THE NIGHT BEFORE is a thriller about Laura, a woman with a troubled past who moves back in with her sister, Rosie, and her family after a bad breakup. She decided to try online dating, and surprises herself when she agrees to go out with a man she chatted with on the site. Laura goes missing after the blind date. Rosie and their mutual friend, Gabe, decide to investigate the matter on their own.

I like Wendy Walker, and have read her before, so I was very excited to get this one approved. However, what starts as a strong suspense story that builds tension fizzled out for me before the ending. I don't know if it felt like the story went on too long, but I wasn't interested in the surprises towards the end and found myself almost skimming the pages to make it to the end. THE NIGHT BEFORE is a decent read, and seems to have worked for most people, but for some reason it just didn't completely work for me. I will still look forward to the next Wendy Walker book.

Thanks to Wendy Walker, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given the chance to read this book and give it an honest review. Thank You NetGalley for this opportunity.

This book kept me interested right from the start. I had a really hard time putting it down when I was supposed to be going to sleep, and finished it as soon as possible the following day. It’s full of suspense and intrigue, and I absolutely love it!!!

Wow, talk about a page turner?? I could not put this book down!! 4.5 twisty stars!
This is my third book by this talented author and my favorite so far!

Laura goes out on a date, excited and hopeful and then never returns....... “Twelve hours earlier, she was...Hopeful. Excited. Safe. Now she's gone.” Laura was a complicated character and I loved the psychological aspects about her past..

This book was quite suspenseful and had me glued to the pages, very fast paced and well written! I highly recommend to all fans of psychological thrillers and suspense! I cannot wait to see what this author comes up with next! #fan

A huge thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity of an advanced readers copy!

Loved the good pace, and twists - oh my! This story is narrated by two sisters where you learn their thoughts about what's happening. Once you know the ending, many pieces fall into place at the same time the characters figure it out and it’s nicely done. I love how not much is given away by the book’s write-up. Once you start reading, you think hmm... and the pages begin to turn quickly. Solid read!

This is one of the better mysteries that I've read in a long time. It's the story of 2 sister one of which is very damaged emotionally, a brother-in-law and a best friend. They grew up together and have been together since childhood. Very interesting premise. Held my interest all the way through. Definitely a must read for all mystery lovers.

This book was ok... good for a plane ride but really, nothing memorable. Sorry but I have read a lot of books like this and nothing special... I wanted to really enjoy it but sorry..

A chilling thriller full of unexpected plot twists and turns readers won't see coming, this is a strong contender for spring best seller lists . I couldn't put it down until I'd figured it out, and that didn't happen until the last Page was turned . Strongly recommend!

I am so impressed with Wendy Walker yet again! I really enjoy the twists and turns she takes as she builds the story. You are going to be guessing pieces through to the end.
Highly recommend!

Do not start this book unless you have the time to devote to devouring it! And devouring it, was exactly what I did. I was hooked from the very beginning of the first chapter. I voraciously kept reading, delaying other responsibilities “calling my name,” vis a vis, life at hand! I do not want this review to contain any spoilers nor will I write about the plot, as one can glean a synopsis from the book flap or a review online. Wendy Walker is an author now on my radar. Her characters are well developed. The format is interesting and she never lost me. The plot is intriguing and mysterious.
Thank you Nethalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this terrific novel.

Pretty good book. There were enough twists to keep me guessing. But it felt a bit padded. The back and forth between voices and time frames didn’t really add anything.

Wow! What a fast paced novel!
"This is why no one loves you. You are damaged and broken and no one ever will.." This is what Laura believes and has thought since she was a young girl. Always angry, always ready for a fight, and not understanding why she felt this way. She always chose the "wrong" people to love, because she felt she was not "worthy" of having anyone who would adore her.
BUT... there is a reason for these feelings.
This book had me turning the pages at all hours of the day and night to see how it would end and it is just amazing!
It's a psychological thriller, mystery, and family story all rolled in to one!

I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller from Wendy Walker. It was twisty and turny and there were definite some developments in the plot I didn't see coming. I couldn't stop turning the pages until I found out what happened to Laura. Every time I thought I knew the answer Walker would add in another red herring to throw me off the trail. Great read!

What a great, edge-of-your-seat, twisty thriller! I read this in almost one sitting because I couldn't put it down; I just had to find out what was going on!

After a bad break-up, Laura has moved in with her sister and brother-in-law, and she at last gathers her courage to try dating again. She ventures out on a date with an older man she meets through an online dating site. Her insecurities are strong, not just because of her recent break-up, but because of past traumas that she has been holding onto since childhood. She takes a chance and goes on the date anyway...and disappears. Knowing about her traumatic past, her sister Rosie and brother-in-law Joe, and childhood friend Gabe suspect the worst and try desperately to find her. Through all of this, the author leads the reader down one road and then another, always tantalizing us with details from the past as well as the present.

This novel was quite the page turner, and I was kept guessing throughout as to what was going to happen - my favorite kind of thriller. Well-written, highly readable and thoroughly enjoyable!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. A strong 4 stars

The Night Before by Wendy Walker is a book not to be missed! Laura and Rosie are sisters. Rosie is happily married to Joe, one of their childhood friends. and they have a young son, Laura has struggled most of her life with bad relationships. She has recently ended a relationship, quit a good job because of it, and moved in with Rosie and Joe. Laura decides to go on a date with a man she met online. When she doesn't return, Rosie is sick with worry. Told in alternating chapters from Rosie's viewpoint of the day after and Laura's viewpoint of the night before, details of their past and what happened to Laura are slowly revealed. I love when author's use this technique because it makes for a fast, unputdownable read. I couldn't stop because I had to read just one more chapter...over and over again. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. DO NOT pass this book by!!

First of all I’d like to clarify that a 3* review from me means that the book was a “middle of the road” read for me, not bad but not one that is memorable or that I would necessarily recommend to others.

This book definitely is a page turner and a quick read, in fact the fewer times that you have to put the book down the better -- keeps the tension tighter that way.

The novel is told from three points of view, Laura the night before and present time, Rosie the night before and the present and Laura in the past during sessions with her psychiatrist.

We know that Laura left town years ago because of an incident that happened when she was still a teenager which involved Laura being discovered at the site where her boyfriend was found dead. She doesn’t have clear memories of what happened that night, they were all drinking quite a bit, but she was found with incriminating evidence. She was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Laura has recently come back home to live with her older sister Rosie and her husband Joe and young son. Laura had recently had a bad breakup with someone that she felt deeply for. She was even more traumatized because the breakup was done through a text written to her from her boyfriend Kevin. I already started to question Laura and her state of mind because she apparently never reached out again to Kevin but just considered the text to be proof of his feelings for her and the end of their relationship. This is quite hard to believe, I think most people that had been deeply involved with someone wouldn’t just bolt after receiving a text. Wouldn’t she want to speak with him? At least e mail him and tell him her feelings?

The book opens with Laura getting ready to go on a blind date with someone she met on a dating website. Laura isn’t necessarily a trusting person but there is something about the man’s profile and the fact that he called to speak with her that has her interested in him. She never returns that night or the next day.

I’m not going to reveal any more about the plot of this book as I don’t want to ruin anyone’s enjoyment. There are a lot of red herrings if you pay attention but there are so many twists that it’s hard to keep everyone straight. Just don’t trust anyone or what they might say!

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

Will post to social media and Amazon upon publication, thank you

“Time only moves in one direction.” A reminder that once damage is done, both internal and external, reparation Isn’t always possible. Is Laura fated to find love and is that ultimately what she deserves?...

This thriller was remarkably unpredictable. Fast moving, yet with background and character development that hooked me. I had no idea what was going to happen next!

OMG this story was sooooo good!! I loved the flashbacks, the back and forth between the sisters, the twist and turns.
Great beginning and even greater ending.
Highly recommend!!

This book was a wild series of twists, every time I thought I had it figured out it went in another direction! I found it compelling and fast-paced and clever. A great read for anyone who enjoys suspense.

Ingenious, enthralling, & brisk!

When Brenda and I got the opportunity to do an early group read for Wendy Walker’s new book with our Traveling Sisters we were absolutely thrilled. Wendy Walker has quite a few fans in our Traveling Sisters group including myself.

If I were to give you one piece of advice while reading this book would be to put all your other books aside so you can totally be immersed in this tale. This book needs to be read without any interruptions and quickly because the intensity level is all in the execution here and to even let it go for a few hours loses that appeal of needing to know what the heck is going on. Now I wouldn’t necessarily say that you actually need to do that but boy do I ever wish that life didn’t get in the way of this book!

THE NIGHT BEFORE by WENDY WALKER is an intense, thrilling, suspenseful and compulsive psychological thriller novel that was quite the entertaining and enjoyable read for me. I was actually quite stunned and very impressed in the end with how well a seemingly straightforward story turned into something that was so much more complex and felt nothing but new and original.

WENDY WALKER delivers an intriguing, clever and engaging read here with quite a few surprising twists and turns. The story is told in multiple timelines with alternating points of view between two sisters, Laura and Rosie and therapy sessions between Laura and her therapist. The intensity level of the story increases slowly as the story progresses and had me guessing and questioning almost everything that was happening in this book. I absolutely love that feeling of not knowing where a story is headed and when the reveal brings everything together in the end it is just so satisfying to me.

What really made this novel for me was Laura’s character and the ending. She was a complicated, relatable, believable and realistic character. I did have a suspicion early on about one of the reveals, but having guessed that did not take away any of the shocking reveals in the end. I was genuinely impressed with how emotionally attached I got to Laura’s character and the ending for me was absolutely beautiful and very touching.

Expected Publication Date: May 14th, 2019

Norma’s Stats:
Cover: I just noticed the cover for this book and it immediately grabbed my attention! My first thought was WOW what an absolutely gorgeous and striking cover, very eye-catching and an impactful design! What a GREAT cover!
Title: Intriguing, suspenseful, and a simple, but yet an impactful title which represented the story very well.
Writing/Prose: Well-written, mysterious, gripping, stirring and effective.
Plot: Complex, suspenseful, twisty, action-packed, compelling, fast-paced, held my attention and entertaining.
Ending: Shocking, pleasing, impressive, and I was completely satisfied.
Overall: Even though I lost a little of the momentum to the story with having to put it aside it definitely did not take away how appealing and brilliant this story was. I devoured every single word! Would highly recommend!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Wendy Walker and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read a free, electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for a review.

Besides the great characters, for me, this worked so well because of the pacing of the book. I was absolutely hooked until the end. It kept me guessing and interested and had believable dialogue. Loved the ending! :)