I love this author. Her books are always great reads ! The atmosphere created was captivating and I enjoyed the characters as well.
Thank you!

This is a really good book that held my interest from page one. It centers on Wylie, who is holed away in a farmhouse in Iowa to finish writing a true crime book. She finds a child who was stuck in a snowstorm, and upon making the rescue, realize she has put herself in danger. The book also alternates to the timeline of 12 year old Josie who escapes a gunman in 2000, and chapters from an unknown child who suffers family abuse. The author does a great job of holding interest with all 3 of these storylines and then weaving them together at the culmination of the story.

There is a lot of action in this book and it moves at a fast clip- even during the action, the author did a good job of relaying the details so you actually felt like you were there. I really felt Josie's fear when she was running through the cornfield. The characterization was good and I even felt like I understood the tertiary characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the read- good, fast-paced story with a twisty and believable ending. I am excited to read other books by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how this book took place from varied perspectives as that added to the suspense. This was a hard one to put down to eat or sleep and I finished it very quickly. This is definitely an author that I will read more of. Great book!

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!

A remote farmhouse, a snow storm, an overnight guest, a mother and daughter imprisoned in a basement, a kidnapping of a young girl, and a murder.

We find all of these as we move from present day to the year 2000.

How are they all connected?

You will wonder that as you begin to read because there are three story lines and many characters, but Ms. Gudenkauf as always brilliantly pulls it all together in this tense thriller.

Wylie is an author writing her final draft in a remote farmhouse where a brutal murder and kidnapping occurred, the overnight guest appears out of nowhere during the storm, and we learn of the brutal murder and the guest's story.

You will be on the edge of your seat as you read THE OVERNIGHT GUEST.

Ms. Gudenkauf never disappoints with her books.

Don’t miss this one if you are a fan. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story has the reader reaching for a blanket and flashlight. The atmosphere is strong and the main strength of this murder mystery. There are a number of "separate " stories that are woven together and fit well at the end.
The beginning is a bit confusing until you understand that the story follows different paths and time periods.
About half way through the style is understood and the story moves at a fast pace. An interesting read

Three different POVs tell stories in two different time lines in this gripping read that I had a hard time putting down. We read first of a horrific crime that takes place in August 2000. Josie and her best friend Becky, both 13 years old, are having a sleepover at Josie's house. Unfortunately, her big brother Ethan has been having lots of issues lately and fighting with her parents all the time. The girls can't sleep so they head out to the trampoline to enjoy the beautiful night. When they here gunshots, they go running towards them, until they see a shape with a gun coming towards them out of the house. As they run for the cornfields, Becky slips and Josie loses her hand. Josie can't help her up by the time shots are fired at them and she is forced to leave Becky as she flees for her life and gets shot in the arm. Josie hides successfully, but by morning, her parents are dead and her brother and best friend are missing. What happened?

We also get the point-of-view of a young girl who, along with her mother, are being held captive in a basement by her father, a man who repeatedly abuses them. The third POV is Wylie Lark, a young true crime novelist who is staying in the old farmhouse where everything started in 2000 and trying to write about it.

As the three stories begin to intertwine, I easily figured out one mystery, but others kept me guessing. The entire book is fast-paced and gripping and I didn't want to put it down. I didn't really like the resolution for one of the stories, but overall I absolutely recommend the book! The writing is atmospheric and I could feel the storm and hear the tree branches breaking in the ice. It was a chilling read!


Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was quite the thriller with engaging characters and a suspenseful plot. I will say it started off slowly but built to a very intense ending.

This was my first book to read by this author but I hope to read more soon! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish it. Good, fast read. Highly recommend!!

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf is a small-town mystery wrapped in a dark, psychological thriller.

About three chapters in, I was a bit unsure as to why the narrative kept switching to the past and whoo did it explain itself in the end.

Twisty and dramatic, the strongest themes are about survival, courage, heroism and what life looks like after loss and trauma.

Not to mention, the loner who is nothing like people think and seems to catch all the bad vibes once they are pegged as the local "untouchable."

Highly recommend to anyone who loves village mysteries, thrillers with strong, female protagonists and a realistic glimpse into the dark side of human nature. Well done!

The Overnight Guest is a thriller following true crime writer, Wylie Lark. Wylie is working on her new book at an isolated farmhouse when a storm hits. It’s the same farmhouse in which two people were murdered in and a girl mysteriously disappeared. As she lets her dog outside before the storm gets worse, Wylie comes across a small boy lying in the snow. She then discovers that the farmhouse isn’t isolated at all and that she’s not alone.

I’ve been looking forward to this book for months. I’m new to Gudenkauf’s work and really appreciate her style of writing. I love the way she describes a scene; it’s often in detail and it really immerses the reader into the story. However, I wasn’t expecting there to be multiple POV’s. What drew me to this book was Lark’s storyline. Gudenkauf would describe an intense situation with Lark, while the next 1 or 2 chapters would take place elsewhere. Because of this, I found it hard to stay engaged. I didn’t find myself caring for the other characters and their stories, but felt as though if I skipped too much of it, that I would miss something.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The author has woven a magnificent suspenseful, cannot put down, stay up way too late to finish thrilling book. The Overnight Guest will have you up past your bedtime, anxiously reading what happens next!

Heather Gudenkauf is a must read author for me and The Overnight Guest was a fabulous thriller! Wylie Lark is a true crime author and she is writing her next book at the house where a family was murdered and a young girl was taken. Wylie is snowed in during a terrible winter storm when she finds a young child in the snow. She brings the child in and tries to find out answers to where the child came from and are they safe isolated in a farm house in this terrible storm? . This is a great thriller that keeps you guessing until the very last page. I loved the how the original crime story was woven into the book and how everything came together in the end. I loved the twists and turns and I gasped out loud many times!! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Might be Heathers best book yet! The way she did the past, present and then the side story and the way it pulled all together was great!

Honestly, I didn't enjoy this book at all. There was way too many POV switches for me to enjoy it, and it took a really long time to get off the ground. Good overall writing but the story wasn't interesting enough for me.

I am a big fan of Heather Gudenkauf's books. She is a talented writer.
I started this book with high hopes.
I enjoyed the character of Wylie, the setting, what she was accomplishing, but somewhere the story just got too convoluted for me.
Perhaps it was the multiple perspectives, I felt this detracted rather than added to the story.
At some point I just didn't care about all the characters and the last 3rd of the book, i skimmed it.
I look forward to future books by Ms. Gudenkauf, this story and plot just didn't intrigue me as her other books have.

This semi-slow burn thriller took a bit to really hook me, but once it did I was rolling right through it. The alternating perspectives and timelines are initially a bit confusing but end up really working for the story, which I super appreciated. Gudenkauf always manages to pull off the most unique twists, and this is no exception.

Super fun and bingeable thriller. This story had two main perspectives. The snowy, isolated setting of one of the perspectives was absolutely perfect. The farmhouse setting of the other perspective was also wonderfully unsettling and tense and the story moved forward. Some of the twists and reveals I did predict or see coming, but not in a way that ruined the story for me or felt "predictable." I think the way all the perspectives and the story came together was well crafted and ultimately the story had me on the edge of my seat and tense for almost the whole story!

This book is really hard to review without giving away any spoilers! Very fast paced, and the twists are really unexpected!
Wylie Lark has come to a small town in Iowa to write her latest true crime novel. A severe snowstorm traps her in her house, when she finds a small boy in the snow. She locates the scene of the wreck, and finds the mother trapped in barbed wire, only to have her disappear when she returns with wire cutters to help her out. The mystery continues with the murder she is investigating, which happened in the house Wylie is renting. You will read this in one go!

I thoroughly enjoyed this tense thriller by Heather Gudenkauf. The storyline was solid, the characters were well-drawn, and the plot moves forward smoothly and reaches a satisfying conclusion. I was engaged throughout, eager to see how the story unfolded. Multiple narratives are happening but you are never left confused. Wylie Lark is a true-crime writer staying in a remote farmhouse. A farmhouse that has seen its share of horror. As a snowstorm intensifies, Wylie discovers a child laying in the snow, almost frozen to death. As Wylie tends to the child, she realizes that she is no longer alone. There is someone out there hunting for the child. Someone who will bring Wylie’s past into her present. Excellent, fast-paced, taut thriller, highly recommended. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

There are 3 separate 'stories' going on in The Overnight Guest. The first one takes place in the present, where Wylie is at an old farmhouse finishing her latest true crime novel when she finds a little boy in the snow. The second one takes place about 20 years earlier when 2 friends - Josie and Becky - are having a sleepover when horrible events take place in their small town. Then the last 'story' is from the POV of a little girl whose mother is being verbally and emotionally abused by her father. It's a little tough to keep track of all these stories and characters, but eventually things start to fall into place and you obviously know that at some point the stories will connect... it just took awhile to get to that point.

This was a creepy story that gave me the chills. It also makes me never want to be in a secluded cabin or farmhouse during a snowstorm... it may sound cozy, but there are too many crazies out there to make it relaxing.