The Overnight Guest

  In  this blog post, I reviewed Heather Gudenkauf’s The Overnight Guest, this spine-tingling thriller will give you chills and goosebumps on every turned page. Twenty years ago, twelve-year-old Josie Doyle’s world was chattered when her parents and brother were brutally slaughtered on one summer night. Her best friend Becky Allen was presumed missing. She remained the sole survivor, emotionally scarred, and lived a new life. Now, under the name of Wylie Lark, a true crime writer, she returned to where it all happened to discover new clues to the mystery of that cold case on one winter night. Estranged from her teenage son and husband, she revisits the crime scene to help her remember. On that winter night, she receives a surprise overnight from a little girl and her mother, who told their own story about how they escaped being held prisoner for over two decades. Would this connect the dots to her past to solve this case and give it a happy ending?
 
This twisted psychological thriller is well-written and had the same appeal as ripped through the headlines news stories we’ve heard for the past two decades.  I cared for Wylie/Josie on how she suffered a brutal loss at such a young age and how persevered to come out strong as a young woman. I also rooted for Becky and her young daughter on how they endured a wrath of a mad man for over two decades and lived to tell about it.  The location of Burden Iowa was picture perfect for a small-town triple homicide during the summer. The winter storm scenes painted the scenic settings to tell the story in less than one day. The dual themes of the story are to have forgiveness by letting go of the past and shaping your own future by facing your fears.

This heart-thumping thriller will have you at the edge of your seat. I had no issues with this book.  I rated this book, four out of five stars, since it was a bit dark in nature.  If you love psychological thrillers with non-stop action, plenty of dramatic suspense, and lots of deep twisted turns, the Overnight Guest will do that to you. This book is recommended for those who love Sandra Brown’s Chill Factor, true crime novels, TV shows ad podcasts, and noir thrillers.

Before She Was Found

In Heather Gudenkauf's Before She Was Found, this thriller will give you goosebumps on every page. It all started when they found 12-year-old Cora Landry's body at the tracks at the train yard in Pitch, Iowa. At the start of the investigation, everyone told their story from their POV and how life treated Cora Landry. It also told on how she tried to fit in with others and befriended Violet Crow, a new girl in town, and Jordan Petit, one of the mean girls. But when they were assigned an urban legend project together in a social studies class, they chose on the legend of Joseph Wither,  who raped and kidnapped girls back in the olden days. From there, it all started like a fine idea when Cora went to find out the truth about Wither for the project. But that's when things get personal and scary for her when he had known personal stuff about her. She had planned to meet him there and run away since she's been teased and bullied in school and no one wants to be her friend. But as events led up to the discovery of her massive injuries, everyone remained a suspect and hit close to home for them in small-town Iowa.  In the end, it leads to a shocking discovery that lead to the night of the attack with   a mind-numbing conclusion.

This was a spine-tingling and intense thriller that delves in to the subject of bullying, friendship, and the possible hidden dangers of chat room discussions. I did feel bad for Cora who's having trouble making friends in school and trying to fit in with others. I  also did feel bad for Violet who was the new girl and got caught in the middle of this. With hearing heart-wrenching headlines about adolescent and juvenile suicide with young kids ending their lives due to endless teasing from others in school, this hits close to home with that harrowing message. I did like the trainyard settings and the fascinating locations in and around Pitch, Iowa, that depicted this story well. This would make you want to shake your head and think twice with non-stop action, compelling drama, plenty of intrigue and lots of mystery that would keep you guessing to the end.

Will you be intrigued to read Before She Was Found tonight?