Scan barcode
gayathiri_rajendran's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leighannc's review against another edition
5.0
I don't know where to begin. I'm in awe of the way Wendy weaves an amazing story together that keeps you guessing from start to finish. Her writing is impeccable. The story flows well and the characters are top notch. I couldn't put this book down. I was dying to know what was going to happen. If you love being on the edge of your seat this is the perfect book for you!
dovesfalling's review against another edition
3.0
First of all, what a gorgeous cover.
Second of all, I really did love [a:Wendy Walker|317193|Wendy Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267668906p2/317193.jpg]'s first thriller, [b:All Is Not Forgotten|26114146|All Is Not Forgotten|Wendy Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467209074s/26114146.jpg|45810965]. Although I found the narrator repulsive, the premise of the book was so compelling and original.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Night Before. To be fair, I read it while doped up on Nyquil, so I’m not sure if that affected my reading comprehension, but I found it to be a fairly shallow thriller, albeit with a crackerjack surprise at the end.
The novel centers around two sisters, Laura Lochner (the night before) and Rosie Ferro (the morning after). A bit of a twisted and aimless soul, Laura is back living with her sister’s family after a disastrous end to a relationship leaves her reeling. Although Laura wants nothing more than to find love, the past looms ever present in her blood-stained rear-view mirror, and informs every decision she makes, from omitting her infamous last name on her dating profile, to seeing a psychologist to try and work out her own fears.
Still hellbent on finding her happily-ever-after, Laura heads out on a blind date, and doesn’t come home. In the morning after, Rosie frantically searches for her, aided by her husband Joe, and their childhood best friend, Gabe. In tracing Laura’s footsteps, they find her abandoned car, and the tension ratchets up a notch. But who is Rosie actually worried about?
Laura?
Or the man she was meeting?
Told from different narratives and different timelines, the novel gives us snippets of Laura’s date (which is tedious and for the life of me, why did she stay on it?), Rosie’s search, and interspersed, Laura’s sessions with a psychologist who seeks the truth of why his patient feels so unlovable and broken.
Though the denouement surprised me (I had zero idea who the actual villain was, and it was a shocker), I didn’t find there was enough pull in the actual narrative to keep me invested. Laura’s voice was scattered and unappealing – with a ton of repetition and confusing backslides into the past. While Laura was at least complex, I found Rosie was a cardboard cutout – absolutely no character development at all – she existed solely to find her sister and/or worry about her.
While The Night Before wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I won’t deny that it was entertaining and twisty, with enough “wtf” moments to keep it from sliding off the cliff. I think it was balancing on the edge of being truly good, and with some careful editing (Rosie’s flatness, Laura’s inner monologue, and the endless meandering date), it could have been a complicated and dark mountain of a novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it!
Second of all, I really did love [a:Wendy Walker|317193|Wendy Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1267668906p2/317193.jpg]'s first thriller, [b:All Is Not Forgotten|26114146|All Is Not Forgotten|Wendy Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467209074s/26114146.jpg|45810965]. Although I found the narrator repulsive, the premise of the book was so compelling and original.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Night Before. To be fair, I read it while doped up on Nyquil, so I’m not sure if that affected my reading comprehension, but I found it to be a fairly shallow thriller, albeit with a crackerjack surprise at the end.
The novel centers around two sisters, Laura Lochner (the night before) and Rosie Ferro (the morning after). A bit of a twisted and aimless soul, Laura is back living with her sister’s family after a disastrous end to a relationship leaves her reeling. Although Laura wants nothing more than to find love, the past looms ever present in her blood-stained rear-view mirror, and informs every decision she makes, from omitting her infamous last name on her dating profile, to seeing a psychologist to try and work out her own fears.
Still hellbent on finding her happily-ever-after, Laura heads out on a blind date, and doesn’t come home. In the morning after, Rosie frantically searches for her, aided by her husband Joe, and their childhood best friend, Gabe. In tracing Laura’s footsteps, they find her abandoned car, and the tension ratchets up a notch. But who is Rosie actually worried about?
Laura?
Or the man she was meeting?
Told from different narratives and different timelines, the novel gives us snippets of Laura’s date (which is tedious and for the life of me, why did she stay on it?), Rosie’s search, and interspersed, Laura’s sessions with a psychologist who seeks the truth of why his patient feels so unlovable and broken.
Though the denouement surprised me (I had zero idea who the actual villain was, and it was a shocker), I didn’t find there was enough pull in the actual narrative to keep me invested. Laura’s voice was scattered and unappealing – with a ton of repetition and confusing backslides into the past. While Laura was at least complex, I found Rosie was a cardboard cutout – absolutely no character development at all – she existed solely to find her sister and/or worry about her.
While The Night Before wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I won’t deny that it was entertaining and twisty, with enough “wtf” moments to keep it from sliding off the cliff. I think it was balancing on the edge of being truly good, and with some careful editing (Rosie’s flatness, Laura’s inner monologue, and the endless meandering date), it could have been a complicated and dark mountain of a novel.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I appreciate it!
melanieji's review against another edition
3.0
A solid read for sure while I was a bit frustrated at the lack of depth for some of the characters still enjoyable. Filled with unreliable narrators I was left guessing who to trust and root for going from chapter to chapter. The last fifty or so pages had me on the edge of my seat and I could not put it down!
moranalove's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
emleemay's review against another edition
3.0
I look at him, and neither of us speaks. I wonder which is real. Which is the truth. Is this a dream or a nightmare?
This was pretty entertaining. Going by my review, I certainly liked it a lot more than Walker's [b:All Is Not Forgotten|26114146|All Is Not Forgotten|Wendy Walker|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1467209074s/26114146.jpg|45810965]. I especially liked the ending, but of course I can't say why.
It's told from the perspective of two sisters - Laura and Rosie - who are living together after Laura had a bad break-up and fled her life in NYC to stay with Rosie. Laura's narrative takes us through the events of her date one Thursday night, with a man she met on an online dating site. Rosie reveals what happens the following day, when she awakes to discover Laura never came home.
Rosie doesn't know what to think. She tries to track down her sister and her mystery date any way she can. She fears Laura has been hurt, but another dark fear lurks in her mind. A fear going back many years into their pasts. She fears Laura herself could have done something bad.
Yeah, it's an exciting premise, and I loved the sense of wrongness about everything that the author seems to capture. A couple of things prevented me from loving this one, though.
1) I guessed almost everything that happened. I think the only thing that surprised me was
Spoiler
Joe being Laura's biological brother{I've kept this vague, but it might make it easier to guess!}
2) The glaringly obvious red herring the plot spends so long on. Mystery/thriller readers know that the most obvious answer is never the real one, so to spend so long going in a certain direction that clearly wasn't going to lead anywhere was tedious and frustrating.
Still, this will probably satisfy any beach thriller cravings people have.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
aallyoop_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review an advanced reader copy of The Night Before. I recently read Wendy Walker's earlier novel, All is Not Forgotten so I was looking forward to another page-turner, and The Night Before delivered!
This book is thrilling, incorporates an unreliable narrator whom you're not sure you can trust, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Many of the big reveals are shocking, and it took a long time for me to formulate a theory on what happened to Laura, and how Jonathan, Joe, Gabe and Rosie may have played a part in her running away, or being abducted.
This book was intriguing from start to finish. I kept questioning each of their characters, and their involvement with Laura's disappearance. I felt that this book had a lot of elements similar to other suspenseful novels that I've recently read, but the way Walker constructed them into a single story was quite different than other thrillers. I did feel that the ending was wrapped up a little too perfectly, although I was satisfied that the more complex details of the storyline were explained.
I recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller that keeps you guessing!
This book is thrilling, incorporates an unreliable narrator whom you're not sure you can trust, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Many of the big reveals are shocking, and it took a long time for me to formulate a theory on what happened to Laura, and how Jonathan, Joe, Gabe and Rosie may have played a part in her running away, or being abducted.
This book was intriguing from start to finish. I kept questioning each of their characters, and their involvement with Laura's disappearance. I felt that this book had a lot of elements similar to other suspenseful novels that I've recently read, but the way Walker constructed them into a single story was quite different than other thrillers. I did feel that the ending was wrapped up a little too perfectly, although I was satisfied that the more complex details of the storyline were explained.
I recommend this book if you're looking for a fast-paced thriller that keeps you guessing!
courtneyyloves's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A thriller filled with short chapters, interesting plot that keeps you turning the pages and unable to put it down.
emilayday's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
tigereyes's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25