2.5/5

A locked-room thriller with an intriguing premise but a lackluster execution.

This book dragged so much, making it extremely difficult to get attached or interested in the storylines or the characters. And all the characters felt very flat while also being annoying and unlikable.

This book is slow and that is emphasized by nothing really happening for the first nearly three-quarters of the book.

Spooky island games sounds like so much fun! That made this all the more disappointing. I think I've just come to the conclusion that Lisa Unger's writing isn't for me. Sorry, Lisa.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

Ooh, I enjoyed this one from the very start!!

A big hide and seek competition for a huge amount of money is what we have here, and Adele NEEDS a that money. She needs it to pull her and her children out of the rut her husband left her in.

She makes it into the competition and arrives as a big storm approaches. This event is also a big deal to Maverick, the man behind the curtain. This even could make or break his business. Not only do they have the storm to contend with, but this game quickly proves deadly and Adele just needs to survive.

With a big cast and a wild plot, there is never a dull moment. Lisa Unger knows how to tell a story.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Maverick Dillan has always been extreme and now he holds Extreme Hide and Seek challenges in remote location and pulls in influencers from everywhere to compete. The latest is Falcao Island and he is running up against plenty of resistance from the locals, and maybe someone mysterious, set on stopping his latest game before it even gets off the ground.
I really enjoyed this locked room thriller, and where better than a remote island with a nasty storm approaching. There were multiple POVs and multiple time frames(which could add to a bit of confusion if you aren’t paying attention). Fast paced and a lot going on with each characters that just added to the excitement! #lisaunger #lisaungernovel #closeyoureyesandcountto10 #closeyoureyesandcounto10lisaunger
#suspensethriller #suspense #thriller
#bookstagram #readersofinstagram

I feel like it's getting really hard to read a thriller that doesn't feel like something else I've already read. This was a stereotypical isolated game to win money with a smattering of odd characters. The people who own the show were adult-children and petulant. Naturally, the only likeable characters were the kids who lost everything. If you're looking for something mindless to read between other books, this would be fine.

Mr. Beast meets murder and deception. First of all, this being set in Portugal was nice since I am traveling there this summer! There were many points of view and everyone being a social media influencer did make the audio a bit hard to follow. But I always enjoy books playing on the social media influencer lifestyle since it’s so prominent these days. The twists were twisty which I always look for and I did somewhat guess the ending but it was still enjoyable.

Maverick Dillan, a larger-than-life extreme adventure influencer (think Mr. Beast x Bear Grylls) has just announced his next challenge. Extreme hide-and-seek at the ruins of a crumbling tropical resort—and the winner gets a million dollars. It’s a bold move, not least because his last hide-and-seek challenge ended with a girl’s disappearance. Adele, a struggling single mom with a small following as a fitness influencer, is up for the challenge. This could be her family’s path back to stability, and she’ll stop at nothing to win. Along the way, the contestants will face a natural disaster, an armed militia and mysterious threatening messages…and not everyone will make it out alive.

The premise of this book is incredibly creative. I think we were overdue for a YouTube challenge-inspired thriller. I thought the characters were well-written and fun to follow, and I feel like even the side characters had well-developed backstories. That said, this book wasn’t perfect. It felt like there were a few too many narrative threads, and the pacing in the middle of the book wasn’t as tight as I’d like it to be. But if you’re a thriller reader looking to scratch the itch for a good plot twist, this one is unlikely to disappoint.

I was really looking forward to reading this one but, unfortunately, it was not for me. The “extreme game of hide and seek” doesn’t really feature heavily. I was expecting an “And then there were none” scenario and it is not that at all. There are many characters, some of which are not even in the game, and I didn’t connect with anyone, so I wasn’t particularly interested in what happened to them. The plot is strong but, when you’re not invested in the story, it doesn’t really matter much. I’m happy to see that other readers enjoyed this novel. In my case, it was a matter of expectations. This wasn’t what I had in mind, so I felt let down.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row.

Lisa Unger crafts an eerie, atmospheric thriller that thrives on isolation. The island setting is haunting and immersive, adding an extra layer of tension to the mystery. The alternating narrators keep the story engaging, offering fresh perspectives while deepening the suspense.

Adele is a standout—flawed, complex, and deeply human. Her journey pulls you in, making her one of the novel’s strongest elements. While the pacing lags in places and some twists are predictable, the moody setting and psychological tension make up for it.

A compelling, slow-burn thriller perfect for fans of character-driven suspense.

Adele, a single mom, decides to become involved in an extreme game of hide and seek hoping to win the million dollar prize after being left in debt by a criminal husband. The story is told through multiple points of view and the reader was able to gain insight into each character. This was a fun and gripping suspenseful story full of twists.

A game of Hide and Seek on an island in some crazy place (Otherwise known as an abandoned hotel). Adele has an embezzling husband on the run and wants to win a million dollars playing a game of hide and seek. The money will help her provide for her two children. So she leaves them at home.
There was a lot of action, too many POVs, and a LOT of slow burn when the action was not happening. Which made it really confusing reading the story of so many people. There was a lot of unanswered questions and way to many POVs. It was an okay read.

What would you risk to participate in a game of hide and seek worth a million dollars? Well, Adele is a single mother who really needs the money so she is willing to take a chance on it. When she gets trapped in a web of deception can she maneuver a web of deception and make it home to her kids alive? This book is full of twists. You never know who you can trust to have your back. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks @NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarlequinTradePublishing for the book #CloseYourEyesAndCountTo10 by #LisaUnger. Adele, now a single mom of two, has entered an extreme competition in hopes of winning money to help her family survive. The competition is on an island and severe weather and other circumstances have made things way more difficult than they should be. Can she survive this and hopefully win the money so her family can get past what her husband has out them through?

4 stars
This fast-paced psychological thriller throws readers straight into a world of deception, secrets, and a high-stakes battle for survival. From the very first page, I was hooked—and Lisa Unger kept me on edge the entire time.

Adele, a struggling single mom haunted by trauma from her ex-husband, joins an extreme game of hide-and-seek hosted by a social media celebrity, hoping to win the million-dollar prize. But the secluded island where the game takes place is anything but a safe playground. The locals are hostile, a massive storm looms, and behind the scenes, something about the game itself feels dangerously off.

The atmosphere in this book is stunning—the setting feels like its own character. I could vividly picture the eerie, abandoned hotel where the game unfolds. The integration of social media into the plot was especially interesting, the way it was included made me reflect on just how much we share online.

Told through multiple POVs and a nonlinear timeline, the story unravels in a way that kept me intrigued while allowing me to connect with the characters. However, at times, there seemed to be a few too many subplots, which occasionally made the narrative feel a bit crowded. Despite this, it’s a gripping, immersive read from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley and HTP Hive (Harlequin Trade Publishing) for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 by Lisa Unger is a fast-paced psychological thriller that plunges readers into a high-stakes game of survival, deception, and dark secrets. When Maverick Dillan, a charismatic adventurer, invites contestants to play a game of hide-and-seek on Falcao Island, what starts as a social media stunt quickly turns into a life-or-death contest. As a storm brews, a deadly threat emerges, and the island becomes a treacherous battleground.

Adele, a determined single mother, is drawn into the chaos, unknowingly stepping into a web of danger as she strives to protect her family. As the game spirals out of control, she must navigate not only the brutal competition but also the blurred lines between reality and the virtual world. With trust becoming increasingly scarce, Adele's survival instincts are put to the ultimate test.

Unger skillfully builds tension with each page, creating a gripping narrative that explores the psychological complexities of the game and the lengths people will go to for survival. The novel keeps readers on edge, questioning who can be trusted and how far one will go when survival is the only priority. Perfect for fans of high-intensity thrillers, Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is a suspenseful, heart-pounding ride that keeps you guessing until the very end.

Thank you for providing me an advanced copy of the book!

This book embodies everything about a three star book to me - didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was truly just "eh." I think my main issue is that I think the idea of a reality show gone wrong thriller is getting a bit stale. Just in the past year, I've read two others - One Perfect Couple/Ruth Ware and People to Follow/Olivia Worley.

I just wasn't that connected to the characters, and the twists didn't knock my socks off.

Bottom line: Average popcorn thriller.

Unger's newest novel promises 'deception' and 'twists' and it certainly delivers. The novel follows a myriad of characters (who all have a large variety of motives and backgrounds) as they compete for a million dollars (for some) and company stability (for others). As someone new to Unger's prose, I knew that their style is enjoyed by many and was excited to try the novel out. However, the plot was unfortunately a bit of a miss for me; it was a little predictable and repetitive at times. Originally, I was drawn in by the concept of extreme hide-and-seek, but it wasn't the main focus of the novel. Overall, the novel was quick and enjoyable and anyone who likes thrillers, suspense, and interpersonal drama will surely like Unger's recent work.

For Fans Of: Ruth Ware, Peter Swanson
Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕
Genre: 🔪 Thriller
Violence: 🪓🪓

Premise: Single mom Adele—struggling to make ends meet with an MIA, embezzler ex-husband—enters extreme hide & seek game to win $1M. But with severe weather, locals attempting to block play, & conflict among the gamemakers, surviving may require more the besting her competitors.

Thoughts: I love the premise: taking a childhood game & establishing very adult stakes. The book is incredibly atmospheric. Unger paints vivid images of a once-luxurious hotel being reclaimed by nature. Then she turns up the volume with a foreboding band of locals & an epic mid-Atlantic storm. Though each character gets limited page time, Unger engages us through backstory & emotional state. This book has more POVs than most thrillers, as well as non-linear storytelling. But Unger keeps the action flowing without losing the reader in the details, making this a fast-paced read. That being said, there may be 1 or 2 sub-plots too many. Adele needs high stakes to leave her kids, & I loved the teens’ POV, but I’m not sure the storyline involving Adele’s family is fully realized. I’m still undecided if the novel’s ultimate resolution satisfies me, but it left me thinking, which I think is any author’s goal. I enjoy how the novel examines the role our online presence plays in our offline lives: is it possible to achieve balance when our sense of self is molded by strangers’ perceptions? Ultimately, a thought-provoking & entertaining read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing, Park Row Books, & NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated thrillers, but unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me.

Adele, a struggling single mom, whose husband disappears, joins a viral challenge hosted by a questionable influencer, lured in by the promise of a million-dollar prize. The setting—an isolated island and a decaying hotel—sets the stage for a suspenseful game where past secrets and social media obsession collide. With a missing contestant from a previous challenge and an influencer who thrives on manipulation, the question isn’t just who will win, but who will make it out.

Told through multiple POVs, the book explores the dark side of social media addiction and the lengths people will go for fame and money. While I loved the eerie atmosphere and the overall concept, the pacing was uneven—the first half dragged, though things picked up in the last 30%. Some twists felt predictable, and with so many elements and sub plots packed into one book, it occasionally felt overcrowded. That said, I did enjoy the ending, even if the journey there wasn’t as thrilling as I had hoped.

While this one didn’t quite live up to my expectations, it still offers an interesting take on influencer culture and reality TV style suspense. If that’s your thing, it might be worth a read!

The alternating narrators make it hard to trust in this suspenseful story. I sometimes had a hard time with it since there are time jumps along with the perspective switches, but the story was good and you will have trouble figuring it out before the characters themselves do. While I might not recommend this as a light read it is a clever mystery and for those who like action this is a good one.

I love Lisa Unger! I've read a ton of her books and love her writing. However, this book fell flat for me A super intriguing plot with lots of complex characters and a really great setting. The first half or so of the book, I raced through, but then it started to drag a bit and nothing was really happening. Then the ending. It was extremely convoluted, multiple questions were left unanswered, and it was just a confusing mess. Super disappointing.

Also, lots of spacing issues with this book. Anytime the was an "fl" in the book, there was a space between the f and l. Very distracting. Random page numbers were interspersed throughout the book.