This was a good mystery to enjoy by the pool. The dual narrators of mother and daughter are constantly at odds while we as the reader ate learning more and more about why Ruth (or Ava) and her daughter live a life moving often and devoid of other friends and families. When her daughter is 24, Ruth's carefully constructed world begins to unravel and the story has many twists and turns. As a mom, Ruth's unwavering dedication to keeping her daughter safe really resonated with me, especially when her daughter begins to push back as all children do. It is an exciting face paced book perfect for losing yourself in someone else's drama.

You REALLY can't go wrong with Sarah Pekkanen. Whether it's her early, sweet "relationship" books, or her wild and crazy thrillers with Greer Hendricks, she really doesn't miss. And Gone Tonight did not disappoint.

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mom, Ruth. But she truly has NO IDEA.

I really enjoyed the alternating viewpoints, and the journal entries that gradually gave us a peek into Ruth's backstory. Overall, this was a fun, fast read and I would absolutely recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book has duel POVs, journal style entries, and the premise of lots of mystery and intrigue.

Synopsis:
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.

Overall this one was good. I had a lot of hope for a good mystery going into this one but ultimately felt like I didn't get much of it. This is the type of book where each character has their own secrets and plot twists, but overall it wasn't anything surprising. It was quick read and I enjoyed it for the most part.

This book was absolutely unputdownable - and was everything I'd like to read in a thriller! I was deeply engrossed in figuring out all the secrets and interplay between Ruth and her daughter Catherine. The story constantly kept me guessing and intrigued with little breadcrumbs that the author slowly dropped along the narrative. Hands down, this was a great thriller! But what really pushed it over the edge for me was the unexpected emotional impact of the ending. (If you know, you know!) For me, a thriller that also makes me cry is a 5-star read for sure.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was a fast, solid thriller. The characters were flawed and conflicted and I liked the mother-daughter element to the story. I’ve read a couple by Sarah Pekkanen and her others with her writing partner and she always delivers an interesting twist that I can’t usually figure out.

Recommend!

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was quite good - I was on the edge of my seat a few times.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very enjoyable read. I wouldn’t say it was very thrilling, but it was a good mystery / family drama. I liked alternating between both the mother Ruth and the daughter Catherine’s point of views. I am very fond of this author’s writing.

How well do you know your mother? Imagine learning that everything you thought you knew was a complete fabrication. Even more shocking would be learning the reason why!

This book was hard to put down and its unique premise really pulls you in. You think it’s one thing and then it goes a whole different direction. It’s sad and shocking and completely riveting. It reminded me a bit of Pieces of Her, which I also loved, but not so much as to take away from its originality. Mother/daughter relationship complexity, dark secrets, lies and revelation await! Thriller fans will love it. ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley and StMartinsPress for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a wild ride. So many secrets and twists and turns. It was kind of slow for the first half but the second half was intense and a true page turner!! The story was very very similar to Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter.

Sarah Pekkanen has outdone herself with this new book!!!!!!! This book is an amazing read and I sped right through it. It is definitely a need to read for thriller fans.

It has always been just the two of them, Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine.
When the time comes for Catherine to leave home and begin a life on her own Ruth will do anything so that doesn't happen. Catherine begins to detect deception and begins delving into her Mom's past while Ruth tries desperately to keep her secrets hidden.
Told in the alternating points of view of mother and daughter this story will have you questioning everything as you enjoy a thrilling ride.
Kate Mara's narration is fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 ⭐️

Massive thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC copy! Out now!!

So I definitely did enjoy this read, but it wasn't a blow me out of the water read.
There were a few things that didn't quite sit right with me and seemed a little unrealistic in regard to the actions of the characters making it a little less than great for me personally.

This one is for sure a slow burn. However, I did appreciate the Dual POV and think that helped the story progress and keep my interest. I would've liked to see a little more character development for the male involved.

Without giving away anything, I'll just say that I didn't quite agree with how the mother decided to do things nor the daughter. The ending felt a bit rushed, but seeing everything come together was nice.

You should absolutely read the Epilogue. That was a great addition to the story and gave it the additional .5 star for me! I'd be interested to see where that leads.

As always, I recommend you read a book for yourself! It may work out better for you than me! :)

I have always loved to read books from Sarah Pekkanen and this was the first that I read on her own. Catherine and her mother Ruth have always been close and together. Catherine is ready to leave home and begin her own life and her mother will do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening. This book is full of secrets that I never see coming. I loved how fast paced the story was, I never felt like information was coming too slowly, which I often feel in other thrillers.

This is the first 5-star review I'm giving this year! I loved the story-line, wondering who was in the right or wrong, and how often my first intuition was incorrect. This is an author I will continue to read and follow for all of her future works.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC for my honest review.

Gone Tonight is an amazing story with unpredictable plot twists and surprises at every turn. It has forever just been Ruth and Catherine, but Catherine has taken a nursing position hundreds of miles away and will be relocating. Ruth doesn't want Catherine to leave which has Catherine digging into her suspicious past. Is Ruth trying to protect Catherine from some kind of evil, or is Ruth running because of something that she's done?

Gone Tonight had me up all night and holding my breath to find out how Ruth and Catherine would fare.

A word to the wise.. don't make the same mistake I did and start this book at 9 pm.. unless you want to stay up all night reading! I unfortunately had to sleep, having to force myself to stop. Reassuring myself that I could pick it back up the next day. I was in one of those reading slumps where nothing was grabbing my attention. Gone Tonight sure did! A mother-daughter domestic thriller will keep you guessing until the end. From the beginning, the reader knows things aren't at the same, but you aren't sure why. The story unfolds between the two points of view of mother and daughter. The closer the daughter gets to the truth, the more dangerous the situation becomes.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

This book was entertaining enough, but as far as thrillers go, it was just okay. There were definitely some interesting twists and turns along the way, but I did find the pace lagging a bit in spots and it took me way longer than expected to get through because it wasn’t really a book I was dying to keep picking up.

I enjoyed the mother-daughter story and the alternating perspectives, and I did feel like that worked well to keep the story moving. There were some things (details would be spoilers) though that each of them said about the other that we didn’t actually see in that other person’s narrative that didn’t really seem consistent and it seemed to do a lot more telling than showing.

Overall it was fine. I’d definitely read more from this author (I’ve loved the books she’s co-written with Greer Hendricks) but this one wasn’t a standout for me.

I just finished this book by Sarah Pekkanan. This is the first I've read of her as a solo author and it was enjoyable. It took a bit to get into it, but once in, I was in.

I would probably classify this as domestic thriller, similar to her others. It has a bit of a slow burn, with character history, some.back story, and a little twist to complete the story.

It begs the question: do we really know people as well as we think we do? Even our own family?

While not quite as gripping as some of her other books, I would recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ereader copy of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen in exchange for an honest review.

I came to this novel having read several of Pekkanen’s collabs with co-author Greer Hendricks but this was my first solo read. It won’t be the last, though! Tightly plotted and well paced, Gone Tonight follows single mother Ruth and 24 year-old daughter Catherine in alternating chapters as Ruth’s past catches up with her and Catherine, in the manner of daughters everywhere, toggles between love and loathing, and a desire to both cling and flee. Any more details will ruin it so I’ll just say this is a winner that you should go read right now. And the ending knocked my socks off. Four stars.

I LOVED this book. The twists had my jaw on the floor (well minus the final reveal, I guessed that one early on). I LOVED the dual timeline for Ruth/Ava. My only complaint is that the conflict between Ava/James needed more in the present, more dialogue more something, it just felt a little flat for me.

Relationships between mothers and daughters can be fraught with complications. This novel explores this complex dynamic well, while also adding in some suspenseful elements plus lots of deception and subterfuge.

The novel centers around waitress and single mother Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine. The women live near the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. They live from paycheck to paycheck and share a small apartment.

Catherine is twenty-four years old and works at a nursing home. She has been accepted for a position at Baltimore's infamous John Hopkins Hospital. Her mother Ruth will do anything to prevent Catherine's move. Anything...

Meanwhile, Catherine is suspicious of her mother's recent actions. She adores her, but feels that Ruth is hiding something. Catherine has never known much about Ruth's early life and Ruth intends it to stay that way. When Catherine really begins to investigate Ruth's past, events escalate into dangerous territory.

The title "Gone Tonight" does fit the book, but I suggest it should have been called "Her Father's Eyes". This is the first novel I've read by Sarah Pekkanen and now I'm eager to explore her backlist of titles.

This suspenseful novel is rife with secrets, distrust, deception, and betrayal. It was a psychological thriller with a unique slant on parenting and the mother-daughter relationship. "How far would you go to protect the person you love most in the world?"

4.5 stars rounded up