“Both twisted and twisty, this smart psychological thriller sets a new standard for unreliable narrators.” -Booklist, Starred Review One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. Her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But … two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn’t add up. Looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister’s return might just be the beginning of the crime.
Bestselling author Wendy Walker returns with another winning thriller, Emma in the Night.
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Wendy Walker has a wonderful talent when it comes to writing a twisted and fascinating thriller. Cass and the rest of the characters were complex and authentic. The characters and story captured my attention from the first line and I just HAD to know what happened. Walker kept me guessing which of my theories could possibly be correct about what had actually happened to Emma or if they were all actually wrong. This story was so so close to being 5 stars for me, but I felt at times Cass’s thoughts could be unnecessarily wordy. If it hadn’t been for that, I would have unquestionably given Emma in the Night 5 stars. I would still definitely recommend this book as a must read to anyone who enjoys a gripping thriller.
I voluntarily received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Dr. Abby Walker has never stopped wondering what happened the night the Tanner sisters disappeared. Then she gets a call that Cass Turner has returned but without her sister Emma. The girls were fifteen and seventeen when they disappeared and Cass returns with a story of a kidnapping and being held on an island by a couple. Can Dr. Walker help discover the truth and find Emma? An exciting page-turner!
I read this after reading Wendy Walker’s Don’t Look for Me. Although I didn’t like it quite as much, it was still a great book. I found it to be a page turner and really enjoyed the two POV characters which were well developed. It made me want to read yet a third of her books within a couple of weeks and I normally don’t read many mysteries.
Gripping unraveling of a family that seems successfully blended.
Holy cow–what a good read! I don’t often call a book a “page turner”, but this one certainly was for me. Nicely drawn characters with believable motivations in situations that make sense. While not being a “mystery” as such, it kept me guessing. Well done! Go read this one.
Emma in the Night was an edge of your seat thriller written in a style similar to Girl on the Train. Cass and Emma disappears for three years and then Cass returns home with a fantastical story. Dr. Winter fixates on Cass’s mom narcissistic personality disorder and plays catch up as the whole story begins to unfold. Throughout the whole book, Cass draws you into her story but leaves you feeling that its not what really happened. The author weaves a story of smart leading characters following twists and turns to a surprising ending. I will be adding Wendy Walker to my must read authors.
Great thriller. Wendy Walker delivers a twisty, evocative tale that keeps you guessing all the way through. Loved it.
Emma in the Night is an intuitive, introspective and highly quotable, but also fairly predictable, psychological suspense novel. Even though the reader can guess what’s going to happen, the journey to the big revelation is still captivating. We follow Cass, who we can quickly identify as an unreliable narrator, and even though we know we can’t believe her, we hang onto every tidbit she gives us, hoping for the clues that will lead us to finding out what really happened to her and her sister, Emma.
For those of you who understand narcissistic personality disorder, and the damage those masterful manipulations can inflict on those under the thumb of a true narcissist, this quotation should ring true: “I think there are two types of people. Ones who have a scream inside them and ones who don’t. People who have a scream are too angry or too sad or laugh too hard, swear too much, use drugs or never sit still. Sometimes they sing at the top of their lungs with the windows rolled down. I don’t think people are born with it. I think other people put it inside you with the things they do to you, and say to you, or the things you see them do or say to other people. And I don’t think you can get rid of it. If you don’t have a scream, you can’t understand.”
I received a free copy of Emma in the Night from NetGalley. This in no way influenced my opinion, nor my review, of this novel.
I have read all of her books so far and I can’t wait for the next one.Wendy Walker
Don’t miss this book! If it’s not on your list , put it on! If it is, READ IT!!!!
THIS novel is so originally written and research, so unexpectedly exciting!
This is a MUST READ! Easily a more than five stars!!!!
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker
2017
I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Emma in the Night will take you on a suspenseful ride into the convoluted drama that narcissistic personality disorder can have on a family. There are parts of the book where it seems there’s a lot of rambling and extraneous information filling space. As in a lot of psychological thrillers, these “ramblings” from a characters POV provide insight into their mental state.
The story begins with Cassandra, or Cass as they called her, narrating from her point of view. The first chapter is all it takes to draw you into the story which has elements of a psychological suspense novel. Just a hint of “crazy” here and there leading up to a mysterious disappearance.
There always needs to be the voice of reason. In this case, the point of view of Dr Abigail Winters, Forensic Psychologist for the FBI, plays that part. She narrates part of the story as one of the initial investigators with Agent Leo Strauss when the Tanner girls disappeared three years ago. The facts about the sisters disappearance remained a mystery until Cass shows up one night on her mother’s doorstep.
The novel is well-written with chapters creating drama and suspense and then others slowly unwinding the tale to reveal just enough to keep you piqued. Since this is a genre I gravitate towards I sat on the edge of my seat waiting for one of my many theories to be exposed. This was far more convoluted than I could even imagine. I liked that I was able to discern who the unreliable characters were but their reasons were constantly evolving.
I highly recommend this book to people who enjoy a great psychological suspense drama that captures you from beginning to end.
One of the things that I like was how little Goodreads gave away about the book, there is two sisters that disappeared and then three years later one of them, Cass, returns without Emma. When Cass returns, she starts telling this really detailed story about the how her Emma planned their disappearance and how they had this help from these people and how they were then taken to this mysterious island where the two of them were held for almost three years. The problem? Dr. Abby Winter, a forensic psychiatrist, who has been involved on their disappearance isn’t quite convince of all the story, there is just something that is not adding up and she needs to look more deeply into Cass’s dysfunctional family to find out the truth and looking she will.
Dr. Winter starts to dig deeper and deeper and she starts to believe Cass’s mom is a narcissist and more and more secrets are hidden and even though she doesn’t believe all of Cass’s story she does believe that Cass is probably leading them to a dangerous territory, even the possibility of crime.
When you start reading and get to know Cass and her story you get to wrapped up on the story that she is telling that by the end of the book you don’t even realize where she was leading you and that? That was really well done, I wasn’t expecting the twist and it was good and it kept me guessing throughout the book, there were times that I thought Cass wasn’t herself anymore, many she was really going crazy. I really don’t want to give too much away but be ready for a few twists along the way for sure.
I really enjoyed this one, 4 out of 5 stars.
If you want a heart stopping, mystery with dark twists, this is it!
How do two sister’s disappear for three years and then one reappears with the story, and mystery of where they were and her sister still is? Why?
Her Mother has moved on and so has the rest of the family and are almost upset to see her reappear after all this time
Whose to blame.
There is no way to predict what ensues as this story progresses and it kept me on my toes and kept my attention all the way through the chapters!
Emma in the Night wasn’t at all what I expected and I wouldn’t quite call it a thriller. When I read a thriller, I expect to be on the edge of my seat, dying to know what happens next. I was interested and the story was suspenseful, but the story was a bit slow and even dry at times. That said, it was oddly compelling and certainly disturbing.
Considering their parents and upbringing, Emma and Cass were almost doomed to be at a little messed up. In a not exactly successfully blended family, the only person that I found to be remotely normal was the oldest brother, Witt.
The story is not only twisted, but there are plenty of twists and turns as it progresses, which is something I look forward to in a psychological tale. I was left scratching my head at times with Cass’ recounting of her time away as it seemed to become more and more convoluted. By the end, her motivations were made clear, but even now, as I ponder the story, I’m not exactly clear about the way she went about it all.
The biggest drawback for me was the switch in point of view. Throughout the book, we hear from two people, Cass and Dr. Abigail Winter. Cass’ chapters are all in first person, while Abby’s are in third. My first thought was that it was done to help show Cass’ frame of mind during the seven days following her return home, but Abby’s chapters also reveal her own thoughts about Cass and the family during that time. The switches from chapter to chapter took some getting used to and in all honesty, I found it to be more of a distraction than anything beneficial to the story.
Overall, Walker does have a unique writing style and the story had potential, but it just didn’t quite live up to expectations. It’s not a bad read, but turned out to be merely an okay one for me.
O…M…G!! I finished this book in less than half a day! Wendy Walker has hit gold with this psychological thriller. With a feel like an old school twisted V.C. Andrews book, I am left in awe from all of the twists and turns! It’s a roller coaster ride of the best kind, and I freely admit I did not know exactly #WhatHappenedToEmma though I was on the right road with my suspicions. But the reason why and how, and who it really was about, left me shocked! LOVED IT!!