It’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Heather Gudenkauf so when I received an ARC of The Perfect Hosts I knew I had to clear my calendar and dive in.

This book was jam packed with secrets, lies and drama with a totally shocking and twisty ending. The cast of characters were SO fun to get to know (and maybe dislike sometimes) and I loved the dual POV chapters. As usual, and not surprising in any way, Heather delivered everything I love in a thriller and I am so honored to have had the chance to read an advanced copy. The Perfect Hosts comes out on November 4th and I promise this is one party you will NOT want to miss!

I always love Heather Gudenkauf's writing, and this book delivered! She does such a great job of creating well-rounded characters and settings in her books. I was captivated right away and loved the suspense and mystery of the story. The ending was great and so well-done!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. The Perfect Hosts was more like a slow burn that quick twists but it was very enjoyable. A couple's over the top reveal party turns deadly and Agent Jamie Saldano is tasked on solving the murder. He has a past with the town and some suspects. Is the past connected with the present? A very enjoyable story.

I love Heather Gudenkauf, but this was the first novel of hers I've read, as opposed to listened to. I really enjoyed the experience!

I inhaled this book! There are multiple layers to the plot, multiple POVs, and many sinister intentions. The question is… who’s at fault here? Is anyone who they seem to be? Can anyone be trusted?

The Perfect Hosts is a well-written suspense thriller, and my only critique is that I wish some of the characters’ storylines were more fleshed out at the end of the story.

It took me less than a day to finish it, simply because I needed answers!! Gudenkauf’s writing is easy to follow and natural to read. I’m excited to see what else she puts out!

Thank you to Park Row books and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Lots of characters, lots of secrets and a lot of lies turn a gender reveal party into a nightmare for ATF agent Jamie Saldano as he tries to find out who planted the bomb that killed one person and injured many more. Gudenkauf does a great job hiding the truth and teasing you with tidbits of information taken out of context, so you don’t know what to believe. The ending was definitely not something I would have predicted.

Heather Gudenkauf is one of my all time favorite authors and I was honored to be approved to receive an ARC of The Perfect Hosts. Once again, she doesn't disappoint!! I absolutely LOVED this book and couldn't put it down! This was an easy 5* read for me!

I feel like there was way too much going on with not enough information. The ending was okay, but nothing spectacular.

THE PERFECT HOSTS
HEATHER GUDENKAUF
November 4/25

Madeline and Wes Drake are looking forward to their gender reveal, which will go off with a bang! Well, at least Wes is looking forward to it, Madeline thinks 200 people coming just to see a truck blow up pink or blue is a little overboard.

Everything goes bad when the truck explodes and then a second explosion comes from the old barn behind the party, causing injuries and one death.

Who set the second explosion? Who were they trying to injure or kill? And who are the two mysterious women who suddenly appear?

Heather Gudenkauf, author of so many NYT bestsellers is going to have another hit on her hands with THE PERFECT HOSTS.

Heather Gudenkauf writes another page turning, can’t put down suspenseful thriller that will keep you hanging until the end. Thanks for the ARC - a definite 2 day beach read!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this prior to release. I love everything Heather Gudenkauf has put out. This was an another thriller with some “twists”, some you saw coming and some are left unresolved. My biggest gripe about this book is there are so many characters with motive you don’t really like any of them or really get to know any of them that well other than the secondary character’s story running alongside the main story. This book could have run without the secondary main character story, the bad person in the book is established as a bad person anyways and to never get closure on the storyline seems a little silly to include it. As I said, the book was fine. I’ll always read what Heather puts out, I just felt like this one tried to throw you for a loop and failed

There were some plot elements that were never explained properly (or addressed at all), and parts of the story were just a bit too absurd and ridiculous for me to believe, but I did find myself eager to know how the mysteries would wrap up and who was responsible for everything.

A gender reveal party gone wrong… This one is full of suspense and tons of drama, lies and betrayal!

I thought the pacing was good and was able to read it pretty quickly. The plot was intriguing, but a little far-fetched and quite a bit going on. I wish there was a little more character development. I also wanted a little more at the end about Juneau’s case.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, but didn’t love it quite as much as I’ve loved some of her other books.

Heather Gudenkauf is always good for an emotional thriller. This one ties in the backstory of a decades-old mystery with a new crime taking place during a baby shower. I loved to see the characters deepen and develop as the mystery became more fraught, and I found myself completely taken along for the ride. Another winner!

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read an advance copy of The Perfect Hosts, and I am very happy that I was able to do so. The story held a lot of the twists and plot development that Gudenkauf is known for, but at the same time, this book had a very different feel. The location in Wyoming and the cowboy-themed references, especially in the beginning at the gender-reveal party from hell, felt like a departure for the author. However, by combining the past and the present for the ATF agent Jamie Saldano, it further ingratiates the reader into the story, because we want to know what happened to his sister all those years ago. The author provides a balance for those stories, but in the end, I felt like the conclusion to Jamie's sister's story did not receive the development that it should have, and the murder at the gender-reveal party was slightly rushed, too. Nevertheless, I look forward to reading whatever Heather Gudenkauf has in store for her readers next!

A gender reveal gone wrong, to the point of death for one of the guests, is a unique premise for a book. I enjoy mysteries with a police point of view and rich people behaving badly so I was into this plot. In fact, the storyline of the investigator Jamie was one of my favorites. I was eager to find out what happened to his missing sister. There were a lot of characters and backstories to keep straight but the author handled them well. I was able to follow the different paths to the conclusion and it kept me guessing about the wrap up. This is a solid mystery and overall a fun read. Thanks to Heather Gudenkauf, Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I typically love Gudenkauf books, but this one left me wanting more especially with the ending. I felt like we spent a lot of time on the storyline of Jamie ( which I enjoyed), but the end payoff of the story was not there. It ended abruptly and I was left wanting more.

Madeline is excitedly awaiting the birth of her first child. When her husband Wes insists on a grand gender reveal party, however, she’s less than enthusiastic. But she knows how important her husband's image is in their small community, so she reluctantly agrees. What she didn’t agree to, though, was murder. That’s exactly what happens when the gender reveal goes wrong. As investigators comb through the crime scene, secrets begin to surface and Madeline realizes that her husband had a lot more going on than she realized. This was a good story, intriguing and easy to read. A nice little twist towards the end!

A gender reveal gone bad? Eh interesting was not really for me, I had to push myself to finish it but I don't think I would buy or re read it I just wanted to finish it. I have enjoyed plenty of her other books The Over Night Guest is one of my top yearly reads.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as Gudenkauf’s last one. The premise is intriguing, albeit rather far-fetched: a lavish gender reveal party in which a woman is killed by an unexpected explosion—at the same time as the expected explosion that reveals the gender of the protagonist’s baby. Because the events take place at a large party, there are a lot of characters. There is also the backstory of one of the investigators that creates a parallel mystery. As a result, the story is complicated, and there are many twists. All in all, it was an enjoyable thriller, but a bit clunky. Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC and the opportunity to provide an honest review.