The Overnight Guest
A Novel
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4.3 • 41 Ratings
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
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 next page-turning thriller, THE PERFECT HOSTS!
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
Everyone is Watching
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Shifting among three separate storylines in a fiendishly clever way, The Overnight Guest is just about the most structurally innovative mystery we’ve read since The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. In the present day, true-crime writer Wylie Lark is holed up in a cabin in rural Iowa during a brutal snowstorm. While searching for her dog in the snow, Wylie comes across a traumatized young boy and his injured mother, who mysteriously disappears. That puzzle opens up additional timelines…and trust us, you don’t want us to spoil them for you! Let’s just say that Heather Gudenkauf makes us work for every piece of this fascinating puzzle—and we love her for it. By the time we started to grasp what was really going on, we were almost as soaked with fear as the characters. This is an ideal thriller to hunker down with during a long, wintry night. Just be sure to leave the lights on.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this riveting thriller from bestseller Gudenkauf (This Is How I Lied), Oregon writer Wylie Lark retreats to an unoccupied, isolated farmhouse in Burden, Iowa, where two people were murdered and a little girl went missing in 2000. The murders and disappearance are the subject of her fourth true crime book. During a major snowstorm, Wylie discovers a bleeding five-year-old boy in her front yard with remnants of duct tape on his mouth. She can't contact the sheriff because her utilities are out due to the storm, so she brings the boy inside, tends to his injuries, and tries to get him to tell her what happened, but he's frightened and refuses to talk. Wylie goes outside to collect firewood, but on returning she finds she's locked out, and, through a window, she sees a woman with a hatchet. Wylie's frantic efforts to save the boy alternate with flashbacks that reveal in suspenseful increments what happened in the farmhouse two decades earlier. This twisty tale builds to a satisfying conclusion. The talented Gudenkauf consistently delivers.
