An innocent game of hide-and-seek in a remote location where the winner gets one million dollars? What social media influencer could resist that? Not Malinka, Wild Cody or Adele. They each arrive ready to play, but a brutal storm threatens to wash the competition out.

The Falcao Island setting provides a chilling atmosphere for the game. The competitors need to be careful of more than just the crumbling ruins. There’s something else afoot!

The author’s commentary on the exploitation of personal struggles for sheer entertainment reminds me a bit of the message in The Hunger Games. Thank you so much @htp_books and @htp. For gifting me the opportunity to read this via @netgalley

Unfortunately Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 was a miss for me. I usually love Lisa Unger, but this was just chaotic and left much to be desired. I was bored and disinterested.

Thank you for my gifted copy!

I want to thank Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row, Lisa Unger and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is a bit different from other Lisa Unger thrillers I have read. It was still a good story, but had a family element, mystery and a social media aspect. Things are tough for Adele and her two teenagers. Her husband embezzled a lot of money from his company and when the police were closing in, he disappeared. The town has not treated the family well. Her son is being terribly bullied at school and Adel is have trouble making ends meet. Her son has been playing an online video game and through one of the players her learns about a livestream hide and seek game on isolated Falcao Island. The game is being sponsored by charismatic, daredevil, influencer, Maverick Dillan. Adele applies and is invited to participate to win the million dollar prize. She is sure this will solve all their problems. Once she arrives the contestants meet, but there is a vicious storm coming in. They are advised to leave, but no one wants to give up before they start. There are other influencers, a washed up children's TV star and Adele. With the help of her son's friend, who just happened to live on Falcao Island, she had a good idea where to go and hide. As the storm gets worse, they are in danger. Who will survive?

This story was a slow build up, as Adele's and her family's story took some time to lay out. Once she gets to the island, the pace picks up quickly. There are side stories dealing with the other players as well as Maverick and his partners that are all part of the suspense. When someone disappears, the tension ratchets up. The setting was very eerie and atmospheric. The hotel on the island had been abandoned years earlier and it was crumbling and nature was reclaiming the land. I liked Adele, she was realistic and helped others, even if it diminished her chances of winning. The only thing I didn't like about her was that she left her two teenagers to risk her life for money. I guess until you are in that situation, it's hard to tell what you would be willing to do. The story gets a bit sinister, with some secrets being revealed what could result in someone's death. The ending pulled everything together in a rather quick way, leaving me satisfied, but not overly so. Although I enjoyed this book, it was not one of my favourites by Lisa Unger.

I thought this book was mysterious but often seemed predictable. I also do not appreciate the overdone storyline of "surviving" a murderer on an island during a horrific storm. While I did finish the book, there are far more better thrillers to be read out there.

Loved this story. Dark, intriguing, atmospheric- all the things that make a good suspenseful thriller.

A abandoned manor on a remote island draws an extreme challenge show producer to throw a million dollars up for grabs- to whoever wins a dark and deadly game of hide and seek. All of this while the nation watches.

An interesting story, for sure. There were a few loose ends that could have been tied up at the end- I'm still waiting foe the rest of the Miller story. Over all 4 stars for this book.

An extreme game of hide-and-seek on a remote island sounds like the experience of a lifetime, with one winner being promised a life-changing cash prize. Adele, a single mother determined to set up a future for her family, takes her social media presence into the daredevil adventure in hopes of winning it all. Quickly, things start to turn as the contests, and hosts, realize that things are far more nefarious than expected.

As with most locked-door thrillers, this story takes a bit of time to set up. Truthfully, longer than would be ideal as I did almost lose interest. Things started to pick up and in the last one third or so really escalated in intensity. What kept me hooked was the desire to know what was going to happen not only in this game, but also a secondary mystery from the past. How would it all connect, and who would make it out alive?

I enjoyed the audio version, and I think listening to it actually helped me stay engaged a bit more as I was able to take in the story while also being productive.

Overall a fair mystery, but not my favorite of Lisa Unger's. I feel like there was a lot of setup for not very much bang. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for my eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Really cool premise. I enjoyed it. I liked all of the different POVs. There was a lot of introspection and a lot of plot.

Such a fun read! This book follows Adele - a mom and small scale influencer whose husband disappeared after committing a bunch of white collar crimes, leaving her and her two children broke and left to clean up his mess. She ends up joining an extreme hide and seek game to win a million dollars to help her family stay on their feet but she gets more than she bargained for. Disaster, storms and murder quickly follow the group’s arrival to the island and not everyone will make it out. Overall the plot was fast paced and enjoyable and the characters were fun to read and connect to. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review

Lisa Unger’s Close Your Eyes, Count to 10 introduces an intriguing premise for a high stakes mystery, but unfortunately, it struggles to live up to its full potential. The story begins with an engaging setup but quickly loses momentum, resulting in a disjointed and ultimately underwhelming experience. The plot follows Maverick, a daring social media influencer, who orchestrates a risky game of hide-and-seek at the abandoned Esperanca Hotel on Falcao Island, ignoring clear warnings to stay away. This tension filled concept, however, loses its steam as the story becomes fragmented, failing to build upon its early intrigue. Maverick’s extreme adventurism initially sets the stage for thrills, as four influencers each with a degree of fame are chosen to compete for a one-million-dollar prize. The stakes are high, and the money could significantly change the lives of the contestants. However, the game’s commencement is delayed for over a third of the novel, detracting from the suspense. One of the novel’s main weaknesses is its uneven pacing. While moments of genuine suspense do emerge, they are often overshadowed by long, tedious expositions that impede the story’s flow and leave important details, like the game’s rules, unexplained. Instead of maintaining a focused narrative on the high-stakes competition within the isolated hotel, the story veers into the characters' relationships and their secrets, disrupting the momentum and reader engagement. While the characters initially show potential, their development remains shallow. Their motivations are unclear, and their reactions to escalating danger feel muted. This lack of emotional depth weakens the stakes and makes it difficult for the reader to connect with their plight. Additionally, although Close Your Eyes, Count to 10 includes several plot twists, they fall flat. Instead of offering genuine surprise, the twists feel predictable and fail to generate the adrenaline rush typically expected of a thriller. Unger does succeed in establishing an unsettling atmosphere and crafting a palpable sense of place, but these strengths are not enough to elevate the overall narrative. The resolution, rather than offering a satisfying conclusion, feels rushed and anticlimactic. In the end, Close Your Eyes, Count to 10 fails to deliver on its promising premise of a thrilling, high-stakes mystery. Despite moments of intrigue, the story’s pacing issues and thematic inconsistencies result in a reading experience that feels erratic and ultimately underwhelming. Thank you to NetGalley, Lisa Unger, and Park Row/Harlequin Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. (2.5/5 rounded up to 3/5)

Adele's husband mysteriously disappeared and when Adele is invited as an influencer to an extreme game of hide and seek at an abandoned hotel she can't turn the money down. The writing of the scenery was quite vivid. I wish there had been more description about the history of the abandoned hotel and the story behind it. Overall, this was a decent read.

Review of Close your eyes and count to 10 by Lisa Unger

I am always thrilled when a new book from one of my favorite authors comes out and I couldn’t wait to read this one. I really did like it a lot, but overall not my favorite by her. I think the reason for this is I didn’t like one of the main storylines and I didn’t love the setting. I think I’m more into domestic thrillers lately and there was one storyline that I didn’t enjoy and a lot of unlikable characters in this one. But it was well written fast pace, lots of twists and overall a solid read.

Synopsis:

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.

While initially intrigued by the premise and drawn through the story simply to find out what happened, I didn't feel connected or invested in the characters. The writing was decent but ended up being predictable for me. The novel was a bit too long for the type of story. With being predictable it dragged on. There was 20% of surprise which is what keeps it in the 3 star range for me. I would recommend to people getting into reading thrillers or into reading in general.

I went into *Close Your Eyes and Count to 10* expecting a high-stakes, game-driven thriller set in an abandoned hotel on an isolated island. Instead, the game itself takes a backseat, serving more as a mechanism to trap the characters and force their secrets to unravel.

While the concept had potential, the plot quickly shifted away from the actual game to focus on the characters’ tangled relationships and hidden motives. The multiple POVs were hit or miss—some characters were compelling, but others felt grating and detracted from the tension. Adele, the main character, started strong but eventually got overshadowed by the Extreme Team’s personal drama, which muddled the mystery.

The twists were predictable, but I can’t deny that Lisa Unger’s writing still kept me intrigued enough to keep turning the pages. While I enjoyed certain moments, the book’s focus on character conflict over the supposed game left me wanting more. It’s an intense, psychological story with layers worth exploring, but if you’re looking for a plot-driven, suspenseful game, this one might leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed.

Overall, a decent mystery with strong writing, but I wish the game itself played a more central role.

"When the real game begins, who will make it to the count of 10?"
What happens when a game of hide and seek becomes dangerous? This is a page turner from beginning to end that you do not want to miss. I was captivated from the start and the author did such an amazing job writing this. All of the characters in this were great and I liked Adele a lot. I loved this book so much and would recommend it to any reader especially to those who like thrillers. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/ Park Row for this read in exchange of my honest review of Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger.

When I got into reading thrillers, this was one of the first authors I picked up and with every new release I am in awe of her talent. Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 was a new take on an old classic game and it was an enjoyable read!!

I love Lisa Unger and I wanted to love this book, but I didn't. The concept behind the TV show in the book didn't work for me; I didn't like several of the point of view characters, and I wanted more from the back story about the disappearing husband. But she's a great writer and I'll still eagerly read anything else she publishes.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 intrigued me right when I read the plot (I love love love! closed circle murder mysteries), but the execution of everything fell flat for me.

The story felt a bit all over the place. There were too many characters and plotlines, which made it hard to stay focused. None of the characters really stood out, and I found myself struggling to tell them apart, especially when switching between the multiple POV chapters. And the “hide and seek” element that I was so excited for? It didn’t pan out like I was hoping for. The book had a lot going on, but not enough focus. I’m still curious enough to give Lisa Unger’s other books a try.

Thank you Netgalley and Park Row Books.

Lisa Ungar is an auto buy/read for me so, I was disappointed when Cloae Your Eyes and Count to Ten failed to live up to Confessions on the 7:45, Last Girl Ghosted, and The New Couple in 5B. The setting was perfect (creepy and cultish) but that's where my enjoyment ended. I don't mind unlikable characters but this group, for some odd reason got on my last nerve in the worst way. When I root for everyone to just die already, I know there's no enjoyment left on the horizon. This wasn't good at all.

3.5 rounded down. I really liked the beginning of this book, but found myself losing interest and steam as it moved along. Sad I didn't love it, but it was decent.