Cheri reviewed Gone Tonight by Sarah Pekkanen
Review of 'Gone Tonight' on 'Storygraph'
3 stars
I think I've read all the books that Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks have written together - and enjoyed them all to varying degrees - but this was the first one I'd seen with just one of the authors so I was pretty excited to give it a shot.
I loved the premise and figured there was some unreliable narrator stuff happening. What I didn't expect was the tremendous amount of unnecessary details (filling a water pitcher, how a character stepped on a floor and the condition of the floor, and so, so, so many more) that dragged the story to a snail's pace at times. I also didn't expect plot devices that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief to the breaking point. Then there were the explanations of the plot devices and clues and consequences of actions that were so detailed it felt like the author was doing the …
I think I've read all the books that Sarah Pekkanen and Greer Hendricks have written together - and enjoyed them all to varying degrees - but this was the first one I'd seen with just one of the authors so I was pretty excited to give it a shot.
I loved the premise and figured there was some unreliable narrator stuff happening. What I didn't expect was the tremendous amount of unnecessary details (filling a water pitcher, how a character stepped on a floor and the condition of the floor, and so, so, so many more) that dragged the story to a snail's pace at times. I also didn't expect plot devices that stretched my ability to suspend disbelief to the breaking point. Then there were the explanations of the plot devices and clues and consequences of actions that were so detailed it felt like the author was doing the "explain it like I'm five" thing. It seemed as though she wants the reader to know that she really thought all the possibilities out, just like we're doing, and why something would or wouldn't work. As if her editing notes were out and she was working a checklist of reasons a plan should be considered as viable.
As for the characters, I felt for Ruth. She did what she needed to do with the knowledge and resources she had. Catherine, well, I'm not sure how I felt about her. Not as positively as I did her mom, that's for sure. Her choices - particularly those in the third part of the book - were unbelievable and, well, some were ridiculous. I can't go into any detail here because of spoilers but there was a lot of head shaking and talking back to the narrator in that last part of the book.
I think maybe my expectations were just too high.
There were good things about the book, of course. The action scenes were, for the most part, exciting and satisfying. There were some interesting bits about certain mental health aspects that were fun to speculate about. And I really liked Ruth. Kate Mara was also a fine narrator. All of which give me a "I liked it" 3-star rating.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook!