This is my favorite by this author(s) so far. I loved the way the story was presented, slowly doling out clues as it went on and building tension in the process. The book kept me guessing the whole time and I could not put it down. It also had my mouth watering for lasagna pizza. Highly recommended for those who enjoy books that make you question who to trust, even family, and those who want to stay up all night reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was amazing and I was not anticipating what happened in this book. I loved the mother daughter relationship throughout the book. The whole story was a thrilling and exhilarating ride where I could not get enough. I wanted to devour this book because the premise was so interesting and was well executed.

I’ve enjoyed everything I have read by this author, and this book is no exception. The story shows the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her child. I thought parts of this were a little unrelatable, but overall, I enjoyed the story.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
Narrator Kate Mara
I am the outlier here and I did try, but for a domestic thriller this book just didn’t grab me. I did not get to 30% when I had to DNF. Maybe it’s a a case of it’s me, not you and I just don’t like this type of book as much as I used to.
The narrator was new to me and her work was good but not enough to keep me going.

I know it makes for a compelling story if characters are covering up important things while others spin out of control based upon their lies and omissions. But then you spend the whole book screaming in your head, "Just freaking explain yourself and all this will stop being such a clusterf*ck."

Do people lie and omit like this in real life? It seems all so unnecessary. I'm not a fan of books with lots of unlikable characters, and liars are certainly at the top of the list, even if they believe their motivations are noble.

One of my favorite authors ever. She never disappoints. She keeps you guessing till the very end. Highly recommend all of this authors books.

A mother/daughter mystery filled with secrets and lies!

I listened to this one on audio and was hooked. As a mom I am always intrigued by mother/daughter relationships that seem tense and loaded with deception. That was certainly the case with Ruth Sterling and her 24 yr. old daughter, Catherine.

When we meet the pair, Catherine is working as a nurse for people with Alzheimer’s, Dementia and similar brain issues. Ruth has started showing signs of Alzheimer’s and Catherine is worried, especially when her mother reveals a history if the disease runs in their family. The more Catherine tries to uncover her family history to try to help her mom, the more she realizes that she knows nothing about her mother’s past or her family. Ruth has worked hard to keep Catherine in the dark and will stop at nothing to keep her daughter safe and oblivious.

As Catherine’s secrets begin to unfurl, things really get interesting & twisty. I loved how both women were on their own journey, each with their own secrets and twists. Yet, in the end things intertwined and combusted together. Overall, this was pretty fast paced, the dual timeline reveals kept my attention and I enjoyed how it all came together in the end.

#gonetonight:⁣
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Thank you @macmillan.audio partner for the gifted copy! ⁣
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If you’re going to pick this book up, (which you should) it’s a no-brainer to grab the audio. Sarah Pekkanen weaves a tangled web of lies in a masterful way, and Kate Mara brings it to life with her audiobook narration. ⁣
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Hands down, this is my favorite Sarah Pekkanen novel. I, at first just listened along, minding my business, thinking it was a nice little story about a mom/daughter combo. Daughter trying to really understand her mom when mom won’t talk about the past.. Queue the oohs and aahs of little secrets, then dang. We got slapped upside the head when we weren’t looking y’all. This book was so worth the slow burn, and we know I’m impatient. ⁣
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Overall, a very satisfying book that takes the time to slowly untwine every loose thread. This includes even the ones you didn’t even knew about. I loved Gone Tonight and as always, so excited for what Pekkanen has in store next! More secrets and lies than thrills and chills, but I loved every second. ⁣
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Out today!

Unpopular opinion, but I was not a big fan of this book. The characters annoyed me. The relationship between mother and daughter was so unrealistic to me. I could see through both women and their deception. I just found my mind wandering every time I listened to this book... yet when I came back to listen, it was as if I missed nothing at all. I just did not find it to be engaging. That being said, I did enjoy the dual perspectives of the book. And a little dual timeline from the mother. That part was well done and I was never confused about who was "talking" and what decade we were in.
Thank you netgalley for my advanced audio copy.

Narrated in alternating chapters by a mother and daughter, Gone Tonight is a suspenseful story in which both characters are keeping secrets, and even the reader, with access to both narratives, doesn't know the whole story until the very end. Ruth Sterling is a quiet, unassuming, middle-aged woman who lives with her 24-year old daughter and works as a waitress in a small cafe. Ruth has always been very reluctant to talk about her past, aside from saying that her religious parents kicked her out of the house when she became pregnant with Catherine. Daughter Catherine works as a nurse in an assisted living / memory care facility, but is eager to spread her wings and begin a more independent life. But just after she accepts a new position at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, her mother begins exhibiting worrying symptoms that may derail her plans.

This was a very well plotted novel, with deepening levels of suspense as secrets are slowly revealed, and it's challenging to compose a decent review without spoilers. Let me just say that if you enjoy suspenseful mysteries, this is one to grab. Published just yesterday, it's completely absorbing, a novel you won't want to put down until the last page.

We start off getting to know Catherine and her mother Ruth Sterling, and their relationship is starting to get a bit strained, mostly due to Ruth aging and Catherine wanting to know more about her past, but Ruth is not ready to share it. This is told in alternating POVs from Catherine and Ruth, and as more is revealed from each we learn that the story is not what you think it will be and in fact takes a crazy turn that had me on the edge of my seat wondering how this would end. Bottom line is a mother would do anything to protect her daughter, even if it means hiding most of her past from her most of her life. This was well done, suspenseful, entertaining, and had quite a bit of depth to it, more than I expected. I read it in one sitting and could not stop listening, I was hooked right from the beginning.

Kate Mara did a wonderful job narrating the audiobook, and I highly recommend you read it this way if you can. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one and

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this ARC

There are the constantly twisting thrillers with reveal after reveal, and while those can be fun, they can also make you dizzy. True thriller lovers also appreciate the slow burn, the building of story until it bursts into an inferno and all is unraveled. That is Sarah Pekkanen's Gone Tonight. Not only is the plot carefully crafted, building layer upon layer, but the characters are relatable and believable. Ruth would do anything to protect her daughter Catherine. As the tag line on the back of the book says, "Their bond runs deep. There les run dark." How could you not love it?

3.5⭐
Genre ~ domestic mystery
Publication date ~ August 1, 2023
Page Count ~ 337
Audio length ~ 10 hours 9 minutes
Narrator ~ Kate Mara
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ 3 act story, dual timeline, se*ual assault, secrets and lies, of course

Catherine is trying to leave the nest at 24, but her mother, Ruth, is doing everything she can to prevent that from happening. As a mother of a daughter I can say too that I never want my baby to leave me, but at some point I know I'll have to be okay with it. Does Ruth take it a little too far, though? Yep.

I see it's not in the blurb, so I'll be vague~ish ~ I did not like Ruth's lie that she told Catherine in order for her to not move away. This is something that scares me and I hope to never have to experience it in my life. I wish a different lie was told because I do see the reasoning of why she had to protect her.

Why Ruth tells all the lies is not a real mystery to us readers, but it's a mystery to Catherine as she tries to piece together Ruth's life. Ruth writes journal entries that give a glimpse into her past and why she had to hightail it. Is how she got away plausible? Nah, not really. A bit slow going at points with a couple of suspenseful moments. An overall decent thriller.

Narration notes:
I suppose Kate did a fine job, but I really could have went for a 2nd narrator. Kate has that younger sounding voice, which was fine for Catherine, but for Ruth she didn't even try to alter her voice to sound different at all. Luckily each chapter stated who was talking, so I wasn't super confused. She hardly gave much emotion at all either. Since it's dual 1st person, with different aged women, I would absolutely expect dual narrators. Honestly, this took me out of the story a little bit, so I'd recommend reading if this is something that might bother you.

I’ve read all of the books that Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen have written together. I hadn’t previously read anything off of Pekkanen’s solo. When I saw that I was approved for Gone Tonight audiobook I was pumped and finished it in less than 24 hours.

Gone Tonight centers between the narratives of Ruth and her daughter Catherine. It has been just the two of them from day one and is all Catherine has ever known. Ruth keeps her past, including her family and Catherine’s father a complete secret. Catherine begins to catch her mother seemingly lying about having memory problems...to keep her around?…to not have to answer questions about her past? She decides to start digging into her mothers past. Meanwhile, Ruth will do anything to keep her daughter from learning about her past, including lying and whatever else it takes to keep her safe.

Ruth’s story begins to be told from the past as well as the present. And what is revealed both as told by Ruth in a diary and as clues discovered by Catherine is a shocking explanation of why the secrets have been kept for so long. Now that they’re out, they are both in danger.

This was a great thriller that had me constantly wondering where the story would lead up to the climax that had me on the edge of my seat. I will definitely continue reading anything Pekkanen releases in the future, whether with Hendricks or not.

Although Kate Mara did a great job narrating, I tend to like different narrators for different POV’s since sometimes it gets confusing knowing who is who. That’s just a personal preference though, not really a complaint.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC (ALC?) of this book.

Wow! What a wild ride. I have read all of Sarah Pekkanen's books. Most recently, I enjoyed the suspense and plot twists of The Golden Couple, The Wife Between Us, and An Anonymous Girl. When I first started Gone Tonight, I thought this book was heading in a different direction but Act II threw me through a loop. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout, and the book kept me wondering "what will happen next?"

Both characters, Ruth and Catherine, were developed well. I could really picture Ruth as a Panther cheerleader and her struggle that resulted from not being born to an upper crust family. Her family dynamic and what she endured at her high school really pulled at my heartstrings. I also felt bad for Catherine, who was forced to move often, resulting in few steady relationships. Also, her meddling mother. Ah!

What Ruth endured throughout her life, as retold in her notebook, captivated my attention, leading me to finish the book in two days. It was quite a wild ride with many "I didn't see that coming" moments.

I wish we could give books ratings with 0.5s, because this book is a 4.5, in my opinion. But because I am feeling generous, and I am already looking forward to Ms. Pekkanen's next book, I will round up.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this book with me in exchange for my honest review.

It took me until about the 25% mark to get into this book, but once the story started taking shape, I really enjoyed it. Told from the POV of both Ruth and her daughter, Catherine, we follow the duo as secrets begin to unravel. Through Ruth's journal entries, we get flashes of the past she's trying to keep hidden; while Catherine is secretly working to learn the truth.
I enjoyed following both characters as the pieces begin to fall into place. The story had a few twists and turns along the way that kept me engaged, and even saved a few for the very end. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the gifted copy of this book.

This thriller absolutely gutted me. A mother tries to protect her daughter from secrets from the past that could unravel their complete existence. I’m a big fan of Kate Mara and her narration of this book was brilliant. I completely sobbed and cried my eyes out at the end, which doesn’t usually happen to me when I read thrillers. This book will wreck you.

I was fortunate to receive this audiobook early (thank you Sarah Pekkanen, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley!) and binged this entire book in one day. I loved it!! Also, Kate Mara did a fantastic job narrating the audio. I think it would have been closer to a 5 star if I had read it physically - so go add it to your BOTM box for August!

I did the audio of Gone Tonight and I enjoyed the narrator. I thought it was really well done. However, the storyline of this book was such a slowwwww burn. It was an interesting plot, but it took so long to get through. I found parts of the book a bit unrealistic, but there is a good twist in the middle that I didn’t catch onto.

Catherine and her mother, Ruth, have always been close. It's always been just the two of them.

Catherine is finally ready to spread her wings and move away from her mother. A scary health diagnosis may stop her from doing so, however.

Told in multiple timelines by both Ruth and Catherine.

As the secrets are revealed little by little, will the mother/daughter relationship be threatened? Read it and find out.

I enjoyed both of the main characters and thought they were portrayed well. I didn't always agree with what they did but that's the fun of reading a book.

I switched between reading the print book and listening to the audio version. The narrator of the audio book did a great job. It was easy to tell which character was speaking. That is often difficult with only one narrator playing both parts.

Not as "thrilling" as some thrillers are, but a good read anyway. More emphasis on the psychological aspect in this one.

Thanks to netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.