Lisa Unger is an author that I have heard so many good things about. She is an author that has been on my short list of authors I need to check out ASAP. Unfortunately, my first book by Unger left me underwhelmed.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 follows multiple characters through a social media live stream competition to win a million dollars in what is essentially a game of hide and seek on a remote island. A storm rolls in and makes for a dangerous scenario.

The influencer host, Maverick Dillon, has a lot of secrets around him and his crew, including a girl who was never found during the last game. The mystery here was engaging. Some chapters were excerpts from a true crime podcast about this missing girl. This was the star of the book for me.

When it came to the rest of the plot, there were a lot of characters that we followed and we got chapters from their POV, which made it a little confusing at times. I also didn’t find many of these characters interesting, and that included single mom Adele, who is the lead character.

By the time the conclusion came around, I found myself slightly confused and bored. A book that had so much mystery just failed to hold my engagement. Since I have heard so many wonderful things about Unger, I will definitely be checking out another book by her. I hope this is just a one-off miss for me.

Overall a solid 4 ⭐️ read! - Reading the description of this book - I knew it would be right up my alley. The fact it is a Lisa Unger thriller = double whammy. I listened to the audiobook version and I was not disappointed. The story line kept me listening or wanting to listen when I wasn’t. I loved the idea of a secluded island and while some twists were predictable there was also some turns that I didn’t see coming. I also want to give kudos to the narrator (Vivienne Leheny) who was great. Narrators don’t get enough credit and I personally believe they can make or break an audiobook. Thank you Netgalley for the audio Arc!

Overall, I enjoyed this one (I listened to the audiobook). The suspense was expertly built, and the unlikable, suspicious characters kept me hooked. I really liked how the different storylines unfolded—Adele's husband on the run, the Extreme leaders' fates, and, of course, the deadly game itself.

However, I did find the video game element a bit distracting (until it became apparent why it had been part of the story). And also, while I understand now why it wasn't the focus, I was more interested in the reality show aspect of the game, and felt like it could've been explored more.

Despite that, it was still a thrilling read, and the characters, setting, and what was at stake definitely had me intrigued!

So good!!! I loved that the premise was the mom doing whatever she could to save her family, and that it was her son’s idea. It made it very real. So dark and twisty!

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator did a fantastic job and definitely held her own with this multi-character book like a pro! She was clear and precise and extremely easy to listen to for hours. I really liked the concept behind this book of a hide and seek game show on an island! The little tidbits thrown in from the podcast felt a little distracting and disjointed for me, but I was still able to follow along. If you like psychological thrillers and mysteries set in an island, give this book a try!

📚Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger

CWs for murder, death, cyber bullying, harassment, sexual assault, and more

Story: 2/5
Audiobook: 3/5 (narrated by Vivienne Leheny)
Length: 11h34min

Rating: ⭐️⭐️/5

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC in exchange for an honest review! 💙

I’m still obsessed with this cover, but it pains me to say that this didn’t work for me whatsoever. I was initially intrigued by the initial setup of a mom signing up to compete in an extreme game of hide and seek at a haunted location. This was just lacking any suspense and intrigue whatsoever. The pacing was off and the reveals were incredibly lackluster. I was also expecting to get more of the actual hide and seek game, but we basically got nothing. There were way too many perspectives and I didn’t really enjoy being in any of them. Sadly, this was a miss for me.

Audiobook could have benefited from multiple narrators given the rotating POVs, but it was otherwise an easy listening experience.

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. The premise sounded so interesting, I love the idea of a reality show hide and seek game in an abandoned resort. There were too many storylines and they moved slowly so m it hard to follow and stay interested in. Not my favorite by Lisa Unger but I still enjoy her writing and will continue to read her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Truly Lisa Unger’s best! The combination of podcasting, reality TV, and outrageously generous social media influencers works together perfectly. What a fun ride.

Loved the premise, but the execution was a bit slow. Some interesting bits about social media/influencing. Too many POVs, too little action until the end.

This is mostly the story of Adele, a mom whose husband disappeared after supposedly embezzling large amounts of money from his company. She's trying to raise her two teen kids herself, but making ends meet is tough. She gets selected to participate in a livestreamed game of hide and seek put on by influencer Maverick with the prize of one million dollars. Adele heads to the remote island with other competitors to try to win the prize.

It took so long to set this story up, and then...fizzle. It could have been good and exciting--the game is about to start, there is opposition from the locals, a major storm hits--but then none of that comes together in a cohesive way. Coupled with skipping around between so many different points of view for short periods of time never gives the reader the excitement and suspense that it should have.

I just couldn't figure out what this book wanted to be. For all of the atmospheric, foreboding setup, we get very little payoff. The author tried to throw in too many elements and when it all shook out it was a jumbled mish-mash of ingredients that never came together.

I listened to the audiobook and Vivienne Leheny did a great job with the material. She has been the narrator for Unger's other audiobooks, and her narration kept me invested in the story.

The last few books I've read by this author have been only fair, so I think I might be skipping them in the future.

This newest book from Lisa Unger is a whirlwind of secrets, murder, a killer storm, a missing girl, and the ravages of being a social media influencer.
Told in rotating POVS, the story involves a family whose father had absconded with millions, a Social media thrill seeker, and an adult game of hide and seek, the winner of who will win one million dollars.
I don't like spoilers so I don't want to give too much away about this book, but I will say, the main female character, mom Adell, was my favorite character. She stayed true to character for the length of the book while all around her were people keeping secrets - deadly secrets.

There's a mystery in the book that I figured out 1/2 thru the book, but that didn't take away from the story at all.
Thank you to Netgalley for a sneak peek. 4 stars.

This one wasn’t bad but also wasn’t great… it left me feeling kinda of meh 😑…
The did see half of the twist coming but the other part took me by surprise.
I didn’t really get why we had Adele’s POV… like I figured it was to have an inside look on the game from the contestant pov but I think the other girl would have been a better fit since she actually had a tie to the other part of the story…
I don’t know I just felt like that was pointless…
Anyways this wasn’t my favorite but it did have its entertaining moments….

This was okay. I enjoyed the audiobook. I was really enjoying the story at first, but later on it kinda started losing me. Might just be me. I’m a big mood reader so maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for it. I definitely want to try out her other books. Maybe I shouldn’t have started with this one. I’ve heard her books are pretty good so I’m excited to try some others!

Adele is a single mother of two teenagers and doing her best to provide for her family.
Social Media influencer Maverick Dillian provides the perfect opportunity for other influencers to try to make some good quick cash with a game of hide and seek, but not the version you are used to. Adele and the others head to an island with a bad reputation and she knows this is not your ordinary television show.

I think Adele was the reason I enjoyed this book. She was strong and passionate and that alone had me rooting for her. There was suspense and thrills to keep me interested. At time it became boring especially with the children's part of the storyline as it felt unnecessary.
It was fun and fast paced and I would definitely recommend to others.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 was a fun and exciting read… but a LONG one. It was one of those novels where several chapters/pages of detail could have been omitted and the book would still have made sense and been atmospheric. It only had 384 pages but certainly felt like a 500-pager! It was also wildly predictable. The 2 “mystery characters” were very obvious, so I wouldn’t exactly call this “twisty” or “shocking”

That said: I really wanted to know how it ended!

Adele is a mother of 2, her family has been disgraced and abandoned by her husband when he was caught embezzling from his tech company - and vanished. Adele was left to pick up the pieces. She’s struggling to make ends meet, when her son‘s gamer friend suggest she do this extreme hide and seek contest, where the grand prize is a cool $1 million.

2 other contestants are on the island, and although they’re Adele’s competition in the challenge, they all quickly form bonds.

Once the challenge starts, everything that could go wrong, does. Everything is live streamed on a fictional version of Instagram. And I mean everything. I’m talking spelunking down flooded elevator shafts while live-streaming.

The ending seemed a bit rushed (especially after how long the build up was), but it did give closure without a big, red “happy ending” bow (which i like! Real life isn’t perfect, so I hate when books end perfectly haha)

A solid 4 for Unger on this one.

I was really looking forward to this one, but I ended up super disappointed. The game aspect, which sounded really interesting, was almost nonexistant. There were so many storylines. There was the past, the present, the future, a podcast element... It's like the author decided to throw everything at the wall to see what stuck.

3.5 Stars!!

If you like a good whodunit, this book is for you.

Close your eyes and count to 10 by Lisa Unger is about an extreme hide and seek game gone wrong. It’s a quick and easy read that you’ll want to finish in one sitting.

I thought the plot would be a bit more creepy with the falling apart hotel and island vibes. Lots of twists and a fast-paced read. I’d rate this one 3.5 stars.

The social media element was a unique add. It was helpful to get the different perspectives from the players and creators from their lives.

Adele was a soft spot for me. A mother ready to do anything to provide for her kids. That is what kept me hooked to see what happens and wanted the best for her. I was really rooting for her to win and stay safe.

Thank you Harlequin Audio & NetGalley for the audiobook to review!

The audio for this book was fantastic. This is my favorite book by this author. The twists & turns had me on the edge. I didn’t want to stop listening. The concept was very creative and taking a childhood game of hide & seek, and turning it into a deadly competition. I will definitely be recommending to all my thriller friends.

I read this in tandem with the eARC. After restarting twice and on the third listen having to stop multitasking and focus on the audio I threw in the towel. DNF @ 32%(x3) I love thriller and I’m on a big kick with it right now but this just didn’t work. The narration always seemed a bit off. The story was compelling at the beginning but I quickly lost interest.

This one was not quite what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. I thought given there was a reality extreme hide-and-seek competition, it would focus more on the competition aspect. But it’s more about the creators/producers of the competition. I think if you go into this book knowing more of that, and expecting less twists, you might enjoy it more. I like the way Lisa Unger writes, but it’s almost more of a drama than a major thriller. Still very enjoyable, but I can see how others might be let down.

𝘼 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
No complaints on the narration! This was a fun one to listen to.

What do you get when you gather all the top talked about influencers onto a private island for an extreme game of hide and seek? Well prime reality television entertainment of course. But when the lines between what’s real and what’s a facade for tv theatrics becomes incredibly blurred each contestant finds they must fight for survival if they ever hope to leave the secluded social media driven hell they have unwittingly entered.

Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten boosts a unique twist on the secluded locked room/trapped thriller genre with its reality tv gone wrong aspect. As someone who has watched their fair share of reality tv and reality show competitions I was immediately drawn to this added plot narrative. However while I found the overall premise to be extremely intriguing I began to struggle with feelings of not getting fully invested in the slow burn mystery. I attribute this to the fact of the immense amount of multiple POVs. Making connecting to any one of them difficult. And while each character does have interesting pasts with their own secrets and skeletons the overall amount of POVs just made keeping track of each and every single one of them a daunting task. Ultimately making the reading experience feel more like work rather than the thriller escapism that I was hoping for. I did still end up enjoying the last wild 100 pages tho despite the disconnect I felt from the characters. Overall this was a quick read that while not being a complete love for me still managed to keep me turning pages despite a few bumps in the reading experience.

Close Your Eyes and Count to Ten comes out February 25th, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing.