Book Review: Emma in the Night

Emma in the Night

by: Wendy Walker

Publication Date: August 8, 2017
Finished on: July 30, 2017
Publisher: St Martin's Press

I received a copy of this book as part of a pop-up blog tour from Booksparks in exchange for my honest review.  I also received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press.  Everything written below reflects my honest opinion and review of the book.

"People believe what they want to believe...So what is it we all want to believe?"

Synopsis:
"A story had unfolded here - a story about Cass, a story about Emma.  Judy Martin had a starring role.  And maybe Jonathan Martin.  Maybe his son, Hunter.  And it was more than a little troubling that this story was not among those being told."

Teenaged sisters Emma and Cass Turner disappeared without any trace.  Their case eventually becomes an FBI cold case and everyone gives up on finding them, assuming that they are dead.  Three years later, Cass shows up on her mother's doorstep, telling a fantastic story about what happened to her and Emma that fateful night.  Her narcissistic mother thinks Cass is crazy.  Cass's father is a mess and her stepfather is menacing.  Her stepbrother seems a bit too happy to see her.  Why did Cass even both coming home? The FBI investigators (Abby and Leo) push to try to piece together evidence before it disappears again.  The story of Cass and Emma's disappearance (at least from Cass's perspective) is slowly told to the reader and FBI investigators.  This is definitely a "who did it" and why? type of book that keeps you guessing until the end.

"It was a fear so profound, it was unbearable.  Unsustainable.  And so the mind did something about it."

"They say sociopaths are created in early childhood.  They say we are all formed by age three."
One theme in Emma in the Night is psychological disorders and their affects on families.  Both Cass's mother and Abby's mother likely have undiagnosed narcissistic personality disorder.  Abby's doctorate thesis was on the relationship between mothers with narcissistic personality disorders and their daughters.  A bit of nature versus nurture comes and creates an interesting subplot to the story.

"It's so easy to think that we are important and that the things that happen to us are important. But the truth is, we are so small, so insignificant in the scope of even just our solar system, which is itself meaningless in the scope of the Universe.  The truth is, nothing really matters unless we decide it matters."

My review:
I really enjoyed this novel.  For me, it was a mix of Law and Order or CSI + thriller/suspense novel + unreliable narrator (think Gone Girl) = Emma in the Night.  I honestly didn't know who I could trust and loved that we were left guessing almost until the end.

I found the relationship between Leo and Abby (the FBI investigators) to be somewhat awkward.  I didn't like that he called her "kiddo," which seemed to be dismissive and undermining.  This was somewhat off-putting to me, but their relationship seemed better towards the end.  I only bring this up because I think it would have been preferable to have her male boss respect her as a colleague and peer as opposed to using a belittling (albeit affectionate) phrase to define his younger, female partner.

"...I made a theory for myself about the meaning of life.  I decided that life would be about choosing things to make important even though they are not, and cannot ever be.  I took this theory and i started to make a list of all the things I would choose to be important and that I would honor.  I decided that I would measure myself against my list and whether I had been true to that list of important things."

I loved that we got a lot of character development from Cass during this story.  You guess about her motives and her sanity the entire novel, but by the end, you feel like you know her.  Cass saves herself and she has come to peace with the fact that she had to do some pretty awful things in order to do that.  I like that she is unapologetic and strong.  She is one of my favorite recent female protagonists.  The story is also told from Abby's point of view, but for me, she took a bit of a backseat role and didn't develop as much.  I would like to hear more from her (future book?).

Overall, I rate this 4/5 stars.  Emma in the Night is a psychological suspense that will keep you guessing until the end.  This book will get a lot of buzz, and it deserves it all.  There is a lot to love about this fast read: family drama, an unreliable narrator, and an FBI investigation.  I highly recommend this book for suspense/mystery lovers.