Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC. Unfortunately, it was not my favorite. This book is about a mother and daughter who are both a little unreliable and a lot morally gray. Catherine is an adult but she still lives with her mom and is a huge part of her mom's world. Ruth is the mom and has a lot of secrets. Catherine works in memory care and starts to notice signs of Alzheimers in her mother. But is it real or is it just a ploy to keep Catherine close? I feel like thats about all I can say about the plot without spoiling things but my general thoughts are that this was fine, but very forgettable. I would get engaged with the story while reading it, but as soon as I put it down it was kind of out of my head. We are TOLD about Catherine and Ruth's close relationship and how they're each other's ride or dies but everything we SEE is them distrusting each other. The whole climax of things seemed to lack a little clarity in motivations for me. Overall this was a decent enough thriller, but not one I"ll remember next week.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Ruth is on her 3rd identity. She and her high school boyfriend killed her cheer coach for being abusive. Her boyfriend went to jail even though it was technically Ruth that did it. Then he gets out of jail and comes after Ruth (and by extension Catherine) and Catherine (the daughter of 2 killers), murders him. The Alzheimer's thing was fake in order to keep Catherine safe from James.

This book started out well with the promise of mystery and intrigue but it soon fell short of its promise. At first I enjoyed the dual POV of both mother and daughter and the mom's journal style entries. Unfortunately, I soon became a bit bored as nothing was really being revealed that wasn't already obvious.

There was no real mystery in this book. There were some red herrings thrown around that never turned into anything. I was hoping for a big reveal that never came.

The narration was also a bit flat as the narrator sounded the same for each character male or female. I was very disappointed by this since she is a really good actress.

I was really looking forward to this book and perhaps that influenced my disappointment when it just turned out to be fairly mid. I will however still read this author as I have enjoyed her prior work.

From the cover and author, I thought Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was a suspense or thriller novel, but after the first few chapters, I was confused. It read like women's fiction about a woman and her adult daughter navigating a health crisis. Slowly some hints surface that all is not as it appears, and then the plot escalated quickly!

I appreciated this slow burn suspense novel. I was never completely sure either main character's motives, which I enjoy in stories with a mystery to solve. The involvement of the daughter's workplace was an interesting aspect; I'm relieved I no longer have family members who reside at a senior living facility. I questioned the detailed flashbacks to the mother's high school years ... until I didn't.

Occasionally I anticipated a minor twist in the plot, but for the most part this story surprised me time and again. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Mara which was the perfect balance of intensity, although at first it was a bit confusing to track the daughter vs. the mother voiced by the same narrator.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the review copy of the audiobook.

Gone Tonight grabbed me from the beginning. A woman on the run. A daughter trying to find out who she is. Which is stronger-nature or nurture?

This book was a wild ride! And once again if people could or would just communicate their life would be so much easier! But also so much less of a tense story! I love the happy ending in this one but worry about Catherine! Is she or isn't she also a psychopath like her father? This was my 1st book by Sarah Pekkanen but will not be my last!

This is one of the better thrillers I have read recently!

I was nervous that I had guessed one of the big twists early on in the book, but the plot kept evolving and kept me on the edge of my seat.

What I realized as the book went on is that both our main characters, Ruth and Catherine, both had interesting backstory and little details that made the overall feeling eerie and kept you wondering who you could really trust.

The inclusion of dementia/Alzheimer’s as part of the story was a really interesting aspect I haven’t really seen in a thriller before (I have seen memory loss/amnesia, but not dementia).

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars because I enjoyed 1 POV more than the other, and also because some parts of just every day activities were a little tedious and overwritten. However, I really enjoyed the book overall and would recommend it!

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced listener’s copy in exchange for an honest review; thoughts are my own!

I always judge a mystery by the ending. I figured this one out but I think I would have hated any other ending s I it worked. It’s worth the read but it won’t be your favorite mystery of the year. It’s one of the good ones but not great enough to be memorable a few months later.

I love a good mother/daughter story, and my gosh, did Sarah Pekkanen ever deliver with her latest, Gone Tonight! I binged the audiobook because the narrator, Kate Mara sucked me in immediately. I happily folded laundry, washed the floors, and organized a messy closet all afternoon. I COULD NOT STOP LISTENING!

WHAT I LOVED:

- Dual perspectives
- Past & present timelines
- Slow-burning mystery
- Highly character-driven
- Family-focused
- Complicated mother/daughter relationship
- Unique & captivating storyline
- Secrets and lies galore

My best advice is to go in completely blind, and enjoy the twists and turns as the story unfolds. There’s a lot of them—like right up to the very last chapter. Super impressive, and much appreciated. Gone Tonight is available now, and it gets 4.5/5 stars from me! Highly recommend!

Gone Tonight [out tomorrow, 8/1!]

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Ruth and her daughter Catherine have always had each other, but now at 24, Catherine is finally ready to move out on her own for her new nursing job. Right as Catherine is about to go, however, Ruth begins showing worrying signs of early-onset Altzheimer’s. As Catherine looks more closely at her mother, she begins to see things that aren’t adding up … and as she learns more of the truth, Catherine puts herself and her mother into more and more danger.

Sarah Pekkanen is known for her thrillers with Greer Hendricks (“The Wife Between Us,” and “The Golden Couple”) so I was excited to see her on her own… and honestly, it did not disappoint! In my opinion, this book is more mystery than thriller, but regardless, I found it really entertaining. I listened to the audiobook on a road trip — the chapters are short & end on cliffhangers, so it wasn’t hard to start and finish this one all in the same day.

There are several different phases to this book, and I find the summary doesn’t actually do the real plot justice (but you can’t really without spoilers!). My favorite parts were the flashback journal entries, clueing readers in on the backstory — these chapters set the stage for the present day really well and were the most jaw-dropping for me. The ending was a bit wild, but I was here for suspending disbelief and going along for the ride.

Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a fun mystery / thriller rec for a summer read — you’ll read this one quickly, and it’ll keep you on your toes. Thank you to @stmartinspress for the advanced copy!!

I had so much fun with this fast paced domestic thriller I could not put it down and finished it in one day. This book follows a mother and daughter Claire the daughter is about to become a nurse and move away leaving Ruth alone. That is until Ruth starts displaying strange memory lose symptoms and strange messages start showing up leaving Claire to question if she ever really knew her mother. I loved this book it was so fast paced and intriguing I just couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The characters is where I felt this book was lacking some of the things I found hard to believe and there wasn’t to much character development so I didn’t really feel any attachment to any of the characters. That being said the plot more than made up for the lack of character development there were so many twists and turns in this book I didn’t know where we were headed next. To me this felt like a great vacation book that is fast paced and easy to follow. I did listen to the audiobook for this one and really enjoyed the narration the narrator was engaging and easy to understand. I would like to thank net galley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

𝙂𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 - 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝙋𝙚𝙠𝙠𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙣
Pub date: August 1

This book was pretty twisty and messed up. This story is about a mother and daughter been through some stuff. Catherine has been living with her mother he whole life and that’s exactly how Ruth likes it. She’s gone out of her way to keep it that way. Catherine is getting tired of the game and decides she better take a look into their past and see what’s keeping them so tied together.

I enjoyed the way this story unfolded in the present and the past by both characters’ perspectives. It is quite a unique plot. I didn’t find it very thrilling until the first quarter in though. Then you were in for a bit of a ride where you weren’t sure what to believe.

Thank you to @netgalley and @dreamscapemedia for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

I can’t wait to have my book club read this twisty tale of a mother on the run, hiding everything from her past from everyone - including her daughter. Told in alternating Points of View (POV), Mother Ruth and 24-year-old Catherine, this is a quick-moving psychological thriller that doesn’t quit - not even at the last page. I loved it.

One caveat: I love actress Kate Mara’s characteristic deadpan delivery, but it is unusual for an audiobook narrator. While it perfectly suits the characteristics of Ruth and Catherine, Mara doesn’t shift or modulate her voice between the two characters, so if a reader isn’t paying attention, they can be confused. Each chapter does lead off with the character’s name, but sometimes I forgot and couldn’t tell if it was the mother or daughter “talking.”

If you enjoy a twisty thriller chock full of lies and deceit with a backstop of unrelenting parental love, this would be a great choice. The storyline kept me guessing and emotionally involved, and I love that in a book.

Thanks, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio, for a pre-pub copy of GONE TONIGHT, available now.

3.5⭐
Utterly reviting!

This is my first book by Sarah Pekkanen. She has a way of building a suspenseful story by alternating between mother and daughter perspectives with a good dose of flashbacks.

Life hasn't been easy for the pair in Harrisburg, PA. But single mom Ruth Sterling and daughter Catherine are super close. At 24, Catherine landed a golden nursing opportunity in Baltimore at John Hopkins' Geriatric Department. However, her dream came crashing down when her own mother show early signs Alzheimer's. Would Catherine be able to leave her mother behind?

I was drawn to the story from the very beginning. As more secrets are revealed it was impossible for me to put this book down. Ruth has plenty of secrets and I love her flashbacks part the most. Meanwhile, Catherine is trying to piece the puzzle about her mother she thought she knew.

Gone Tonight really kept me on my toes. I wanted to know how the story unfolds and for me, this was a 4 solid star story until the last third of the book. Without any spoiler....Yes, it sort of make sense and NO, it does not. LOL. I happened to care about the third character and wish there was more.

I listened to Gone Tonight narrated by Kate Mara. As much as I like her in movies and enjoy her familiar voice, I don't think she brought anything extra to the story. It was difficult to know whose chapter it was because the narrator gave the same voice for Ruth and Catherine. As a listener, you have to make sure you don't miss the chapter heading. Absolutely, most of the time the story is a big tell of who is doing the talking but wish the narrator differentiates the characters through some voice acting.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for my ALC.

I was provided both the audio and print ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was an interesting domestic thriller. It follows mother and daughter Ruth and Catherine through their daily lives. As we get to know them it quickly becomes clear that Ruth is hiding something. Ruth has always been closed off about her past, and as Catherine is ready to spread her wings as a new college graduate and start her career as a nurse she is more curious than ever about her mom's past. What she doesn't know is that Ruth has carefully cultivated a life to protect herself and Catherine from the past that she is so desperately hiding from. She will do anything to keep Catherine close until she is 100% sure she will be safe from people and events that happened in her past. As the book unfolds we find out the lengths that Ruth is willing to go to to protect her daughter, and how far her daughter is willing to go to find the truth about her mother.

There were some situations that were a bit "unbelievable". I thought it was pretty unrealistic that Catherine wasn't able to figure out her mother's ruse a little more quickly, but overall the storyline was interesting. There were some good twists and turns, but I didn't find this to have high level of suspense. This may have some triggering content for some readers. This is an interesting story of the mother daughter relationship as well as nature vs nature.

As for the audio narration, I thought the narrator did a good job. I would have liked a bit more differentiation between Ruth's voice and Catherine's voice as the book is told from both of their perspectives. It was a bit difficult to tell which woman was at the center of the chapter with only one voice telling the story. I feel the audiobook would have benefitted from a 2nd narrator or if Mara would have been able to voice once of the characters a bit differently.

Psychological thriller meets family drama in the latest from Sarah Pekkanen entitled Gone Tonight. This one is perfect for fans of Sandie Jones or Sally Hepworth.

Gone Tonight follows the story of Catherine Sterling and her mother. We find out early that Catherine’s mother, Ruth, is demonstrating signs of early-onset dementia. Through Ruth’s narration, we quickly discover that the suspected dementia may be a ruse. Determining Ruth’s motivation and uncovering her backstory is only part of what makes the plot so compelling. There are so many layers of suspense to the story, from Ruth’s deceit to Catherine’s newfound distrust of her mother, and each chapter seems to bring new questions that keep the momentum moving at a quick clip.

I prefer more than one narrator when the story is written from varied perspectives. With this in mind, I was initially nervous I’d have trouble following along to the audiobook with one narrator and a dual perspective storyline. In the end, I was worried for nothing because Kate Mara narrated in a way that was engaging and easy to follow.

For that reason, I easily listened to this one in two days. I couldn’t stop searching for clues on how the story would unfold. The fast pacing, coupled with a unique mother-daughter relationship, has me recommending this to anyone who enjoys suspenseful family dramas. Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the DRC.

𝘙𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦!

I love Sarah’s books and I was so excited for this new release, it was so good.
A wild domestic thriller, with lots of family drama, secrets and deception that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this gifted copy.

𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 by Sarah Pekkanen released yesterday August 1, 2023.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

How well do we know our parents? Thats the question thats asked a lot in this story.

It starts as any other mystery/ Thriller for me it was a slow start to get to the auction of the story by the time we got to the mid/end. then it really ramped up. And it makes you think what lengths you would go to protect yourself and the ones you love.

If you like a mystery that your trying to solve with the characters of the book. this is a good read for you.

It is told in Duel POV. My only complaint from the narration was I sometimes couldn't tell whos character they were telling from she didn't change her voice between them.

This is my 1st book by this author and I would read from her again.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for this audio-arc in exchange for my honest review

A solid thriller.

A captivating story about the lengths a mother is willing to go to protect her only daughter. Even if it means living a lie.

Highly recommend!

***Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pekkanen, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Book Title: Gone Tonight
Author: Sarah Pekkanen
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Release Day: August 1, 2023
Format: Audio Book
Rating: Storyline 4.5⭐️ Narration 4⭐️

Synopsis: 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.

Ruth Sterling thinks she knows her daughter. Catherine would never rebel, would never question anything about her mother's past or background. But when Ruth's desperate quest to keep her daughter by her side begins to reveal cracks in Ruth's carefully-constructed world, both mother and daughter begin a dance of deception.

My Thoughts: This was completely not what I was expecting, and it was much slower paced than I was expecting. However, once it picked up, it was worth the wait, and I was so wrapped up in this that I couldn't stop listening! I will say the narration by the famous actress Kate Mara threw me off a tad. This is just because her voice to me is so known from her notable acting roles. I was about 30% in before I could completely take her voice in as the female characters in this book. I will say this was told in two pov, mother and daughter. I truly loved the descriptiveness in the writing and was completely invested in what would happen to this mother daughter relationship. This is what I label a domestic thriller with family drama, and it did not disappoint.

Thank you to MacmillanAudio and NetGalley for this advanced listening copy for my honest review.

**4.5-stars rounded up**

Gone Tonight is the latest solo-release from beloved Thriller author, Sarah Pekkanen. I have had this one on my radar for a long, long time and she did not disappoint. I listened to the audiobook and was so impressed with how it was able to hook me from the very start. I was intrigued, I was invested, I wasn't able to put it down!!

In this story we're following a mother and daughter, Ruth and Catherine, respectively. Catherine feels like she knows her mother almost as well as she knows herself. It's always been just the two of them against the world.

Ruth loves her daughter Catherine with her whole heart and would do anything for her. Ruth was young when she got pregnant, and she gave up a lot for Catherine, but it was worth it. After all, a mother's life is full of sacrifice.

As Catherine has aged, she has grown strong, smart and independent, just like her mother taught her. She's now ready to spread her wings, move to a new city and get her first career-focused job. It seems like everything is going her way, until it's not.

Secretly, Ruth isn't ready for Catherine to be moving on. She's willing to do what she has to in order to keep her daughter close to her. She knows it's deceptive, but she also knows it's for Catherine's own good. In her efforts to keep Catherine with her, Ruth has inadvertently opened herself up to her daughter's scrutiny for the first time.

Ruth has always been secretive about her past. Catherine knows nothing about Ruth's life before her, or even her own extended family members. Ruth's recent behavior causes Catherine to dig, discovering she may not know her mom so well after all.

Y'all, I loved this! As mentioned above, I was hooked into this one from the start. I thought the plot was well-crafted by Pekkanen, keeping the Reader invested and on the edge of their seats.

I loved the character work. The way the truth of Ruth's past was revealed was completely enticing. We do get Ruth's past perspective to help that unfold and I was just as interested in those past sections as I was with the present perspectives.

I also really enjoyed being in the minds of both of these women, as they grappled with their present circumstances and the reality that they may not know everything about the one closest to them. The way it was written you feel like you're a fly on the wall, possibly with a piece of buttered popcorn, just watching all the drama unfold. It's juicy and captivating.

In short, I love a book that captures my attention enough that I can read it in a day. That's exactly what this one did. I had such a fun experience with this one and would definitely recommend it to other Thriller fans, or people who enjoy reading about complicated family dynamics. If you end up enjoying this one half as much as I did, you're bound to have a good time.

Thank you so, so much to the publisher, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. In my opinion, Pekkanen nailed this one. She should be proud!!