Gone Tonight

This book does a solid job of starting as one thing and slowly evolving into something altogether different. I particularly enjoy stories with past timelines where the narrator travels back to high school. These were the days of InSYNC and cheer squad tryouts- before cell phones became ubiquitous and the world was not under constant surveillance. Those were easier times- for teens getting into trouble and criminals getting away with dirty deeds. Fast forward to modern day and this mother daughter duo finds themselves at a crossroads. I listened to this one on a long solo car ride- not my favorite way to absorb a book but a really great way to pass the miles. This one is a good mystery- full of secrets- and a great ending.

This is the first solo Sarah Pekkanen book I've read and I really enjoyed it! I've written a couple of the books she co-authored and it was cool to see the influence she contributed to those books. My biggest complaint about this is that I had a bit of a hard time figuring out who we were following in some of the POVs, but that could absolutely be a me problem. I really enjoyed that we learned things as the characters were experiencing them/learning them themselves, it never felt like info-dumps. This book is not specifically horror but the actual horror scenes were really well done! I definitely would check out other mystery/thrillers this author writes if they're as dark as this!






Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an eBook copy to review

It's been a few months since I've read a psychological thriller and I can't think of a better one to have come back to the genre. With quiet twists and extraordinarily flawed yet lovable characters, I was hooked.    Though Catherine has always had a good relationship with her mother Ruth, she's ready to leave home and begin a life and career of her own. Her plans change when her mother receives an Alzheimer's diagnosis from her doctor. Not willing to waste a minute of the time left with Ruth, she cancels her moving plans.    Ruth begins to write down her life story for her daughter... but not for the reasons one might expect at such a time. She's worked the entirety of Catherine's life to keep her past buried. Not only her past but also the secrets Catherine unknowingly carries. It isn't long before Catherine begins to pick up on the fact something deeper is amiss. How well does she really know her mother?    While the book keeps a slower pace than usually found in these kinds of thrillers, there is a constant string of events weaved in and out. Through Ruth, we get glimpses of her past. Through Catherine, we hear recollections of her mother and the conflict the plot brings into their relationship. I found Catherine's character the most fascinating element of the book. Some might disagree with me, but I also found Ruth's love for her child admirable under the circumstances. I feel she did the best she could with what she had.    I listened to the audiobook version. Kate Mara did a fantastic job narrating. Sometimes I don't love listening to thrillers because the narrator will be too dramatic. There was the perfect amount of emotion and urgency conveyed without becoming theatrical. That said, the story would have benefited from two narrators so each character had their own voice. Nevertheless, the reading experience was not hindered because of the single narrator.    Gone Tonight is easily the best thriller I've read this year. I can't wait to read Sarah Pekkanen's other books.    A huge thanks to Macmillan Audio for inviting me to listen to an audio ARC of this book through NetGalley! I am looking forward to purchasing a hard copy for myself. 

Thrilling novel from Sarah Pekkanen, normally part of the writing team with Gail Hendricks who've released countless page turners like the Wife Between Us.

Gone Tonight was written similarly to those, toggling between two POVs, Ruth who was a runaway teen mom now in her 40s and Catherine, her daughter now 24 years old working as a nurse in a retirement home. Catherine gets the job opportunity she's been waiting for at Johns Hopkins, but that would mean she'd have to move away from mother, the only parent and family she's known her whole life. When Ruth suddenly develops early onset Alzheimers, knowing what she knows about how this illness progress, Catherine decides she must decline this job opportunity to stay and care for her mother. When she starts to dig deeper into her mother's life, however, many things don't add up. She's then suspicious of her mother faking her illness in order to control her life and keep her close.... but why? The more she digs up, the more thrilling the story gets.

Despite a few questionable details in the Ruth chapters describing the past, I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Well-paced and exciting story with great character development. Great exploration into the complicatedness of a mother-daughter relationship.

The audiobook was narrated by actress Kate Mara, who of course read fantastically throughout. A great, fun and cozy weekend read.

Big thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy.