I do take offense is using childhood abuse as a plot device and the shrink trying to explain away the horrible actions of this individual.

The trite explanation behind the perp's motivations offered by the shrink at the end, meant to tie everything up into a neat little bow, is so silly that you almost believe it, but that differs on each reader, depending on how calibrated your bullshit meter and suspension of disbelief is.

I'm a New Yorker so my meter is pretty on point.

Abuse is real and terrible, in any shape or form, whether you are an adult or child or animal, male or female but it does not alleviate responsibility, and just because someone was abused, does not make them abusive, insane or mentally ill.

This was my third book by Ms. Walker; looks like its going to be my last as well.

Keep your bedroom light on

This is the first book by Wendy Walker that I have read. I was blown away by the many twists and turns of a masterful plot. Laura has returned home from the big city to the place where she grew up and from which she fled may years earlier after someone was killed and for a while she was suspected of killing him. After being apparently dumped by her latest lover, she returns home to rebuild a life. While she has been burned by her previous dating experiences, she decides to try connecting with someone else. She checks out a bunch of men on a dating app and picks one. She borrows her sister's car and goes off one night to meet this new person.
The following day she has not returned. So her sister, her brother-in-law and and old school friend set out to find her. A byzanthine search ensues. To say any more would reveal spoilers. We are left guessing as numerous red herrings are scattered along the path. When we find out what has really happened to Laura, it comes as a shocker. I highly recommend this suspense-filled thriller.

I reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley

Wendy Walker is an accomplished author with a reputation for keeping her readers attention long past bedtime and everyone of them say they love her books. That says a lot about the author AND what to expect from this book.
In this day of online matchmakers and internet dates, what if you agreed to go out with someone that is not exactly sane? What if it's you who is the wrong person?
Laura has had some bad experience in her dating history. Her last date was actually murdered. She is seeing a therapist who recommends she start dating again. Laura lives with her sister, Wendy. Wendy worries about her sister but agrees she needs to start dating again. Well, she agrees until Laura does not come home from her first date....
An original twist on a not so original theme will add you to the list of Wendy Walker dedicated readers.