Now I'm lost in a sea of sunken dreams: THE NIGHT BEFORE.

The Night Before by Wendy Walker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Laura Lochner has returned to her hometown, a bit disgraced, after falling in love with the wrong man yet again. This is a pattern with Laura--always seeking the wrong guys. Her last breakup has hit her particularly hard, causing her to leave her job and apartment and return home to live with her sister, Rosie, Rosie's husband, Joe, and their young son, Mason. Rosie has worried about her sister since they were kids. Laura's always been a little angry and damaged. Both Rosie and Joe feel protective of Laura, especially as she leaves to go on a blind date with a man she "met" on a dating website. So when Laura isn't back the next morning and not responding to texts or calls, Rosie jumps to the worst conclusions. Rosie and Joe begin a frantic search to find Laura. Are they too late?

So this wasn't exactly what I was expecting, and I have to admit, it was a slightly strange and weird--almost trippy--read. The book alternates between Laura and Rosie's viewpoints, with Laura's leading up to and covering her blind date, while Rosie's cover the "after" period, when she searches for her sister. No matter what, I will emphasize that the book mainly held my interest, and while I didn't love it as much as many other reviewers, it was an interesting read, for sure. It's different, too, which is always fun and sometimes hard to find when it comes to thrillers. I just wasn't as "wowed" as I'd hoped, based on some of the reviews I'd read.

The premise here is that Laura has a horrible track record with men. And that she has a bit of a history with violence and unpredictability. The first part you will certainly get, as it's hammered over and over. And over. A bit too much for my taste. We get it. She has bad taste in men and makes poor choices. The second part--her unreliability and potential for violence--is a bit more intriguing. Instead of Rosie thinking that something might have happened to Laura, she almost fears Laura might have done something to her date. I liked this premise: it goes back to the fact that the book was different. A lot of this stemmed to Laura's past and a mysterious encounter with an old boyfriend, which was slowly revealed.


"It was in my hand. The weapon that killed him. But that night didn't change me. That night made me see what I've always been."


There are definitely some interesting twists in this one. Some, eh, while others were very unexpected. But, more in the far-fetched unexpected realm, versus whoa!, which led to a little bit of my letdown feeling. I wasn't particularly impressed with the big reveal of whodunnit and had no real attachment to any of the characters, including Laura, which was a bit disappointing.

Still, as I said, this one definitely held my interest, especially in the last 1/2 - 1/3 of the book. It's different and a little weird and dark. Some of the twists didn't really do it for me, but there are a ton of people who really liked this one, so take my review with a grain of salt. I'm still glad I read this book, and I will definitely continue to seek out Wendy Walker's books, as they are always a fun read. 3+ stars.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 05/14/2019.

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