⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 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.

Though we may think we know our friends and family members, some of them may be keeping long-buried secrets that they don’t want anyone to know. And in the audio edition of Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen, a young woman discovers that her life hasn’t been the uneventful existence that she once thought.

Full review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

This is a solo novel from Sarah Pekkanen — the co-author of THE WIFE BETWEEN US. I have seen nothing but positive reviews for this book and I’m happy to say it lived up to the hype. This will captivate you from beginning and have you dying to finish to see what happens.

Some more about this book:
👩‍👧mother-daughter
✌🏻dual POV
✍🏻unreliable narrator
🤫so many family secrets
🎧amazing narration (by Kate Mara)

Many thanks to my friends at @bookclubfavorites @atriabooks and @simon.audio for the #gifted free copies of this book.

THIS BOOK!

Chilling. Mind blowing. Unputdownable. Quite possibly THE perfect psychological thriller.

It’s been a long time since a thriller has WOWed me like this. I went in with extremely high hopes, and still, this was so much more than I had anticipated.

Deftly crafted with incisive layers, Jewell kept me on the edge of my seat, never quite sure what to trust. The brilliance of the novel is in its title after all.

The unique formatting- with short chapters that are part narrative, part podcast transcript, and part documentary- added to the sense of foreboding and kept the plot moving at a breakneck speed.

I was completely absorbed, loving every twisted detail, right down to the last explosive revelation. And what a discussion I had with @bookmarked.by.becky and @rachellelovesreading after closing that last haunting page.

Two recommendations:
- Go in blind. The less you know the better.
- Find a buddy to read it with. This book begs for discussion.

This one is worthy of all the praise, from the eerie atmosphere to the crafty characterization and the expert plotting. But ultimately, the best acclaim I can give is this: You NEED to read this book!

Truly, it’s Jewell’s best to date!

🎧 With a full cast and background sound effects, the audio was a standout. It made the podcast and documentary sections truly come alive and gave the characters a distinct voice in each narrative section.

Absolutely loved this one, especially on audio! Great pace, storyline and character development. I was pleasantly surprised with the twists at the end. Highly recommend this to others!

This was a fun audiobook!
I have read a few Pekkanen books that she cowrote with Greer Hendricks, and loved them. This is my first solo Pekkanen book.
The book has two different POVs, and two timelines. This was not hard to follow whatsoever, and reminded me a little of What Lies Between Us, one of my all time favourite thrillers, from John Marrs.
If executed well, this format is so gripping, as the past and present clues start to fall into place.
I think two different narrators would have helped some readers though.

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one was excellent for me. 🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻 It read like a mix between Alice Feeney, Lucy Foley, and Freida McFadden.

I loved the alternating POV + unexpected plot that slowly unfolded. I equally loved the sinister tone of the writing. 🔥 The mother-daughter relationship with secrets continuously being uncovered was very entertaining.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed the performance by actress Kate Mara. I definitely recommend this format.

Perfect for you if you like:
Alternating POV
Sinister + surprising + twisty
Excellent audiobook

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's
Press and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this book.
Catherine Sterling has been living alone with her mother, Ruth, her entire life. Her mother has always been a great supporter and Catherine and Ruth have had a very good relationship. It is finally time for Catherine to branch out and leave the nest, but Ruth is clearly not a fan of this decision. Even though Catherine has a new career and the timing seems appropriate for her to move out, Ruth will not allow this to happen and do everything possible to prevent it. Why is Ruth trying to prevent this? Catherine starts to question her and Ruth's past and look for clues.
This is an excellent thriller that highly recommend! Gripping, suspenseful, thought provoking and hard to put down!