Catherine specializes in geriatric care At 24, she is about to move from the home she has shared with her mother Ruth to accept a new position. When Ruth, 42, begins to exhibit signs of early dementia, Catherine’s plans change. However, not all of Ruth’s behavior can be attributed to her condition. The story is told in the alternating points of view of the two women.

I found the beginning of this book very hard to read because I find discussions of dementia and its symptoms very painful. However, the book shifted direction after a while when discussing Ruth’s childhood and adolescence, and then shifted again into a thriller, as Catherine dug into Ruth’s secrets. The book did a good job of bouncing the reader’s sympathies back and forth, and there was a believable twist at the end. Aside from the beginning, which I did not find enjoyable at all, I thought that this was well written, with an interesting plot. I liked this book better than the books that this author writes with Greer Hendricks.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. I've read three books by Sarah Pekkanen and her co-author Greer, but never a standalone. This was an interesting premise.

“Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.”

HOLY. CRAP. WHAT A RIDE.
Gone Tonight, written by Sarah Pekkanen, is probably one of my favorite books I’ve read this year and one of my favorite thrillers that I’ve ever read. This book was such an addicting page-turner with a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter where I simple could not put it down until I found out what happened next. The characters were so easy to get drawn into because they were so unreliable that you had no idea who to trust or not, and the suspense throughout the story line is what really draws you deeper into the story and keeps you on the edge of your seat. There are also so many shocking reveals that you never see coming and keep you guessing, and there’s so many major plot twists especially at the end. But there’s nothing that compares to the last 100 pages or so where all the major secrets get revealed and the insane thrill ride ends with a crazy conclusion. Plus THE EPILOGUE!!!

Overall, I definitely loved this book more than I thought I was going to and this was without a doubt an easy 5 star read for me! I can’t wait to read more of Sarah Pekkanen’s books in the future.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sarah Pekkanen for my advanced copy of Gone Tonight!

Link to my Goodreads review is below! 👇🏼:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5409381959

Summary: Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother's past or background. But when Ruth's desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth's carefully-constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: Thank you so much @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advanced copy of Gone Tonight! This one released earlier this month but I’m grossly behind on my ARCs 😂. This was probably my favorite by this author yet! I really enjoyed this one it was wild and kept you guessing. I loved the twists and turns this one took, it was a totally unique read. Definitely more action packed then your usual thriller! Overall a fun and suspenseful read with a mother daughter duo who are such a trip to read. I did feel like there were some parts of the plot that weren’t explored enough by the end of the book. But it was still a great read!

I had a lot of issues with this. The pacing was off - the beginning was incredibly slow, the mystery wasn't mysterious, and a lot of it was unbelievable; it took me out of the story.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 15% - I loved sarah’s books with greer so I was super excited to read this one!! I thought I could get past the concept, but unfortunately it was too much of the story for me to personally not get triggered about. coming from a family with alzheimer’s and dementia, my worst fear was coming true in this book and I couldn’t handle it. I absolutely loved the writing & thriller aspects and wished I could have pushed through. focus on prioritizing your mental health though folks!!!!

A wonderful, suspenseful and full of twists novel! Sarah truly knows how to keep your interested and turning the pages.

A mother and daughter duo who’ve been on their own since the mother ran away 24 years ago. The question is why did she run? Catherine is 24 and just graduated college, headed to a new job as a nurse around the area where her mother is originally from. There’s just one small problem, she doesn’t know that. I’m fact, she has no clue that her mother ran away. Facing her mothers new diagnoses of Alzheimer’s, Catherine is worried. Her mother is worried even more because of what her daughter could discover or that her daughter could be discovered.

Very well written and a good deal of twists are found in this newest release from Sarah. It begs the question, what would you do to keep your only child safe? What lengths would you go to to protect her? I really enjoyed this read and I’m giving it four stars!

"Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. All her life it's been the two of them against the world." How far would YOU go to protect the person you love most? Catherine and Ruth think she know each other better than anyone. But when Ruth is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's, Catherine can't bear to leave and begin the career she was poised to start. But something is...off. Catherine is not going to stop until she finds out what her mother has been hiding.
Ruth has been running from something for a long time. Now that her past is catching up to her, Ruth wants to make one last escape with her daughter. She's desperate to keep her secrets. This novel by Sarah Pekkanen was a smashing success! She carries two dynamic POV's and the mystery kept me glued to the pages. I loved the short chapters and emotional, nail biting endings.
4.5 stars thanks to Sarah, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this thrilling suspenseful story!

Woof what a ride.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC. I flew through this book. It was twisty and wove together some wild family dynamics. Really enjoyed! 4 stars.

I loved this one! Lots of action, lots of suspense and it is told in alternating viewpoints which worked really well. Catherine is the 24 year old daughter of Ruth and this mother/daughter duo has always had an “us against the world” mentality. Catherine has trusted everything her mom has ever told her but it seems like Ruth has been hiding some really big secrets and telling lies to keep Catherine under her roof. Ruth’s carefully crafted world is now unraveling, their relationship is on shaky ground and the two women are in danger. You will not be able to put this one down. I just reviewed Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen. #NetGalley

This is a story about a mother and daughter relationship. I was excited to be approved for this title, unfortunately it wasn't a book I enjoyed reading. I've read books with this author and Greer Hendricks, and they have been page turners. I wouldn't recommend this title.

This was fast paced and entertaining! The twists and turns kept me on my toes and I enjoyed reading.

What an absolute joy of a thriller. This one was simply incredible, it's twisty and a slow burn but totally keeps you on your toes, anxious to find out what was going to happen next. This is definitely going to be one of my top thrillers of the year.

There was so much depth to this story, a wild relationship between a mother and daughter with their twisted tales of deception, lies, secrets and the close knit bond. The whole plot felt original, refreshing and mind blowing all in one. I loved the past and present point of views, giving us insight to the relationships and how things unfolded.

Overall - HIGHLY recommend. Definitely check it out.

I enjoyed this suspenseful drama from Sarah Pekkanen about a unique mother/daughter relationship.

Ruth Sterling was a teen mom who raised her daughter Catherine all alone. Her only goal in life has been to keep her daughter safe, and she is willing to do ANYTHING to make sure Catherine stays safe. When Catherine learns that her mother has been keeping some secrets, it leads her on a journey to find out the truth, not knowing the danger that lies ahead.

I listened to this on audiobook, and it was a super fast listen! I was surprised by how quickly I finished and how I stay engaged with the story from start to finish. The narrator is Kate Mara, and I thought the narration was fine but her tone is fairly monotone and not super engaging. But I thought it worked with the tone of the story and was not bothered by it.

This book is a great option if you want to read something entertaining and easy but also engaging and suspenseful!

All of Catherine life it’s just been her and her mother against the world. But Catherine is finally free to spread her wings. Years of watching her hard working mother has helped her to want to do the same, but Ruth doesn’t want that. But keeping Catherine by Ruth’s side starts to crack the very foundation of who her mother truly is.

Deception and lies.. do you think you really know who your mother is?! If you think about it, everyone hides something. And at the core of this book is that and the mother/daughter relationship we all think is perfect.

This book was a wild thriller that I didn’t want to put down. It had that build up that I love in a good book. I love stories that are set on secrets because then it shows a true human nature. Also the survival of independence comes to play. Like you love your mother but you want to be your own person.

This book is definitely like other have mentioned, addictive! So if you’re a thriller lover who doesn’t like predictable climaxes, this book is for you because I didn’t predict anything that was coming.

Also Sarah Pekkanen is for sure an auto buy author!!

Told in two alternating points of view, secrets and lies infiltrate this mother and daughter story. This book reminds me of the quintessential thriller with its underlying thread of darkness, and then the danger at every turn. The stress! I probably wouldn't remember it long term, but was entertained while reading it.
~Thank you to NetGalley and Publisher

Incredibly engaging story and very hard to put down! I thought I knew what was happening, but there were some twists that I did not see coming. There were some "coincidences" that were a bit of a stretch, and the final scene was not very believable, but overall a great summer read!

This mother daughter duo had me shooketh. Ruth and her daughter Catherine are both adults now, but have been through some traumas as they spend their life on the run. Ruth has done everything g she can to protect Catherine from evil and secrets from her past, but Catherine has started digging up who Ruth really is, causing chaos within their relationship.

I listened to this book thanks to Macmillan audio and I was hooked from start to finish. I was on the edge of my seat and felt anxious throughout the story. I wanted to find out the secrets Ruth had, and the author did a great job pulling together the past and present storylines to create mystery and suspense. I loved the dual POV also, and I felt I connected to both mother and daughter. My one complaint about the audio is that the narrator didn’t change her voice between Ruth and Catherine’s chapters, so I had to make sure I knew who’s POV I was reading.

Highly recommend for a bingeable read!

This started out really strong and the mother daughter dynamic was interesting and the relationship believable. The flashbacks the mother writes in a notebook to her daughter capture a young live destined for a fall. As the story continues, it loses its edge and becomes something else. I would have been more satisfied with a different trajectory. That is, still focusing on the mother daughter relationship absent other influences.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

This story is told in first person alternating points of view from Catherine and her mother Ruth in three clearly labeled acts. The relationship between this mother/daughter duo is central to the story. Catherine has graduated from college and has a clear career path with her sites on finally having a life full of her own decisions until Ruth tells her that she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and will need her help, once again impeding her quest for independence.

I had some serious issues with Ruth’s view of her daughter throughout the book. She clearly believed that her daughter was clever and capable, yet she continuously underestimated Catherine while believing for some reason that she had complete control over her adult daughter’s decisions. I found Ruth’s backstory to be interesting enough to keep reading, but her attitude towards Catherine to be frustrating. Ruth’s decisions during the story from being a teenager to the mother of an adult were wildly erratic, outright oppressive and sometimes non-sensical. I couldn’t help thinking why don’t you just tell the truth.

For the most part, I found Catherine to be brave and full of curiosity. Going off on her own to investigate her mother’s past to figure out what was driving Ruth to make these decisions. If anything, I’m surprised she waited so long to show this initiative. I do wish that there had been more exploration of a possible darker side to Catherine. In the end, some of her decisions were clearly influenced by Ruth’s bad choices.

Recommended for the complicated mother/daughter dynamic.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.