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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
First line: "We believe what we want to believe."
That was a simply amazing novel. It had interesting characters, a fascinating plot, and several unexpected plot twists...what more could you ask for?
I would like to thank Netgalley for getting the chance to read this novel from an author who is new to me, but one I would like to read more of.
Cass Tanner disappears at age 15, along with her 17-year-old sister, Emma, not be seen, heard from, or discovered for three years. Cass reappears, alone, on the front doorstep of her mother's home with a carefully concocted story in hopes of finding her sister.
This novel went from what I thought would be quite straight forward, to being anything but that. I was surprised at every twist and turn that was presented to me. I was constantly thinking, trying to figure out what the next step could be.
I found this novel to be a page-turner, simply because it boggled my mind on several occasions. Despite being a short novel (less than 250 pages), it contains a story that is going to keep you mentally running right up until the end.
That was a simply amazing novel. It had interesting characters, a fascinating plot, and several unexpected plot twists...what more could you ask for?
I would like to thank Netgalley for getting the chance to read this novel from an author who is new to me, but one I would like to read more of.
Cass Tanner disappears at age 15, along with her 17-year-old sister, Emma, not be seen, heard from, or discovered for three years. Cass reappears, alone, on the front doorstep of her mother's home with a carefully concocted story in hopes of finding her sister.
This novel went from what I thought would be quite straight forward, to being anything but that. I was surprised at every twist and turn that was presented to me. I was constantly thinking, trying to figure out what the next step could be.
I found this novel to be a page-turner, simply because it boggled my mind on several occasions. Despite being a short novel (less than 250 pages), it contains a story that is going to keep you mentally running right up until the end.
Chelsea from The Suspense Is Thrilling Me and I read this one as a buddy read. Instead of writing up our own individual reviews, we thought it would be fun to craft a sort of joint review that reads discussion style to change things up a bit! We took some general book discussion questions, answered them and we hope this format will give you an insight into what our discussions are like whenever we read a book together!
Spoiler alert: Between the flawed characters and an intriguing mystery, I don’t think you can ask for much more in a summer mystery. Highly recommended from the both of us!
https://cluesandreviews.wordpress.com/2017/08/05/book-review-emma-in-the-night-wendy-walker-stmartinspress-wendy_walker/
Spoiler alert: Between the flawed characters and an intriguing mystery, I don’t think you can ask for much more in a summer mystery. Highly recommended from the both of us!
https://cluesandreviews.wordpress.com/2017/08/05/book-review-emma-in-the-night-wendy-walker-stmartinspress-wendy_walker/
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Wow, this was an awesome read! As far as psychological thrillers go, this one was absolutely top notch! From the very first sentence, I was captivated by the story of the Tanner sisters: 17-year-old Emma and 15-year-old Cassandra (Cass), two teenagers from a dysfunctional family who suddenly disappeared one fateful night. Three years later, one of the sisters returns – Cass, now an 18-year-old woman, shows up on the doorstep of her mother’s house with an urgent message: “Find Emma!” From there, a three year old investigation is re-ignited and the FBI agents who were deeply involved in the case previously – special agent Leo Strauss and forensic psychologist Dr. Abby Winter -- are pulled back into the fray. As they interview Cass – who spares no detail in recounting everything that happened the past 3 years in the hopes that they are able to save her sister – Leo and Abby once again become deeply entrenched in the story of these two sisters and the unconventional, oftentimes tumultuous, relationship they had with their narcissistic mother Judy Martin. As the family history is slowly unraveled, secrets are discovered that all end up playing into the mystery of the sisters’ disappearance and Cass’s subsequent return.
Prior to reading this book, I had no idea what narcissistic personality disorder was. Sure, I’m familiar with the term narcissism, but did not know that it was actually a diagnosable illness and that its real-life impact could be so devastating. I was definitely impressed with the way author Wendy Walker was able to build such a compelling, gripping tale of suspense around a disorder that many of us either didn’t know about or if we did, probably misunderstood. It was obvious that Walker did a thorough job with her research into narcissistic personality disorder – so much so in fact, that if I hadn’t read the Acknowledgment page at the beginning of the book, I honestly would have thought that Walker was able to be so detailed about the disorder due to personal experience with it in her family (she clarifies that this is not the case and the characters are not based on anyone in her family).
The story itself was cleverly written and kept me guessing right up until its shocking and completely unexpected ending. I don’t intend to write a detailed review on this book because I want people to read and experience it for themselves, as this is one of those books where it’s best to go in with as little information as possible. After I finished the book, I was compelled to go back through and re-read some parts and it was then that I realized Walker actually did drop quite a few clues about the ending but it was hard to recognize at first due to the brilliant way the narrative was laid out. The writing was also exceptional (very few mistakes despite my version being an uncorrected proof copy), which, in my opinion, definitely contributed to how absorbing the story was – I found this book hard to put down once I started reading it.
Definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy well-written thrillers, though a word of warning that there are depictions of mental and emotional abuse and manipulation that are quite disturbing, in case that’s a deal-breaker for anyone trying to decide whether to read or not. The book also isn’t without flaws, the main one being some repetitiveness with certain parts of the story (which it looks like other reviewers pointed out as well), but to me, this was a minor issue that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book itself. I am definitely interested in reading more works by this author!
Received ARC from MacMillan via NetGalley
Prior to reading this book, I had no idea what narcissistic personality disorder was. Sure, I’m familiar with the term narcissism, but did not know that it was actually a diagnosable illness and that its real-life impact could be so devastating. I was definitely impressed with the way author Wendy Walker was able to build such a compelling, gripping tale of suspense around a disorder that many of us either didn’t know about or if we did, probably misunderstood. It was obvious that Walker did a thorough job with her research into narcissistic personality disorder – so much so in fact, that if I hadn’t read the Acknowledgment page at the beginning of the book, I honestly would have thought that Walker was able to be so detailed about the disorder due to personal experience with it in her family (she clarifies that this is not the case and the characters are not based on anyone in her family).
The story itself was cleverly written and kept me guessing right up until its shocking and completely unexpected ending. I don’t intend to write a detailed review on this book because I want people to read and experience it for themselves, as this is one of those books where it’s best to go in with as little information as possible. After I finished the book, I was compelled to go back through and re-read some parts and it was then that I realized Walker actually did drop quite a few clues about the ending but it was hard to recognize at first due to the brilliant way the narrative was laid out. The writing was also exceptional (very few mistakes despite my version being an uncorrected proof copy), which, in my opinion, definitely contributed to how absorbing the story was – I found this book hard to put down once I started reading it.
Definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy well-written thrillers, though a word of warning that there are depictions of mental and emotional abuse and manipulation that are quite disturbing, in case that’s a deal-breaker for anyone trying to decide whether to read or not. The book also isn’t without flaws, the main one being some repetitiveness with certain parts of the story (which it looks like other reviewers pointed out as well), but to me, this was a minor issue that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book itself. I am definitely interested in reading more works by this author!
Received ARC from MacMillan via NetGalley
For three long years sisters Emma and Cassandra Tanner had been missing. Police, FBI, friends and family searched day after day, but with no clues it was a hunt that was leading nowhere fast.
There was a great deal of speculation of what happened to the girls, but no one knew for sure. A parent's worst nightmare was to think your children might be dead, but as time passed there was a possibility that this may very well turn out to be the final outcome. That's until the day Cass returns home.
Cass tells the story about how they had been kidnapped and taken to an island where they were unable to escape. But something doesn't add up and they now have to locate exactly where it was that Cass and Emma were being held. Will they find the place in time to find Emma alive or have they run out of time?
This is the first book I've read by Wendy Walker and oh what a read it was. A psychological thriller with twists and turns that will have you turning the pages at great speeds. Highly recommended.
There was a great deal of speculation of what happened to the girls, but no one knew for sure. A parent's worst nightmare was to think your children might be dead, but as time passed there was a possibility that this may very well turn out to be the final outcome. That's until the day Cass returns home.
Cass tells the story about how they had been kidnapped and taken to an island where they were unable to escape. But something doesn't add up and they now have to locate exactly where it was that Cass and Emma were being held. Will they find the place in time to find Emma alive or have they run out of time?
This is the first book I've read by Wendy Walker and oh what a read it was. A psychological thriller with twists and turns that will have you turning the pages at great speeds. Highly recommended.
Emma In The Night has a captivating storyline - two sisters disappear one night but three years later, only one returns. There’s talk of a mysterious island and strangers who took the sisters in but ended up holding them there. One of the sisters escapes and finds her way home only to tell her family they need to go back and find the island.. find her sister.
The story is told in different POVs: Cass precisely explaining what happened, and FBI psychologist Dr. Winter trying to piece all of the information together - plus stories from the past.
I enjoyed this book, but there was a lot of information to take in and remember. The author intentionally threw in some false information which made the story a bit challenging to follow (considering I was listening to the audiobook). I thought the twists were good though!
The story is told in different POVs: Cass precisely explaining what happened, and FBI psychologist Dr. Winter trying to piece all of the information together - plus stories from the past.
I enjoyed this book, but there was a lot of information to take in and remember. The author intentionally threw in some false information which made the story a bit challenging to follow (considering I was listening to the audiobook). I thought the twists were good though!
i could not put this book down and man did i love every second of it