The Night Before by Wendy Walker
Me, a twenty-eight-year-old who needs a shrink to tell her how to behave. I didn’t tell him about my childhood here, running wild in the woods behind our house with the neighborhood kids. Me and Rosie–and Joe, whose family lived up the street until he went to high school and they moved closer to town. And I didn’t tell him why I’ve stayed gone all these years.
Laura has been running from her past for 11 years. That night in the woods where she was found with a dead body. She only wants to love someone and be loved in return, but people end up dead around her. Will this first date be different? Will Laura’s sister, Rosie, be able to find her before something terrible happens?
Set in Branston, Connecticut, the story is told in three parts surrounding Laura’s first date with a stranger: Laura’s past sessions with her shrink, Laura in present day and Rosie in present day.
The suspense is inescapable and builds slowly to the point where you read into the night to find out what has happened to Laura.
The characters are believable and go through a lot of internal turmoil to trust their instincts and try to wrap their heads around a shocking finale. I choose Rosie as my favorite character who has had to be her sister’s protector all of her life. I see her sacrifice happiness in order to defend her sister’s reputation and her frustration of constantly witnessing her sister’s bad choices. She’s a strong woman who loves her sister unconditionally.
I loved this psychological thriller with a surprising twist. I have found yet another author who I plan to place on my TBR pile. Highly recommend!
Thank you to Ms. Walker and NetGalley for letting me review this book with no expectation of a positive review given.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wendy Walker is a former family law attorney in Fairfield County, Connecticut who began writing while at home raising her three sons. She published two novels with St. Martin’s Press and edited multiple compilations for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series before writing her debut psychological thriller, All is Not Forgotten in 2016. Her second thriller, Emma In The Night, was released the following year. Her latest novel, The Night Before, will be published on May 14, 2019.
Wendy earned her J. D., magna cum laude, at the Georgetown University Law Center where she was awarded the American Jurisprudence award for her performance in Contracts and Advanced Criminal Procedure. She received her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Brown University and attended The London School of Economics and Political Science as part of her undergraduate studies.
Prior to her legal career, Wendy was a financial analyst at Goldman, Sachs & Co., in the mergers and acquisitions group. She has also volunteered at the ACLU, Connecticut Legal Services and Figure Skating in Harlem where she served on the Board of Directors for over twelve years.
Wendy is currently writing her fourth thriller while managing a busy household.
You can find Ms. Walker on her website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.