Gone Tonight was an incredible book with fascinating characters. I loved the whole story. I am now a Sarah Pekkanen fan.

Sarah Pekkanen shows the length a mother would go to in order to protect their child:

It has always been Catherine and her mother Ruth. Ruth ran away when she was pregnant with Catherine as a teen and had been kicked out of the house by her parents or so Catherine thought. Catherine is ready to move on with her life and to live her own life and create a career for herself. Ruth has not been honest with her daughter, and it turns out that Catherine is not the person that Ruth thought she was. But Ruth has been protecting her daughter her whole life and will do anything to keep her by her side, she needs to keep her safe.

I have only read Sarah Pekkanen when she is co-author with Geer Hendricks, so I was interested to see what Pekkanen was able to do on her own. This a good domestic suspense book but you need to get through the slowness of the first 30% of the book. In that first 30% you're really kept waiting as to what Ruth (Ava) ran away from when she was a pregnant teenager and why she has kept running ever sense. In the first 30% I found that Ruth's life before were the more interesting parts, the present day were more just depressing with Ruth being diagnosed with Alzheimers. Once you are past the 30% mark, things really start to pick up as more and more information is revealed.

This book is all about manipulation, and manipulation not only between Ruth and Catherine but also the other people in their lives. If you enjoy manipulation and the lengths that people will go to in order to get their way and spread lies, then you will enjoy this book.

There are some aspects in the book that really raise the concept of nature vs nature as you learn more about what Ruth is running from as well as the upbringing that Catherine has had. I kept coming back to this question as I read further and further into the book and even more so towards the end. This is also a worry for Ruth as well, for more than one reason.

This book was good, I enjoyed all the secrets that Ruth and Catherine were keeping from each other, and it is a bit of a different take on domestic suspense as this is between a mother and daughter instead of husband and wife, which is what we normally see. I think that Pekkanen did a good job working with the story and like I said above the manipulation is on point.

Enjoy!!!

I thought this was fine. It had a lot of pieces of her vibes and the last thing he told me. I liked the ending and the characters were interesting enough. It just was meh.

Thank you to NetGalley and to St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen.

Warning: Child abuse and domestic violence. Gone Tonight is a fast-paced thriller told in alternating POV by Ruth and her daughter Catherine. The story pulled me in right away, and I read it in just two sittings, unable to put it down. This story shows the sacrifices a mother will make and the lengths she’ll go to in order to protect her daughter. Gone Tonight alternated between. Ruth and Catherine’s present day life and Ruth’s upbringing. There is no big twist in this story; rather there is a slow burn. The main characters are well-developed and realistically flawed. There are a few coincidences as the story progresses that seem a bit far-fetched at the time, without giving too much away, but when I look at the novel as a whole, it fits and wraps up nicely. As a big fan of Sarah Pekkanen’s earlier novels, I was excited to read this book, and I highly recommend it. It did not disappoint, and I enjoyed it a great deal!

A mother and daughter realize they don't know each other at all...but they would both do anything to keep the other safe.

This book was a roller coaster, and I loved the depth of the two main characters. I found myself being able to identify with parts of both of them. Interesting plot, lots of action and mystery, 4 stars!

Sarah can be hit or miss for me but I loved this slow burn! I was excited to read how the story unfolded between Ruth & Catherine. I like how the author used the characters POV of the same situation but their own perspectives of what the perceived happened vs the true reality. I just really enjoyed their dynamic and Catherine learning about her own mother.

4 stars

Sarah Pekkanen, best known for her quartet of novels written with Greer Hendricks, ventures out on her own with Gone Tonight. While her novels with Hendricks are often characterized with hidden secrets leading to a series of explosive reveals, Gone Tonight is rooted in building suspense through unreliable narration and the slow reveal of secrets throughout. This switch, paired with the deliciously intricate mother-daughter relationship at the center of the novel, made for an immensely gripping read that had me looking for any time that I could spare to get to the next chapter!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

This was not what I was expecting at all-but such a great domestic thriller! just when you think you have it figured out, you don’t! So glad to have this early arc!

Thanks for the ARC netgalley! This is my first thriller by Pekkanen solely (I loved “The Wife Between Us” that she helmed with Greer Hendricks.) Like that bookstagram beloved thriller, this one has alternating perspectives which create a gripping pace.

Catherine has always been close to her mother Ruth, who had her as a teenager. She is finally leaving her mother to pursue her career in Baltimore when Ruth begins to show signs of Alzheimer’s. Catherine is devastated as her mother is so young, and quickly derails her move. She begins to realize that things don’t add up between Ruth’s disease and secret past. We also get to see Ruth’s POV-what she’s keeping from her daughter and why.

I couldn’t put this one down! It’s a bit of a slow burn at the start, but the tension builds in a great way. The last 30 or so pages were a little off the rails for me, but ultimately one of the most solid thrillers I’ve read this year. I look forward to diving into Pekkanen’s backlist.

✨Trigger Warnings: Grief, Murder, Alzheimer’s, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Sexual Assault, Bullying

Thank you NetGalley for the gifted copy of this one!
Overall this book was just very average for me. I felt like it was missing a “wow” factor. While I was interested enough to continue listening to the end I was a little bummed I didn’t get that mind blowing ending I craved.
The relationship between mother and daughter was interesting. I couldn’t figure out which side of the story was the accurate one. I feel like some parts dragged and some parts were rushed.
Overall this one was okay!

Sarah Pekkanen is one of my must-read authors. The story was so evenly paced that I was utterly engrossed from beginning to end. The characters were well-developed. I also loved that this book paid homage to "Where the Heart Is." Thanks for the advance review copy.

W.O.W. This book was wonderful. First of all, what a twist from what I thought I was getting into. These characters were so easy to love. I loved all of the Pittsburgh references (my hometown) and just every aspect of this story.

PUBLICATION DAY: August 1, 2023

Ruth and Catherine/mother and daughter- they are as close as two women can be. Separated from any remaining family, Catherine has always been able to count on her mother for everything…but when a surprise diagnosis comes to light, everything she thought she knew about her life comes into question. Why has Ruth refused to give any details of her life prior to having Catherine? What will Catherine discover as she begins her deep dive into Ruth’s life…and will it be worth it?

PROS and CONS:
Oh my…I thought I knew where this was going but I was WRONG. I was captivated from the first page - sympathetic to the symptoms Ruth was facing, and super curious about her backstory. But hang on dear readers because this author is just getting started and you won’t believe what happens next.

READ IT?
If you’re looking for…a fresh, exciting, twisty story that’s a perfect summertime read - then this one’s for you!

4 Stars

Sarah & Greer dually written books have always been a favorite of mine. The psychological suspense has always been fantastic, and this book did not disappoint at all. This slow burn, 3 act book shows just how far a mother will go to protect her child. The mystery reveal was phenomenal and I was so enthralled in Ruth's story. I loved this book so much and am so thankful for the opportunity to read this early!

This was a fast, solid thriller. While this book read quickly, I spent the first almost 70% slightly bored. Some parts seemed overly described while other parts moved on too quickly. The last 30% read very fast and kept me intrigued.
I found myself bored with the every day life of Catherine and Ruth and maybe that was the point, to show they were living a boring life. However, I loved the glimpses into the past through Ruth’s diary. This book would have been better with a bit more action and excitement. Maybe even a part with a look into James’s life!

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an earc in exchange for my honest review.

When I first started reading this book I thought the author has switched to the women’s fiction genre. I was intrigued because I could easily relate to the subject matter. It’s told in alternate voices as the chapters keep switching from the mother, Ruth, to the daughter Catherine. Ruth is very protective of Catherine and the reasons are slowly revealed in a journal that she is writing for her daughter. There are many twists and turns to keep you glued to the story with a couple of surprises thrown in! Good writing kept me engaged throughout.
#GoneTonight #SarahPekkanen #NetGalley

This book has me hooked from the beginning. The plot twists were consistent and kept me intrigued. Definitely didn’t see the twist at the end! Great book!

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a slow burn domestic thriller about a woman named Catherine and her mom who has recently been showing signs of Alzheimer’s. Catherine’s mom has always been a mystery to her and with her potential diagnosis, Catherine starts digging into her mother’s history and begins to discover secrets that should have stayed buried.

I have read a few books that this author has coauthored and while they didn’t really work for me, I decided to give her solo book a try. I went into this completely blind so I tried to stay pretty vague with the synopsis. We switch between Catherine and Ruth, her mother between chapters and then sometimes get a glimpse at Ruth’s past. I found the past excerpts really interesting and the whole beginning of the book had my attention. Unfortunately, there is a point where the plot really starts moving and I ended up really not enjoying where the story went. There were so many parts that were completely unbelievable. There is a certain level of suspension of disbelief I can muster and this book far exceeded that level.

When I go into a thriller like this, I like for it to be a little bit more concise. This felt like it went a bit wild and at times, a little cartoonish. I know they this will appeal to a lot of people. Even though the plot is a slower burn, the writing style is very compulsively readable. This just didn’t work for me and I don’t think this author is for me at this point.

I'm a huge fan of the thrillers that this author writes with Greer Hendricks, and I was excited to get this ARC. This book has an interesting plot but is bogged down by too many details that weren't needed, unlikable characters and a plot that failed to thrill. The novel has two main characters: Ruth, a part time waitress who lives only for her daughter, and Catherine, a 24 year old who works part time at a memory care facility. Catherine has recently graduated from nursing school and plans to move to Baltimore to begin a full time career. Ruth, spends all of her time spying on her daughter and tracking her every move and when she admits to having some recent memory problems, Catherine fears her mother might have early onset Alzheimers. This possible diagnosis also starts up the story as Catherine realizes she knows nothing about her mother's past, not even the name of Catherine's own father, and she decides it is time to find out more.

Ruth begins to write down the story of her life in a notebook she keeps in her work locker and through these entries we find out about her difficult childhood and the secret that has kept her running and hiding all these years. I liked the idea of long held secrets and the exploration of mother daughter relationships, but this book too often veered into extensive details of everything like every item taken when Ruth was hiding out in Target, details on people's drinks and food and it sacrificed big details for little, meaningless ones. Sometimes the details didn't make sense. At one point Catherine is visiting the memory care place where she works and says she is glad to be there in the evening when there is a limited number of staff. Two paragraphs later she says residents are working in the garden and it is 4PM. There wouldn't be limited staff when the residents were still up and about and haven't even had dinner. Catherine was constantly hanging around the facility when she was off duty and I don't believe the other staff wouldn't find that suspicious. During the very long sections where teenage Ruth lived in Target, I didn't believe a teenager could walk in and out of the store carrying a large duffel bag everyday and never get questioned, especially as she was taking many things and leaving the packaging around the store.

The ending was exciting but I just didn't care about these characters. Ruth lived for 24 years In a constant state of alert rather than tried to fix her problems somehow and neither woman worked full time despite being constantly poor. Ruth never had a friend or hobby of any sort and made sure her daughter had no friends either and I found it hard to relate to her selfishness. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, wow, and more wow! All I can say is this book was a page turner! It alternates between mother and daughter, revealing secret after secret. It was suspenseful and all the things you’d expect from this genre! I love when a book leaves me questioning what in the world just happened. I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it! Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy!