4.5/5 stars, rounded up.

Loved this mystery! I don't want to say too much here to give any plot points away. The narrative alternates between mother and daughter, and the reader quickly realizes they are both keeping secrets from the other. The pacing is fantastic, the characters are interesting. This was a real page turner with so many twists!

I listened to this one, and the narrator (Kate Mara) does a great job with the alternating points of view. She kept me listening! I didn't want to stop, I had to know what would happen next.

Recommend this if you like dual points of view, fast-paced mysteries, and family tensions.

I went into this book completely blind, and the amount of twists and turns Sarah Pekkanen takes you on is fantastic. I continued to be surprised throughout this entire book. I thought she did an incredible job with the character Ruth and telling both timelines from her perspective. I also listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator was wonderful.

Did not finish this audiobook. It was just too slow for me. I couldn't get into it. I tried a few times but just couldn't do it.

I gave this 4.5 stars on Goodreads. I really loved this! I have been itching for a thriller with a new or fresh plot line. I understand that there are only so many directions to go in and that thrillers will often have overlap---and I am okay with that---but because I read so many thrillers, it gets a bit repetitive after a while. This was intriguing from the start and maintained my interest throughout.
I think this brought something new to the table and I can appreciate that!

It is a well known fact here on the blog that I am a dual-POV lover! This book has such a dynamic dual--POV storyline that kept me guessing and really built up the suspense. In addition to the suspense, there is some really interesting commentary on mother-daughter relationships and, my favorite... SHORT CHAPTERS!!! Ugh, I am obsessed with short chapters. I have heard the back and forth on long vs. short chapters. You can call me crazy, but I am sticking with my short chapters!

This is about a mother and daughter who are out running their past...but only the mother knows it. This story is a slow burn and is told through alternating perspectives.

I primarily listened to the audiobook for this one. My one issue is that the narrator really didnt do much to help us as the reader to differentiate the characters. The characters have alternating chapters and the narrator sounded the same for both. This sometimes confused the story.

For this story being as slow as it was, I wasn't expecting such a strange ending. It kind of seemed out of nowhere and only added as a twisted ending. I found it kind of off putting.

This is the first book I've read from the author as a solo author. I have read many of her books written with her writing partner. I think she delivers better when working with her partner, there seemed to be something missing from this novel.

Gone Tonight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Sarah Pekkanen

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

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. No one can know Ruth's history. There is a reason why Ruth kept them moving every few years, and why she was ready—in a moment's notice—to be gone in the night. But danger is closing in. Is it coming from the outside, from Ruth's past? Is Ruth reaching a breaking point? Or is the danger coming from the darkness that may live in Catherine, herself?

My Thoughts: Pekkanen is known to team up with Greer Hendricks delivering masterful psychological thrillers but is solo this time, which did not disappoint. This one is a masterpiece, its compelling, twisty, slow-burning character development, apt tension, and a carefully constructed plot. This thriller grabbed my attention from the start and kept me fully invested into the very end. This is one of the better thrillers I have read in recent months. This story is divided into three carefully constructed acts that create a web of twists, the darkness that can reside in a person’s soul, and the very depths that a mother will go to protect their child, no matter how old the child is. The center of the book is Catherine and her mother Ruth, dealing with a possible Alzheimer’s disorder, their relationship is co-dependent, a bit dysfunctional, and at times, obsessive. Catherine cancels her plans to relocate to Boston to help her mother. Catherine soon realizes that her mother has spun her own web of dark secrets that slowly come to light. Will they all unravel?

The premise was original and I have not read before. The story is narrated in alternative perspectives. Our protagonists are unreliable. Catherine is focused, trusting, and concerned about a possible Alzheimer’s diagnosis for her mother, what it would mean if her mother is diagnosed. Ruth is secretive, extremely dependent upon Catherine, and has built up a life based on a false set of facts. When Catherine starts to unravel the family secrets, she finds more than she can imagine. The characters were created with depth, mystery, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, suspenseful, twisty, and just brilliant. The author’s pace and flow of the story is spot on and delivers the plot in twisty layers, some were predictable but a few I did not see coming, and thrilling, exciting suspenseful tension.

The story initially presents more contemporary and then a twist is revealed and it slides into excellent thriller territory. I had the pleasure of having the audiobook and digital book. The narrator was absolutely fantastic, the voice variation was spot on, she really brought these characters from the pages to our minds. This thriller was compelling, captivating, gripping, on the edge of your seat read. Once I started, I devoured in less than 48 hours. I highly recommend picking up this book, or any of their works.

Gone Tonight was utterly bingeable, and I'm glad I could speed up the narration via the NetGalley app, because I could not get through this fast enough. It was a compulsive listen, and the twists were really nicely executed. I loved the flashes of backstory mixed in to make us feel more connected to mom. Kate Mara was an interesting narrator... she did a really good job giving us distinct voices for the POVs.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars

Happy publication to Sarah Pekkanen and Gone Tonight! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read an ALC (Advanced Listener 🎧 Copy) for an honest review!

📅 Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen was published on August 1, 2023. 📅

I still think about this book even though it’s been a little over a week since I’ve read it. I find myself thinking about my morals and what I would do in a situation where I’m faced with the decision to lie about my entire life and existence to protect my child or keep my identity and risk losing it all…including my child and my own life. On principle, I don’t believe in lying. However, if put in the same position as Ruth, the main character, I think that I’d forego my moral compass to protect my daughter.

Ruth and Catherine have always faced the world together. Ruth was pregnant 🤰 with Catherine at the age of 16 and the father is no longer in the picture 💔. Ruth has been Catherine’s biggest cheerleader 📣 and has been so excited about her moving to a new city to start her first job. Unfortunately, Ruth starts showing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and they seem to be progressing rather quickly.

Catherine does not feel comfortable leaving her mom alone and she begins struggling with the disease. She plans to cancel her apartment contract and notify her job that she can’t commit to her employment contract any longer. That is until Catherine begins to wonder if her mom truly has Alzheimer’s or if she’d been spinning a complex web of lies.

This is a thriller lover’s ❤️ must read with lots of twists, turns, and unexpected outcomes!

This was a wonderful book. A great Thor ill er that kept me guessing the whole time. I would recommend this to all thriller lovers!

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Mystery/thriller📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
A captivating thriller that starts off a little slow but certainly picks up the pace. It reminded me of Pieces of Her.

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Slow burning tension
Unreliable POV
Intriguing and captivating thrillers
Suspenseful reads
Lots of secrets
Alternating timeline/POV
Complicated family dynamics

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Learning about Ruth’s backstory

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
It was a little hard to get into


I enjoyed the narration and I feel like the voice really help hook me in.

This was so interesting. Loved it. Enjoyed every second of it. Hope there’s another book after this with same characters. The audio narration was performed really well, and brought the story to life!

Gone Tonight is an enthralling and addictive thriller from Sarah Pekkanen, of the writing duo Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. Part drama, part mystery, and part thriller, it ended up being entirely different from what I was expecting, but in the best way.

I would classify Gone Tonight as a slow burn, but don’t let that deter you because there are so many elements that will keep you turning the page. With a unique plot, short chapters, dual POVs, and flashback diary entries, I was so fully invested from start to finish. Sarah Pekkanen did a phenomenal job at developing both Ruth and Catherine and their mother-daughter relationship. Seeing both of their POVs gave the reader such a unique perspective. At first I couldn’t wait to find out what Ruth was hiding, and I was excited for Catherine to uncover it. Once Ruth reveals the truth to the reader from her POV, I wanted Catherine to know too, but I was also silently begging her to stop looking for answers because I knew the consequences. And even though I was able to guess most of Ruth’s secret, there were still several red herrings and surprises along the way.

While Kate Mara was an amazing narrator, I do think the audio would have benefited from having two narrators, one for each POV. I was still able to keep track of which character I was listening to, but it would have made the divide between each character that much more obvious.

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a physical ARC, and MacMillan Audio for providing me with a complementary ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this audio. The narrator was a bit boring imo though. I wish it wasn’t so monotone. The book itself was fantastic though. I loved the depth, the mystery and the thrill. I also loved the very last chapter where the mother reveals things she left out of her journal. I always love a good twist with a surprise extra twist.

Gone Tonight was an amazing book to indulge in. It kept me glued to the book since I first picked it up. I was completely engrossed. The book kept me guessing throughout and I thought I knew what was going on but the twist in the end had me going. The audiobook was also amazing.

This was good but maybe I've yet been listening to too many thrillers lately but nothing seems to be blowing me away. But I still enjoyed this audio! It kept me invested and engaged! I saw some of it coming but still enjoyed the ride! The intensity made it fun to run to! A good distraction and definitely recommend the audio..tho I wish we had two voices for the mother and daughter because sometimes I got confused on which POV I was listening to at first.

This books was thrilling and immersive and I really dug how the story plays out over the course of the book. What a fun read.

I enjoyed this one! It was well written and definitely kept me engaged. I was excited to see this one was just by Pekkanen, good for her.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Gone Tonight is a tension-filled thriller with an intriguing premise, but unfortunately I wasn’t invested in the characters’ stories. However, a saving grace is the superb narration by the audiobook's talented narrator.

The plot revolves around a mother, Ruth, and daughter, Catherine, who live together as Catherine finishes nursing school. Everything seems to be going great until Catherine notices some inconsistencies in her mother’s stories. What follows is, at times, a gripping and engaging thriller. However, the pacing is inconsistent and lost me multiple times throughout the book.

Wow! Gone Tonight is a domestic thriller that will constantly keep you guessing. Catherine Sterling starts to unravel her mothers past and sets them on a path where present and past converge. Alternating between mother and daughter points of view, I really enjoyed getting into both of their heads. I loved Catherine’s curiosity and Ruth’s ingenuity. If you’re looking for an end of summer thriller, I suggest reading Gone Tonight.

I thought the narrator did a good job but I would have liked different narrators for Ruth and Catherine.

Gone Tonight ~ Sarah Pekkanen
Audio narrated by Kate Mara
This was a slow burn mystery suspense.
Thank you NetGalley for the early preview.
Sometimes a mothers love means keeping secrets. After spending years carefully curating lies and backstories, even moving when necessary, so careful to stay off the grid, Ruth and Catherine Sterlings lives are about to be upended. The facade that Ruth has created is starting to crack and the danger she has spent half a lifetime hiding from brings to light the secrets both women are keeping. Told in dual timelines this intricately crafted story will keep you riveted.