Showing posts with label Heather Gudenkauf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Heather Gudenkauf. Show all posts

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Book Review: This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf



This is How I Lied 
by Heather Gudenkauf


AmazonB&N / Apple/ GP / BAM / Harlequin 


ISBN: 9780778309703

Publication Date: May 12, 2020

Publisher: Park Row Books


With the eccentricity of Fargo and the intensity of Sadie, THIS IS HOW I LIED by Heather Gudenkauf (Park Row Books; May 12, 2020; $17.99) is a timely and gripping thriller about careless violence we can inflict on those we love, and the lengths we will go to make it right, even 25 years later.

Tough as nails and seven months pregnant, Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of Grotto PD, is dreading going on desk duty before having the baby her and her husband so badly want. But when new evidence is found in the 25-year-old cold case of her best friend’s murder that requires the work of a desk jockey, Maggie jumps at the opportunity to be the one who finally puts Eve Knox’s case to rest.
Maggie has her work cut out for her. 

Everyone close to Eve is a suspect. There’s Nola, Eve’s little sister who’s always been a little... off; Nick, Eve’s ex-boyfriend with a vicious temper; a Schwinn riding drifter who blew in and out of Grotto; even Maggie’s husband Sean, who may have known more about Eve’s last day than he’s letting on. As Maggie continues to investigate, the case comes closer and closer to home, forcing her to confront her own demons before she can find justice for Eve. 


My Rating:



Favorite Quotes:


Dex Stroope is in his midsixties, big-bellied with a face that always looks like it could use a good nap.



I found Nola standing there looking up at me with those big glasses and green eyes like some kind of click beetle… Right away I was concerned, but by the casual look on Nola Knox’s face, you would have thought she was selling Girl Scout cookies or popcorn for her basketball team or something. But instead of asking me if I want a box of Thin Mints or Do-Si-Dos, she says, My sister is dead. She was so matter-of-fact I thought I heard her wrong.




My Review:


Cunningly penned from multiple POVs, this diabolical tale kept me taut with tension and my shoulders in my ears while it funneled me in so many directions the little pea in my brain was swirling with theories. I was so sure I had it solved and was feeling rather smug, but NO, this sneaky scribe had me bamboozled as I never saw this ending coming.



My cold heart was squeezed for the character of Eve, the murder victim. Poor Eve couldn’t catch a break, even from her best friend and least of all her immature mess of a mother or younger sister, who was brilliant yet also a deeply disturbed young sociopath. Their small Iowa town appeared rife with social issues and devious characters. This was my second time reading the wily and treacherous wordcraft of Heather Gudenkauf and I am hooked. I want all her words, ALL of them!



About The Author


Author Website

Twitter: @hgudenkauf

Instagram: @heathergudenkauf

Facebook: @HeatherGudenkaufAuthor

Goodreads


Heather Gudenkauf is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many books, including The Weight of Silence and These Things Hidden. Heather graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages. She lives in Iowa with her husband, three children, and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. In her free time, Heather enjoys spending time with her family, reading, hiking, and running.


Thursday, May 2, 2019

Book Review:  Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf



Before She Was Found
by Heather Gudenkauf



Amazon US UK AU CA / B&N

Hardcover: 368 Pages

Publisher: Park Row; Original edition (April 16, 2019)

A gripping thriller about three young girlfriends, a dark obsession and a chilling crime that shakes up a quiet Iowa town

For twelve-year-old Cora Landry and her friends Violet and Jordyn, it was supposed to be an ordinary sleepover—movies and Ouija and talking about boys. But when they decide to sneak out to go to the abandoned rail yard on the outskirts of town, little do they know that their innocent games will have dangerous consequences.

Later that night, Cora Landry is discovered on the tracks, bloody and clinging to life, her friends nowhere to be found. Soon their small rural town is thrust into a maelstrom. Who would want to hurt a young girl like Cora—and why? In an investigation that leaves no stone unturned, everyone is a suspect and no one can be trusted—not even those closest to Cora.

Before She Was Found is a timely and gripping thriller about friendship and betrayal, about the power of social pressure and the price of needing to fit in. It is about the great lengths a parent will go to protect their child and keep them safe—even if that means burying the truth, no matter the cost.

My Rating:


Favorite Quote:



I’ve always hated the sound of trains— like an old woman screaming in a thunderstorm.




My Review:



I was on edge while reading this brilliantly plotted and well-crafted book, my shoulders were up in my ears and the knots in my neck have additional knots of their own. Heather Gudenkauf is an evil genius and has nimbly contrived a perfectly vexing conundrum that kept me riveted to my Kindle all day. Her word voodoo is strong! Her original and cunningly paced storylines were wickedly confounding and perceptively written from multiple points of view while racking up a multitude of suspects and all kinds of twisty turns and blind alleys.



Ms. Gudenkauf embedded her story in a small town in Iowa and devilishly cast her tale with realistically obnoxious teens, vulnerable and insecure tweens, bullies of all ages, mean girl middle school pettiness, oblivious adults, and a seventy-five year old urban legend that just wouldn’t die and was currently being used as bait for a cruel catfish scheme. Each character was uniquely drawn yet this shrewd and devious author is such a wily minx, she taunted and nettled me by never fully fleshing anyone out. Each new piece of information gleaned left me even more curious. I had postulated and cast aside a multitude of theories but only had a small inkling of the actual conclusion. And I must note, Do Pull Inn was truly a smirk-worthy name for a small-town motel.

Empress DJ

About Heather Gudenkauf


Heather Gudenkauf is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound. Heather lives in Iowa with her family.
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