Gone Tonight will capture your undivided attention. This excellent psychological page turner encapsulates so many elements of a great suspenseful story, such as mystery, anticipation, surprise, and shock!
Ruth, the mother and Catherine the daughter each explain their own thoughts and background in their own chapters. Ruth is the single mother to Catherine who is now an adult. She has graduated nursing school and has been hired by a hospital so she will be moving away from her mother. Ruth has a problem with this. And a terrible secret.
Ruth’s childhood was miserable. She had an alcoholic mother and a father who tried his best to keep her and her brother safe from the turbulence she caused them. She was also bullied at school. But when she was a young teenager, Ruth’s life is turned upside down and she finds herself in danger, pregnant and alone. She decides to run away. And she makes a promise. She will always protect her daughter Catherine from the horror she witnessed.
But now with Catherine ready to move on to a new job and a new apartment, Ruth becomes terrified of what might lay ahead for them both. Then, Catherine discovers Ruth is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. Now, Catherine feels as if she must put her own plans aside and take care of the mother who has sacrificed so much for her over the years.
Ruth begins to create a journal of her memories for Catherine so she can understand what happened to her and why she must always be careful. But Catherine begins to suspect something is going on. Knowing her mother will begin to forget, Catherine tries to get her to talk about her past, but Ruth does not seem to give her any answers to where she came from and who her family is. When Catherine tries to do a bit of investigating online, she cannot find anything about her mother’s life. What could she be hiding? And why?
Ruth can see what’s happening. Catherine is looking at her differently. How does she handle this? She must protect her daughter. Then out of the blue, Ruth’s world which she has so carefully built comes crashing down! And now Catherine is in danger!
Secrets it seems are always exposed no matter how hard you try to distance yourself from them. Now Ruth must not only put a plan into action she has been preparing for years, but she must tell Catherine what she has been hiding her whole life. And now they must try and work as a team to protect each other.
Gone Tonight is a chilling story of bullying, domestic violence and abuse, fear and so much more. With a twisty ending, this story will haunt you for awhile!
Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #SarahPekkanen #GoneTonight for the advanced copy.
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