Review of the Overnight Guest

I love a good slow burn story with a chilling setting. This book had a lot to offer, which I’ll discuss in my Review of The Overnight Guest!

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

Published on January 25, 2022 by Park Row Books

What Else Has Heather Gudenkauf Written: Her Books In Order

Though this is my first book by Heather Gudenkauf, she has been writing women’s fiction and thrillers since 2008.

Her books, in order, are:

• The Weight of Silence (2008)
• These Things Hidden (2011)
• One Breath Away (2012)
• Little Mercies (2014) – this one actually seems more like women’s fiction.
• Little Lies (Little Mercies prequel) (2014)
• Missing Pieces (2016)
• Not a Sound (2017)
• Before She Was Found (2019)
• This is How I Lied (2020)
• The Overnight Guest (2022)
• Everyone is Watching (2024)
• The Perfect Hosts (2025)

My Review of The Overnight Guest

I picked up The Overnight Guest a few months ago when I was working on my post on Locked Room Mysteries.

Spoiler alert: this book isn’t really a locked room mystery. Yes, part of the plot involves the main character trapped in the house by a storm, but I’d call this one more of a past/present narrative thriller that does involve a storm as a plot element.

At first, I didn’t love the narrative style.

I’m a bit of a control freak as a reader, and I like knowing where things are headed (generally, at least.) In this story, I wasn’t sure where it was going or if I wanted to go there.

The Overnight Guest has three different narratives, involving multiple points of view (not my favorite):

First, a crime that happened in the summer of 2000, involving two people being shot and two more going missing.

Second, some kind of story that reminded me of Room by Emma Donoghue.

And third, the narrative in the present, in which true crime writer Wylie Lark is trying to write her latest book but is disturbed by a storm and a child whom she finds wandering out in the snow.

I’d call The Overnight Guest a very slow burn story.

I don’t always mind stories like that, where the set-up takes quite a while. If I’d given the book a little more time in my first go-around I might have stuck with it. But I will say that if you are not a patient reader, this one might not be for you.

In slow-burn thrillers and mysteries, I always ask myself: was the pay-off worth the wait?

And in the case of The Overnight Guest, I’d say yes, it was. Finally, about two-thirds of the way through the book, I could see (maybe?) where things were headed and I was willing to go there.

This wasn’t 100% my kind of book, but I’m glad I gave it a (second) try. I didn’t love all the plot elements, but the ending truly surprised me.

Have you read it? Tell me your thoughts in comments!