Picture it — A remote century-old farmhouse where a horrific crime took place decades before. A raging snowstorm. No access to the outside world. An unexpected guest.

Get ready for a dark and chilling read. 

The Overnight Guest is an atmospheric story that is told in two timelines by multiple POVs and is filled with secrets and murder. It follows True Crime writer Wylie Lark as she stays in a remote old farm house with only basic necessities so she can finish her latest book. However, her plan begins to derail when a massive snowstorm hits, she loses contact with the outside world, and finds a child outside in the storm.

This dark and sinister story has an eerie locked room feel, an interesting cast, and vivid descriptions of both the wintery setting and decades old murders. These combine to form a chilling, taut, and atmospheric story that kept me madly flipping the pages. The story has two timelines and three POVs. The first POV is set in current day with Wylie trying to finish her book during a raging snowstorm. The second goes back to the summer of 2000 when tween BFFs Josie and Becky experience an event during a sleepover that changes their lives forever. There is a third POV and setting that I won’t divulge but it reminded me of a popular book and added a malevolent feel. 

The story has great pacing and even though I saw some twists coming, there were one or two that surprised me. The multiple timelines/POVs worked well and while the transitions between them occasionally got a bit muddled, I enjoyed how author Heather Gudenkauf brought the pieces of past and present together for a tense (if perhaps a bit drawn out) finish.

This is a delightfully ominous and unputdownable story to read this winter as the snow flies, the chill sets in, and you’re looking to hunker down with a hot bevvie and a book. Bundle up, my friends, and be prepared for this eerie story to keep you reading until the wee hours. This book publishes in late January 2022 but you can be one of the first to read it by putting your hold on a WPL copy now!