Unbeknownst to her daughter Catherine, Ruth Sterling has deep secrets that she has kept hidden all of Catherine’s life. When Catherine decides to move away and make a life of her own, the truth comes tumbling out bit by bit with astonishing repercussions and both women’s lives are soon in grave danger. I thoroughly enjoyed this and did not anticipate the outcome.

This was my first book by Sarah alone. It holds the same psychological, creepy, twisty buildup that I have come to associate with her and Greer's books.
I will say, and this is a me thing, I really do hate when thrillers use sexual assault as a plot point. This turned me off to the story pretty quickly but I did stick by it and finish it.
It wasn't a great fit for me but I can see how other readers who don't have the same triggers may find it really intriguing and fun to read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for my review.

I'm a fan of thrillers and the synopsis of this book sounded really good - and it was. The main characters are mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine. The chapters alternate between these characters perspectives and I thought this format worked really well here. I liked learning each characters insights as the story unfolded. There were twists and turns and some surprises. I recommend this book for fans of Sarah Pekkanen and lovers of mysteries and thrillers.

Not sure this is my favorite by Sarah Pekkanen (one half of the Greer Hendrix duo) but still an enjoyable read. Fans of a slow-burn will like this.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC audibook of "Gone Tonight." It was different than anything else I have read in a long time. I enjoyed the narrator as well. I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good thriller.

I've had a few meh thrillers lately so when I got to this one I wound up bingeing it pretty quickly. I loved the multiple POVs and flashbacks. I wasn't sure which perspective was reliable since they contradicted each other a bit. I had a few theories but kept questioning if I was right as things went along. It was a fun buddy read that brought up many different theories and discussion. Pick up a copy if you like psychological thrillers with unreliable perspectives.

Gone Tonight is an adult fiction mystery/thriller by author Sarah Pekkanen.

Ruth and Catherine are a mother and daughter who live modestly and have no other family and no really close friends. They have moved around a lot, changing apartments, changing schools, and changing cities over the years. Catherine is an adult (24 years) and still lives with Ruth. Ruth keeps running because she is hiding a deep, dark secret. The book is told by both Ruth and Catherine in alternating POV chapters.

Ruth will do anything to keep her daughter from learning the truth as Catherine prepares to take a job in a different city and move away from Ruth.

Simultaneously, Ruth is trying to keep the truth from Catherine while Catherine is trying to find out more about her mother’s past.

This was a very fast paced novel with lots of tension which I enjoyed. The chapters are short and keep you wanting more.

This book could be an instruction manual on how to disappear and not be found. I loved the creative ways that Ruth used to hide from her past and cover her tracks. There was so many little things I would never have thought of.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery/thrillers and fast paced novels with lots of twists. The ending was wrapped up nicely and did not leave me with lingering questions.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. Gone Tonight will be available on August 1st. 2023.

I went into this book blind just because I've read other books co-wriitten by this author and I've always enjoyed them. I'm glad I didn't know the premise as it made it even more interesting not knowing right away what the baseline for the story was. The story is full of suspense and mystery that will keep you intrigued until the very end. Definitely recommend adding it to your summer thrill reading list!

All I need to say is “Wow!” The writing and narration was AMAZING! I loved the mother/daughter relationship, the tension, and the mystery. This is one of those books that you couldn’t wait to find out the mystery but you were sad for it to me over! This book is going to be a major hit this summer! This book needs to be on your TBR!

Rating 4.5 stars but rounding up to 5 stars on Goodreads.

This book! I was thinking about it all the time when I wasn't reading it. It starts out as a slow burn and reads like just about any other contemporary fiction novel...until we learn that we don't know the whole truth. From that point on, it's hard to put down and full of suspense and anticipation.

The story alternates in point of view between Ruth and Catherine, and the truth slowly begins to leak out as one actively seeks the truth and the other takes pains to hide it. This isn't your typical thriller - it can go long stretches without real action - but it's still a page turner.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access to this book!

I really enjoyed this book and the back and forth of mother and daughter. I wish the mom had been more honest when she became an adult. I also wasn’t sure who to believe at times.

I have only read Sarah Pekkanen when she paired up with Greer Hendrick and I had loved both those books. I must say, Sarah Pekkanen stand-alone is just as good! The book has dual-POV which I love! There is Ruth, the mother, who has a past she hasn't shared with her daughter. Then there is Catherine, who is shocked to find out that her mother hid her past and told her so many lies for over the last 2 decades.
But the past catches up with them and they need to work together to get out of this.
I could NOT put this down! Loved it.

I liked the premise of this book and the secrets that were kept. The story had a great flow and kept me interested throughout.

You know you’ve found a good book when you set your alarm for 6am so you can have a solid 90 minutes to read before the rest of the house wakes up. I couldn’t wait to jump out of bed and get back to Catherine and Ruth’s story and I picked up this book every chance I had.

I immediately connected with both Ruth and Catherine and enjoyed the backstory along with the present day story which isn’t always the case with multiple POVs and timelines. Pekkanen did an excellent job of giving the reader enough information to fully engage us without telling us everything all at once. We felt the fear and tension from Ruth and the confusion and worry from Catherine.

I wouldn’t call this a slow burn since it was fast paced but it wasn’t your traditional thriller either. Some familiar themes were present but they were executed in a way that felt fresh. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and tore through it at rapid speed.

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

Great book! Addictive and couldn’t put it down. Loved the twists and turns. Great character development! I really enjoyed the story being told from both point of views. This is going to be a big hit! Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC.

Ruth and Catherine, mother and daughter, have always been close. As Catherine’s career progresses and she accepts a job that would take her away from home, Ruth goes to great lengths to stop her. Catherine becomes suspicious and begins to look into Ruth’s past and uncovers what she has been hiding.

I have read a few of Sarah Pekkanen’s book that she co-wrote with Greer Hendricks, and this one is my favorite. I loved the dual POVs and was instantly interested in the backstory. When the past caught up to our mother-daughter duo I had to keep listening to find out what would happen next. I thought the ending was great, but parts were a little over the top. Overall it left me wanting more, which is never a bad thing!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Pub date: 8/1/23
Genre: domestic thriller
Quick summary: Catherine Sterling and her mom Ruth are a team - but as Catherine plans to start her own life, her mother will do anything to keep her by her side - and keep Catherine from learning her secrets.

I've really enjoyed Sarah Pekkanen's co-written books with Greer Hendricks, and this solo project GONE TONIGHT lived up to the twistiness I've come to expect. Ruth is...not the perfect mom she appears to be, and I loved following along as Catherine discovered her secrets. This is a super fast and compelling read- you have to suspend your disbelief a bit, but I enjoyed the wild ride.

Both audio and text were enjoyable - I think I slightly preferred the text because it let me turn the pages faster. But narrator Kate Mara did a great job capturing the action, and the dual POV format was easy to follow on audio.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for my e-ARC and Macmillan Audio for my audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A mother and daughter’s bond is like no other especially when secrets are involved. Ruth Sterling and her daughter Cathleen have been inseparable since day one but that is all because of her mother’s past. Keeping her daughter safe is Ruth’s #1 priority at all cost. How far would you go to keep your children safe?

In this novel you will find a story that will keep you wanting more. Sarah Pekkanen takes you on a journey of going through life with Ruth and Cathleen learning to be present but not seen. Alternating between mother and daughter perspectives you will soon find that sometimes life isn’t what it seems.

With Ruth on the “run” from early on in her childhood she will do anything possible to keep her daughter Cathleen safe. As time progresses, Cathleen starts to realize that certain aspects do not add up. When her mother, Ruth, starts to show signs of Alzheimer’s she is forced to try and figure out her family’s history to help her mother overcome this terrible disease. Once Cathleen begins to investigate, she begins to unravel the mysteries of her mother’s past. Along the way, she discovers she may not know her mother at all.

This physiological thriller will leave your wondering and not wanting to put it down. I really enjoyed reading this novel from, Sarah Pekkanen. I have always enjoyed her work and this did not disappoint!

A special thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, St Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for this advanced copy of Gone Tonight.

This was the first novel I’ve read by Pekkanen alone, however I’ve read three of the books she did with Greer Hendricks, and honestly I think this one tops those three. I requested this ARC blindly (didn’t read the synopsis past the first sentence), and I think that’s the way to go into this one. You start out thinking it’s contemporary, with the mother and daughter relationship only to get to Part II and that’s when the thrill kicks in. Hold on to that slow burn beginning because once you get past that, it’s a page turner to figure out what is going to happen. It’s dual POV, going back and forth between Ruth and Catherine, mixing the past into Ruth’s chapters. I enjoyed Ruth’s because you got to really understand where she was coming from (still trying to decide if I agree). Definitely recommend, and would totally watch if this were ever a mini series/movie!

This was my first solo book of Sarah’s and I really enjoyed it.
I really liked the dual POV of both Catherine and Ruth. I loved Ruth’s chapters about Ava’s past the best.
It was fast paced and quite unique. (Which is hard sometimes with thrillers because there are only so many plots.)
I really liked the ending and thought it wrapped everything up perfectly.
It’s funny you know, because while I understand it was for the plot, if Ruth had allowed Catherine to just move away as planned, she would have been safe. Regardless, it made for a unique story and a great red herring.

Thank you, NetGalley and .St. Martin's Press for this advance copy!