The Overnight Guest: A Novel
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
"Fully realized, wholly absorbing and almost painfully suspenseful...The journey is mesmerizing." --New York Times
A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.
True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn't mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she's retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.
As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls--haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn't as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.
Don't miss Heather's upcoming twisty locked-room thriller, EVERYONE IS WATCHING!
And don't miss these other great stories by Heather!
The Weight of Silence
These Things Hidden
Little Mercies
MIssing Pieces
Not a Sound
Before She Was Found
This is How I Lied
"Fully realized, wholly absorbing and almost painfully suspenseful...The journey is mesmerizing." --New York Times
A woman receives an unexpected visitor during a deadly snowstorm in this chilling thriller from New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf.
True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn't mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she's retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace.
As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls--haunted by secrets of her own. Then she discovers a small child in the snow just outside. After bringing the child inside for warmth and safety, she begins to search for answers. But soon it becomes clear that the farmhouse isn't as isolated as she thought, and someone is willing to do anything to find them.
Don't miss Heather's upcoming twisty locked-room thriller, EVERYONE IS WATCHING!
And don't miss these other great stories by Heather!
The Weight of Silence
These Things Hidden
Little Mercies
MIssing Pieces
Not a Sound
Before She Was Found
This is How I Lied
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Community Reviews
Really well done mystery/thriller that weaves together three different POV. The one storyline is a little too much like Room but I enjoyed the overall journey to the ending. Would definitely recommend as a book club pick.
Wow, this book is written so well you think you are actually in Iowa watching what's going on. I like her technique of a book in a book, three different stories at a time. At first its a little hard to follow but at the end it comes together nicely .
Trigger Warnings Abound!
I rarely write reviews that aren't at least a little complimentary. Mostly because I've been a reader for over 35 years and have really honed in on what I know I will enjoy. However, the initial description of "The Overnight Guest" threw me for a loop, I guess.
First of all, I almost DNF'd this book after reading the first 1/4 of it. The murders were described in more gory detail than I usually can stomach. They weren't lengthy about the descriptions - I didn't have to read about it for long, however, Heather Gundenkauf wrote with such specificity that I could not get the images out of my head. (So, well done there!) However, what almost pushed me over the edge were the parts that spoke of child abuse. Again, excellent descriptions since they tore me up emotionally, however, I wished I'd known just how much would be discussed.
At this point, I'm about halfway through and I decide that I've probably gotten past the worst bits and can finish - mostly because I feel like I'll sleep better if I know what happened. Plus, I figured since Gudenkauf had done such a great job of making me feel WAY too many emotions that she would show me a fantastic and redemptive ending.
Oh, how wrong I was...
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
...
...
...
Seriously, if you don't want to know who the murderer is, do NOT keep reading!
...
...
...
As I said before, I was impressed (if not ill) by what the author had written thus far, but then suddenly the story went off the rails and my star rating started going down faster and faster. It started falling for me when suddenly the "odd" neighbor "with a past" who lived with his mother into adulthood shows up at the cabin and suddenly our protagonist, Wylie, KNOWS for certain that HE was the killer and now needs to lock him in the barn.
Wait...WHAT? While he was always looked at as a possible suspect, it was NEVER revealed that he was The MAIN suspect! And out of nowhere he just happens to show up at her door after it's revealed that this lost woman was actually her friend Becky that had never been found after the shootings? (I mean, I enjoyed THAT particular twist, though I'd figured it out early on...)
So, yeah. He's not the killer...I mean, it would have been way too obvious. And, low and behold, look who shows up a few minutes later...The Actual Killer and Kidnapper! Except it's Cutter - and not young Cutter, the teen who was also a suspect and whose storyline of speeding off in the middle of the night near the scene of the crime is never actually explained. No, instead, it's Mr. Cutter. The Father. But, like...why?
We see little of him throughout the book with only a mention of some land dispute and once in the family's barn for no apparent reason. When he was named as the killer, it almost felt like one of those storylines where the writer reveals, "Welp. It wasn't anyone we know, but instead a random stranger passing through town and killing people for fun with no rhyme or reason behind it." Again I say - But, like...why?
But even all of that I could get over and probably would have given the book 3 stars. However, when Mr. Cutter is trying to kill Wylie in the present day timeline, he's screaming about that it was supposed to be her that he stole and kept in the basement. It was "all because of her." And, again - But, like...why?
There is literally nothing from the previous storylines that makes this make sense. NOTHING.
How did the editors not notice these enormous plot holes before going to print?
I am shocked that this book has so many 4 & 5 star reviews. To be honest, I'm only giving this 2 stars (instead of 1) because of Gudenkauf's writing skills.
And one final note, because this irked the Mom and Teacher in me to no end... Instead of reading my Kindle copy, I needed to listen to the audiobook because #NoTimeToReadPhysicalBooks. I was APPALLED by the way our main character spoke to this child that she had found frozen to the middle of the road in the midst of a full blown snowstorm. She gets him/her inside and while trying to get them warm, gets irritated that the child is scared and won't cooperate with her. At first, I thought maybe it was just the way that the voice actor was portraying it, however, the wording in the story itself proved it to be that she was actually irritated.
And, one final time - But, like...why???
I was really trying to give this book a chance, even though it is definitely not my cup of tea. I will happily give books that I don't like high ratings if it was written and thought out well. But, unfortunately, Gudenkauf's "The Overnight Guest" just couldn't hold up under scrutiny.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row Books for giving me this advanced reader's copy to read and review.
I rarely write reviews that aren't at least a little complimentary. Mostly because I've been a reader for over 35 years and have really honed in on what I know I will enjoy. However, the initial description of "The Overnight Guest" threw me for a loop, I guess.
First of all, I almost DNF'd this book after reading the first 1/4 of it. The murders were described in more gory detail than I usually can stomach. They weren't lengthy about the descriptions - I didn't have to read about it for long, however, Heather Gundenkauf wrote with such specificity that I could not get the images out of my head. (So, well done there!) However, what almost pushed me over the edge were the parts that spoke of child abuse. Again, excellent descriptions since they tore me up emotionally, however, I wished I'd known just how much would be discussed.
At this point, I'm about halfway through and I decide that I've probably gotten past the worst bits and can finish - mostly because I feel like I'll sleep better if I know what happened. Plus, I figured since Gudenkauf had done such a great job of making me feel WAY too many emotions that she would show me a fantastic and redemptive ending.
Oh, how wrong I was...
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
...
...
...
Seriously, if you don't want to know who the murderer is, do NOT keep reading!
...
...
...
As I said before, I was impressed (if not ill) by what the author had written thus far, but then suddenly the story went off the rails and my star rating started going down faster and faster. It started falling for me when suddenly the "odd" neighbor "with a past" who lived with his mother into adulthood shows up at the cabin and suddenly our protagonist, Wylie, KNOWS for certain that HE was the killer and now needs to lock him in the barn.
Wait...WHAT? While he was always looked at as a possible suspect, it was NEVER revealed that he was The MAIN suspect! And out of nowhere he just happens to show up at her door after it's revealed that this lost woman was actually her friend Becky that had never been found after the shootings? (I mean, I enjoyed THAT particular twist, though I'd figured it out early on...)
So, yeah. He's not the killer...I mean, it would have been way too obvious. And, low and behold, look who shows up a few minutes later...The Actual Killer and Kidnapper! Except it's Cutter - and not young Cutter, the teen who was also a suspect and whose storyline of speeding off in the middle of the night near the scene of the crime is never actually explained. No, instead, it's Mr. Cutter. The Father. But, like...why?
We see little of him throughout the book with only a mention of some land dispute and once in the family's barn for no apparent reason. When he was named as the killer, it almost felt like one of those storylines where the writer reveals, "Welp. It wasn't anyone we know, but instead a random stranger passing through town and killing people for fun with no rhyme or reason behind it." Again I say - But, like...why?
But even all of that I could get over and probably would have given the book 3 stars. However, when Mr. Cutter is trying to kill Wylie in the present day timeline, he's screaming about that it was supposed to be her that he stole and kept in the basement. It was "all because of her." And, again - But, like...why?
There is literally nothing from the previous storylines that makes this make sense. NOTHING.
How did the editors not notice these enormous plot holes before going to print?
I am shocked that this book has so many 4 & 5 star reviews. To be honest, I'm only giving this 2 stars (instead of 1) because of Gudenkauf's writing skills.
And one final note, because this irked the Mom and Teacher in me to no end... Instead of reading my Kindle copy, I needed to listen to the audiobook because #NoTimeToReadPhysicalBooks. I was APPALLED by the way our main character spoke to this child that she had found frozen to the middle of the road in the midst of a full blown snowstorm. She gets him/her inside and while trying to get them warm, gets irritated that the child is scared and won't cooperate with her. At first, I thought maybe it was just the way that the voice actor was portraying it, however, the wording in the story itself proved it to be that she was actually irritated.
And, one final time - But, like...why???
I was really trying to give this book a chance, even though it is definitely not my cup of tea. I will happily give books that I don't like high ratings if it was written and thought out well. But, unfortunately, Gudenkauf's "The Overnight Guest" just couldn't hold up under scrutiny.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin/Park Row Books for giving me this advanced reader's copy to read and review.
This is so good!! I listened to the audiobook on Libby. The three POVs and timelines are each distinct and were all equally interesting. The twists in the plot all weave together into a thoughtful ending. I would recommend this to anyone that loves a good murder mystery thriller.
This book did a good job keeping the suspense in the beginning and had a very eerie/fearsome feel to it. It was a quick read, but I do feel the end was quite rushed and could have been written better with the same detail that was provided at the beginning of the story. About halfway through the book I had formed my opinion on the ending and was correct with my guess.
I would recommend this book if youâre wanting a quick read and enjoy suspense/thrill books.
I would recommend this book if youâre wanting a quick read and enjoy suspense/thrill books.
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