Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen | Review

Sarah PekkanenGone TonightSt. Martin's Press | Pub: August 1, 2023 | Pages: 352

Since the publication of their debut book The Wife Between Us in 2018, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen have been among my favorite authors. I was eager to read Sarah Pekkanen's debut novel as soon as I found out she had written one alone.

For the majority of the novel, the pace felt a little slow to me, but it picked up towards the end and it still kept me going. 

Ruth, the mother, and Catherine, her grown daughter, swap POVs in the chapters. Ruth has some significant secrets from her past she’s trying to hide, which causes her daughter to become suspicious and begin looking into Ruth’s past and challenge her intentions. This back-and-forth continued for the majority of the book. 

The pacing was greatly aided by a few breathtaking scenes near the conclusion.

With or without Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanan is a fantastic storyteller. I notice that many thriller readers share my enthusiasm for Gone Tonight! 

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book via NetGalley. As usual, my reviews are my honest and unbiased opinions.

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?

@anintrovertreads

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