I really enjoyed Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen and loved the mother/daughter relationship. In college, as my English thesis, I tracked the emotional journey of mother and daughter in many works of literature and I cannot help doing the same now. Even though Catherine and Ruth seem close, there are many lies, secrets and hiding gong on. Ruth doesn’t want Catherine finding out about her past but the life she planned comes crashing down around her. I loved the twists and turns and could not put this one down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

Gone Tonight is an enjoyable, twisty novel about a mother and daughter keeping secrets from each other. Ruth Sterling has run from her past for the last twenty-five years. Around that time, she had a daughter, Catherine. Ruth has been a devoted, but seemingly codependent mother. Ruth is only in her early 40s and has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. Though she was headed to Johns Hopkins for graduate school, Catherine feels compelled to stay home with her mother. From there, we learn more and more about Ruth's past. The story is riveting, though I did see some of the reveals coming. I enjoyed Kate Mara's audiobook narration, but it would have been easier to follow if there were two narrators for the dual viewpoints.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for providing this ebook / audiobook ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I did enjoy the tension of the story, but I couldn't help be think that had the mom and daughter just communicated, things would have worked out a little differently. It's like the miscommunication trope from romance but make it thrilling.

I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you @MacMillan.Audio and @StMartinsPress for the #gifted ALC/eARC of GONE TONIGHT.

I seem to be in the minority when it comes to Sarah Pekkanen’s first solo thriller. I enjoyed the fact that this was a thriller centered on a mother-daughter relationship and that it had a bit a of a cat and mouse aspect where you never really knew who was outplaying the other.

But the author used something as a plot device that I found personally disgusting and I just can’t get over it. I guessed the twist early on and it left me with a bad taste for the rest of the book. The character who did it later admits that it’s a despicable thing to do but I just think that there could have been better ways to shock the reader than the way that this was done.

After that big twist that I guessed, I found the rest of the book fairly predictable and underwhelming. It could just be that the twist put me off of the book. And it doesn’t seem like it’s bothered many of the other early reviewers I’ve seen so if the synopsis still interests you then give it a try.

And if you’ve read this and are also bothered by the twist, drop me a DM.

GONE TONIGHT comes out on August 1.

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It has been Catherine and Ruth Sterling since the day she was born, but now, at 24 years old, Catherine has a job opportunity that requires her to move to a different city away from her mother, Ruth. Shortly before the move Ruth begins displaying signs of early Alzheimers and has Catherine questioning whether she should move away or not. As the story continues we learn that Ruth has many secrets and will do whatever she can to make sure her daughter is never far from her sight.
This is definitely a slow burn and felt a little long and boring at times. I really enjoyed that we got to hear the story from both Catherine and Ruth's perspectives and really enjoyed the journal entries that brought us into the past to learn Ruth's story. This wasn't as suspenseful and action packed as other books I have read from Sarah and Greer but was still a decent story with some twists. The narrator was a good choice but I think it would have been much better to have a different narrator for the two women as I often got confused as to who was speaking at the time. Ok read but not my favorite.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Sarah Pekkanen for allowing me to listen to an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was twisted in the best way! It starts as a slow burn and picks up about halfway through. I loved how determined Ruth was to keep her and Catherine safe. I didn't know which direction the author was going to go, but I really liked how this ended. As a single mother, I know the sacrifice to make those hard decisions and to do what's best for you and your child. Great read!

This book is everything I love in a thriller!!! Fast paced, addictive, twists and turns - I absolutely flew through this audiobook!! Nothing is as it seems and as the layers of the past slowly get peeled back, the anxiety for the current situation starts to build.

A few things I loved::
•The complicated mother/daughter relationship. What seems like a seriously overprotective mother desperate to keep her daughter from leaving her is actually SO much more!
•Catherine works on an Alzheimer’s unit and I appreciated the focus on the reality of the disease.
•The duel timelines. Finding out tid bits of the past at a time definitely kept me guessing and kept the pace moving so fast!
•Duel POV. Hearing both women’s POV definitely kept the mystery going on longer. I was super invested in Catherine’s sleuthing!

If I’m being picky, I would have loved two voices for the audio.

Wow! I knew when I started it that it was going to be good but I had no idea how good! This is my first solo Pekkanen read. I've read most of her Greer collabs, and they're hit and miss with me. I loved Anonymous Girl.

This is going to be one of the top books of the year for me. The way it unfolded was flawless. Some books will save too many of their secrets until the very end, resting the entire ending on that twist instead of revealing things at a natural pace. I was so impressed with the layout of this book!

Catherine, a recent nursing school graduate, and her single mom Ruth are used to being invisible. They've had a tough life but they've had each other and can err toward codependent.

Catherine was preparing to go work at a prestigious hospital away from Ruth when Ruth is diagnosed with dementia. It's in the early stages but having worked at a nursing home, Catherine knows how bad this will be.

We know Ruth wants to keep Catherine close to her at any cost but we don't really know why. Catherine is starting to get this hunch too so she decides to dig into her mom's past, since she knows literally nothing. She begins finding more than she bargained for but Catherine seems to be looking in her mom's closet when she has a few skeletons of her own.

Kate Mara narrating the audiobook was pure perfection. Don't ask me how, but Ruth and Catherine sounded completely different. The dual narration really set this off too. I have absolutely nothing negative to say.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to listen and review.

Catherine and Ruth Sterling have always had each other. Now that Catherine is ready to begin a new career and separate herself from her mother, Ruth will do anything to prevent that from happening.

Is Ruth being paranoid or is danger coming for Catherine? Is Catherine being paranoid or is Ruth lying to her?

This domestic thriller kept me on my toes. I guessed some of the plot surprises, but I loved the original storyline with mother lying to daughter and vis versa.

[ALC Audiobook Review]

Story: Four out of Five Stars
Performance: Four out of Five Stars

This is a story of a mother doing anything she can to protect her daughter.

Imagine you find out your forty something year old mother has been having symptoms of early onset alzheimers, but wants nothing to do with having more tests done or seek treatment. As you try to plan for the all the life changes this new diagnosis will bring, recent actions and lies your mother told come to fruition and begin to muddle the trust you have in her. Then you come to the realization that you know nothing about your mother's past, where she comes from or if she has even given you her real birthdate. What would you do? This is exactly what Katherine Sterling is going through and she is determined to discover her mother's secrets.

This psychological thriller is told in three Acts through dual points of view: Ruth Sterling the mother, and Katherine her daughter with chapters of Ruth retelling her past as she writes in a journal that Katherine will eventually read- though we don't know when.

If you are familiar with actress Kate Mara, then you will enjoy her narration of this book. Kate Mara did a good job portraying the ranges of emotions both MFC went through. Even though the narrator does not change inflection to differentiate the two main characters, it didn't disrupt my following of the story. The story has a slow pace yet I didn't get frustrated because each chapter unwraps more layers of the story.

At the beginning of act three I did however begin to question how the story could go from there. I wondered how the author would incorporate a twist or turn so as to not end the book suddenly, but I didn't dwell on that questioning for too long because there definitely was more.

Throughout the book the author sprinkled tidbits of clues, but they never once had me veering away from of what the author wanted the reader to believe. I really enjoyed this Audiobook. I didn't expect the twist, and if she really wanted to Sarah Pekkanen could probably continue their story in another book.

If you are a fan of Frieda McFadden or Liv Constantine then you will enjoy this audiobook.

Please note: the story involves sexual assault of a minor, physical abuse of minors, talks of alcohol abuse, murder and mental health issues.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan audio for the free audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving this honest review.

This book was great. Sarah Pekkanen is an author that really knows her craft. Her pace throughout the novel kept you wondering, especially with two narrators that were both a bit unreliable. To keep the story going, while only releasing bits of information from the past, really kept me engaged and wondering.
The story seemed dark, but hopeful. I kept seeing glimpses of what the mom was so worried about - would her daughter be found by her dad and what parts of her dad were imbued in her DNA. It brings up that common worry of parents about what parts of the parents will they carry on.
I thought at first that the mother's real story was going to be outlandish - but the author really kept it under control and believable.
I have enjoyed this author before this book and enjoyed this book - and I will look forward to the next novel she writes.

This book is a decent read, I listened to the audiobook narrated by Kate Mara. The narration was nothing spectacular, and I think the audiobook would have been a better experience had there been a different narrator for both Ruth and Catherine.

The book starts with Catherine having just received her nursing degree and is about to take a new job in Baltimore. However her mother Ruth is showing signs of Alzheimer's Disease and Catherine thinks she may need to stay and help to care for her mother. But Ruth has some serious secrets, and she will stop at nothing to keep those secrets hidden, and that means keeping Catherine as close to her as she can.

There are a few interesting twists in this book, but I pretty much called where it was going early on and the twists weren't surprising to me at all. There are way, way too many convenient things that happen in the book, too many for me to suspend my disbelief.

Yet it is a fast paced story and I was interested to see how things would unfold and what the outcome would be. It kept my attention throughout and I was invested enough to want to see what happened (instead of wanting to skip ahead to the end like I want to do other times).

Catherine recently graduated nursing school and she is ready to move out and start her life. Her mother isn’t ready to let go. Ruth goes to great lengths to keep Catherine close. Is there more to the story than just that? Why is Ruth going to such lengths to keep her daughter with her? There are a lot of family secrets in this story to discover.

One of the things I loved about this book was the relationship between mother and daughter. Both women care deeply for one another and would do anything to keep the other safe. But Catherine knows little about her mother’s life before she was born and is naturally curious to know more. As Catherine learns more about her mother, there are just more questions.

I also felt the pacing was really nice. The story goes back and forth and you get to hear from each woman. Ruth reveals her backstory to the reader as Catherine discovers more information. Ruth’s backstory is that of girl having to grow up too fast and of a mother working hard to raise her daughter alone. There are many twists throughout the story and they came at just the right times to keep the story moving.

I would recommend Gone Tonight to readers that enjoy family drama and suspense. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. 4/5 stars.

I was able to listen to the audiobook through NetGalley. Kate Mara narrates.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gone Tonightby: Sarah Pekkanen
Pub Date: 8/1/23
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Catherine Sterling is 24 years old. She’s an only child who just graduated from nursing school and is getting ready to take on her first adult job in a new city.
Ruth, Catherine’s mother is a hard working waitress who seems to be exhibiting symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease at just 42. Unfortunately this will mean Catherine is going to have to put her new job on hold.
The more Catherine watches her mom the more she wonders about her. All she knows of her family is that when Ruth found out she was pregnant her father kicked her out. But as she works to discover more, big secrets start to slowly unravel. Is anything her mother had told her over the last 24 years true?

One of the best mystery thriller books of this year!! Definitely a must read

GONE TONIGHT, the audiobook, has left me utterly captivated from start to finish. The engaging plot, coupled with the exceptional narration, creates an enthralling experience that is hard to put down.

The story follows a roller-coaster of suspense and mystery, with unexpected twists and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. The author's skillful storytelling transports listeners into a world of intrigue and danger, making it a thrilling ride that lingers long after the final chapter.

What truly elevates this audiobook is the outstanding narration. The voice actor's talent for distinct character portrayals brings each individual to life, adding depth and authenticity to the narrative. The seamless transitions between scenes and emotions further enhance the immersive experience, making it feel like you are witnessing the events unfold firsthand.

Moreover, the pacing of the audiobook is spot on, keeping a perfect balance between intense action sequences and moments of reflection, allowing listeners to stay engaged throughout. The audio quality is excellent, ensuring a seamless and clear listening experience.

If you're a fan of suspenseful thrillers, GONE TONIGHT is an absolute must-listen. Whether you're a seasoned audiobook enthusiast or a newcomer to the format, this gripping tale will undoubtedly leave you eagerly awaiting the next adventure from this talented author and narrator duo.

GONE TONIGHT audiobook is a masterful fusion of gripping plotlines and exceptional narration, creating an unforgettable experience that will have you hooked from the very beginning. Don't miss out on this thrilling journey into the heart of mystery and suspense!

overall i feel the book was a tad too long.
However, I loved the rotatating POV from mother and daughter and how the story slowly came to light. I was on the moms side the whole time so I wanted to yell at Catherine for her to stop searching however when you listen to just Catherine's POV it makes sense. She is a 24 year old woman trying to understand her roots, her mother and even her own future while her mother evades her questioning. I will say I wish there was more "writing" in the spiral notebook as this felt so important for so long but I dont think it ended up being that. I love a book that has an ending that is unexpected and leaves the writer with intrigue after and this fit the bill!

From the word go, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. Katherine and Ruth’s relationship seemed like the perfect mother daughter set up. Turns out, basically everything was a lie? This was so chaotic! I was at the edge of my seat trying to figure out what the heck was going to happen, and honestly, I did not see any of that coming! Right up until the ending, I had one view on Katherine, as the victim. The very last scene gave me chills. I have no idea how to feel about anyone anymore!!

OK that ending though!!!! I wasn't expecting that...I recommend this book for those that like thrillers! The story did keep me entertained and the audio was great!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the complimentary ALC! I’ve read and enjoyed all of Greer Hendricks’ and Sarah Pekkanen’s co-written books, and I was so excited to dig into this new thriller written by Pekkanen and out on August 1st.

With that said…this did NOT disappoint. If anything, it exceeded my expectations! The POV alternates between mother Ruth and daughter Catherine. Catherine knows that Ruth raised her alone as a teenage single mom, she knows that her mother has uprooted them a few times throughout their lives, and she knows that Ruth has no connection to her family or any old friends. Ruth knows one thing: she must keep Catherine safe from a man she’s never even met.

As we go chapter to chapter, Catherine starts to discover, piece by piece, that her mother has lied to het about many things. Ruth starts to give us clues as the chapters go on, eventually telling us about her past and why she’s been hiding since the age of 16 - all while still keeping Catherine in the dark. When Catherine’s curiosity puts them both in danger, Ruth may finally have to tell her the truth.

I absolutely loved this thriller - it was somewhat of a slow burn as far as the story being revealed, but it felt like I still flew through it! I didn’t want to put it down at all. I know this is one I’m going to be recommending for the rest of the year!

I really enjoyed this one for most of the book. The dynamic between single mother and daughter in a difficult situation rang true for me as a single mother of a daughter I’m overprotective of for my own reasons. There were interesting twists and clues but I don’t think they were surprising if you read a lot of thrillers. That didn’t take away from the enjoyment though. My main problem with the writing was tons of unnecessary detail. For instance when one of the women was in a Target and getting a flashlight - describing the displays of flashlights, describing the walk to the batteries, opening the batteries, a battery falls out, etc etc. Or the extensive detail about testing a resident for diabetes…there was just a lot of extra that didn’t need to be there that made sections drag. But I liked it overall - for me a 3 star is a good rating, an enjoyable book.