Suspense

This dark story takes place in Opal Beach, a Jersey Shore-like town with authentic details such as the Boardwalk, carnivals, and winter residents (who hate the summer with a passion). These residents are insular and secretive with good reason – a girl went missing years ago and no one knows what happened to her.

When Allison, a disgraced meteorologist, scores a house-sitting job in Opal Beach she discovers just how insular the townfolk can be. The story is told from various points of view, with the main story being that of Allison and her demons. Maureen, the vanished girl, has demons of her own but has a youthful optimism that makes her more appealing than Allison. I was instantly on Maureen’s side and was hoping for a good outcome for her. Allison had her moments, but it seemed that she was slow to make a move due to past events. I understand how she was written, but I wanted her to have a little more backbone. Perhaps she was outshone by the brightness and promise of Maureen. I absolutely loved, loved, loved that Maureen considered herself a mermaid, with her tail flapping at times when she was most confident. It’s too bad that some of that confidence didn’t rub off on Allison.

Allison is befriended by a few friendly residents of Opal Beach and shunned by others. As the plotlines converge and we see characters commit actions in their youth, the reader will find out that what happens in the 80’s does not stay there. The author is skilled at creating the carefree attitude of summer down the shore, both in her character description and the environment. Laskowski is adept at setting a mood with weather; I wondered if that was a subtle nod to Allison. Maureen’s weather is mostly warm, sunny, and full of promise, while Allison’s is bleak and cold. There has been quite a lot of books written with converging multiple points of view, and I may be growing weary of that. However, the author managed to keep my interest going until the plot twists captured my attention – then I didn’t put the book down until it was finished.

The themes of sisterhood and betrayal illuminate just how brutal it can be when women turn on each other. Women grab onto their anger and never let go until the death, either literally or figuratively. ONE NIGHT GONE places the reader firmly in the middle of this anger and doesn’t let go. ( )

Featured in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2019/10/28/villainathon-wrap-up/

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/01/06/how-i-learned-i-love-thrillers/

This is a really solid feminist murder mystery. It wasn't as spooky as I expected, but it was suspenseful, and I felt the pub text didn't give it quite the hype it deserves. I really enjoyed reading this book, and would recommend it. ( )

Sorry I wasted my time on this one ( )

So, the hardback edition I read had an endorsement from Tana French on the cover. I generally don't take authors I like praising others' books right on the cover, well. It's usually a sign I won't like the book, and oftentimes I feel bad about it. I didn't like this book. I do not feel bad. It was mind-numbingly boring and halfway through, I started to doze off. This author uses a similar voice for a teen in the 80s as she does a 2019 woman in her thirties, so I had to carefully look at chapter headings every single time to figure out whose POV it was. The author has some of the adult's friends on a roller derby team, which IRL is so boring I could scream. So reading about it wasn't interesting. This tried really hard to be a "for readers new to the thriller genre" but fell flat, instead winding up as a boring upon more boring character study. I wasn't attached to anyone at any moment. The author writes like she's written before, but that it's not her usual genre. She does a wonderful job of capturing the dynamics, visuals, and atmosphere of a small beach town. I liked reading those sentences. I read the book the whole way through because I had an inkling of how Alison and Maureen were connected, and wanted to know if I was right. ( )