This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf is a highly recommended thriller/murder mystery set in a small Iowa town.

"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." Now a new piece of evidence has been found and the cold case is being reopened. Maggie is a police detective in Grotto and is handling the investigation despite her connection to the old case and the fact that she is seven months pregnant. Maggie's father, who handled the original case obsessed over the file for years. Now Maggie, who has been haunted by the case for years, is reviewing the case files and evidence, and notifying the Knox family, in preparation to send the old evidence and the new discovery to the state lab for testing.

This is a well written novel full of suspense and tension. There are several suspects still living in this small Iowa town who are connected to the case in same way and most of them are odd or guilty of other crimes. As Maggie looks into the case, secrets begin to emerge, but small towns can keep things hidden even when gossip is swirling around. And someone clearly has deadly intentions, although pinpointing the guilty party is complicated. The novel moves along at a good pace and will hold your attention throughout.

The narrative alternates between characters and flips from 1995 and 2020. This means that Eve is among the well-developed characters and we know her secrets too. Maggie is a great character. You can tell that she's guarded and keeps herself in check. She has a whole lot of other things going on along with the investigation. Eve's sister Nola is a complicated character and an obvious suspect right from the start - but soon there are some other characters that quickly join that list.

While I enjoyed the novel quite a bit, I had a few reservations. I felt that some of the small town secrets would have and should have been outed sooner, the ability to test certain evidence is questionable, and the ending went a wee-bit-over-the-top for me. But, if you just want to read a well-written mystery/thriller with strong female characters, This Is How I Lied will certainly fit the bill.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the publisher/author.
the review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Maggie Kennedy, a police detective in Grotto, Iowa is seven months pregnant with a much wanted baby. She’s assigned to a newly reopened twenty-five year old cold case, the murder of high school student Eve Knox. There’s one catch. Maggie, accompanied by Eve’s troubled younger sister Nola, found Eve’s body.

Maggie pores over the old reports searching for details that might have been overlooked years earlier. Most of the suspects still live in town. There’s the son of a neighbor, known for watching young girls from his upstairs window. There’s Nick, the abusive boyfriend. And there is Nola herself, a veterinarian with some disturbing hobbies. As the story moves from the days prior to Eve’s death and the present day investigation, Maggie is slowly drawn into a situation that threatens her safety and that of her unborn daughter.

Do I wish I could give you more details? Yes, but I don’t want to spoil this amazing, fast paced thriller. There are so many surprises and twists that I did not see coming. While the small town setting gives a cozy feel, dark themes lie beneath. 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin and Heather Gudenkauf for this ARC.

Reopening a Cold Case Rocks a Small Town

When Chief Digby asks to see her, Maggie O’Keefe is sure he’s going to put her on desk duty or suggest she take maternity leave early. She is, after all, almost eight months pregnant. After the trouble they had getting pregnant, her husband, Sean, wants her to take it easy and not risk the baby.

Chief Digby has a rather different assignment. New evidence has been found in the cold case of murdered teen, Eve Knox. Eve was Maggie’s best friend. Twenty-five years ago Maggie and Eve’s sister, Nola, found Eve’s body in one of the caves around Grotto, Iowa, where the teens lived. There were two suspects: Nola, who had weird behaviors, and Nick, Eve’s boyfriend, who had an explosive temper. Neither was charged and both are still in town.

As the case progresses, Maggie wonders if someone in town knows something they want to keep hidden. She tries to ask her father, the previous chief of police, but he has dementia and talk of the case upsets him. Maggie worries about her involvement in the case, but she can’t let it go.

This is a dark story filled with strange characters and plenty of twists. The pace is not particularly fast, but the twists in the case keep you reading. The story switches between time periods, 1955 and the present. In the present, Maggie tells the story in the first person. In 1955 Eve gives the back story. While I don’t often like books that switch between time periods, I thought it was effective in this book. Both women are character that you can relate to. If you enjoy a police procedural with a dark plot, this is a good one.

I received this book from Harlequin for this review.

Maggie Kennedy-O'Keefe has been assigned the cold case regarding the murder of a teen over twenty-five years ago. This chilling case is far too familiar to Maggie. The girl found dead was Eve Knox, and Maggie was her best friend.

This story doesn't stop when it comes to intrigue and tension. In alternating chapters we have the first person perspective of Eve and Maggie, and third person point of view from Nola, Eve's sister. Reading of Eve's last days and interactions, while alternately reading of Maggie's past experiences with Eve and Nola, and then to read of Maggie's progress with the case in present time is mind-boggling and is more than disturbing. As the story progresses, there is the very disturbing fact of Eve's relationship with her boyfriend Nick. That part of the book was utterly heartbreaking.

This Is How I Lied is full of conflicting stories and it gets to the point that the reader does not know who to believe. As secrets begin to unravel, getting a grasp on the real truth of things presents serious danger and even more lack of trust in any of the characters. Heather Gudenkauf did a fabulous job of grabbing my attention from the very first page and making it utterly impossible for me to put this book down until I could finally see who was responsible for Eve's death.

Many thanks to Park Row and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Holy wow!This the first novel that I have read from Heather Gudenkauf and it will definitely not be the last one. This book really kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't even begin to put into words just how amazing this book was.

The novel has three narrators throughout the story, and it takes place between two years, 1995 and 2020. The three narrators are Maggie O'Keefe, Eve Knox, and Nola Knox. Maggie O'Keefe is investigating the death of her best friend Eve Knox 25 years ago after the cold case reopens after a kid finds a boot that belonged to Eve O'Keefe. Maggie, super pregnant (after trying so many times with her husband) and dealing with personal issues of her own, decides to take on the case after many of her loved ones including her husband Shaun question her if she's going to be ok tackling it being as though Maggie cannot go through any stress. Maggie assures everyone that she will be okay and begins her investigation. She also realizes how difficult this will be as many secrets will come to surface as well.

Eve Knox is a 15 year old girl who lives with her hardworking mother at the time and her strange sister Nola Knox. Eve is also in a horrible abusive relationship with a guy named Nick. Eve doesn't want to admit it but she's a great danger around Nick. He slaps her around constantly, squeezes her, pinches her, and verbally abuses her as well. Maggie and Nola see the abuse she goes through on a daily basis as well and have advised her many times to dump the scum that is Nick. But, Eve keeps making excuses. The story goes between the year she was murdered and present day to gives a trial of events that eventually led to her death that fateful day.

Nola Knox is a rally strange girl and I've caught myself many times being disgusted and irritated by her. I really wanted to jump through the book and strangle her but, woozaaaa. Nola is a psycho, there's just no easy way to sugarcoat it. She has a weird fascination with dissecting animals and collecting animal bones etc. During the novel were also given a look into her and her psychiatrists transcript from her appointments. It was advised for her to attend a psychiatrist after her sister Eve has passed away. During these transcripts you really start to think how someone like Nola is out and about in regular society. She was really a cringy character and I was so suspicious of her from the very beginning.

Throughout the book Heather Gudenkauf leaves you guessing who the killer of Eve was and just when you think you have it figured out she throws major curveballs your way. I must admit she really caught me a few times like that. The book was fast paced and fills you with a high anxiety adrenaline rush in your body. I felt exhilarated! Any author that can make you feel that way is definitely someone I would read another book from. Do I recommend this book? ABSOLUTELY! This book was written amazingly and not once did I catch myself bored. Go get your copy today!

HUGE thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Park Row books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 4 STARS
2020; Park Row/Harlequin

I have been lucky to be apart of two author events for this novel, This is How I Lied. It enhanced my experience with this novel. I have read a few novels by Heather Gudenkauf and overall have enjoyed them, especially Not a Sound. In Not a Sound the main character was deaf, and that really added a layer to the suspense, and I always enjoy books with diverse characters. In her last novel, Before She Was Found which I read recently, featured characters in their teens. In her newest novel, she has a pregnant homicide detective looking into a cold case, when she was just a teenager. The victim was her best friend, and she was also among the two people that found there body. That is just the the first chapter of the suspense novel. Gudenkauf tells the tale from present day and the year that Eve dies, 195 (with some 1996 sprinkled in). As we hear from Eve, her younger sister Nola and Maggie the story with many secrets and assumptions starts ti unravel. It is a book with many suspects including the main characters. I love that the characters are so realistic...there are no villains but degrees of "evil". I don't want to say too much else about the story as it is a twisty storyline. There are no obvious twists, but just take you every way so you forget to solve the mystery on your own. I did guess the killer but I did doubt myself a bit. If you are looking to get away from all this Covid talk...read this book!

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

This Is How I Lied is about Maggie, a cop who has never forgotten her best friend Eve's murder 25 years earlier. The murder is a cold case until the discovery of new evidence prompts a reopening of the case. Maggie takes the lead, and doing so brings up all the things from the past. Eve's sister lives in down and is frustrated she's never had closure in what happened to her sister. Maggie's father once oversaw the case and now has dementia, so he cannot offer Maggie advice and counsel as she works through the case. There are also other residents of the town who are part of Eve's (and Maggie's) story in ways that are revealed throughout!

The story is told in dual timelines which as a reminder/retweet of what I always say is toally my jam as a plot device. There is Maggie investigating the case in 2020, and there is Eve recounting the day of her murder in 1995. Other characters offer perspective as well which adds to the twists and turns throughout. I thought I had the twist of this one figured out, but about halfway through, there was a literal jawdropping reveal that was just so, so good. And like a really good thriller, there were even more twists after that! With each one, I thought I knew where the story was going, but the author writes this in a way that she kept surprising me along the way!

What I loved about this one, too was that there were some ethical dilemmas baked into the story. The story was complicated in both the past and present and when the storylines started to intersect as each character has their own secret(s) and lie(s). This is one that kept me guessing until the last pages. I was so drawn into Maggie's drive to find out the truth about what happened to Eve all those years ago, and I was even more drawn in with all that investigative journey entailed. Y'all, this is just a really good page-turning thriller, and I always need more of those in my life. If you're in for a twisty ride through the past and present where there are all the secrets, this one is so made for you.

Like many readers, I've been in a bit of a slump. I've still been reading a great deal but nothing is really capturing my interest. Nothing, that is, until I picked up This Is How I Lied. I was totally riveted by Heather Gudenkauf's latest novel - out today - and had it finished in two sittings. I just couldn't wait to find out how it would end.

Here's the synopsis:
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.
In a post on Instagram, when I was about 100 pages into the book, I said I had an idea of who the killer was. I also noted that I would totally be fine if I was wrong. I almost wanted to be because that meant there were unexpected twists in the story that I failed to see coming. Not surprisingly, I did not figure out the murder before the detective and I was surprised with the information that came to light later on in the story.

The novel starts with Eve's death and we read it from her perspective. Each chapter is told from a different character - Eve, Maggie, Nola - and from a different time period. Gudenkauf helpfully puts the character's name and the date at the start of each chapter so you know who you're reading and when. Each chapter moves forward in time, either in 2020 or 1995, until it all comes together at the end. Eve's death chapter is fully expanded so you know exactly what happened and who killed her. It was all so well done.




If I had to be nitpicky there were a few things that didn't totally sit well with me or fit the flow of the story. Maggie said over and over again that she wondered if she was the only one, to the point where I wanted to yell at her, of course you're not! (Sorry, that's super vague but, trust me, you don't want me to give it away.) Nola, is completely bananas and she almost became too outrageous. I think a slightly more restrained character would have worked a bit better for the story but she was so incredibly unpredictable and you still have no idea what makes her tick by the end of the novel. Also, strangely, I felt like Maggie's brother was a convenient character who was just there to solve the problem of who was looking after their dad. But, all of these things were so minor that they could not take away from my enjoyment of this novel.

I also have to admit that I was weirdly picturing Maggie as a cross between two Olivia Colman TV characters. We recently (finally) started watching Broadchurch so I had Colman's character D.S. Miller in my head. But Maggie is pregnant so in pops Colman's character from The Night Manager, which she played when she was actually quite pregnant herself. I'm not sure that's what Gudenkauf had in mind for Maggie but that's how I pictured her throughout the book.

I am so, so glad I had the chance to read Heather Gudenkauf's novel This Is How I Lied. This is definitely a book to pick up if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers because I think it'll surprise you with the layers and possible murder suspects. It was a well told story with characters who were hiding a lot more than you expect. Highly recommend!

Where to buy This Is How I Lied:
Harlequin * Barnes & Noble * Amazon.com * Books-A-Million * Powell’s * Amazon.ca * Kobo * Indigo *

Connect with Heather:
Website * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Goodreads

About Heather:
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.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Park Row Books, in exchange for a review for the purposes of a blog tour. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

4.5 Hearts Maggie found the body of her best friend as a teenager and now, 25 years later, is a police detective assigned to the cold case of her friend Eve and her sister, Nola.

There are a lot of twists in this story and a lot of suspects. I have to say I was surprised at who-dun-it which is usually good for me (I enjoy when the author can trick me) but in this instance it was more of a “hmmm ok I guess”.

But that being said the build up to the end was really a fast page turning read. The characters are all interesting and full of personality and all have their reasons as to why.

Very good read.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Heather Gudenkauf is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I love that she is partial to centering her stories in small towns. I live in a small town so I can easily relate to the whole everyone knows everything about everyone theme. I loved that there were many characters to suspect and I had fun trying to figure it out. Like can we talk about Eve’s little sister, Nola?!? What a creep! I swear I thought I knew how it was going to end but the plot took a total 180! Mystery fans will love this one.

I've been meaning to try Heather Gudenkauf's books for a while now and just couldn't resist the blurb of This Is How I Lied when I received the blog tour invitation... I've been looking forward to read this story ever since, and I wasn't disappointed by what I found. It turned out to be an excellent first impression of her writing, and I will definitely be wanting to read more of her work in the future! This Is How I Lied is a suspenseful and addicting story that will speak to detective and psychological thriller fans alike.

So, what made This Is How I Lied so successful for me? The first thing that stood out for me was the writing, which is both engaging, flows naturally and manages to draw you right in. While I do feel that this is a slower read than expected and mostly focuses on the characters, the story did have a healthy dose of suspense and action in store for you as well. I guess this dual approach has something to do with the fact that This Is How I Lied can be seen as a mix of a cold case detective thriller and a dark psychological thriller, and you basically get the best of both worlds offered as you read.

This Is How I Lied is not afraid to go dark and has more than one difficult topic incorporated into the plot, including abuse, grooming, mental illness, hoarding, dementia, violence and what some may consider a form of animal cruelty. This might seem as a lot, but each topic is woven into the plot with care and contributes to the background of certain characters... Together they turn this story into a considerably complex and multi-faceted read.

This complexity also has to do with the structure of the plot: the story is told with the help of multiple POVs as well as flashbacks to 1995-1996 (when Eve was killed and the original investigation took place). The story switches between Maggie and Nola in the present and adds Eve's POV in the past... This structure is used to hold back certain details while slowly revealing other facts as well as secrets, and it definitely added to the whole building up of suspense. Eve's murder has in fact multiple viable suspects and more than one is quite unlikeable too... The interesting part is that the twist is revealed quite early on to help build tension between certain characters, which was both kind of a letdown as well as an intriguing technique at the same time. Why? Well, you didn't get the full truth either and you were kept wondering how the character would deal with having the secret threatened to come out after so long... It's definitely a different take on the typical 'whodunnit' stories.

I have to be honest here and say that the ending did end up being a letdown for me. Especially when the story shows you a certain truth at first and sticks with it, but you are also kept uncertain about who really killed her (there are at least four viable suspects at all times), only to have the DNA bomb dropped at the last possible moment to confirm who actually did it. This honestly felt like a huge anti-climax after such an intense read and especially after the scenes before the final reveal... And I can't say I found it a satisfying ending after all that happened. That said, I do think this was my only main issue with this book.

A quick note about the characters... While they are not exactly likeable, I did find them to be well developed and with their flaws and issues they felt realistic. It was easy to worry about both Maggie and Eve (although you already know it will end badly for Eve), which made it easy to stay invested in the story itself. Furthermore, we have a long string of suspects and basically unlikeable characters, including Nick, Cam Harper and Nola herself. Abuse, grooming, maiming and dissecting animals, violence, mental health issues... Oh yes, those characters are no picnic indeed. Maggie's father and former chief is another interesting character with his dementia, as you wonder why he never sold Eve's murder case and if he knew more back then... Especially now those memories are seemingly lost forever.

In short, This Is How I Lied is a multi-dementional and suspenseful mix of a cold case detective thriller and a dark psychological thriller that isn't afraid to drop some heavy topics on you as you try to discover what happened in Grotto all those years ago. Recommended for fans of the genre!

Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe is a police detective for Grotto, Iowa, and is called into the station when new evidence in a cold case is discovered. Maggie has a personal connection to the case but convinces her chief to let her take the lead on the reopened investigation. Maggie’s father was the prior police chief who had been in charge of the original case twenty-five years earlier. In addition, the victim was Maggie’s best friend Eve Knox, and Maggie and the victim’s sister are the ones who discovered the body. Maggie has to put her personal feelings aside to examine the old case files and interview witnesses. However, the case is a tough one because almost everyone involved is keeping secrets, including herself.

I have enjoyed other thrillers by this author and wasn’t disappointed by this one. The book was evenly paced and very suspenseful. The story is told from multiple points of view and timelines, and also includes things like newspaper stories and transcripts from one of the character’s therapy sessions. However, the flow of the story remains smooth through all these changes and never gets confusing. I like Maggie as a main character, even though she had just as many secrets as some of the potential suspects she was questioning. Her being in the final trimester of her pregnancy added another level of danger and tension to the story.

There are several possible suspects in the case and although you know not all can be guilty of murder, most of them range from unlikable to downright creepy. The clues included throughout the book seem to lead in one direction, but there are several unexpected twists to the story before the case is resolved. The book has a very dramatic and satisfying ending. “This is How I Lied” is one of my favorite books by this author and I would rate it 4.5 stars. I highly recommend it for fans looking for an intriguing thriller.

I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of the Harlequin/Park Row Books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

Eve and Maggie are best friends, they are fifteen years old. Nola is Eve's little sister.
Twenty five years ago Eve was found dead in Ransom's Caves. She was found by Maggie and Nola. Later it was found that Eve had been murdered.
Maggie is a detective now and the case has fallen in her lap. New evidence has been found. The boot Eve had been wearing was found in a crevice in the cave were she died. Forensics have evolved and hope are getting new evidence off the boot.
As Maggie works the case, suspects are re-examined to see if any piece of evidence is found. She has relentlessly read through autopsy reports, crime scene photos have been closely examined and suspect reports reread.
Maggie knows that Eve's boyfriend was abusive. She had seen the bruises on her body.
As she delves deeper into the case, she discovers the there are a lot is suspects that could have killed her best friend. Maybe she's getting close to the truth, because she is receiving threatening phone calls and messages. Hopefully she will solve the case before someone else dies.
Entertainment at it's best! Great story!
Edge of your seat excitement!

Wow! This book had me feeling all of the emotions. I went from angry to sad to puzzled back to angry back to puzzled and ended with sad. And finally satisfied and content! This was a totally awesome book, with so many surprises and red herring clues that I had no idea who did what, but I was certainly cheering for Detective Maggie Kennedy to find the culprit and bring him or her to justice. As teens, Maggie and Eve Knox hung out together regularly, having been friends for years. Their path seems to veer away from each other when both have boyfriends. But both of them also have secrets and the secrets that they are hiding could kill them. Was Maggie a killer? Or maybe it was Eve’s abusive boyfriend Nick? Or even the strange man in the red sweatshirt? Mix in a mentally disturbed sister named Nola Knox and the story gets very complicated and even more puzzling. At times I felt like I had whiplash from trying to keep up with all of the turns in this mind-stimulating novel. What a great thrill ride it was, all the way up until the end when I had tears in my eyes. Fans of psychological thrillers and suspense will devour this book! Congratulations to Heather Kudengauf for another winning story that will capture her readers from the beginning to the end!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Heather has done it again with another addictive, edge of your seat thriller. You’ll find yourself deeply immersed in this story as you flip through the pages, leaving you wanting more. Imagine finding yourself at the forefront of a police investigation into the death of a young girl 25 years ago, and that girl was your best friend. This is what happens to Detective Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe. Her best friend Eve Knox was murdered and the case has remained unsolved all of these years.

This book is full of interesting characters, many of whom will be a suspect at one point or another. I loved the character development in this novel and the multiple POV’s, some from the past and some from the present. Eve’s sister Nola certainly was (and is!) quite strange and most definitely off. Eve’s ex-boyfriend also had his own issues, and could be violent and quite scary. Then there is one of the neighbourhood men who, although he is married with children, seems to be quite creepy at times. I enjoyed reading about these various characters and getting to know them and how they all relate to one another in the story.

I enjoyed reading about Maggie’s character and reading about her friendship with Eve when they were younger. They were the best of friends and had their fair share of ups and downs, like any friendship. I also enjoyed reading about creepy Nola and all of her activities. She was quite an interesting character and a little different from everyone else, which made her that more interesting and creepy. She has many odd interests, even as a young child.

A great novel that had me hooked as I read through the pages and kept me guessing until the very shocking ending that I did not see coming! A book that you will love so be sure to grab your copy today!

As with all of Heather Gudenkauf's books I was unable to put This Is How I Lied down. Fast paced enough that I never had to skim pages, which is rare for me. Similar to the author's other books, the story's main event takes place while the characters are kids, high school this time. Gudenkauf touches on some great topics such as relationship abuse in teens, statutory rape, dementia, as well as family dynamics and small town life.

Maggie, a pregnant, newly promoted police detective in a small town, has reopened the 25 yr old murder of her best friend after new evidence was found. At the time of the murder, her father was Chief of police, but is now suffering from dementia, not able to recall the last 10 minutes, but unable to forget the unsolved murder of his daughter's best friend. The story is told through the eyes of Maggie, Nola and Eve, alternating between now and when the murder occurred, 1995.

A great book!!!

This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf is my first read from this much-hyped author, and I must say that I can certainly understand the appeal. This is a well-paced whodunit that will deftly sweep readers up in the investigation of the twenty-five year old murder of a local girl.

Sixteen year old Eve Knox goes missing in 1995 and her body is discovered by her best friend Maggie and her sister Nola. Without sufficient evidence, the case remains unsolved. Fast forward to present day, and new evidence comes to light, leading to a reopening of the case. Now a detective in the small town of Grotto where Eve's body was found, Maggie is seven months pregnant when she finds herself leading the investigation into her friend's death, a case that has haunted her for so many years. Told from the alternating perspectives of Maggie, Nola, and Eve, and moving between past and present, a picture begins to emerge of what really happened to Eve all those years ago.

It is quite easy to feel a part of the small town dynamic, although I didn't feel particularly connected to any of the main players. Overall, a well-executed mystery that will hit the spot for fans of the genre, and I will look forward to reading more this author in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for this ARC.

Loved this book. So many plot twists and turns that had me turning the pages till the end. Great characters and plot that kept this reader interested from the first page.

Thank you to the publisher, Park Row, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I finished this book two days ago and needed some time to relish in it. It was an intense, but very satisfying read.

I haven’t had much luck in the past with mystery stories and was on the verge of cutting them out completely from my reading list, but then I got an email from the publisher with a very intriguing synopsis of a new mystery/thriller/suspense story.

Well, colour me intrigued. I’m very curious by nature and thought I would give it a try.

One evening I had only a few minutes to spare before I had to make dinner, but this book burnt a hole into my side table and decided to start it. the next time I looked up I was 20 pages deep into the story and I couldn’t stop thinking about it until I had finished it.

It was everything I could ever want in a mystery story.

The characters, none of them are what they first appear to be. I was constantly asking myself how much I can trust them. What lies are hidden beneath the surface? What aren’t they saying?

The story is narrated from three separate character’s point of view, one of them being a first-person narrator.

Each character brings a different type of mood to the story, which intensifies the tension the author creates.

There are stark contrasts in personality traits that had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what really happened.

Every character had depth and raised the question of morality. Where are the lines and who crossed them?

The structure of the narration worked perfectly in this story and kept the suspense at its highest.

I was impressed with the author’s ability to have three separate characters carry the story from three different point of views so distinctly and powerfully.

I was also very curious about the author decision on how she represented relationships and what commentary she intended to share on them.

I have to admit I’m in a bit of a tough situation, because I really want to discuss this book in more detail. I want to talk about all the things I really enjoyed and maybe even flap my arms around enthusiastically, because I finally found a mystery story that was totally up my alley, but I can’t, or I would give something away.

I think it is important for this story to have reader enter it without any clear idea of what they are in store for,
otherwise all those little twists and turns and surprises just won’t have the same effect on the reader.

Overall, I have to say that this was an amazing read. It was intense. It was powerful. It was satisfying. It had heart. It keeps the reader guessing and it had me hooked.

I loved it and would absolutely recommend it.

As soon as I saw that Heather Gudenkauf has a new book coming out I didn't even have to read the sypnosis. I have read and enjoyed all of her books!!!!!!! This one is a 5 star in my opinion also.
We have Maggie, who is 7 mths pregnant detective. When she was a teen her best friend Evie Knox goes missing and as an adult she is eager to close her best friends cold case and get justice for her. Told in three different narratives and going back and forth between the present and past we get the story from Maggie, Evie, and their other best friend Nola. This story is one you don't want to miss. Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin/Park Row for my honest review.