Tara Laskowski | ONE NIGHT GONE

 Plot (via Goodreads):

It was the perfect place to disappear...

One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might be too good to be true, and before the summer is up, she vanishes.
 It was the perfect place to disappear...

One sultry summer, Maureen Haddaway arrives in the wealthy town of Opal Beach to start her life anew—to achieve her destiny. There, she finds herself lured by the promise of friendship, love, starry skies, and wild parties. But Maureen’s new life just might be too good to be true, and before the summer is up, she vanishes.

Decades later, when Allison Simpson is offered the opportunity to house-sit in Opal Beach during the off-season, it seems like the perfect chance to begin fresh after a messy divorce. But when she becomes drawn into the mysterious disappearance of a girl thirty years before, Allison realizes the gorgeous homes of Opal Beach hide dark secrets. And the truth of that long-ago summer is not even the most shocking part of all... 

Review:

One Night Gone is the perfect chilling read to cozy up to a nice fire with for the weekend. It's not overly gritty, it has two timelines and features a cold-case murder, and the setting is perfect for this kind of story. After my last read, I tried and tried to pick up a few books and just couldn't get into them. I would give them 50-100 pages and just felt hopeless. Was I ever going to enjoy another book? Well, I had been looking forward to One Night Gone for a while and was desperate for the perfect weather to enjoy this one....this is definitely not a beachy read. It's something you have to read when the wind is howling and you can cozy up and get lost in the story - and, that is exactly what I did.

The two timelines with this one really just kept me completely engrossed in not only one, but two stories. I love how Laskowski weaves together two separate stories and then slowly and effectively twists them together. I really enjoyed the characters in this book. Some were a little over the top and others I wish I could've got more out of them, but they were all so realistic and played their parts so well. While Laskowski flirts with making a few characters cliche, I found that actually made me enjoy it more. The novel was dark at times, fun at others, and riveting in its entirety. Finally, the spell was over and I was LOVING this story! Laskowski's prose is not one to mess with. I could feel the beach breeze, hear the howl of the wind, and hear every creek. This novel is heavily atmospheric and cinematic and just the overall feeling of this woman being alone in an unfamiliar house and getting close to finding out what happened to a girl who disappeared years earlier. As both stories progress, I was confused and wondering how this would get all wrapped up in time as the pages I had left to read started to decline. I will say, I loved both timelines, but the one from the past just held me a little tighter.

Overall, this was an entertaining and immersive thriller that I think is one of the perfect fall reads. I was intrigued, invested, and held hostage with this story. The ending was one I didn't see coming, although I felt like the big reveal did kind of come abruptly. I would definitely recommend this one and do look froward to seeing what Laskowski does next.

Special thanks to Graydon Hose for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5