Nobody does Midwest small town drama like Heather Gudenkauf! Before She Was Found is no exception! Cora, Jordyn, and Violet live in Pitch, Iowa. They are 12 year old girls who are best friends...or are they? The 3 girls go to an abandoned train depot one late night. One is viciously attacked with a knife and beaten badly. Did the other 2 girls do it? Was it someone else? Just when you think you have this one figured out, you are proven wrong. I very much enjoyed the way this book was written. It is told in alternating viewpoints, journal entries, text messages, and website posts. Do not miss this riveting tale! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The ARC I received was so poor, almost impossible to follow the story, let alone feel as if I could figure it out. I was to busy figuring out where the paragraphs actually fit in order for it to be comprehensive, and mentally correcting the characters name as they were often mixed up within a paragraph I get the book hasn't had final edit yet, but this was crazy.
I will not post a review since could not possibly be fair to the novel.

I love everything Gudenkauf writes, but this is one of my new favorites. It’s dark, it’s twisty, it’s fascinating, and I like the varying perspectives throughout the novel. I couldn’t put it down!

I loved all Gudenkauf’s books and this one did not disappoint. Part urban legend part ghost story keeps this edge of your seat thriller interesting from the beginning to end.

When I began reading this book, I kept experiencing déjà vu. Knowing this was a new book and that there’s no way I could have read it before, I finally realized that the early chapters of the book are eerily similar to the 2018 Lifetime movie Terror In The Woods. Three young girls, an urban legend, social media, and mental illness are all central to this book and to the movie.
A note from the author at the end of the book acknowledges her inspiration came from the same events that the movie also used so the similarities are justified.
I finished the book unsatisfied that justice had been done. The story gripped me and held me but I really wanted more insight into Cora and her family because Cora is one of the only characters I cared about and liked. Even though one of the viewpoints we get the story from is hers, I still wanted more.
Heather Gudenkauf is becoming one of my favorite writers because in her writing she deals with relevant issues in a personal way. Her books haunt you, which is especially true of this one.

What a fantastic book. Another amazing novel by this author. This novel takes you out on a dark night to a rail yard where 3 young girls have seemingly separate agendas but none quite know what the other has planned, are the 3 young girls alone? Or is something else at play? 1 girl returns slightly agitated but unharmed, one is in shock and the other is fighting for her life after being stabbed. We are taken through the story at breakneck speed from various viewpoints culminating in a shocking twist to solve this mystery. The characters were well developed and like-able, this made it easy to feel what they would have felt and to be drawn in to this suspenseful story.It was fast paced and jam packed with emotion and terror. I could not put this book down and read it in a sitting ( albeit a longer , might have made me late for work sitting). I highly recommend this book!

This had superb character development and was a great mystery. Lots of moral and ethical questions posed to the readers and characters for the lengths they'd go to for the ones they want to love and protect!

It's been a long time since I've had a sleepover, but I remember being a young girl and having sleepovers with my friends all the time. This a tale about a sleepover gone cray. Violet, Jordyn and Cora are three friends...ok...frienemies, who are put through the ultimate test of friendship. Why is one barely alive after a night that was supposed to be just a typical sleepover?

I am having trouble inserting book references ( c'mon I rarely review lately, so when I do...work please), but this author's book The Weight of Silence was one of the first suspense books I ever read and I was hooked. One Breath Away...literally took my breath away.

Before She Was Found had a lot of the same tension and the ending truly blew my mind.

However, there were a few things...mostly minute...that would have made this a five star as opposed to four and half stars Maybe I sheltered or times have changed, but the girls seemed way older than their 12 years of age. Also, this might have just been a problem only for me, but I received this as a NetGalley arc and the formatting was verrrrry hard to read at times. Lots of inappropriate paragraph/sentence breaks, inserts of random characters, etc. Now maybe this is a way of protecting PDF's but, for me personally it was very hard to get through at times just because the formatting. However, this is definitely one to keep an eye out for!

Three teenage girls join together to work on a school project about a local urban legend. They decide to sneak out one night to investigate where the legend occurred. Three girls enter the train yard, one leaves in an ambulance after being brutally injured. What happened? Who was responsible?
This story tells the tale of middle school friendship, of bullying, of trying to fit in, and of the dangers of social media. It approaches all these subjects and more while giving you a great whodunit story.
I love the way Heather Gudenkauf tells a story. She grabs you at the start and doesn't let go.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for letting me have the chance to read this book it had me glue from the first page on the edge of my seat

This story had me glued to the pages to find out who really attacked Cora at the rail yard. This book is creepy and reminds you of all the predators out there. It's also a painful reminder of what it can be like to not fit in. There is a progression in the book that you can relate to , you are a young person, then a parent, and a grandparent and this book shows all the different view point to the storyline. I really enjoyed reading this book, but felt the ending was a let down. I was expecting more, but maybe that was the whole point.

Topical treatment about three 12-year old girls, their families, their small town and the urban legend that haunts that town. The three girls end up in an abandoned train yard at midnight to meet the legend. Two come out but one is seriously injured, near death. Which girl did it? There are multiple likely avenues for the police to pursue and we go along for the ride. The terrible truth ekes out throughout the story where the truth is not revealed until the bitter end. Engaging, engrossing and terribly scary!

Thank you to Harlequin Park Row and Netgalley for a chance to preview this thriller. I don’t believe I’ve read anything by Heather Gudenkauf before and I wasn’t aware of how dark her writing was. A sleepover with three 12-year-old friends turns tragic when they decide to make a middle-of-the-night visit to their local abandoned railroad yard. By the time they are discovered one of them has disappeared, one is covered in blood and the third is actually bleeding profusely. What has spurred this late-night visit? Who else was there? Who stabbed Cora? The entire book is spent trying to figure that out.

These girls don’t have a solid friendship by any means. It’s more of a who do I like best today. And there’s bullying.

Who the culprit is should shock you. It did me. But the following and what happened to all the girls I found disappointing. A good read, though.

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.

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.

I loved this book!! Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf is one of the best books I've ever read. It was an exciting, excellent ride that I couldn't put down.

Thank you #Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of #BeforeSheWasFound
Pub Date: 16 Apr 2019

Oh wow. Put some time away for this book. It has all the ingredients for a terrific psychological thriller.

No spoilers from me. Book is great with lots of lies, deception, tragedy, and twists. Also, loved the unpredictable ending. Can't say enough great about this. Read it today!!

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this fabulous book.

Kept me hooked over a day two period but I feel like the ending was a little disappointing and anticlimactic. I guess I was just hoping for something a little more exciting.

I have read and really liked Heather Gudenkauf’s novels so it’s with great anticipation and excitement that I am about to begin her newest Before She Was Found. I remember reading Heather’s novel, Without a Sound and was completely hooked to the point where I finished the book late at night/early morning.

This new book promises to keep me up late too! Honestly, those are the best kinds of books.

Here’s the premise:

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 than 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 what the cost.



I am looking forward to reading this book which I know is going to be fantastic. I may clear my calendar just so I can read this book today!

Okay, I must say I am a huge Heather Gudenkauf fan. I have all her books in hardcover and then rebought them when I got a kindle. So when I was blessed enough to get a copy of her new book from netgalley I was literally over the moon. Let me tell you this book did not disappoint, it was fantastic. The story of a three young girls who are supposed to be having a sleepover and one ends up the victim of a brutal attack. Deals with bullying, the dangers of the internet for teenagers, and urban legend. Twisted, dark mystery that will have you second guessing who attacked this young girl until the very end. Read this book in less than 24 hours, it is truly that good. Make sure to clear your schedule before you start reading this.

I've been a fan of Heather Gudenkauf since about 2016 or so. She's written seven novels and as far as I'm concerned, this one is her best yet.

Cora is an outcast. Jordyn is the popular "mean girl." Violet is the string that holds them together. Then one day they have a sleepover. They sneak out of the house at midnight to go chasing down an urban legend. But things go horribly wrong - one girl is gone, one girl is hiding, and one girl has been stabbed and left for dead.

This book was a perfect mystery, a perfect ending. I knew it was something crazy, but that? THAT was genius. Very happy with everything about this book. Five well deserved, totally unexpected stars.

I’ve been a huge fan of Heather Gudenkauf, but she has completely outdone herself with Before She Was Found! As a mother, I found the subject matter jarring and riveting all at the same time. The storyline is brilliantly written to create many possible conspiracy theories with a side order of lots of shock! I love authors that take me out of comfort zone and Heather Gudenkauf has definitely achieved that with gem! I finished reading this 5 star read a day ago and it’s still front and center in my mind—for me, not being able to stop thinking about a particular book is always a sign of a fantastic novel! If your looking for a thriller that is unputdownable this is the book for you!