More than 20 years ago, a vicious triple homicide rocked the town of Burden, Iowa. Now, true crime writer Wylie Lark is holed up in a tiny farmhouse in Burden to finish her book about the night that a family was decimated by the murders of three lives, leaving behind the lone survivor, twelve-year-old Josie Doyle. Still missing and never found was Josie’s best friend, Becky Allen. A blizzard snowstorm is approaching but Wylie can’t ignore the small child she finds freezing and alone near her property. Worse yet, she sees a vehicle wrecked and knows the child’s mother is out there, but the weather prevents her from searching further. What secrets does this young child hold? And who is hunting the child and his mother?

The freezing snow and ice are the perfect backdrop for this creepy thriller, even as we have two other narratives playing out. One involves the horrific abuse of a woman and her child while another retells the past events leading up to the vicious murders Wylie is writing about. How do all three stories relate? Ahhh.. that is the beauty of Heather Gudenkauf’s tale as she intertwines the story lines and crafts a tale that has us holding our breath.

Each of the various story lines has characters in peril and on the precipice of disaster. Wylie’s own fear and worries permeate the story, even as we flash to the other timelines. Some of the scenes involving the abuse of the woman and her daughter are hard to read but so important for us to grasp just how desperate and resilient they are. Oftentimes I prefer one story line over another in books with multiple stories, but THE OVERNIGHT GUEST is engaging at every single level.  

Heather Gudenkauf writes yet another stunningly good thriller, full of twists and turns. The multilayered plot and characters kept me intrigued, turning the pages as fast as I could. I had suspicions about some of the mysteries we see unfold but Heather Gudenkauf had a few surprises for me as well. If you love thrillers, THE OVERNIGHT GUEST is the perfect read for you!