Gone Tonight

Ruth Sterling and her 24-year old daughter Catherine have only known life as a unit so far. Ruth has always worked various low-wage jobs to provide, and the two have moved from place to place a lot, but their one constant is each other. That’s about to change, though, as Catherine is moving away soon to start a job as a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

At least that was the plan.

Ruth is now showing worrying signs of memory loss … eggs placed in the cupboard, losing her way home from the drugstore, calling ice cubes “water squares”.  What is happening? It doesn’t look good, especially when Ruth brings up a family history of early-onset Alzheimer’s.  Suddenly Catherine’s plans for the future don’t look so clear. Until she makes a discovery one day …

Up to this point the story seemed like a family drama, and while I was enjoying it, I still wondered where the story was going. Boy did things take an unexpected turn! As Ruth and Catherine’s chapters alternate, the reader finds out that things aren’t quite as they appear, and maybe there’s a lot more to Ruth’s story than Catherine has ever been aware of. Things that Ruth has taken great pains to hide from her.

Imagine the plot like a game of hide-and-seek, only Ruth is hiding secrets from her past and unbeknownst to her, Catherine is seeking to uncover them. Unfortunately, Catherine doesn’t realize that uncovering these secrets will put both she and her mom in danger! Now, they may need each other more than ever.

I both read and listened to this, narrated by the wonderful Kate Mara, and really enjoyed it! It’s very character-driven, with the relationship between Ruth and Catherine taking center stage. Watching their dynamic change from one of dependence to a more functional adult relationship and getting to know each other, perhaps for the first time, was a nice change of pace from typical thrillers. The final third brings a satisfying amount of suspense, tension and action.

 As with all thrillers, there’s some suspension of disbelief required, but honestly not much! It didn’t feel beyond the realm of possibility that it would play out this way. It also brings up some great questions about how much of our nature we inherit from our parents.  I loved the ending and epilogue. No huge shockers, but just the right amount to make it fun!

It’s my first solo Sarah Pekkanen book, having previously enjoyed The Golden Couple, which she co-wrote with Greer Hendricks. I’ll definitely be watching for more of her books as author and co-author.

★★★★ ½ 

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and author Sarah Pekkanen for this DRC to honestly review. It’s available on August 1, 2023.