True crime writer Wylie Lark, snowed in at an isolated farmhouse where she’s retreated to write her new book, finds a small child in the snow outside and, bringing him inside for warmth and safety, learns that the farmhouse isn’t as isolated as she thought.
A house where nearly an entirely family was murdered in cold blood. A snowstorm raging outside. A child found abandoned in the snow.
If you think this sounds like the perfect set-up for an ominous suspense thriller, allow me to introduce you to Heather Gudenkauf's new novel The Overnight Guest, a story about a true crime writer who mysteriously finds a child outside a farmhouse where a horrible murder, the topic of her next book, took place. This creepy thriller is just-right for curling up with on a brutally cold winter night, and will appeal to readers who enjoy Mary Kubica, B.A. Paris, and Wendy Walker's books.
The Overnight Guest is told in three storylines. There is the year 2000 plot which takes us back to the day of the murder which left nearly the entire Doyle family dead, and its aftermath and hunt for the killer. Then there is the present-day narrative which follows true crime author Wylie Lark as she investigates the unoccupied farmhouse where the Doyle family was killed and where she uncovers the mystery of an abandoned child in a snowstorm. Most peculiar and disturbing is the storyline of a mother and child living within an abusive household.
The novels' three storylines are disjointed and are full of red herrings, but the clues for solving this mystery are there if you look closely enough. I will admit that it took me awhile to get used to Gudenkauf's vague style of storytelling - I know that it is meant to protect the book's twists, but it also left me feeling disconnected from the story. However, while slow, the storylines of the novel do pick up pace until they are traveling at a neck-breaking speed toward the book's conclusion. This is when all three storylines come together and all is satisfyingly revealed. I was ready to rate this novel 3 stars due to its tepid pacing, but once the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place, I appreciated the multiple "ahha!" moments that Gudenkauf gave me.
Availability: Book; eBook & eAudiobook in cloudLibrary Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it) Reviewer: Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
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AWARDS: LibraryReads Favorites: 2022
GENRE: Thrillers and Suspense
PACE: Intensifying
STORYLINE: Plot-Driven
TONE: Suspenseful
SUBJECT: Blizzards; Cold Cases; Crime Scenes; Farmhouses; Lost Children; Missing Girls; Murder Victims; Paranoia; Protectiveness in Women; Solitude; Suspicion; True Crime Writers; Women Authors
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