Another solid thriller by Lisa Unger! I loved the setting and the determination of the main character to win the prize of an elaborate hide-and-seek challenge on an island.

This book is a little different than other Lisa Unger books I’ve read. But different in a good way. She still writes it in a very suspenseful, exciting manner that kept me turning the page. But unlike her other books, I don’t feel this one had any gotcha moments or surprising twists. The hints throughout the book are exactly what they seem but she successfully builds anticipation while you’re waiting for the truth to come out. She does this through multiple POV and inserting chapters that foreshadowing an action packed future that make you need to know the outcome. Unlike your typical thriller “who done it” this book seems more like an allegory of current society and how much humans are heavily influenced by social media and are addicted to the validation of strangers on the Internet. And how far some people will go to get that validation. I read it in two days and give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I am a huge Lisa Unger fan so try to read all of her books. I love this cover and the premise. A mom whose husband is on the run for embezzlement decides to enter a livestreamed hide and seek competition hoping to win a million dollars, but people might die. The setting and characters are great. I felt connected to the whole family and loved the badass kids and how they band together to help their mom. From the description, I was expecting more action and felt the first half was pretty slow.

I was very excited about the story-line, unfortunately it was a pretty slow read. There were too many characters which led to some confusion slowing it down. It was worth the read, just a bit slow.

I liked the game aspect of this book. I also liked the lesson of how fame and fortune can change people for the good or mostly bad. I would have liked more from the podcast and more about the dad.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Feb. 18, 2025
Lisa Unger’s newest novel, “Close Your Eyes and Count to 10” is a locked-room mystery of sorts, that all starts with a competition among social media influencers where the prize is one million dollars- if you can survive.
Extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan and his team put out an electronic invite to social media influencers. Come and play the ultimate game of hide-and-seek on the property of an abandoned hotel on Falcao Island. The prize? One million dollars and all the fame that comes with it. Single mother Adele, a fitness influencer, is encouraged to participate by her teenage children and soon, she finds herself on an isolated island with two other hide-and-seekers. However, once there, Adele learns that the last game of hide-and-seek Maverick hosted, a young woman went missing and was never found. How much is Adele willing to risk to win life-changing money? Is it worth the cost?
“Eyes” is your typical locked-room mystery, although it takes place at an abandoned hotel on an isolated island, where everyone is suspect and nothing is what it seems. Featuring influencers and podcasters, “Eyes” is more modern than other novels in the genre, which will likely serve to reach a bigger audience.
Maverick and his partner, Angeline, are narrators but the main protagonist is, of course, Adele. Various other characters, such as Adele’s children and the other participants of the game, take a turn narrating as well, to help readers examine the plot from all angles. With Adele’s missing convict husband and the girl who disappeared from the previous challenge, there is a non-stop flurry of drama and intrigue throughout the many plots, but they all converge smoothly at the end. (It’s Unger, after all, so expect the perfectly crafted, twisty ending, which ties all the loose ends together.)
Adele is a charming and relatable character who is easy to root for, as a single mom who desires the money for the least selfish reason of all the competitors, to start her life over and escape the past her husband burdened her and their children with. The other characters are not as likable, but they have their own struggles which make them, at the very least, human, and I was at least invested in their individual outcomes.
Unger’s “Close your Eyes” has modernized the locked-room, abandoned-resort mystery genre and it’s guaranteed to enthrall Unger’s readers, new and old.

I felt like this book was slow, but kept me interested. I felt like it was a good quick read and really aligned with todays standard as far as the plot line went. I liked how the ending was a happy one (IMO) and felt like everything and everyone had resolve.

The premise sounded so good - adult game show of hide and seek to win a million dollars - but unfortunately fell flat for me.
The amount of characters was hard to differentiate between them - got confused with how it was laid out - and overall the book just did not do it for me. However, it may be for you!

Pub date 02.28.25
Thanks to the publisher for the gifted e-arc

With five contestants battling it out in an extreme game of hide-and-seek on a secluded island for a $1 million prize, I was sure this would be an intense, edge-of-your-seat thriller. Unfortunately, it ended up being a slow burn, with a cast of characters I just couldn’t connect with.⁠
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The premise itself is unique, and the backstory of our main character felt like a secondary plot that was almost more compelling than the main storyline.⁠
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And while I didn’t want to put the book down and it was a quick read, I was never truly wowed. I was curious about what would happen next, but the story never fully delivered the excitement I was hoping for and I think it could have had.⁠
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Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me, but I do enjoy this author so onto the next!

Book Review 📖🔒🔪

thank you so much partner @htpbooks @htp_hive #hiveinfluencer for the gifted eARC!

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10
by Lisa Unger

About the book 👇🏽

Charismatic daredevil and extreme adventurer Maverick Dillan invites you to the ultimate game of hide-and-seek. But as the players gather on Falcao Island, the event quickly spirals into a chilling test of survival. A storm rages as a deadly threat stalks the contestants, turning the challenge into something far more sinister than the social media stunt it was intended to be.

Enter Adele, a single mother with a fierce determination to protect her children at all costs. When she begins the game, she unwittingly enters a twisted web of deception and intrigue. Can she maneuver through the treacherous storm and the relentless competition and get home to her family? In a ruthless battle for survival where the stakes are higher than ever, the blurry line between the virtual and the real proves that the only person we can trust is ourselves.

🔒My thoughts:

Secluded island? High stakes game of hide and seek?? Say less. As soon as I started reading, I knew I was going to be hooked. With social media influencers being really big right now plus reality TV always being popular, I found this to be extra* fun! This has several POVs and all were easy to follow. This is more of a slow burn thriller and with the secrets and characters, it’ll hold your attention and provide quite the experience! If you enjoy reality tv (or reading about them), secluded settings, and locked room thrillers, this is a book you’ll want to keep in the forefront of your brain when you’re looking for new 2025 releases! Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is out 2/25/25!

Happy reading! 📖🔒🔪

What starts as a game turns into a battle of life and death. Who will survive?

Follow Adele a single mom determined to win so that she can give her children a better life.

Suspenseful and gripping! Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for an advanced digital copy for an honest review.

Thank you to Lisa Unger and Park Row Books for this book! It was such a fun story about influencers invited to an island to play the ultimate game of hide-and-seek for a cash prize. Hosted by extreme adventurer Maverick, the players gather and a fun game quickly turns to a game of survival. While the hiders arrive, a storm is brewing. And not just a tropical storm, but a social media storm of angry viewers. Because at the last hide-and-seek game a girl disappeared and was never found. Winning is just the beginning, but survival may be the real prize.

Thoughts: This was such a fun story! It was a survival story about influencers with a big social media component. It was a reality show gone wrong with lots of POV and tons of secrets. I liked the way it felt like a locked room mystery and how there were a lot of things going on with each character.

I thought there were so many good ideas but they weren’t necessarily fleshed out. There could have been so much done with the creepy and spiritual island and cult leader/shaman. I thought there were so many possible ways the story could have gone, but it just went the one way that was obvious. There were breadcrumbs that something interesting might happen, but then it was just straightforward which was disappointing to me. 3-stars for this one.

This book started out as very engaging. After a while, the chapters were from different points of view and became a bit repetitive, and some of the story just didn’t seem to flow well. Overall it was a good premise and I did like the ending.

This book never really grabbed me, and I thought it was just ok. The whole setup of the reality show competition never really went anywhere, and that was what I was most interested in. Instead, many other complications arose, which I found both less interesting and confusing to keep track of. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In the beginning, I was sucked right in to this adventure of a thriller. As the story unfolded it became somewhat confusing to follow. A couple of times I really had to make myself keep reading. While I generally appreciate a multiple POV novel, this one seemed repetitive and the points of view were somewhat unnecessary. In the end, the mystery turned out to be precisely what I presumed.

3/5, a decent read, but not my favorite.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and net galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had so much fun with this book! It was twisty, atmospheric, and impossible to put down. While the plot does take a minute to unfold, there is action and twists throughout, so I disagree with other reviewers who have labeled this a slow burn.

The cast of characters was developed so well. Getting to read from multiple perspectives elevated the plot and pulled me into the story. There were people I loved and hated, resulting in a dynamic cast that would translate beautifully to a TV show or movie.

If you like One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware, you will love Close Your Eyes and Count to 10. Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advanced copy!

This book started off really strong for me. I flew through the first 100 pages. I loved the premise of the book, and I was intrigued the most by what was going on with the Wewatch group. However, after that initial section I started to disengage with the book. A lot of the book just felt so repetitive. I don’t mind multiple POVs in a book but this just had a little too many. I would have cut out maybe two and it would have been fine. There was also so many subplots and additional details in the story that just never really amounted to anything. For example, the whole Petra thing, and Adele’s husband. I really wanted more from the competition aspect of the book too. We never really actually get to do the hide and seek challenge which is supposed to be a huge driving force in the book. Overall the book was okay but I’m not sure who I would recommend it to.

A page turning suspense novel with wonderful character development that will have you hooked from the beginning. What is real and what is scripted for content? Follow along as the characters in the story work to figure that out, with multiple plot twists and turns along the way.

I had high hopes for this one as I really loved the premise! An extreme game show on a remote island? Sounds great! Unfortunately it fell a little flat. It was almost like two separate stories that didn’t really flow together. I hoped for more from the contestants and didn’t love how it was more about the host.

I did like some of the twists and it did keep me guessing and turning the pages quick!

Unger knows how to make POV's work to tell a complete story. It was a bit slow paced in the beginning, but once I was about half way through, it picked up and held my interest. I enjoyed how Unger takes each character and gives them each their own story line, but also ties them all together into the main story. Her ability to make each person have a separate voice is amazing. I was never confused on who each chapter belonged to. Even secondary characters were fleshed out well.
In the first half of the book she really like the word fecund. I felt like it was in every chapter, and while I understand its use, it was getting pretty repetitive.
It lost points with me because I didn't find it all that suspenseful. I had pretty much figured out who one of the "bad guys" was pretty early one. The rest just wasn't that jaw dropping. Unger gains points though, in that every part of the story is wrapped up. There are no "but what happened with this important character?'" moments AND they made sense which is a plus.