I loved this book! It only took me two days to devour the entire book! I was captivated from the very start all the way through to the final pages. I definitely recommend this book! But there are some trigger warnings so I would look those up before you dive into this book! Definitely going to buy a copy of this book for my bookshelf! Such a fantastic read!

3.5 rounded up. It’s entertaining and the narrator does amazing. Great pace and voices. The story is a bit zig zaggy. First couple of chapters I’m wondering if the book is about Alzheimer’s and her daughter coping. Then I remember no it’s a thriller twist will come. Then we have time pov jumps. Present and past. Then dual pov from daughter and mother. At the end it’s a bit predictable.

Thank you NetGalley for this early Audiobook! I’ve enjoyed co-authored books of Sarah Pekkanen, so I was super excited to read this standalone. This book had me hooked from the start. I didn’t realize how much of the thriller aspect was in it and the darker side that came out. This entire book does a great job how showing how far a mother will go to try and keep her child safe, and how the lies and deceit of a dark past will always follow you. Enjoyed the shout out to Where The Heart Is too!

Talk about twists! Twisted family and a twisted story. I totally recommend this book if you like things a bit fucked up.

First off, how flipping awesome is it that KATE MARA is the narrator for the audiobook?! I love her acting (House of Cards or American Horror Story anyone?) and her voice is FLAWLESS for audio! So amazing!

Second, this book. Wow. Pekkanen always delivers (admittedly I'm mostly familiar with her novels co-authored with Greer Hendricks) but Gone Tonight was next level and definitely put Pekkanen on my radar as a solo author.

We've all read books where people don't really know the people they love and where people were hiding things. This was done differently and it felt fresh even if it wasn't the most original concept.

With alternating narrators - Ruth and her daughter Catherine - we learn of a story about a mother and daughter who are basically alone in the world. Fearful her time and luck are running out, Ruth starts to tell her story by writing it down to share with Catherine in the event she disappears. What unfolds is terrifying but also devastatingly sad and traumatic.

There were twists in this novel I totally didn't expect and I loved that big reveals were made early on. Nothing was dragged out but I was still kept on the edge of my seat at every turn.

This novel also makes you think - what lengths would you go to in order to protect the people you love? How deep is a mother's love?

All in all, this was a shockingly good one and a book I'll definitely recommend. My only gripe about the audio - and again I freaking loved Kate Mara - was that she was the only narrator. When a book is told from two points of view, I generally like separate narrators for each. The writing and stories were clear enough that it was easy to separate, but a second narrator would have added that final cherry on top.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio, and NetGalley for the copy.

I enjoyed this read. The pace was a little slow for my taste but the plot kept me going. Overall, I think the pace was slow to medium and a mix of character and plot driven. This is a dark, emotional, tense, mysterious read. Things seemed predictable but then the author would throw another twist in.

I enjoyed Catherine’s perspective the most and seeing the information of her mother unfold.

The narrator for the audiobook was not my favorite but also did not ruin the story.

I will be recommending this to my reading friends.

5⭐️

I had the audiobook read by Kate Mara, her voice is very interesting to listen to, but there’s not a clear distinction between the two female main characters.

There’s an intertwined seemingly overly dependent mother and daughter relationship.
The mother Ruth has made her life evolve around her daughter and keeping her safe. Catherine is ready to spread her wings, which is when the cracks start to develop in their relationship.

The characterisation is excellent, I really engaged with both of them, there’s some very moving moments too as the back story is revealed.

There’s great pace, plenty going on throughout with the different layers, different enough to really stand out. Lots of twists and turns throughout. I absolutely loved it, It made me feel emotional. That epilogue!!

I highly recommend it. It has a worthy place in my books of the year.

BIG pieces of her vibes! And my review will almost be the same.

This one was okay, I liked the ending but I had troubles staying engaged throughout. I was definitely interested in the mom and if there had been more lead up or more suspicious circumstances surrounding the initial crime, that would’ve hit right. The mothers story was more interesting than the daughters and I didn’t feel like the whole Alzheimer’s plot point at the start made that much sense overall. The ending was more interesting guyyyyyyys. It was all just “wow how convenient” things don’t happen like that. There is a 2% chance (being generous about it) that the main thing occurred…

I did audio and it took me awhile to understand who was talking but once I did it got a bit better.

GONE TONIGHT by Sarah Pekkanen
Publication Date: 8/1/2023
St. Martins’ Press
Macmillan Audio: 10 hrs 9 min by Kate Mara


Wonderful slow-burn mystery thriller chock full of twists, turns and red herrings. Watch the unravelling of the perfect mother-daughter relationship between single mom,Ruth Sterling and her daughter Catherine. Secrets will surface as Catherine is about to move away and embark on her nursing career. She has given notice to the nursing home, where she excels in treating and dealing with the dementia patients. She has been accepted for her first career job as a nurse, at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. This will be the first time she will live separate from her adoring mother, Ruth. Suddenly she starts to notice disturbing changes in her mother’s behavior and actions…. she suspects early onset Alzheimer disease. A trickle of her mother’s past history is revealed with glaring inconsistencies.
Pekkanen proves to be a masterful storyteller, as she unspools a complex narrative told from the perspective of not only Catherine and Ruth, but in a piecemeal fashion Ruth’s backstory as an adolescent. Secrets will be revealed with disastrous implications that ratchet up the intrigue and suspense, culminating in an explosive denouement.
I personally switched back and forth between my kindle and the excellent audio narration provided by actress Kate Mara. She was able to bring life to the mother daughter duo in the theatre of my mind. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for providing an Uncorrected Proof and Advance Audio version of this wonderful mystery, in exchange for my honest review.

Gone Tonight is a domestic thriller about secrets kept between a mother and daughter. The story alternates between Ruth, the mother, and Kathrine, the daughter, as well as adolescent Ruth in the early 2000s. I enjoyed this story but felt that the pacing was pretty slow to begin. It didn't feel like a thriller until about 25% of the way into the book and at times I had to double check that this was in fact a thriller. Kate Mara does a fine job as a narrator but only have one narrator made the story hard to follow at times. There should have been multiple narrators, or at least voices, to help keep the different character storylines more diverse and unique. I think I would have gotten through the book faster if I had read it rather than listened to it. In general, I really enjoy audiobooks but the singular narrator made this one hard to follow. Thank you to MacMillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

A story full of secrets and twists around every corner! I enjoyed this book so much and was drawn into the story about a mother willing to do anything to protect her daughter from the dangers of her past. The deceptions and plot twists kept me on my toes throughout the entire book and this is one I would for sure recommend to other thriller lovers! I listened to this as an audio and enjoyed the performance of Kate Mara. The only thing I would have liked to see is a second narrator to help tell the POV apart. Overall, a great story receiving 4.5 out of 5 stars, rounding up to 5 on goodreads.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Pekkanen for providing me this gifted audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was completely sucked in to this story and could not stop listening! Addictive, excellently paced thriller. Ruth and her daughter Catherine are a close-knit adult mother-daughter pair, but as Catherine looks to leave the nest, Ruth begins to show signs of concerning health problems. What follows is a twisted ride of deception and secrets between the two women, with every new piece of information leaving both women more suspicious of one another - and inching closer to a reckoning neither wants to face.

This book alternates between the two main characters' POVs, and the reader is never fully sure if either is a reliable narrator. We get Ruth's backstory of growing up and how Catherine comes into her life, doled out in short journal entries by Ruth. I loved the sneaky uses of technology that each woman employs to investigate and attempt to find out the truth about what the other is hiding. There were so many good twists and turns; the story had an equal number of plot points that I could predict, and ones I could not - the same cannot be said for many thrillers that I have read recently.

I loved the look into how far a mother will go to protect her child, and what darkness lies within a person. The ending was pitch perfect, in that it felt wrapped up, but also left room for different interpretations.

Actress Kate Mara narrates the audiobook, and it was fantastic to listen to. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes suspense or thrillers, and I'm glad to see that (even without writing partner Greer Hendricks,) Sarah Pekkanen doesn't miss a beat.

Content warnings: alcoholism, abuse, sexual assault, violence, murder, mention of self-harm.

For me, personally, it was too much drama and not enough thriller. However, I'm sure other people will feel very differently. This is just my personal opinion.

This was a great audiobook. Having Kate Mara narrate this book was amazing. The story of a mother who will do anything to protect her daughter, and the stagger who discovers her mother has been lying to her her whole life. We get the point of view of both women and I was hooked from the start. Will definitely be recommend this!
Thanks for the chance to listen to this audiobook

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced release copy of "Gone Tonight" to review! While I didn't initially love the premise of this psychological thriller, there were enough twists and turns that it was exciting and captivating. Kate Mara did a phenomenal job of narrating it, but I felt myself losing interest intermittently. I think I would have been more engaged in the book if I had read it rather than listened, but Sarah Pekkanen is a master storyteller and never disappoints with her writing itself!

In Sarah Pekkanen's Gone Tonight, Ruth Sterling gives birth to Catherine as a teenager, and they've bounced from location to location ever since. Now that Catherine is twenty-four and ready to gain some independence, she notices some quirks about her mother that don't add up. The more she investigates, the murkier things get. Soon, things begin to feel downright sinister.

I liked the premise, but the book fell a bit flat for my tastes. While I don't demand constant action at every turn, I had hoped for a little more plot development. The majority of the story happened right at the end, and the pacing seemed off as a result. There were also a LOT of coincidences, which really tanked its believability.

As far as the narration, I think this would have benefitted from multiple narrators. It was a little confusing whether Ruth or Catherine was speaking at any given point.

Critiques aside, I'm sure fans of Sarah Pekkanen and slow burn mysteries will have plenty of positive things to say about this upcoming release.

I LOVED this book! Five stars! Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was excellent and I am excited to write this review. Here is the summary from the publisher: 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 opinion: excellent suspense novel! The author completely kept me guessing, and at the edge of my seat. Whenever I thought I figured something out, I was wrong. I think the greatest compliment you can give to an author is that you did not want to put their story down (in my case, I listened to the audiobook and did not want to stop listening). The characters were very well developed and the author created a unique story line that was complex, yet easy to follow. I feel like a lot of effort went into developing this story and it shows.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an opportunity to listen to the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. I think this book will do very well when released....it should!

Another great read from @sarahpekkanen

Ava shows a true mother's love & will do anything to protect her daughter Kathryn. Kathryn is an adult, but she is determined to learn more about her mother's past. Sometimes digging into the past can only lead to trouble!

This dual POV psychological thriller is a slow burn at first. Alternating between mom and daughter (Ruth & Catherine) and their bond. It's just been the two of them since Catherine was born. Questions start developing, and Catherine begins to dig into her moms past.

This story is filled with secrets unraveling and motives to hide those secrets. Some of those being a bit more dark and twisted.

I enjoyed the development of this story. By the end, I was definitely sucked in as everything unfolded.

A great audio with dysfunctional families and a mother who will go through great lengths to protect her daughter.

This story was incredibly twisty and emotional. Gone Tonight is told through dual POVs of Ruth and her daughter, Catherine. Growing up, it was always just the two of them. They moved around a lot, didn’t have any connections to family. As Ruth begins to show signs of memory loss, Catherine scrambles to get her mom to write down her life story so that they have it. As Catherine starts looking into her mom’s past, she begins to realize she doesn’t know her as well as she thought she did. It was a slow buildup in the beginning but picks up around 30% and doesn’t slow down until the end. I found myself unable to turn off the audiobook. Pekkanen did an amazing job with these characters. Both POVs were interesting and I couldn’t wait to get to the next one.

Kate Mara has such a great voice. I thought that her voice fit the story well. It would have been fun to have a second voice for Ruth or for Catherine, but I didn’t feel like it took away from the story.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

My Ratings:
Plot ★★★★★
Listening Experience ★★★★
Characters ★★★★★
Writing Style ★★★★★

Overall ★★★★.75