I will read anything Sarah Pekkanen writes and I finished this one in one sitting. It was such a page turner with an incredibly gripping backstory. It really focuses on what it truly means to appreciate all the moments we get to share with those we love while still being a mindblowing thriller.

Catherine thinks she knows her mom, Ruth, but does she? This psychological thriller takes you on a ride to figure out what the truth actually is. With tons of twists and turns it leaves you wanting to read more. I listened to the audio and loved it. It kept my attention and the narration was clear. I listened on my usual 1.5 speed. I will read more from this author in the future!

Gone Tonight follows Ruth and her daughter Catherine, whose close relationship is strained as Catherine begins to uncover dark secrets about her mother’s past. Ruth has spent years running from a dangerous truth, and Catherine’s search for answers puts them both at risk. While the story has an intriguing premise, the pacing feels uneven, and the twists, though solid, don’t pack as much punch as expected. That said, Kate Mara’s incredible narration truly elevates the audiobook—her performance adds depth and emotion, making it a more immersive listening experience.

For every girl that has had a tremulous relationship with their mother and thought “what else could she do” I recommend reading this book. I love the spirit and the mystery of Gone Tonight. Would recommend for the unique plot and mild intensity.

Mother-Daughter Secrets Unraveled

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen is a gripping psychological thriller that revolves around a complex mother-daughter relationship. The story centers on Ruth Sterling, a single mother who has dedicated her life to her daughter, Catherine. Ruth, who had Catherine when she was just seventeen, has always been secretive about her past. The plot thickens when Ruth starts showing signs of early-onset Alzheimer's, leading Catherine to dig into her mother's mysterious past, only to uncover layers of secrets and lies that Ruth has meticulously kept hidden for years.

Gone Tonight is a compelling read that masterfully blends suspense with emotional depth. The strengths of the book lie in its well-developed characters and the intricate plot that keeps readers guessing until the end. However, some readers may find the pacing a bit slow initially, as the story takes its time to build up. Overall, Sarah Pekkanen delivers a thrilling and thought-provoking narrative that explores the complexities of family and the lengths one will go to protect loved ones.

For those who enjoy psychological thrillers with strong character dynamics, Gone Tonight is highly recommended.

I found this book to be quite average. The beginning was very promising and captured my attention immediately. I was genuinely looking forward to diving into the story. The plot was intriguing and had a lot of potential with its fresh ideas. However, as the story progressed, I felt like it became unnecessarily lengthy. There were sections that felt like filler material, which made it challenging to stay engaged. I believe that substantial parts of the book could have been trimmed down without losing the core plot. It's frustrating to encounter such excessive and unneeded content in an otherwise promising book.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When this book started, it didn’t seem like it was going to be a mystery/thriller. The story developed, we learned there was more to it than just a relationship between a mother and daughter. I liked the characters and the story moved pretty well. There were a couple of glaring errors where the author mentioned something that couldn’t have happened when the book was set, but otherwise a pretty decent read.

While I like the narrator as an actress, she seemed a little out of her element doing an audiobook. She didn’t emote quite as much as she should have and she didn’t change voices for characters. She has a nice voice though.

I really enjoyed the alternating POV’s between the two characters. The chapters were nice and short, which in turn kept me reading faster. However, while I enjoyed the story, I just wasn’t at the edge of my seat like I thought I would be. The twists and the outcome were rather predictable, and I didn’t find it that “thrilling”. This book really wasn't for me, but I really look forward to Pekkanen's books in the future.

Nothing is as it seems in a mother's desperate attempt to protect her daughter. This thrilling novel explores the consequences when long-held secrets begin to unravel, leading to a dangerous dance of deception between mother and daughter.
Catherine Sterling has always believed she knows her mother, Ruth Sterling, inside and out. Ruth is a quiet, hardworking woman who has dedicated her life to her daughter. Together, they have faced the world as a team. However, as Catherine prepares to embark on a new chapter in her life, Ruth becomes determined to prevent her from leaving home.
On the other hand, Ruth believes she knows her daughter, confident that Catherine would never rebel or question her mother's past. But as Ruth's desperate efforts to keep Catherine by her side start to expose cracks in her carefully constructed world, both mother and daughter find themselves entangled in a web of deception.
Ruth has a dark history that she has kept hidden, constantly moving from place to place and always ready to disappear at a moment's notice. The question arises: is the danger coming from Ruth's past, or is Ruth herself reaching a breaking point? Could the darkness lurking within Catherine be the source of the impending danger?
Sarah Pekkanen at the top of her game with her ability to build suspense while keeping you on the edge of your seat as you navigate the twists and turns of the story. Also drawing you into the complex dynamics between mother and daughter and the secrets they hold. Gone Tonight is a captivating and suspenseful thriller that will leave you guessing until the final pages.

Gone Tonight was an interesting mother-daughter story filled with secrets. Catherine is preparing to relocate for her dream job and her mother, Ruth, is working to prevent it at every turn. With the help of social media, Catherine is able to begin connecting the dots which ultimately leads to uncovering the secrets to the past her mother was working to keep buried.

Manipulation. Mother and daughter relationship. Unknown. This book was good to the last minute. It is what I would expect from this author. I have enjoyed other books by Pekkanen. The narrator was easy to listen to and I thought she does a nice job.

Catherine Sterling was raised by her mother Ruth. Ruth worked hard to raise her, but often had to move from one place to another. Now it seems it is Catherine's turn to take care of Ruth. Just as she is ready to take a job at a hospital out of town, and start her career as a nurse, things start happening. Catherine has worked in the memory care unit at a nursing home, so knows the signs of early onset dementia. She can't leave her, and turns down the job, but things aren't what they seem. Ruth has kept her background secret and as the story progresses, we learn about her past and why she has kept things secret for so long. The one thing she doesn't want is for Catherine to leave and go somewhere that she can't protect her. Catherine suspects that her mother is not being truthful and what she finds out, brings danger to their door.

Gone Tonight is a slow burn, building to it's crescendo brick by brick, keeping me wondering what Ruth was hiding. The story is told in alternating chapters with both Ruth's and Catherine's point of view. I was surprised to hear what happened in Ruth's past to bring her to this point and am shocked that she has survived and raised Catherine to be a wall-balanced young woman. I don't want to give anything else away, so will stop there. This was a well developed story with lots of twists that kept me listening well into the night. I was not expecting that ending, but it tied the story up nicely. I just wish it had moved a bit quicker. I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Kate Mara. I don't think I have listened to any books she has narrated before, but I will not hesitate to listen to others. I enjoyed her voices, expression and tone that made this book even more taut and enjoyable. Trigger Warning: There is one scene of sexual assault.

I enjoyed this one. Twisty, turny and the narrator was great. I have read other books by this author and have yet to be disappointed. A good read!

Mother's Secrets

A story of a mother and daughter. The mother appears to be falling victim to Alzheimer's disease. Catherine fears what is happening to her mother. She is scheduled to take a position away from home but feels she must stay close to her mother...that is until she doubts her mother.

Ruth must keep her secret past secret from everyone, even her daughter. Her daughter must never find out about her father and the past her mother Ruth had with him. Ruth keeps her past hidden well until she doesn't .

Catherine researches her mother's past and finds things that might put both her mother and herself in danger.

A mystery, within a mystery and a good story. I enjoyed reading it.

Thanks to Sarah Pekkanen for writing a great story, to MacMillan audio for publishing it, a great narration by Kate Mara and to NetGalley for providing me a copy to read and review.

This is the gripping thriller/mystery that I have been needing! Been in the mood for a mystery/thriller and the last two I’ve picked up have just not hit the spot, but this one did! Very quick read. That kept me going the whole time. (Even though I saw the epilogue “twist” coming a mile away, it didn’t take away from the thrill to me at all.) I loved the mother/daughter characters and that they weren’t awful people that you couldn’t root for. No they were a mother and daughter who both cared about each other but harbor secrets from the other. I appreciated that. (Also appreciated it wasn’t full of filthy language or bedroom scenes as so many are today!)

That being said, while I LOVED the narrator, Kate Mara who did a fabulous job, it definitely should have been two narrators, one for each woman’s POV. The story is told in two separate POV’s as well as diary entries and sort of two different timelines (It has a lot of flashbacks to Ruth’s past before Catherine). But the audiobook only has one narrator. And that got extremely confusing. It was hard to keep up with which woman’s POV I was in, especially when it was in the current timeline and it was switching between the two women. II got them mixed up a lot, in a way that would not have happened if there had been different narrators. Also in the audio it isn’t possible to differentiate between the POV and the diary entries. There should have been some form of distinction in the narration.

Story gets 4 stars
Audio production: 3 stars
Audio performance: 4 stars

One of the things I loved about this book was that the characters alternated chapters, which easily makes wanting to keep reading to find what happens next easier. It’s hard to say just one more chapter when you can’t complete the scenarios without reading on. I would read until my eyes wouldn’t allow me to anymore. The book itself kept me guessing, I speculated along the way but some things I was saying to myself “this woman is crazy!” And then yelling at the daughter for doing things she was messing up. The end was wrapped up nicely, I would definitely recommend this as your next read!

I found this book to be AMAZING!!! I enjoyed the pace and setting of the book. Also, the closely held secrets of the narrators really kept me interested in the book, and wanting to read more. This is a book I listened to on my way to work, and I found myself wanting the drive to go longer than it was, just so I could continue to listen!

I loved Kate Mara as a narrator! Although she didn't do "voices" so to speak, there is something to be said about having that familiar voice to listen to. Spectacular!

Generally, I would definitely recommend this book (and already have!) to friends and family.

Thank you to the Author, Narrator, Publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to see that Kate Mara was narrating Gone Tonight. I LOVED her in House of Cards. Her voice was great to listen to, it was a little confusing at times because of the two different POVs she was trying to do. Sarah Pekkanen did not disappoint with this book. She had me with the mother and daughter relationship and exploring how one thinks they definitely know the other. It was definitely a wild ride of many dark secrets revealed that I did not see coming!

Another fantastic novel by Sarah Pekkanen. I was hooked from the start. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns in this novel, and waiting to see what would happen next. Definitely recommend this one!

I thought this one was a very well written fast paced story. I was intrigued from the beginning on what was going to happen but I was slightly confused at the start of who was who. Once I got past that, I really enjoyed listening to this one. I will say there were not any OMG!! moments for me but overall it was a solid story with some good twists.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this story. My review has been posted on goodreads, storygraph, amazon, and instagram (@manymerrybooks).