From page one I was intrigued by this mother daughter relationship. I spent the entire book trying to figure it out and sometimes thinking I knew what was going on. I have read many thrillers and still this one kept me in the edge of my seat.

I was really excited when I saw Sarah Pekkanen was releasing a book on her own- I had read her books with Greer Hendriks and loved them and devoured them.
Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this one. I tried to get into this book, but I was unable too. I was not enjoying myself. The writing style felt drastically different. And the point of views jumped around too much for me and I had a hard time following the story.
I appreciated the advanced copy.

Gone Tonight is an interesting thriller that ramps up the intensity as the book goes on. The story follows Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine. Catherine has always kind of figured that her mom was hiding something since she never really talked about her past or her family much. She plans to move and start a new job but that gets hijacked after her mom starts showing signs of Alzheimer's. Things quickly unravel. The story is interesting but I found some parts a bit far-fetched. The two main characters are not really all that likable, but I am not sure they need to be to enjoy the story. This is a decent thriller that I am sure will be a big hit.

I absolutely adore this author and she is on my auto purchase list. So when I was given the chance to read an advanced copy of this book, I gladly accepted ! And, was not disappointed. This was a “could not put down” read.

The love a mother has for her child, can’t be replaced. And it is evident in this book.

Loved the storyline and how fast paced this was. Ended perfectly and was not disappointed.

Recommended for sure!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for offering me an ARC of this gripping thriller. I've read two of Sara Pekkanen's other books (coauthored with Greer Hendricks) and enjoyed them very much, so I had high expectations. I wasn't disappointed!
The story is told in first person, alternating between Catherine and Ruth Sterling (daughter and mother). They have lived a close, isolated existence, moving so often that they've developed few friends and no roots. Catherine has never known any other relatives; her mother claims her family disowned her when they found out she was pregnant, and her boyfriend dumped her.
When the story opens, Ruth is exhibiting alarming memory lapses that point to early onset Alzheimer's. Catherine, a 24-year-old geriatric nurse who works in an eldercare home, puts off plans for moving away to accept an internship at Johns Hopkins so she can care for her mother during what little time she has left. Which, we learn, is exactly what Ruth wants. She doesn't feel she can keep her daughter safe if they're living apart.
Ruth writes a diary for Catherine to read after she passes, telling the story of her life and family history. From these entries, the reader pieces together the traumatic event that changed Ruth's life, how she's been able to survive and keep hidden, as well as her fears about the evil lurking in her daughter's genes.
In the meantime, something doesn't ring true about her mother's classic dementia symptoms, so Catherine does more research. Not only does she learn her mother's been faking Alzheimer's, but everything about her is a lie: her name, her family, her hometown, and even her birth date.
Catherine's quest for answers leads her right into the danger her mother struggled all her life to protect her from, and the two have to put aside their fractured relationship to overcome it.

This was a really good book, and I really enjoyed the manner the story was laid out. Catherine and her mom Ruth have lived a nomadic life, sometimes moving with no notice to a new city which Catherine has to adjust to. Catherine has decided she wants to find out about their past and why her mom seems so scared all the time. And she wants to find out who her father is. Meanwhile Ruth starts to write down her history, including why she keeps moving and her fierce desire to protect her daughter. The story takes place over three Acts, each Act peeling away a bit of the layer that Ruth has kept around her past. Ruth has also developed the symptoms of Alzheimer's, which has forced Catherine to quit a job she had accepted at John Hopkins Hospital to care for her. As each layer of the past comes off it starts to catch up to Ruth in the present. This was a very good book and I would highly recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #St Martin's Press for the ARC.

I have eagerly read everything Sarah Pekkanen puts out and was so happy to be offered that chance to read an ARC of her latest book, Gone Tonight. The characters are well developed and likable. While you may suspect some darkness in Ruth as she constantly moved her daughter over the years, you can also appreciate her willingness to protect her only child. As always, Pekkanen slips in some cracks in the story that have you second guessing in whom the darkness lies. Very enjoyable read with all the plot twists I have come to expect from this fabulous author.

Gone Tonight, by Sarah Pekkanen, is a stunner of a novel that grips you from the beginning and continues to spin you around until the shocking conclusion!

Ruth is a single mom who raised a smart, successful daughter, Catherine. Now, Catherine is about to leave for a new job, but Ruth is diagnosed as having early onset Alzheimer’s. Catherine, as a nurse, hesitates to move for her new job and leave her mom when she knows the havoc this disease will wreck on their lives and the limited time she has with her mother. Ruth is Catherine’s only family, and Catherine knows next to nothing about those family history.

Desperate to learn more about her background and take care of her mother, Catherine decides it’s time to move past her mother’s refusal to talk about her past, and she starts digging into her mom’s history. However, things get weird quickly, and Catherine realized that Ruth isn’t who she claims to be and has lied about significant parts of her life.

What else is Ruth lying about? Is anything Catherine thinks she knows about herself or about her mother true?

Gone Tonight is told from multiple viewpoints, so the reader gets both Catherine and Ruth’s side of events. Chapters mostly alternate between the two narrators. The story of Ruth’s past and how it connects with her illness is doled out in tantalizing segments that keeps the reader rapidly turning pages.

Fans of Sarah’s previous books like The Wife Between Us will enjoy this newest book of hers. If you love mysteries in the style of Lisa Unger and Heather Gudenkauf, you will love Sarah Pekkanen’s writing and this book!
Thank you to Sarah Pekkanen and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy! Gone Tonight comes out on August 3, 2023. This is one to scoop up in a pre-order, don’t miss it!

Menacing.

That’s the word that comes to mind after reading Gone Tonight.

Tension drips from angst as Ruth begins to lose her memory and Catherine—a young memory nurse—struggles to hold on to her mom (and learn about her past).

Stomach knots form as we read about Ruth’s past and get to finally meet James.

And menace. Yes. Menace permeates as the story of Ruth and James unfolds.

Unreliable narrators who don’t become more realizable until later on adds to the edge-of-one’s-seat feelings.

Yet, readers should be aware that most of the thrill with this thriller resides between the lines, the spaces where our minds fill the void. It isn’t action packed but rather slow, methodical. It doesn’t have jump scares or page drops, but the spaces our minds take us is what propels it forward.

Think: a quiet contemplative thriller.

Catherine Sterling is not who she thinks she is. And neither is her mother, Ruth. Ruth is quiet, works hard, and moves frequently. Now, Catherine is ready to fly the nest and move to Baltimore where she will begin her nursing career.

All of that may be in jeopardy now. Catherine is noticing things about her mother. She has never been forgetful and since Catherine works in a Memory Care Ward, she recognizes the signs of dementia.

Ruth has been running since she left home. Pregnant and unmarried, she has convinced her daughter she was kicked out of the house and can never return. But now Catherine is set to move someplace that could unravel all of Ruth’s carefully constructed lies. Could she fake dementia to keep her daughter home?

Ruth may have taught her daughter how to be secretive too. Catherine is suspicious and nosy. She wants to find out what her mother is hiding from her. Things such as who her father is.

As Catherine spins her own lies in order to get information on her father and mother and it may get her killed. There is a reason why Ruth has been running, or so she says. Ruth and Catherine are about to find out they don’t know each other as well as they thought.

I read this a week ago and I am still thinking about it. The way it all came together was perfect. And I’m still wondering about a few things. Good!

NetGalley/August 1, 2023, St. Martin’s Press

This one feels tricky to review. The beginning was slow, I’m not sure how I feel about the end and I couldn’t read the middle fast enough.

The story is basically about Catherine trying to find out who her mother Ruth really is. With alternating view points between Catherine and Ruth, you learn about Ruth’s past and why she has all of these secrets from her daughter. It was more entertaining then I expected it to be.

It was definitely an easy read and I think a solid 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced digital copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a good book.

The book was a little slow until the latter part of the book when the pace picked up considerably.
The chapters go between POV’s from the mother Ruth and her daughter Catherine.
Ruth is hiding some secrets in her past. Catherine starts to get suspicious and starts looking for answers. The middle of the story was a little long winded but then it picked up.
Ruth will do anything to protect her daughter. The book picks up as Catherine starts investigating what her mother has told her and what is the truth.
You will enjoy this story and I recommend it

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC of this title in exchange for my review.

This was a rather complicated mother daughter relationship thriller with alternating POV's. I've liked other books by the author and had hopes for this one, but I couldn't really get into it as much. It felt like a bit of a copy of the other big-name mother/daughter book out a few years ago (& made into a movie.) I like that one better.

2 stars for "it was ok"

Catherine Sterling thinks she knows her mother. Ruth Sterling is quiet, hardworking, and lives for her daughter. All her life, it's been just the two of them against the world. But now, Catherine is ready to spread her wings, move from home, and begin a new career. And Ruth Sterling will do anything to prevent that from happening.

This propulsive mystery explores the secrets women hold close, and the bond between mother and daughter. The twists and shocks will keep readers engaged far into the night. Highly Recommended. #GoneTonight #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthors

Catherine spends her days working as a nurse in the memory care unit of a senior living facility. When she discovers that her own mother, Ruth, has been diagnosed with the same debilitating disease as her dementia patients, Catherine's world implodes. But in an attempt to experience her mother's memories before they are lost forever, Catherine finds that Ruth is hiding some pretty shocking secrets. Gone Tonight is told from the alternating perspectives of Catherine and Ruth, with some flashbacks to Ruth's past, and has a decent amount of suspense. After a slow start, the storyline picks up quite a bit with a nail biting fourth quarter. There were certain elements of the book that just didn't make total sense to me, mainly the whole dementia deal, but if you can look past some of the missing pieces, Gone Tonight is a good mid-level-thrill novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

#GoneTonight #Sarah Pekkanen #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #arc #booktok #bookstagram #bookreview #readwithme #readwithsee #thriller #bookshelf #bookworm #bookrecommendation

Super interesting plot telling the story of a mother and daughter who have a very close but maybe complicated relationship. A secret that her mother may be hiding is causing much distrust and the daughter Catherine is trying to figure if there is something to her intuition that all is not as it seems. Very well written and is a satisfying conclusion

Wowwww, this book surprised me big time! I honestly was not expecting the ending at all. Absolute must read for suspense novel lovers! Great characters that keep you enthralled the whole time.

"Gone Tonight" by Sarah Pekkanen was such a good book! I was not ready for the twist and turns of this great thriller! This book is about a mother would stop at nothing to protect her daughter, even if it meant keeping secrets from her. I can see this book becoming a movie in the future!

I love Sarah Pekkanen and this book did not disappoint! Such a suspenseful read, filled with emotion. I love her writing style and the characters were great!

It was fine.

The pace was a bit slow for me for most of the story, but revved up at the end. The main problem was the plot device used that really bothered me. It would be a spoiler to reveal, but it was depressing for me.

The chapters alternate with POV's from the mother, Ruth and her grown daughter, Catherine. Ruth has some big secrets from her past and her daughter gets suspicious and starts investigating her and her motives. This went round and round for most of the novel. I just grew tired of the back and forth.

There are some edge of your seat moments at the end that really helped the pace.

Please check out the other reviews, could be me and not the book. Maybe give it a try.