Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Gone Tonight

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen

15 reviews

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Twenty-four year old Catherine Sterling has only known life with an overprotective mother. They don’t have any other family and share an apartment and car and each other’s phone locations. They have moved several times but this will be the first time that they will live separately as Catherine has taken a job as a nurse at a hospital in another city. All that is threatened when Catherine starts noticing some strange behaviours from her mother that may result in Catherine not taking her new job. From Ruth’s perspective, she will do anything to protect her daughter including keeping her as close as possible. Ruth has secrets that are threatening to cause harm to her and Catherine and decides to keep a journal to pass on to her daughter, should anything go awry.

As a fan of short chapters, mother/daughter stories and alternating POVs, I was hooked. I binged the last 50% of this book and loved all the crumbs dropped along the way. It was a slower burn for the first half and I have read comments from reviewers saying this wasn’t for them but I didn’t mind it one bit. I was invested in the storyline, the deception and discoveries, the suspenseful jaw drop moments and in the journal entries.

I was in the mood to read escapism and didn’t care about believability. So if you don’t mind suspending belief and are looking for a story to keep you on your toes, then pick up Gone Tonight by @sarahpekkanen when it comes out August 1st.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

As always, potential triggers will be shared to my StoryGraph review (also Pomoevareads)

Content Warnings

astoriareader's review

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mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

SYNOPSIS:

Catherine and her mother, Ruth, have always just had each other.
Ruth’s past has always been a well-kept secret. As Catherine prepares to move out on her own, she starts digging into her mother’s past

MY THOUGHTS

Slow-burn suspense told in dual perspectives (Catherine’s & Ruth’s); also offers some past mixed with present. In some of Ruth’s chapters, she also journals within those, where she writes about the past. The journal portions were my favorite.
Well-plotted & executed.
I am a fan of Pekkanen, but this is the first solo book of hers that I’ve read. The others were written by both her & Hendricks.
The plot was unique & kept me interested.
The ending was fine, but nothing spectacular to me. With that being said, I really enjoyed the book & would recommend it.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Slow-burn suspense. Well-written, unique plot. Ending was fine, but nothing spectacular.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It will be published on August 1, 2023.

Content Warnings

oceanwriter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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.

Content Warnings

julesreadsalot's review

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dark fast-paced

3.5

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shegetsliterary's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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