Ruth and Catherine, mother and daughter. They've only had each other for all of Catherine's life and she'd like to think she knows her mother very well. Suddenly, her mother Ruth, because secretive and Catherine begins to realize, she doesn't know much about her mother's childhood. It's her push to search for answers that throws them into the situation that Catherine was trying to avoid the most.

Although I thought the plot was interesting and unique, I didn't love the characters. I found Catherine inconsistent. She wanted to be such a great mother but then we hear about abuse and her quick temper. Her inability to really plan anything out or look to the future seemed to make you really wonder how she'd pulled of hiding all these years. Her inability to trust her own daughter and her side-eyeing her constantly really made you wonder how close they really were.

There were a few points I found completely unbelievable but I rode with it to get to the interesting but a little disappointing conclusion. I did like it and find it entertaining but I did have to suspend disbelief to get to the end.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Having read and enjoyed all the previous works of duo Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks, I expected Sarah Pekkanen's Gone Tonight to be similar - let's just say I was expecting a lot.

Though it's a bit slow burn, it started off fantastic - it's got an interesting setup, dual POVs from mother and daughter, unreliable narrators, secrets and lies galore, twisty, little, unexpected turns, and shorter chapters, all of which make it easy to say just "one more" all night long.

While I liked both characters, I much preferred Ruth. (Catherine can be a bit whiny at times.) I loved trying to figure out if Ruth was telling the truth and watch her pull the wool over her daughter's eyes.

It was great, and I was fully into it, until I figured out the big reveal and where the story was going, then it was kinda like, meh. All the little twists thrown in along the way were much more exciting and I found myself sitting there in shock more than once, but something about where the story went left me a bit unsatisfied. I might be in minority here.

The book is well written and similar in style to the books Pekkanen has written with Hendricks. If you enjoyed any of those, you will surely like Gone Tonight.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Sarah Pekkanen, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and given voluntarily.

3 ½ stars rounded up to 4 stars

Recommended for fans of:
Psychological Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries, General Fiction, Women's Fiction, The Wife Between Us, The Golden Couple, You Are Not Alone, An Anonymous Girl

After graduating from nursing school, Catherine is ready to move away from home for a job in another state. Catherine changes her plans when she learns her mom, Ruth, has received a devastating diagnosis. When Catherine starts to suspect her mother is hiding something from her, she starts digging into her mother's past, not realizing that doing so could be putting both their lives at risk.

This was such a good read and definitely in the running for my top five so far this year. The description is fairly vague and I'd urge you to go in blind. It definitely goes into a fun and twisted direction. I did love the dynamics and relationship between Ruth and Catherine, and how it changed over the course of the book. The ending was fantastic and so satisfying, and I loved how everything was wrapped up. Highly recommend adding to the top of your list!

In Gone Tonight, Sarah Pekkanen has woven a taut psychological thriller with a fascinating study of mother-daughter co-dependency.
Ruth Sterling is a 42 year old single mother, who is a skilled waitress at a local diner, and who is also skilled at disappearing, as she notes, “We women do it all the time.”
Catherine, Ruth’s daughter, is a newly minted 24 year old nurse, working in Memory Care at a geriatric facility, but getting ready to move to Baltimore and a coveted position at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
It has always been just the two of them, with Ruth’s secrecy and longtime obsessive over-protectiveness beginning to chafe at Catherine. The push-pull of their personalities and relationship is fascinating to observe as they navigate their love/hate feelings, complicated by subterfuge and running away from events in the past.
The story is told from the alternating POVs of Ruth and Catherine, with the reader also informed of events in their mysterious past, revealed bit by bit as Ruth writes her memoir.
No spoilers here—the story builds with suspense around every corner and hits an exciting climax! The characters are well-drawn, especially Ruth, whose difficult childhood and troubles in high school defined her 24 years of raising Catherine. Ruth is complicated and, at times, my heart was with her as she valiantly tries to protect her daughter. Catherine is a conundrum—sweet and warm with her senior patients, but stubbornly fractious with her mother, revealing glimpses of a cold-hearted core.
I highly recommend this book to readers who look for mysteries with a slow build, layered revelations, and strong character development.
Sarah Pekkanen has added this compelling stand-alone thriller to her already excellent body of work!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Book Review
Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Tropes, Triggers and Thoughts
📚Family drama and psychological thriller
📚Ending leaves the reader questioning what really happened
📚Loose threads at the end give the reader the impression that the story isnt over yet
📚Sterotypical depiction of murderers and psychopaths - was this an intentional red herring? Or just expected character development? It felt a bit stale.
📚MCs are On the run which explains away a few inconsistencies and gaps in the storyline- I get it but…. Again a bit stale
📚 Suspend reality and belief - some plotlines were highly improbable and hard to accept at face value

Overall
I kept turning the pages. The red herrings worked. My questions and curiosity was piqued. I wanted to know if I was right. I was and wasnt.
A solid read- but a bit too formulaic for
My taste.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my eARC in return for an honest review. Opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! It was fast paced and kept me interested the whole time. I definitely recommend 😍

The bond between a mother and daughter is something special. This book is all about that --it's a tense, well written twisty tale. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth left home as a pregnant 16 year old and it's been her and her daughter Catherine against the world ever since. But with Catherine coming into adulthood and getting ready to spread her wings, and Ruth wanting to hold on to what they have, secrets each have been holding threaten to change everything.

This book was filled with suspense, twists and turns. From the beginning, I kept being surprised by the pieces of information that were slowly revealed. I flew through this book in a day because I could not put it down! This book was unique and filled with tension. I don’t want to give too much away but I loved it!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.

This book surprised me in the best way possible! I began reading it and just thought it would be more about the relationship between a helicopter parent and her daughter trying to get some freedom, but I was definitely wrong! The first twist dropped at the end of part one and I literally did a double take after reading it. I was hooked from that moment on! There was twist after twist with this one and I loved it.

I will say, this one was a little slow to get into, but that could have also been because I'm still coming out of a Fourth Wing book hangover. But after getting about a third of the way in, I couldn't put it down. I went back and forth on who to believe and who to think was 'in the right' with their actions, which is a true nod to Sarah Pekkanen's writing capabilities. This was my first novel of hers and it won't be my last.

The ending was great and it all wrapped up nicely. It didn't feel overdone or unrealistic, which a lot of thrillers end up that way. This whole book was just really well done.

I'm giving this one 4/5 stars!

This book was a twisty, page-turner form me and kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The story is told from two points of view - Ruth, a single mother, who is first presented as having early on-set Alzheimer's disease. The other point of view is from Ruth's daughter, Catherine. It has been just Ruth and Catherine, since Catherine was born. However, Catherine is ready to break away and aceept a job at John's Hopkins as a nurse and move away. As much as Ruth loves Catherine, she doesn't want her to move away. At first, it makes sense because of the Alzheimer's but as Catherine digs deeper, she finds out that her mother may not be the person she says she is. As Ruth reveals her secrets to the reader, I found myself questioning if her actions were justified, especially as we watch how it impacts Catherine.

As the story played out, the twists and turns keep coming and I had a hard time putting this one down.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

Big fan of author Sarah Pekkanen. Discovered her a few years ago and have enjoyed all of her books, This new book Gone Tonight is a thriller. Loved it!
I found the first part of the book to be a bit slow but the ending is exciting. I enjoyed the way the past diary entries tell the story and I liked that the chapters were told by the two main characters perspective.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own,

Thank you NetGalley the opportunity to read and give an honest review.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and Sarah Pekkanen for my ARC of Gone Tonight.

This story is filled with suspense! Told in alternating perspectives, the reader gets an inside view into the main characters and their thoughts.

Gone Tonight focuses on a daughter, Catherine, who would like to go off to school to focus in the care of the elderly. She is a bright girl with a promising future.

The reader also hears from Catherine’s mom, Ruth. Ruth has recently been exhibiting memory problems and Catherine is very concerned. However, things may not be as the seem. Catherine quickly begins to question everything. What is true and what is false?

It was fun having an inside view into what is really happening in the lives of this mother and daughter pair told through the three “Acts.”

Pekkanen writes in a way that keeps the reader interested in learning what is going to happen next. I found this to be an enjoyable book and would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book! I really enjoyed the premise of this book. I thought it was a solid read without any glaring flaws. The duo perspective between mother and daughter kept the reader in full control of the narrative. The book was a suspenseful and fun read. I did think, however, it was a bit predictable and played out exactly the way the reader would expect. The writing was solid and the characters were believable. It was just missing that edge that sets thrillers apart from REALLY GOOD thrillers. It’s definitely worth the read & the background to the mothers story was unique and engaging. I think it could have been expanded a bit, and perhaps if it were told either from 3rd person perspective or from just one of the character’s perspectives; it might have held more of a mystery longer.

Master storyteller Sarah Pekkanen (fav author) returns following The Ever After 2018 (solo) and The Golden Couple 2022 (co-author) with her BEST yet! GONE TONIGHT —a twisty, emotionally captivating suspense thriller—a powerful mother-daughter relationship, both poignant and terrifying of dark, buried secrets and a dangerous past that will have you glued to the pages until the satisfying conclusion.

I LOVED THIS BOOK! My top thrillers of 2023.

Meet the mother and daughter duo, Ruth and Catherine. They have always been close and never needed a lot of outsiders, happy with their relationship like best friends. Ruth has been on the run for a quarter of a century.

Three names. Twelve different jobs. Nine different apartments. What is she hiding? They moved around often and never stayed anywhere long enough to make real friends or have anyone get too close.

Ruth Sterling (42), mother, a single, quiet, hardworking waitress who would do anything for her daughter. She would give up food for her daughter, which has happened quite often. She sacrifices for her daughter in every way. Ruth has had a rough life. Her mom was a drunk, and her father was a handyman. Things were tough in high school. However, she is a fighter. Indestructible.

She was caught up in a dangerous situation in high school, and her ex-boyfriend is currently in prison. She left her parents and brother and has been on the run since. She was pregnant at the time and has been in survivor mode since. She is intelligent, proactive, and always looks over her shoulder. When things get too close, she runs with her daughter.

However, she has kept the reasons behind all this and her past from her daughter. She also maintains a journal collecting thoughts for her daughter—one day, she may not be around to explain. Her daughter thinks her father was a sperm daughter. He was not.

Now things have become more complicated, so Ruth is forced to be creative. She cannot have her daughter move anywhere close to where she plans to go- Baltimore. The only way to stop her is to pretend she has Alzheimer's to keep her close until this problem is resolved.

Catherine Sterling (24), the daughter, will soon be a nurse. She graduated cum laude and is about to start work at John Hopkins and move to Baltimore in two weeks. Her specialty is geriatrics, and she works part-time at a nursing home in the Memory Wing with patients with dementia, Alzheimer's, and TBI. Catherine is worried about her mom and very familiar with the path of destruction regarding Alzheimer's.

However, things are not what they seem, and now Catherine is conducting her secretive sleuthing into her mom's past. She suspects something is off with her mom. The more she digs, she questions if she knows her mom. Is everything about her a lie? Her mother is keeping secrets.

Catherine is also keeping secrets. Little does she know the danger she is putting them both in by digging where she shouldn't. In the meantime, the threat is getting closer, and Ruth must keep her daughter safe from the monster coming for them. REVENGE.

I loved the part where Ruth lived in a Target store while pregnant. Immediately, I thought of the Natalie Portman movie (I saw it years ago: "Where the Heart Is"). A pregnant 17-year-old teen was living in a Walmart after being dumped off by her boyfriend, has her baby, and becomes an overnight celebrity. Immediately upon the comparison, the author comments on the movie.

WHAT A BOOK! First, I have been an enormous fan of Sarah Pekkanen since her first book in 2010 and have read every book since. (see her book list below). She is a superb writer, writing with heart and soul. Her skills shine with her well-developed characters and twisty plots, whether contemporary, domestic, or thriller—My favorite author list.

GRIPPING, INTENSE, AND BINGE-WORTHY!

GONE TONIGHT hooked me from page one to the end. Brilliantly layered, the author's writing is beautiful, the journal entries heartfelt with a mother's genuine love, and the characters highly relatable—you are invested in them, plus heroines you’ll cheer for.

Razor sharp! A riveting cat-and-mouse game that becomes twisty, wild, and more suspenseful throughout the novel. I cannot recommend this one enough. Nature vs. nurture. Get it. You will love it!

AUDIOBOOK: I enjoyed reading and listening. The audiobook was TOPS! Kate Mara gave a first-rate performance for all voices, and I was hanging on her every word. I highly recommend the book & audio.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for a gifted ARC and ALC via Netgalley to share my review and thoughts.

Blog Review Posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Pub Date: Aug 1, 2023
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Absolutely loved this book. A teenager who gets tangled up with a violent man winds up on the run for 25 years with her daughter. As the daughter starts to question her mothers true identity the story of her past starts in unravel. So suspenseful and well done! I always love the author’s books and this one was especially creepy in the best possible way. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I enjoyed this one alot. Read it in 2 days. I would give it 4 out if 5 stars. I liked the characters development. I did find the ended little predictable but I still absolutely loved it

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

4 stars

This was a good book. It had an interesting plot and I think it explored the sometimes complicated relationships between mothers and daughters. It is also a good example of lack of communication between parents and their children. There were a lot of problems that would have been avoided if only Ruth had been honest with her daughter Catherine. Both women shared similar qualities when it came to survival. Although Catherine was able to go on with her life, Ruth still had trouble letting go.

I have enjoyed Pekkanen's previous co-authored books and I enjoyed this one as well.

GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen is a twisty and gripping suspense novel that kept me flipping the pages from beginning to end. Ruth Sterling and her twenty-four-year-old daughter, Catherine, have always been inseparable. It’s always been just the two of them, moving frequently, barely getting by financially and always keeping to themselves. Catherine is ready to move out on her own and on to a promising nursing career in Baltimore until Ruth begins showing classic signs of early-onset Alzheimer’s dementia, something Catherine is very familiar with given her current job in the memory unit of a senior care facility. How can Catherine leave now when her mother will need her the most? Ruth will do anything to keep Catherine with her. She is hiding deeply disturbing secrets from the past that no one can ever know about. But when Catherine makes a shocking discovery about her mother, things will never be the same. In trying to unveil Ruth’s past, little does Catherine know that she may be putting them both in grave danger. Told from the alternating points of view of Ruth and Catherine, the suspense builds to a fever pitch leading up to a dramatic ending. I enjoyed this unique story and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review and early copy.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a very highly recommended novel of suspense.

Catherine Sterling and her mother Ruth have always presented a united front against the world. She knows her mother has always worked hard to care for her. Now that Catherine has her nursing degree, she has accepted a job and is planning to move, but she has to put her plans on hold when Ruth begins to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, symptoms Catherine is familiar with since she currently works at a nursing home with an Alzheimer's unit.

However, Catherine makes a discovery which lead to doubts Ruth's diagnosis and perhaps everything her mother has told her about her life. At this point a cat and mouse game begins between the mother and daughter. Alternating chapters are told from Ruth and Catherine's points-of-view and they are eye-opening. Ruth has been trying to protect her daughter from the real story of her past. Catherine is trying to uncover who her mother really is.

Both women are very original, fully realized characters. Catherine's suspicions are understandable based on the information she has and readers will believe her suspicions. However, as Ruth tells her backstory all of her present actions make perfect sense and readers will quickly realize that the situation is much more complicated and potentially dangerous. The suspense increases as each woman tells us what they know while they have no clue what the other is really thinking. The pace is even at the beginning and then as more information is revealed, the tension increases as the threat is real.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Well plotted, riveting, suspenseful thriller! The story is told through alternating viewpoints of Catherine and her mother, Ruth. The details of Ruth’s secrets are slowly revealed as Catherine tries to unravel the lies she believes her mother has told her all her life. Her mother is not who she’s believed her to be and Catherine becomes increasingly obsessed with finding the truth. Ruth has always protected Catherine and hiding her true self has protected them both. The world Ruth has created begins to crumble, leaving both of them vulnerable. Is the storyline plausible? I don’t know, but probably not. Is the storyline somewhat predictable? Yes. Do these things detract from the story being thoroughly entertaining in my opinion? No! This is one of those books that keeps you engrossed until the final page! Another winner from Sarah Pekkanen!