Laura Lochner is trying to work things out. After a bad breakup in New York City, she has quit her job and moved back to the small town where she grew up. Now she’s working at home, where she is living in her sister Rosie’s attic. She didn’t want to move back home , because of what happened when she was in high school. But she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
Her first internet date is with a man named Jonathan. After several conversations, they agree to meet in person at a local bar. Laura borrows her sister’s minivan, knowing that Rosie needs her van back first thing in the morning. Rosie also gives Laura a dress to wear, some nice shoes, and red lipstick along with lots of advice about how to be a relatively normal woman on a first date.
Laura’s always had issues getting along with others. She is strong and independent, angry and headstrong, meeting the world with fists instead of open arms. But she’s trying to be different now, to be open, to be unbroken. And Rosie is hoping for the best for her sister.
But then Laura doesn’t come home.
Rosie recruits her husband Joe and their tech savvy friend Gabe to help her look for her sister. But is it too late? It’s always possible that someone you meet on the internet is going to be dangerous, but Rosie knows that Laura can be dangerous too. In high school, she was found standing over her boyfriend’s body with a baseball bat. She had no memory of hitting him, but he was dead and there was no one else around. What exactly happened that night? And is it possible that history has repeated itself on a bad internet date?
Wendy Walker’s latest is a smart thriller about the bad choices we can make in relationships and what causes those choices. With jumps in time and different narrators, Walker expertly tells the story of a damaged woman and all the things that happened along the way to cause the damage. The Night Before is a powerhouse of a story with strong characters and lots of places to get lost in the mystery before you can find your way home. Another solid hit from the author of Emma in the Night.
Galleys were provided by St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.