I looooooved this book. I was immediately hooked - I loved the short chapters and had no idea where this was going. I thought it was a super original and unique story. Highly recommend. 4.5-5 stars

Alternating povs, great twists & a crazy mother daughter relationship - this book had me hooked! I like that the story wasn’t dragged out too much or get slow in some chapters. It held my attention throughout the story & kept me wanting more! Definitely a great thriller!

Gone Tonight grabbed me from the beginning. A woman on the run. A daughter trying to find out who she is. Which is stronger-nature or nurture?

This is a mother daughter psychological thriller-Catherine is an adult and ready to branch out on her own and leave her mother, but Ruth is not ready to give her up. Or is that what's happening? Who is not telling the truth, who is making things up? Kept me reading, not a bad story.
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I was conflicted about this story of a mother and daughter - I love the concept of unreliable narrators so I was all in at first. Struggling through poverty, a daughter is preparing to leave home and be an adult, finally. But can she when mom appears to be dealing with health issues? Who can we believe?

I have loved the previous books written by this author and her writing partner, and I did turn pages quickly in this one. I just had some issues with plot choices and character development.

Sometimes I feel like I want the author to just go there, to make a character nasty and irredeemable and vile, to not try and make us believe they are good people underneath. Sometimes people aren’t. Sometimes they’re just NOT good; that’s true in life as well. Or maybe I’m just a cynic:)

Regardless, it’s a fast read, a fine thriller, but ultimately, maybe a bit forgettable for me.

A pretty decent - if not thriller then - family drama. There were high stakes introduced from the very first, and the mistrust and the secrets helped hold the tension between mother and daughter throughout. The ending also left the reader a bit unsettled, and I actually really liked that. Well written and well executed. It definitely made me want to keep those pages turning!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book.

This one is hard to review, because I am still trying to decide if I really liked it or was just glad to FINALLY find out what was going on!! Told in alternate chapters by Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine, it starts out to be a simple story of a helicopter mom, but soon turns into something much different - and much deeper!

Catherine Sterling is twenty-four years old and knows nothing of her family except for her mother, Ruth, who says her own mother is dead (from Alzheimer's) and she has lost touch with the rest of the family because when she got pregnant as a teenager, her strict Catholic family kicked her out.. So it has always just been the two of them.

Now Catherine has completed her nursing degree and is getting ready to take a position at Johns Hopkins Hospital, but her mother is showing signs that something, something serious, may be wrong with her. Catherine has worked as a nurse's aide at a nursing home since high school, most recently in the Memory Care unit, so when her mother starts showing symptoms that would align with a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease, Catherine cannot ignore them. She takes her mother to a neurologist, who indicates the diagnosis may be there, but needs further testing to make sure. But her mother, citing their lack of adequate health insurance, balks at the tests. So Catherine is ready to forego the job in Baltimore and stay here with her Mom. But is she getting the whole story?

Some things her mother has told her don't add up, like the dates and "girl's nights" she occasionally has with Melanie, a co-worker. When Catherine mentions the problems her mother is having with her memory, Melanie says she hasn't seen anything at work like that. And when she mentions that when they go out, maybe Melanie could keep on eye on her mother, Melanie says she only wishes they would go out and that she has asked several times, but they have NEVER had a "girls night out".

The two women are on a collision course and one is keeping a deadly secret that just could end in tragedy - for them both.

This book will make you question everything you think you know about the people closest to you. It will have you rooting for a murder and a sociopath. It is so twisted in a way that you won't be able to look away. I loved it. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about a mother and her adult daughter and the secrets between them. It is a case of deception on both sides. Who is telling the truth? I was not sure where this was going but I was not expecting the turn that it took. I found moments of just wanting to read and neglect everything else because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. We have alternating points of view between Ruth, the mother, and Catherine, the daughter, who just wants to live her own life out from under her mom. It got very suspenseful toward the end but I felt that it wrapped up nicely and I was not left hanging. I have only read this author when she paired with Greer Hendricks but I think I will check out more of her books.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this advanced copy Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen.

I don’t know, this story was just okay for me. I really liked the flow of the story and the alternating POV. This was a page turner for me only because I really wanted to find out about Ruth’s past. As the story ends so does the excitement. I thought the ending, twists, etc were all predictable. The mother/daughter miscommunication is not my favorite, but I did enjoy the lengths Ruth went through for Catherine.

Overall I would recommend this to readers looking for a poolside fast paced popcorn thriller. I have a handful of her books on my bookshelf and will definitely check them out soon.

Ruth and her daughter Catherine have always shared a special bond. As Ruth gets older, she seems to be struggling with her memory. Catherine, her daughter was planning to move to a new job, but this change in Ruth’s memory has Catherine staying close to home and her mom. Suddenly, cracks in the story of her moms past start coming to light and Catherine is left wondering what is true and why some things may have been fabricated. Does she really know her mother?

Pekkanen is part of the writing duo that brought us the Golden couple and The Wife Between Us. I liked this one even more than those! Pekannen unveils new twists in a slow, yet deliberate and thrilling way. It’s a dual POV story, giving the reader insight into both Ruth and Catherine’s thoughts. I also enjoyed how Ruth retells her story In a journal for Catherine. The format was very well done. This book explores motherhood and the lengths one will go to in order to keep their children safe.

Pick this up for a slow burn thrill with unexpected plot twists.

I love a good mother/daughter story, and my gosh, did Sarah Pekkanen ever deliver with her latest, Gone Tonight! I binged the audiobook because the narrator, Kate Mara sucked me in immediately. I happily folded laundry, washed the floors, and organized a messy closet all afternoon. I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING!

WHAT I LOVED:

- Dual perspectives
- Past & present timelines
- Slow-burning mystery
- Highly character-driven
- Family-focused
- Complicated mother/daughter relationship
- Unique & captivating storyline
- Secrets and lies galore

My best advice is to go in completely blind, and enjoy the twists and turns as the story unfolds. There’s a lot of them—like right up to the very last chapter. Super impressive, and much appreciated. Gone Tonight is available now, and it gets 4.5/5 stars from me! Highly recommend!

I received an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed this riveting suspense story. Really kept me guessing with lots of twists and turns. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this book about what lengths a Mother will go to to protect her child. You could feel the fear in everything the Mother said and did. It was exhausting. The daughters developing mistrust of her Mother and the imminent danger from another dangerous person kept me turning the pages! Interesting twist in this story that I honestly didn’t expect.

There is dark, and then there is d a r k. And this book is the latter. As the plot moves along, the pace quickens, the twists grip you, and you find you’re holding your breath in the last act as you wonder how the ride will finish. It’s a book you won’t want to put down.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins for the arc.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Sarah Pekkanen for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Sarah Pekkanen’s collaborations with Greer Hendricks. I have read them all. So I was excited to read a book just by Pekkanen.

Gone Tonight is told from two alternating POVs. Catherine is a 24 year old nurse who specializes in geriatrics. She is about to leave home for a new adventure in Baltimore when she discovers her mother, Ruth, appears to be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Ruth has never told Catherine much about her past, so it shocks Catherine to learn that her grandmother also suffered from Alzheimer’s before passing away.

Ruth is a 42 year old waitress with a checkered past. She will do anything to protect her daughter. Her pov is told through present day and journal entries from her past.

The book started off slow and I would not have said it was a thriller at first. I did find the journal entries entertaining. It took awhile for the first twist to appear. After that, I found the book predictable and not as fast paced as I would have liked.

Ohhhh myyyyyyy! What a read! Plenty of twists and turns and an unexpected slight surprise ending. No loose ends! I won’t go into detail in fear of spoilers, but what a great read! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an arc copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been a fan of the duo of Pekkanen and Hendricks, so I was interested to good one by just one of the authors. A solid 4 stars for this multi-layered book. It reminded me of Shrek and the analogy of an onion… many many layers that slowly got peeled back. To avoid spoilers , I will leave it at that.
A great thriller, recommended for all fans of Pekkanen/Hendricks books.

The story is told in alternating chapters by Ruth and Catherine, mother and daughter, plus Ruth is keeping a journal shedding light on her past which she has kept from her daughter all these years. It's a very slow book with much repetition of basic information. Things got a little more interesting towards the end but I had suspected how things would progress. I didn't care much for either of the main characters but the chapters are short and it's a pretty quick read. I'll be joining some of you on outlier island as I'm giving this one 2.5 stars, rounded up.

TW: Possible Spoiler: Faked Alzheimer's, hints at possible mercy killings, sexual abuse

My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: August 1, 2023

This book was a definite page turner for me! The story was told in the alternating perspectives of Catherine and her mother, Ruth. As it unfolds, the reader gets a clearer picture of Ruth's motivation for doing the things she does. Catherine, on the other hand, is in the dark and continues to grow more frustrated and suspicious of her mother's behavior. I found this book to be fast paced with the suspense building as the story went on. The author did a great job of describing the various scenes and giving the reader a sense of what the characters were feeling in that particular moment.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for review.