Twisty, suspenseful, and heart stopping. I couldn’t put it down.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am a fan of the books Sarah Pekkanen has co-authored with Greer Hendricks so I was excited to read this. What an intense ride! I had a hard time putting it down.

The book follows Ruth and her daughter Catherine. I can’t say much about their relationship without spoiling the book. The author does a great job with alternating the POV with these two characters. Both characters are likeable.

There were just enough twists in this book that I could not have predicted the ending. Every time I thought I knew what was happening, the next chapter would show me that I didn’t.

Great book overall. Looking forward to more by this author. Thank you to the author, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. This is my honest review. Publication date Aug 1, 2023.

Wow, what an impossible to set down surprise this book proved to be!

Gone Tonight is an engrossing mystery with engaging characters, unpredictable twists and turns, and a narrative style that made me repeatedly forget my just one more chapter promise. I flew thru the pages as the layers of Ruth's past were peeled back and secret after secret slowly revealed. I read a lot of thrillers, but the author still managed to pull off a few shocking turns I didn't see coming ahead of time.

I finished this book in one day, and its easily one of the standout thrillers I've read so far this year. This is my first Sarah Pekkanen book and I'll definitely be picking up more from her.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing a copy for me to read and review.

Wow! This newest thriller by Sarah Pekkanen was awesome! I really enjoyed the alternating viewpoints and this book had me turning pages so fast and kept me up late! Great story with quite a few twists that I did it expect and I found the relationship between mother and daughter very interesting throughout the book. Will definitely be looking to read more of her books! Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

For as long as Catherine Sterling can remember, it's been her and her mother Ruth against all odds. Together, they live a quiet and ordinary life, and as Catherine grows older. she's begun dreaming of a life outside of their tiny pocket of the world.

Then, seemingly overnight, startling changes emerge in Ruth that Catherine cannot ignore. As her concern for her mother deepens, it becomes clear that Catherine can't go anywhere--not in Ruth's time of need. After all, what kind of daughter would she be if she abandoned her own mother?

A slow burn, dual-POV thriller that ebbs and flows between past and present, "Gone Tonight" overpromise and underdelivered for me. Despite an intriguing premise that suggests deception and secrets between mother and daughter, I found the pacing too slow, the characters underdeveloped, and the whole story lacking a clean, cohesive resolution.

While I wanted to love this, "Gone Tonight" suggests that Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks together are far better than Pekkanen alone. For lovers of "The Wife Between Us" or "The Golden Couple," know that this novel has a different feel altogether.

I have long loved Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen’s duel authored books, but had yet to read one of their solo titles. I received an ARC of this book by Sarah and couldn’t wait to read it.

Gone Tonight is about Catherine and her Mom Ruth. Catherine is about to leave home for the first time for a new job, when she finds out her Mom has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.

Ruth begins writing a journal to Catherine in secret, to tell her the truth about her past while Catherine begins questioning things her Mom has told her about her identity.

When I first started reading this, I thought that maybe this wasn’t a suspense novel. It felt very serious and felt like contemporary fiction. But then the twist that she is so well known for hits, and the story takes off!

I absolutely loved the first 75% of this book and the last 5%. The problem is that the part in between wasn’t my favourite. I am glad the story pulled me back in at the end though. This did make it a bit tricky to rate though because the section I didn’t like, I really didn’t like. But thought the rest was great.

Overall I think it’s definitely worth a read as there are some great twists and the book will keep you guessing

Rounded down from 3.5/5 stars

Gone Tonight is told in alternating viewpoints.
Catherine is a 24-year-old nurse getting ready to accept her dream job at Johns Hopkins. Ruth is her mother and has just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. Catherine starts getting suspicious, though, because Ruth never discusses her past or her family and Catherine wants to know more in light of Ruth's diagnosis.
Readers find out Ruth is on the run and gets the reasoning in diary entries Ruth writes for Catherine.
I didn't care for these diary entries as they were placed oddly throughout the book. I would have preferred simply flashback chapters to understand Ruth's past.
The pace was pretty slow, and I wouldn't call this book a "thriller", but more of a family drama. I did like that we get both Catherine and Ruth's viewpoints.
Decent story, but anticlimactic. No real surprises.

This book was positively FANTASTIC! I was hesitant about the premise as I began reading, but I quickly became positively RIVETED and remained that way until the very end! Please give this book a chance - you won’t regret it!

Book Title: Gone Tonight
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press
Genre: Family Drama
Pub Date: August 1, 2023
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Pages: 352

I have only read one Sarah Pekkanen story [book: Catching Air]. However she has written seven other fiction novels: The Ever After, The Perfect Neighbor, Things You Won’t Say, The Best of Us, These Girls, The Opposite of Me, and Skipping a Beat.

I did read the four thrillers she coauthored with Greer Hendricks and I loved all of them )_ An Anonymous Girl] was my first and I became a fan; then [book: The Wife Between us, You are not alone, and The Golden Couple.

Story is told from the POV of Catherine Sterling and her mother Ruth.
Catherine is a twenty-four year old nurse and ready to start her new job In Baltimore. She finds out her mother Ruth has Alzheimer’s. She immediately stops everything and goes to take care of her mother.
Her mother tells her that there is a history of this disease as Catherine’s grandmother has also died and suffers from this!

.However, once Catherine starts researching their pasts; she has concerns that her mother hasn’t told her everything and perhaps her mother just wants to protect her and fears there might be something dangerous about her past.

Story kept me turning pages and we do find out the secret.
This story, as well as, the author got my attention I was interested in this subject; ~ definitely different than my typical read fast paced twist and turn thrillers.

I was curious about Ms. Pekkanen’s motivation for writing this story.
However, since this is an early e galley there isn’t an “Author’s Note’; which is something I always love to read as the author typically gives us the inside scoop on the inspiration for writing the story.

I did look up her web site for more info. Here is link to her web site if you would like to read more.
https://www.sarahpekkanen.com/about.html

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 1, 2023

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. This was quite a thrilling ride. I enjoyed most of the story; the alternating viewpoints was done well. I was on the edge of my seat as new events happened. The ONLY reason I’m taking off 1 star is (SPOILER) it did not sit well with me that “Ruth” faked having Alzheimer’s. It really turned me off. Once we got past that, the whole rest of the story was quite the page turner. I even cried near the end!

I received an ARC of Gone Tonight from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. Thank you to them and Sarah Pekkanen for offering this book for early readers. I’ve read a book or two by Mrs. Pekkanen and her co-author, Greer Hendricks, previously. It was The Golden Couple, which I gave a strong positive four-star review. I gave Gone Tonight the same four stars, and while I enjoyed it, there were some issues I did have.

Sarah and Greer seem very adept at writing characters that are well-depicted, both from a positive and negative standpoint. In this book, Sarah’s work, I would say the same holds true. Once the reality began to be revealed as to what she was doing to supposedly protect her daughter, Catherine, I was a bit repulsed and shaking my head at Ruth’s behavior. Not to spoil this read for others, but Ruth was not just troubled, but mentally ill (in my opinion). No doubt the skill that Sarah used to construct and then unravel the very tangled web that Ruth had constructed was masterful and made for a “can’t pull your eyes away” book.

Why has Ruth continually moved from city to city all her life?

Why has she kept her and her daughter's life private and a secret?

Now that her daughter Catherine is ready to move out and get on with her life, a health problem crops up for Ruth. Catherine feels guilty about leaving her mother since she has Alzheimer's.

Catherine actually works in a facility for Alzheimer patients and does see all the signs in her mother now that she is paying closer attention.

A regret Catherine has is that her mother never revealed who her father is nor has her mother ever told her anything about her life.

The reason for never telling Catherine about her life is that Ruth has a huge secret that becomes revealed as the book alternates between chapters titled Ruth and Catherine and as it gives past and present details.

GONE TONIGHT is a slow buildup that made me wonder where the book was going.

Once it is apparent where it is going, you won't want to put the book down. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

In her latest solo, GONE TONIGHT, Sarah Pekkanen again proves why she is one of the masters at suspense and how one good twist deserves another good turn!
Catherine Sterling works part time in the memory care unit of the local nursing home while waiting to leave for a position at John’s Hopkins. When her mother Ruth is diagnosed with early onset dementia, Catherine’s plans are crushed as she decides to stay home to care for her mother. Ruth, always a helicopter parent of the highest order never speaks of her past but during one appointment she lets slip some information that spurs Catherine into delving into her mother’s tight-lipped history. AND WHAT SHE FINDS IS EXPLOSIVE!!! Ruth has so many skeletons hiding in her closet that just taking a pull on that one thread leads to the complete unraveling of the entire cocoon Ruth has woven around the two of them.
I don’t want to give any more away. This one had my heart pounding as I was racing through it to see what was coming next. I was checking my locks and hearing every sound outside. There was one shocking revelation after another which painted a very vivid portrait of a woman on the edge of disaster. Ah…but was that woman Catherine or Ruth? Don’t miss this one and find out for yourself!
This will make a great beach read but make sure someone else is watching the kids because you are not going to want to look away! BRAVO!

I wanted to love this. The setup of the plot was fantastic but the execution just fell flat. The characters were not very likeable either.

Most mothers would agree we would do anything to protect our children. Unfortunately with that comes making what we think are the best decisions on what and what not to tell them. We can only shelter them for so long and eventually hidden truths will come to light. Is love between a mother and daughter enough when the walls come crashing down? This was a quick twisty read. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Slow-burn thriller with multiple POV, capturing the unique relationship between mother and daughter. I was absolutely thrilled to read this book as I have enjoyed all other books co-written with Greer Hendricks.

Character development and digging into the storyline took some time, making me feel as though I was reading a drama, as opposed to a thriller. About 1/3 into the book, it started to pick up and had me hooked. A solid thriller that I very much enjoyed!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, all opinions are my own.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is the kind of deliciously twisty novel that I cannot get enough of. I am a huge fan of Pekkanen going way back to her women's fiction days and continuing through her recent thrillers co-written with Greer Hendricks. Gone Tonight definitely didn't disappoint- I absolutely loved this mother/daughter story and even though I was racing through the pages to find out what would happen next, and next, and next-when I got to the end I wished I'd taken my time because I didn't want to the the world I was so fully immersed in. Highly recommend!!! (I might have to listen to the audiobook too- it's that good!!!)

This book hooks you from the fist page. A daughter, Catherine, thinks she knows her mother, but no one knows the whole truth about Ruth's life. It is a fast paced thriller full of twists and turns that I couldn't put down until I knew how it ended. A great book!

Wow wow wow wow! This book!!! I am always a fan of Sarah Pekkanen's books but this one was another level. I went in blind to this book (aka not ready the synopsis) and this story was not what I expected! I knew there would be lots of twists but I did not see a few of them coming, though the ending ended the way I was expecting it to which I was a fan of. I could not put this book down since nothing is as it seems. I am such a sucker for a good domestics psychological thriller and "Gone Tonight" delivers. I loved the dual POV and the journal entries from Ruth. When this story is released I am recommend anyone who loves these types of books to pick it up!!

I have read several of Sarah’s books and have loved them all. This one was no different! It definitely started slow and took some time to build but by 3/4 the way in I was on the edge of my seat. Overall it was very well done but I was longing for more from Catherine’s perspective. Her character just seemed so much less developed than Ruth/Ava’s. Regardless it was a wonderful read and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to review early!