The Overnight Guest

A terrifying thriller crafted by an acclaimed master of the genre, Heather Gudenkauf's The Overnight Guest is set in the town of Burden, Iowa, where a night of murders still haunts its residents. Gudenkauf merges multiple intriguing storylines, exposing readers to both the horror of the crimes as they unfolded in real time and also the long-term implications for those involved.

In the summer of 2000, Josie Doyle invited her friend Becky Allen to a sleepover at Josie's family farm. Before the night was over, several members of Josie's family were dead and Becky was missing. The killings reverberated through the small town and remained an unsolved mystery. Becky was never found.

In the present day, a true-crime author named Wylie Lark has rented the former Doyle homestead as a writing retreat, where she intends to complete a book about the 20-year-old murders. A loner, she welcomes the isolation of the farmhouse in the dead of winter with only a stray dog, Tas, for company. During a raging blizzard, Wylie discovers a boy lying on the ground outside, glistening "like an ice sculpture," and notices an overturned car on the main road. Worried about what or who else might be out there, she has to get through the stormy night until help can arrive.

Gudenkauf (This Is How I Lied) is an Iowa native, exploring the state's rural landscape through her novels. As she untangles the mysteries of the past and their connections to Wylie's present, her expertly twisted plot builds unbearable suspense and drama, leading to a thoroughly shocking climax. --Shahina Piyarali, reviewer

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