Blog Tour Review: Everyone Is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

Everyone is Watching by Heather Gudenkauf

Publication Date: March 26th 2024 by Park Row

Pages: 320

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookbub | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Five contestants: Maire “The Best Friend” a mother of two young girls, barely scraping by, Camille “The Confidant” a psychiatrist, Richard “The Senator” a retired senator, Samuel “The Boyfriend” a prosecutor and “The Executive” are all invited to compete for $10 Million Dollars in a reality TV show. Locked away from the world on a beautiful winery in Napa Valley. They arrive and it’s quickly apparent that things are not as they seem, but they’re all intent on winning, each for their own reasons. As the game plays out snippets from the past come to light, secrets the contestants do not want revealed.

Everyone is Watching was a page-turner! While the plot was a little predictable, I wanted to find out how it’d all turn out. I was rooting for several characters, but there were a few I wanted to pay for their actions! It’s hard to write much without spoiling things, but I will say it was an entertaining, popcorn thriller!

4 Stars

 

Excerpt:

Book Description:

The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive.

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

When long-kept secrets begin to rise to the surface, the contestants realize this is no longer just a reality show—someone is out for blood. And the game can’t end until the world knows who the contestants really are…

 

Photo Credit: Kate Cousins Photography

Author Bio: 

Heather Gudenkauf is the critically acclaimed author of several novels, including the New York Times bestsellers The Weight of Silence and The Overnight Guest. She lives in Iowa with her husband and children.

Review: This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

This is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf

Publication Date: May 12th 2020 by Park Row

Pages: 352

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | Kobo

About the book:

Everyone has a secret they’ll do anything to hide…

Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa—discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold.

For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve’s death and that horrible night. Now a detective in Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.

My Thoughts:

Detective Maggie O’Keefe was marked by the tragic murder of her best friend, Eve, when they were fifteen, a murder still unsolved.  Now years later a new piece of evidence is found, and Maggie finds herself in charge of re-examining the cold case.  Interviewing old suspects brings up feelings and regret; parts of the past Maggie would like to forget, but the truth marches on.

This is How I Lied was a thrilling, twisty mystery that kept me guessing up until the end! It seemed every character had secrets wrapped up in the tragedy of Eve’s murder. We had three POVs: Maggie, Eve is the past in the days leading up to her murder, and Nola, Eve’s little sister.

Nola was one crazy-as-heck character, the worst possible person to become a veterinarian! Wow, she creeped me out! Nick, Eve’s abusive boyfriend was top at the list of suspects, too.  Maggie had her own secrets that are slowly revealed throughout the story, this while she’s well into the last trimester of her pregnancy.

Of course, I wanted it all to work out for Maggie, you know me and my need for some sort of happy ending even in a murder mystery, lol!  I was glued to the pages, hurriedly reading to find out how it all turned out! I was thinking one thing and then surprise twist at the end! Definite recommend!