#BookReview ‘The Night Before’ by Wendy Walker

About the book…

First dates can be murder.

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…

Huge thanks to Alainna at Orion for the blogtour invite and my gifted ebook copy of ‘The Night Before’, whuich is available now from all good bookshops!

Wow !
What a book!
If you need something to keep you up all night, chewing your fingernails, then this is the one for you.
Much as Rosie panics over her sister, Laura’s disappearance, you will be dissecting the plot for clues and hints which are dribbled in slowly, like a measly portion of cream on top of the most perfect cake, when really you want the whole jug to douse it in.
I love cake, and this is what Wendy Walker does with this book, she gives you the cake and adds the cream, bit by bit till the very last page when you close the book , gobsmacked in awe and immediately check out her back catalogue. Both satisfied and yet left needing MORE.

She withholds stuff from you, playing her plotting cards so closely to her chest whilst leaving agonising titbits threaded through the story. It is only at the end that everything falls into place.
Laura has come back to her home town to live with her sister and her husband and son, following a devastating heartbreak. They all grew up together but somehting happened when they were younger, something that led to Laura changing her name. And then she goes out for an online dating meetup and doesn’t return…

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!

What happened? Why did she change her name? What is being hidden in plain sight here? This could have become frustrating in an another author’s hands, but you are so invested in finding out what happened to Laura and her date, that the dual narratives of the story-both sister’s POV-build up the tension and ratchet up the suspense until the crashing finale.
Thoroughly enjoyed this first read from Wendy Walker and am absolutely up for more!!!

About the author…

Wendy Walker is the author of psychological suspense. Her novels have been translated into 23 foreign languages and have topped bestseller lists both nationally and abroad.

They have been featured on The Today Show, The Reese Witherspoon Book Club, and The Book of the Month Club and have been optioned for television and film.

Links-http://wendywalkerbooks.com/

Twitter @wendy_walker @orionbooks