Thoroughly enjoyed this. Super twisty, lots of red herrings, and a great surprise ending. Would make a great book club choice!

With a title like "The Night Before" I had high expectations. Then I read the description and I was excited to read Walker's newest book. The early reviews are great.
The book is woven with three different time periods: Laura during the night before her disappearance, Rosie before and during, and a recording of Laura's therapy sessions several months before her disappearance.
I feel let down. The promise this book held of a good mystery/thriller was definitely not fulfilled.
I was bored. The characters were over-exaggerated stereotypes and they didn't have anything to set them apart. As the book continues, you learn some about them, but not enough to make them sympathetic. It read almost like a soap opera. Their actions seem random too, like you wouldn't do this in real life with a stranger let alone your sister.
Characters aside, the plot is weak drawn out far too long. You follow Rosie and Laura in their heads and it is so dramatic. I found myself skimming a lot of sections because it was rehashed four times before.
The book has two "big" reveals and they come completely out of left field. One of them is slightly foreshadowed, but completely unnecessary to the book aside from being a red herring. Literally, it didn't matter-at all. The second also seems random, not enough clues to push the reader to that type of behavior from the character.
The last 20% of the book is straight exposition from a "forensic psychologist", who breaks down all the other perspectives for the reader.
The mystery of Laura's disappearance is a good one, but one that is overdrawn and makes me feel cheated out of a good story. Jonathan Fielding is a wasted plot point that started out with promise and just fizzles as the book goes through the plot.
For this book to be recommend by me, there would need to be major rewrites to fix all the red herrings and wasted potential story building.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed. The twists and turns kept me guessing. I was intrigued, entertained and I’d love to read it all over again!

Laura had left New York behind to return to her home town. Her boyfriend, her job - everything was now in the past. Currently, Laura lives with her sister, Rosie, Rosie's husband, Joe, and their 2 y/o child, Mason.
Together, Laura and Rosie search an internet dating site that is considered safe and genuine. Laura grabs a date with handsome Jonathan Fields, a hedge fund manager. Laura now uses her middle name as a surname - Laura Heart: Maybe be something from the past? The following Thursday, Laura and Jonathan meet at one bar but go to another one. (Too crowded?)

The story flashes between Rosie and her timeline (the present) and Laura and her timeline during her date. This may seem a bit confusing but it all seems to work. Also, Laura's psychiatrist meetings are interspersed and not necessarily in order by date. The visits to him are, however, in the order of content..

At 9:30AM (the day after her date), Laura is still not home. Rosie in inconsolable. Joe still tells Rosie that maybe she did stay over night... but he is not really convinced.

At 8:00 PM (back to the night of the date) Laura finds little discrepancies between Jonathan and his profile. She WANTS to fall in love with someone who will love her back. Her track record is not too good on this. She talks herself into thinking these oddities are just "stuff". Jonathan has answers for Laura when she does question him, though. She ends up telling Jonathan some of her deepest feelings and her situations - he divulges some, as well.

Meanwhile (the day after the date) Rosie's frantic mood has Joe contacting Gabe (the 4 of them were childhood friends). Now the three (sans Laura, of course) find threatening notes to Laura hidden in coat pockets and on her laptop. Also, notes from one of Gabe's former dates. - "RUN!" "He is not who he says he is".

Eventually, Rosie gets the police involved but that does not stop Rosie and Gabe (Joe did a lot of Mason babysitting) striking out on their own looking to find Laura.

(Night of the date)Jonathan and Laura end up at his apartment and bare their souls (and clothes) having an interesting time.

Anything more would be considered a spoiler. This entire read is actually one twist after another. The suspense builds - and just when you think that everything "is what it is" another shocker comes along!!!

Well worth reading. I highly recommend!

Many Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a truly fantastic read!!!

Wendy Walker does not disappoint with her next suspense/thriller. Like her other books before this, she draws you into the story with likeable characters. Joe and Rosie, childhood sweethearts, grow up, get married and have a child. They live in the town they grew up in, and a childhood friend of theirs, Gabe, lives nearby with his wife, Melissa. Rosie's sister, Laura, who lives in the city and works on wall street, suffers a bad break up with the man she loves, and moves back to her hometown, welcomed to live with her sister, Joe, and her nephew. Sounds like Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, right? Uh, not-so-fast, Laura doesn't return home after a blind date with a man she meets on the internet....

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured The Night Before in just a couple of days. This story is told through two sisters perspectives for most of the book. Mainly going between present time and night before.

Great, well written thriller. It grabbed my attention from the beginning and kept me pretty interested until the end. I did not guess the ending. The author did a great job of keeping the suspense up and keeping the reader immersed in the book.

Definitely worth checking out.

If you love books that keep you guessing until the end, have lots of twists, & are hard to put down, then you will enjoy The Night Before. Told in alternating voice between two sisters, Rosie & Laura, it explores the events leading up to Laura’s disappearance (through Laura’s voice) and the evidence trail that is being followed (through Rosie’s voice). The incidence of domestic violence is revealed as part of both Laura & Gabe’s (childhood friend & neighbor) history as well as the aftermath of this abuse. Will Laura be able to find love after a series of failed relationships? Will she learn to love herself or be destined to keep repeating her past? How can Rosie, her husband Joe & Gabe help Laura to heal from her past? And what happened the night Laura disappeared? Thank you #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for the ARC for this suspense-filled novel, in exchange for my honest opinion. #The NightBefore will be hard to put down & make you question how well we know the people around us.

My heart was pounding out my chest this entire book! ALL THE STARS! A 10 star read! This book is going to be HOT when it’s released!
So many puzzle pieces and none of them fit! This is what a psychological thriller should be. Lies, deceit, murder, fast paced and crazy psycho! I loved Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker and she just blew it out of the psychological thriller genre with this one!

May 19, 2019. Mark your calendars for this one!
Thank you #NetGalley, the author and publisher for me free ARC in exchange for my honest review! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fun and fast read. I liked that it stayed suspenseful, and kept me guessing. I fully recommend reading this book if you're in the genre of thriller/suspense. The only thing i wish i could change is the ending. I'm not sure if it was rushed or I've read too many graphic books, but the ending seemed as though it could've been more exciting. Still great though.

This took me somewhere unexpected. This was a story about a young lady named Laura. In her past somethings happened that forced her to move away from her home, but is the reason the real one? This is a story told by the point of view of two different time frames, and wow what a ride. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this .

Wendy Walker has become one of my favorite authors so I was so, so thrilled to have the chance to read her next book early. All is Not Forgotten, her first book, absolutely blew me away. The phrase “psychological thriller” is thrown around a lot these days, but no one writes them as well as Wendy Walker, at least in my opinion.

The Night Before, her newest novel, is no exception. The book is told from two perspectives, two sisters, named Rosie and Laura. Rosie is the sister who has it all together, while Laura is struggling. She recently gave up her life and good job after a bad break up to move back to their hometown, and is staying with Rosie, and Rosie’s husband, Joe. She recently started dating again. One night, Laura goes on a date with a man she met on a dating app, and does not come home. Rosie immediately knows something is wrong. We slowly learn what happened on that date, at the same pace that we learn what happens as Rosie tries to figure out what really happened to Laura.

My description is purposefully vague because I don’t want to give anything away. I did not see the twists and turns coming, and the ending was a shock, yet made perfect sense. I really, really enjoyed this book and Wendy Walker continues to be one of my favorite, must-read and must-buy authors.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

In The Night Before, Laura is staying with her sister and starting to reenter the dating scene after a traumatic breakup, encouraged by her protective sister, brother-in-law, and childhood friend. Given difficult childhood events and her recent history with men, she is hoping for a normal evening out, but then when she does not come home, her sister sounds the alarm. When the police don't take Laura's disappearance seriously, the small band of childhood friends launches an investigation. This is a well-executed suspense novel with good character relationships, multiple twists, and a satisfying conclusion. Every time the reader starts to come up with a new explanation, the author doesn't allow that satisfaction to last too long before allowing the characters to arrive at the same possible conclusion, followed by some further complication that keeps the story going. Even when you know what happened, you still keep reading to see how it will all play out.

This is my first book by Wendy Walker, I have to say I'm quite pleased with the night before and her writing. I ended up finishing it in 2 sittings it was that good! It's one of those books that just pulls you in right away. There was always action and something happening throughout the book so there never was a portion that I thought was slow or boring. The story is told by 2 sisters Laura and Rosie, I thought the chapters alternating between the 2 of them, flowed together perfectly and consistently. I loved how throughout the book you just don't know what's the truth or what's not real or what character is reliable or which one is not. It was definitely a fun read as well as exciting, thrilling, suspenseful and mysterious.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The back and forth from the night before, to the present day, to the therapy sessions from months prior, were easily and seamlessly transitioned. I enjoyed being in Laura's head and discovering and empathized over just how broken she really was.

My only criticism is that I felt that the twist was a little bit underwhelming. Maybe I've just been reading too many psychological thrillers lately because as I was reading this I was coming up with different possible scenarios that were a bit more exciting and had more of a shock factor than what was actually in the story.

Overall, a really great and easy read. Wish it had an epilogue!

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to preview he this book. With three time-lines it was a little confusing. Laura is a "messed-up" woman with a troubling past. A "nice" twist at the end, but generally the story was rather weak. Somewhat recommended.

Laura, Rosie, Joe, and Gabe have been thick as thieves since early childhood. But there are some secrets not shared among friends. Laura was always bright but moved to her own beat. An outlier. She once was warned by a Catholic Nun “If you keep leaving the herd, the wolves will come.”

“Good thing I like wolves.”

Laura’s preparing for the date. Cherry lipstick, black dress, and heels should do the number. But she is hesitant. Afraid of going back to her old ways. Escaping a stormy relationship in NYC Laura finds herself living with her sister Rosie and husband Joe. Laura has not been back to Branston Connecticut for 10 years except for the obligatory family holidays. After all, its the place she swore she would never run back to. Especially after that night in the woods. Rosie helps her shed her old image with her pretty floral dress. The sisters could not be more different. Rosie is sensible and motherly while Laura has always been fighting her way out of trouble “born with fists for hands.” When Laura goes out on the blind date with Jonathan Fields or is it, Nate, Rosie could not have been happier for her to find the right guy. Until she did not show up the next morning. This is that tale which will ward you off the internet dating. Forever.

“You will pay”

The Night Before tells the story in alternating narratives between Laura’s first date and Rosie’s compulsion to find out what happened to her sister.
Alternating past to present slowly builds the tension reeling you in like a fish on a rod. And waiting for the gaff. Walker has cleverly crafted a twisty story with characters, with flaws and secrets which creep their way into the plot. And into an unforgettable ending.

The four main characters are built up front, allowing you to engage in each of their purpose in the story. In particular, Laura’s character with layers upon layers covering the hurt from many years ago. She is emotional, almost borderline, and we get a glimpse of the psychology of a woman so overwhelmingly insecure and yet intuitive. Gabe, the childhood friend has always been the “brains of the operation” and a protector. Joe has always been part of this family of friends and it was always going to be Rosie. And A sister that will go to all lengths to protect Laura whom she may not know as well as she thinks. One thing they all have in common is to protect Laura from herself.

One of the aspects of Walker’s writing style is her ability to create a fluid narrative that is easy to read yet complex in details. Alternating character narratives and timelines can be tricky and disproportionate. But Walker gets this right. This was also my experience with her previous novel Emma of the Night. The Night Before is creepy and suspenseful and will make you think twice about a “blind date.” And about friendship.

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Contemporary fiction psychological thriller about a woman that disappears after an online date. Her sister, brother-in-law, and childhood friend attempt to uncover clues as to what happened. The protagonist has a troubled past and is seeing a therapist. She has recently experienced a break-up and is trying to recover. She is the prototypical unreliable narrator, and we are privy to her inner thoughts.

I thought the plot was cleverly constructed, alternating a first-person account from the missing woman with her sister’s account of the search for her. It was filled with twists and turns, keeping the reader guessing. It reminded me a bit of <i>Gone Girl</i>, though I enjoyed this book a bit more. I found it a compelling page-turner with a satisfying resolution. Recommended to fans of psychological thrillers or mysteries with a suspense component.

This book moves at the speed of lightening. It grabs the reader from the start and the intensity does not let up. Laura is looking for love and turns to online dating, and finds a match in a fortyish year old man who describes himself as being in finance, recently divorced, and who drives an impressive BMW. Laura reaches out to Jonathan and quickly arranges a date. Laura and Jonathan meet, and not all of the things in Jonathan's online dating profile are what he projected in his online profile.The lies begin.....and start to pile on....and then Laura doesn't return home that evening from her date and her sister and brother-in-law begin to worry that Laura's past history of poor decisions is repeating. Will they be able to save her this time...will they be able to find her...what happened to Laura???
The reader is taken on a fast paced ride, with many twists and turns, and just when you think you have this figured out....the ending comes in to pack its final punch!

Laura has gone missing after a date with someone she met online. The chapters switch from past to present to help set the tone of the characters and the history involved. The people who care for Laura try to fit the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out what has happened to her. By far, this is the best thriller I have read this year. I have never read anything by the author, Wendy Walker, but I enjoyed the twist and turns of this book. Just when you think you have it figured out, Ms. Walker blows your mind. I was excited to receive an early copy of The Night Before from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hands-down, one of the most suspenseful, heart-racing, and stressful books I’ve read this year. The red herrings had me guessing after every chapter. Most of this book is set over the course of 24 hours, with a conversation between two adults. I found that the author provided just enough, to really keep you guessing. I am a huge fan of Wendy Walker and loved both her previous books. I didn’t see the ending coming!

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