Book Review: The Night Before by Wendy Walker

The Night Before

Author: Wendy Walker

Publication Date: 14 May 2019

Genre: Adult Fiction – Thriller/Mystery

Pages: 316

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Riveting and compulsive, national bestselling author Wendy Walker’s The Night Before“takes you to deep, dark places few thrillers dare to go” as two sisters uncover long-buried secrets when an internet date spirals out of control.

Laura Lochner has never been lucky in love. She falls too hard and too fast, always choosing the wrong men. Devastated by the end of her last relationship, she fled her Wall Street job and New York City apartment for her sister’s home in the Connecticut suburb where they both grew up. Though still haunted by the tragedy that’s defined her entire life, Laura is determined to take one more chance on love with a man she’s met on an Internet dating site.

Rosie Ferro has spent most of her life worrying about her troubled sister. Fearless but fragile, Laura has always walked an emotional tightrope, and Rosie has always been there to catch her. Laura’s return, under mysterious circumstances, has cast a shadow over Rosie’s peaceful life with her husband and young son – a shadow that grows darker as Laura leaves the house for her blind date.

When Laura does not return home the following morning, Rosie fears the worst. She’s not responding to calls or texts, and she’s left no information about the man she planned to meet. As Rosie begins a desperate search to find her sister, she is not just worried about what this man might have done to Laura. She’s worried about what Laura may have done to him…

Considering I read this book from cover to cover in under four hours, I think it is safe to safe that Wendy Walker’s The Night Before is an utterly addictive and spine tingling thriller. I devoured the pages of this roller coaster ride because I had to know what the hell was going on.

The story opens with Laura Lochner starting a therapy session with Dr. Brody where she is hesitant to revisit the events from a night in her past where she is holding a weapon that killed someone. She says that night cemented who she always was, so Dr. Brody instructs Laura to begin telling him who exactly that girl is.

We jump ahead to four months later where Laura has left her life in the city following a terrible break up to live with her sister Rosie and her husband Joe. Laura is ready to move on and has decided to start by going on a date with Jonathan Fields, a man that she met through an online dating site (findlove). It is quite clear that Rosie is apprehensive with Laura’s decision to start dating again, but Laura assures Rosie that this time she plans on getting it right.

Everything changes when Rosie awakes in the middle of the night and Laura hasn’t returned home. Rosie and Joe fear the worst and begin to investigate the details of Laura’s life before it’s too late…and the past repeats itself.

I really enjoyed that this story is told from dual perspectives. The plot alternates between Laura’s and Rosie’s perspectives as we move from the past to the present to figure out what happened after Laura left the house for her date. Additionally, I fell in love with Laura’s character because of all of her flaws. All she wants is to be loved.

And if you want to know more, READ THIS BOOK!

Overall, if you’re looking for a fast paced thriller/mystery that leaves you guessing until the very last pages, you need to read this book. This was my first Wendy Walker novel, and it most certainly will not be my last.

Huge thank you to @SuzyApproved for the giveaway win of a signed finished copy of The Night Before! This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Have you read The Night Before? Is it on your TBR?