Member Reviews

What a twisty web of lies all in the name of mother/daughter love! I wasn’t immediately sucked into their stories. But as we learned more and more of their dual POVs and timelines, things got interesting! The story provides the reader with some family drama, some thrill, some murder mystery, and an all-around crazy experience.

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

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I really enjoyed this one! It reminded me of pieces of her by Karin slaughter but better. I didn’t even realize going in the author was Sarah pekkanen of the duo of Sarah and Greer (and I love their books!)

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Gone Tonight was a great read. Fast paced, kept me guessing.

Catherine has always been a good daughter and listened to her mother. But now that she is older she realizes that their relationship isn't normal and some things are not adding up. I actually was annoyed that her mother thought Catherine should continue to blindly follow her mothers rules. But as the truth was revealed it all made more sense. I especially loved the ending.

Side note- could be entertaining read for people living in assisted living.

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I really enjoyed this book. I liked the multiple timelines. Some things seemed a bit far fetched but otherwise this was a good book.

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Another smash hit from Sarah Pekkanen and one of my top 5 reads for the month of August. Make sure to catch Sarah on the Killer Author Club on October 10th -- links to watch at https://killerauthorclub.com/killer-episodes.

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Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is one wild ride. It is the story of Ruth and Catherine Sterling, mother and daughter, and the lengths Ruth would go to keep Catherine from harm. On both sides, there are numerous secrets that each doesn't know the other is keeping. The story is told in alternating chapters by Ruth and Catherine, giving the reader a good feel and background on each character. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

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📔Review 📔
Gone Tonight- Sarah Pekkanen
Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Catherine Sterling’s only constant in life has been her mother, Ruth. Frequently moving from place to place made it difficult to build any strong friendships, and she has never known any other relatives. Her mother has been her person, and she has been okay with that.

When Ruth begins to show signs of Alzheimer’s, Catherine begins to fear she will never learn her mothers past, and will be left entirely alone. As she digs into her mothers history, she finds herself with more questions than answers. Who is Ruth Sterling? Does she really know her mother at all?

This was an entertaining domestic thriller, albeit a slow burn. I enjoyed the sense of mystery surrounding Ruth, and appreciated the way Pekkanen unraveled information to the reader through journal entries and Catherine’s sleuthing. The dual POV was a nice touch and kept things fresh.

I did find this story to be more character driven, and it held a bit more mystery than thrills for me. I liked the character development and the relationship building between Ruth and Catherine, however, I think this made things take a slower turn. Although some “twists” were a little predictable, I did find the ending tied together smoothly.

This was an interesting read that focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter and the depths one may go to protect their child. 🖤✨

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this book. 🫶🏼

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Awesome book!! The story took off right away and didn’t slow down!! If you are looking for a book that will have you guessing back and forth then this is the book for you. The author spins a thrilling web of secrets between mother and daughter.

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Good entertaining read, but nothing that will stick with me--the details are already starting to fade! But it did keep my attention with the way it slowly doled out details of Ruth's past and Catherine slowly putting the pieces together.

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Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
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Thanks to NetGalley for sending an early copy
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In this story we follow the POV of Ruth and Catherine. Ruth had to leave her hometown and change her whole identity due to a situation she went through when she was young. She also got pregnant at 16 and had to raise her daughter, Catherine, all on her own. Now that Catherine is older, she find that her mom just not might be who she said she is.
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I was a bit disappointed with this story. The beginning was really slow for me. So much that I almost DNF’d it. It took me about 2 months to finish this book. It did not start to get interesting to me until 70% in and at this point I didn’t care much about the characters unfortunately. It had a great ending and definitely enjoyed the last 30%.

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Solid thriller but fairly predictable. It kept my interest and the flashbacks were well done. Overall, a nice read for fall.

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I've read every book written by Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, but this was my first time reading a book written by just one of the duo. While I was definitely able to garner some of the same vibes as a Pekkanen/Hendricks collab, it's obvious the two writers work better together. That's not to say the book isn't good. It's a pretty solid thriller. I understood early in the book what some of the big twists were, but there were others yet that I didn't see coming.

As a diabetic, I have mixed feelings about use of diabetes as a plot device, but I think I didn't mind it so much in this book. I think it was delivered pretty well. It reminded me, in a twisted way, of the movie "What Keeps You Alive," which I actually thought was pretty brilliant. But that's a different review for a different art work.

Overall, I enjoyed Gone Tonight, but found it to be a little too much at times and a little too predictable at others. Otherwise - pretty solid, and while there's certainly inspiration from other stories, it stood strong as its own.

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Pekkanen and Hendricks are one of my fave mystery duos of all time, so I was curious to see how Pekkanen would do solo. Although the story was entertaining to a certain degree, it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t as juicy as I know her work can be. I did not like the characters one bit, and that made it harder for me to keep going. I did finish the read, but saw all the twists coming and it didn’t leave too much to the imagination for me. Too bad, but hopefully better next time!

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I love a good domestic suspense that really makes you think. At the heart of this book, the author really makes the reader ponder how far one would go to protect the person whom they love. There is so much to enjoy - dual POV, lots of family secrets and a few good twists. I loved the addition of journal entries to contribue to the plot and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough with this one!

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When Ruth Sterling’s daughter, Caroline, decides she’s ready to move away from home and start fresh, Ruth will do anything to stop that from happening. Caroline thinks she knows her mother, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Ruth has spent decades keeping secrets from her daughter - she has no idea about her past or background. Ruth’s quest to keep her daughter by her side quickly unravels and both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.

I listened to this book and the audio was so engaging. While this is a bit of a suspense thriller, I would venture to say that it’s as much character driven as it is plot driven. It’s incredibly gripping and I found it to be quite emotional as we learned more about Ruth’s life and all the lies she has had to tell in order to keep up her facade. I really enjoyed the two points of views and how the author wrote about families dealing with illness and how it changes the family dynamic. I almost wish Ruth and Caroline had been narrated separately as I think it would have made the story that much more captivating on audio, but overall it was a fast-paced enjoyable read.

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Wow. These women need some better communication skills. Both of them seem to have wants and needs going unmet because of their unwillingness to listen to each other. On top of that, they both have deeply hidden secrets that are just dying to come to the surface. I found this fast paced and easy to read. Both women had well-written characters.

Anyone who enjoys thrillers can't go wrong with this one.

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Sarah Pekkanen's "Gone Tonight" is a masterclass in psychological suspense, a taut exploration of the intricate web of secrets woven between a mother and daughter. Pekkanen deftly constructs a narrative that peels back layers of deception with each turn of the page. The novel delves into the mother-daughter relationship with a surgeon's precision, dissecting the motivations, fears, and vulnerabilities of both characters. Ruth's desperation to keep her daughter by her side is palpable, and Catherine's longing for independence is equally heartfelt. It's a poignant portrayal of the universal struggle between holding on and letting go. The author excels in building tension, creating an atmosphere of unease that pervades the entire story. As the characters engage in a complex game of cat and mouse, readers are drawn into their world, constantly questioning their motives and loyalties. Pekkanen's writing is sharp and incisive, making every revelation feel like a punch to the gut.

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Sarah Pekkanen delivered everything on her own that you have come to expect from her writing duo. My favorite part of her books is the slow build. There are twists and trues, maybe you see them coming maybe you don't, but either way it an enjoyable read. Then you hit the last 255 of the book and you feel like you never saw a thing coming. I don't want to say too much at the risk of spoiling it, but for every twist I guessed there were 2 that I could have never imagined. This was an enjoyable book and I devoured it.

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Amazing! I couldn't put this book down because I was so hooked from the beginning to the end! The story was written so well and I couldn't wait to keep reading

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I seem to be reading a lot of books about liars lately. This was a very good one. The plot leads you one way just to turn you around going the other way. Ruth is the single mother of Catherine. Ruth has been having memory issues and is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Catherine has just graduated nursing school and has a job waiting in Baltimore. She doesn't want to leave her mother and doesn't know what to do. Then she starts questioning her mother's past! That's where the twist comes in. Lots of surprises await the reader. Great book!!

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