Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Overnight Guest

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf

81 reviews

pamshenanigans's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

A promising book that kinda fell short towards the end. I was pretty interested and engrossed in the story given that it was told in different timelines and from different POVs. From the beginning, I wanted to know more about what really happened and how it all connected in the end. But somehow, even the main character broke… “character”? And I hate when that happens just for the sake of furthering the plot or serving a plot twist.

One of the things I liked about this book, though, is the audiobook narration!

Trigger/Content Warnings: Violence, Murder, Abuse, Kidnapping

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brielowrey's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.25

Finished reading: February 1st 2024

“Homes were supposed to be safe havens, meant to protect. It was supposed to be a shelter from the elements, a fortress to keep out evil, and her home had betrayed Josie in the worst possible way.”

WARNING: another unpopular opinion review!

My first two experiences with this author were excellent, so I fully expected to have a great time reading The Overnight Guest as well. The premise has everything I love in a thriller: a bookish angle, a remote setting, a bout of bad weather to further isolate the main character... But in the end there was something about the execution of the plot that didn't hit the mark for me. Is it just a case of wrong expectations and not being in the mood for the story that was presented instead? Maybe. But the fact is that somehow this story just didn't work as well for me personally. This has a lot to do with the structure of the plot. The Overnight Guest is divided into three storylines, and only the present POV is the one as described in the blurb. Then there is a flashback POV to 2000 where we see the events surrounding the crime that took place in the house featured in the present POV... And last but not least, a POV that has serious Room vibes following a young girl and her mother locked up and being abused. Especially the third POV kind of came out of nowhere for me, and it wasn't a POV I particularly liked even though it was well written. Reading about active (child)abuse just wasn't what I had signed up for when I started this story...

The pace in general was also a lot slower than expected, but I think this has a lot to do with the constant POV switches. These switches were way too frequent in my opinion, and the story would have benefitted considerably from staying with one storyline more than a couple of pages. And while part of me can appreciate how everything was woven together in the end, it also ment having to accept way too many coincidences and it just wasn't credible anymore. I did love the ominous atmosphere of the present POV, and the storm is very well done. I think my reaction to The Overnight Guest is the result of overcomplicating the plot, and as a result it all felt a bit disjointed during most of the story. And while I can understand the third POV featuring the girl being included, I would have enjoyed this story SO much better without it. In short: interesting start, WAY too many POV switches, undesirable POV and over the top conclusion with way too many coincidences. Not the story for me, but most people do seem to enjoy it better so it might just have been my fickle reading mood acting up again.

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rustlngpages's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

this book had such a grip on me! i was hooked & i could not put it down until i finished. i was left with a few questions that felt unanswered but overall, not enough to take away from the experience of reading.

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books_n_beis's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

The Overnight Guest by @heathergudenkauf is one of my favorite reads in a long time! I love a good twisty book and this delivered. I kept going back & forth on who "did it" - I was right, then wrong, then right, then unsure. When reading, I love visualizing the book as a movie. With the converging storylines and twists, I don't know if the surprise factor would be the same on screen. I'd definitely recommend this book (trigger warning: includes SA & DV).

Spoiler-free Summary: True crime writer, Wylie, is snowed in at an isolated farmhouse (where a family was murdered decades before) during a major storm. But everything changes when she discovers a small child in the snow.

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missgrangerr's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is practically perfect. Intersecting storylines separated by decades, a scary storm, a recluse, dangerous people, and a scary night in August.

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