Wow! This held my attention to the point I could not put it down! Secrets were flying everywhere! Ruth is a waitress trying to make a living and keep her daughter Catherine(nurse in training) safe, from what we don't know. I can't reveal to much but things start to unravel and at an exponential pace. I loved the different timelines and POV's. I was pleasantly surprised as to where this book went.

Again, don't want to give away to much, but def worth the read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this in advance.

GONE TONIGHT was full of secrets and lies woven expertly through the story and seem to only become more confusing the more that Catherine worked to untangle them. Quick and fast-paced, the story will grip you in the first chapter and leave you wanting more by the end.
Pekkanen really delves into the line between wanting to protect and wanting control and we see just how thin of a line that really is between Ruth and Catherine.
I would've really loved to read more of Catherine's POV/life beyond the last chapter of the book because there is so much to dive into there. Although...It does leave a promising opening for a sequel.

Ruth and her adult daughter, Catherine, live a seemingly quiet and frugal life with few connections outside of each other. However, Catherine begins to realize there may be things that Ruth is hiding from her. As Catherine explores what Ruth might be hiding, we start to learn more about Ruth’s past as she writes a letter to her daughter.

I appreciated that this book was twisty from the start to end. Lately, I have been frustrated with books that go so far to hide the twist that the majority of the book is filled with mundane details. This was a page-turner for me as I kept wanting to know what would happen next. I enjoyed the ending left a small bit of mystery for the reader to consider.

A delicious slow burn!

I find the most interesting books have a mystery you're trying to solve only for it to be answered pretty early on and there's an even bigger mystery waiting to be solved. A real tip of the iceberg story. That's what Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is.

Told from the perspectives of Catherine and her mom in the present and her mom's reflection on her past, we see both women's thoughts about the way they live. As the reader we have the omniscient view of knowing why both women are making the decisions they are and also seeing how it's impacting the other woman. The one thing we are trying to figure out is what is Ruth hiding.

It's hard to write this review without giving too much away so I'll say that it's really fun trying to figure out where this novel is going and the climax is high energy yet also leaves you pondering.

Wow! What a great read! Beautifully written- descriptive writing and masterful use of literary devices. Gone Tonight is not a mystery but there are lots of twists and much intrigue as this tale unfolds. This was a 2 days read for me. I loved it.
Thank You to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Sara Pekkanen for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

What a ride! This book starts off calmly enough, as a mother and daughter come to grips with the mom’s early-onset Alzheimer’s. Then, the story unravels slowly, as Ruth, the mother, reveals the truth of her past in a journal she is writing for her daughter, Catherine. Once the first shocking plot twist is revealed, the story picks up steam, hurtling toward a climax that left me breathless. There is so much to uncover in this story—the lies, the scandal, the trauma, the fear! At the heart of this story, Ruth is a mother protecting her child at all costs, but underneath this is a twisted and sordid tale that will keep readers turning pages until the very end.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for sending me this arc! Pekkanen is a fantastic writer. This is my fourth read by her , and I’m yet to be disappointed. This is a fast paced thriller with family secrets, mental health representation, raw and relatable characters , and a story that will take you on a roller coaster ride until the very last page.

Content Warnings : Alcoholism
Rape
Child abuse
Domestic violence
Alzheimer’s disease

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

Catherine Sterling has been living alone with her mother, Ruth, her entire life. Her mother has always been a great supporter and Catherine and Ruth have had a very good relationship. It is finally time for Catherine to branch out and leave the nest, but Ruth is clearly not a fan of this decision. Even though Catherine has a new career, and the timing seems appropriate for her to move out, Ruth will not allow this to happen and do everything possible to prevent it. Why is Ruth trying to prevent this? Catherine starts to question her and Ruth’s past and look for clues.

The past collides with the present with Ruth's past. The Story goes from the past to the present telling us about Ruth past as well as the past between mother and daughter.

Now Catherine is finishing up Nursing School and looking forward to moving away to her new job and new career at Johns Hopkins, until Ruth starts exhibiting symptoms of early Alzheimer’s, which means Catherine’s plans will have to wait and she just could not possibly leave her mom alone. But things just don’t quite fit into place and Catherine starts doing her own research to try to find out the truth, and that is when she discovers that her mother has not been honest with her.

This was a very good thriller and kept me engaged throughout. This was a five -star read for me. The audio book was narrated by Kate Mara who brings Ruth and Catherine to life as well as other characters. It was enjoyable listening to it. I switched between listening and reading the book. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio as well as St. Martin's Press for a free copy of Gone Tonight for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Great storytelling! Sarah Pekkanen opens this story by showing the reader that things are not what they seem and slowly and carefully, at times seductively, she slowly peels back one layer of one story and then the next, until the full picture starts to emerge.

Enough breadcrumbs to the reader chasing the story, enough false starts and redirects to keep them guessing.

Overall, an immensely readable book.

A quick read. I appreciated the back and forth POVs and the storyline kept me reading. I found elements to be fairly predictable and not as thrilling as I expected from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Oh boy - Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was a DOOZY. The book starts with Catherine and her mother Ruth who live together and are extremely close. They both are keeping secrets from each other - which is really all that can be said without giving anything away.

You’re thrown into the middle of a situation and left to figure out what’s going on. Sarah Pekkanen does an amazing job of revealing it all to us through the characters observations and Ruth’s diary detailing the events in her life that led to here.

The twists shocked me and were so enjoyable. I would LOVE a sequel!

Wow! I couldn’t put down Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen. Gone Tonight was a twisty, jaw-dropping, slow burn type of read.

The book starts by introducing Ruth (the mother) and Catherine (the daughter). As the story unfolds, we learn Catherine is a nurse working at on a memory wing at a local care facility. When Ruth starts exhibiting signs of Alzheimer’s, Catherine goes into overdrive trying to hold onto the time she has left with her mother, while simultaneously trying to learn more about her.

The multilayered story is told by both women, as they tell the reader one thing, but tell each other something different. What begins as a story about a complicated mother daughter relationship, rapidly turns into something much, much more.

Make sure you check out this fast paced, thrilling, and tense book when it hits the shelves on August 1, 2023!! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC.

This is a slow burn mystery thriller told in two alternating perspectives - it begins with a mother with newly diagnosed Alzheimers, and her daughter who is working to become a nurse.

Nothing is as it seems in this book, and it has secrets, twists, manipulation, and betrayal. Although it is on the slow side, it’s an interesting character study that displays a complex and close relationship between a mother and daughter.

There are past memories that are revisited as more of the story is slowly revealed. It caused me to reflect on thoughts of how well does anyone truly know those closest to them? How far will a mother go to protect her child?

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and would recommend it to all thriller lovers.

Excellent heartfelt novel about the bond between mother and daughter. Catherine is a nurse with plans to move away from her mothers house and start a new job at a large respected hospital. Catherine has always been extremely close to her mother and had no reason to doubt her mother’s story about her life before she was born. As Catherine tries to dig into her mothers past, she learns she has no idea about her mother’s past, or even her real name for that matter. What Catherine doesn’t know is that every choice her mother made was to keep her daughter safe from a looming threat that has finally reared its head. Fast paced, excellent novel that is not to be missed. One of the best books of the year! Would give way more than 5 stars if possible.

Ruth Sterling is beginning to forget things. Her daughter, Catherine, is about to move away to start working as a nurse. All their lives its just been the two of them. With Ruth being diagnosed with early Alzheimer's disease, will Catherine be able to finally break away from her mother or be trapped. They have never lived apart and their lives have always been closed to other people. However, Ruth has secrets....will Catherine finally be able to know where her mother comes from. This was very original and fresh. Kept me guessing about what was going on. Highly recommend.

4ish stars

I wish I would have know going into this book that it dealt with topics like Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. I probably would have read it anyway, but it would have been a useful piece of information to have before beginning. Although I realize that the author often writes books on her own, this is the first of hers I’ve read where she wasn’t joined by her frequent co-author. I was expecting it to be fluffier (so to speak) and a bit faster-paced/more dramatic. Although it wasn’t exactly what I thought it would be like, I still mostly enjoyed this story.

4.5/5

I enjoyed reading this thriller! The story switches between the POV of mother, Ruth, and daughter, Catherine. I found both of their perspectives interesting to read, and felt that alternating between the two added a unique element of suspense to the story. I found myself questioning every character and their intentions right until the very end. Overall this was a suspenseful and engaging read!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was really interested to see which way this story was going to go, and I thought it was quite different from anything I’ve read by Pekkanen before. I really liked how they gave flashbacks to Ruth’s teenage years, it gave great context for her present day life. I did feel like I wanted more details about her ex boyfriend earlier in on the story, it felt like it took a little too long to understand their dynamic. The last quarter of the book moved really quickly, and I loved all of the action. Really great story that had me guessing until the very end!

I absolutely loved this book and cannot recommend it enough for any thriller fan. It has mystery, dual POVs, unreliable narrators, murder, and allllll the secrets. 😏
•
Also. The writing just hooks you immediately, drawing you in. Ruth is a mother, absolutely devoted to doing anything and everything to protect her daughter Catherine. But from what? As she spins lies and deceit…. She believes it is in Catherine’s best interest. Is it? Are their lives at stake??
•
Welp. You’ll just have to read it to find out! This book really focuses on the love a mother has for her daughter and the concept of nature vs nurture. And asks the question….Can a psychopath be born?

Read this if you...
like a slow burn
think everyone has a little bit of darkness inside
enjoy being on the edge of your seat

What I loved:
All I can say to start is, wow. I think this might easily be my most favorite read of 2023 so far. I was originally drawn to this book because of my love for thrillers, but also its mention and strong focus on Alzheimer's. I have my own family experiences with this incredibly taxing disease, and was interested in how it could, in fact, be woven into one of my favorite genres.

Ruth and her daughter, Catherine, have a bond like no other. Over the years, it has caused them to be inseparable. As Catherine gets older, and begins to settle into her career, Ruth begins to panic. However, what's really keeping her from letting Catherine chase her dreams? How long can Ruth keep her past hidden and her daughter protected? As a dual-perspective read, I thought the storyline unfolded perfectly, and I loved how all strings connected - there was nothing left unanswered.

What wasn't my favorite:
I think I'm coming out lucky, yet again. There isn't much I would change about this book, and I think Sarah Pekkanen wrote an incredibly suspenseful read that is sure to keep you up all night. Get ready for a page-turner that can easily be read in one sitting!

Credit:
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.