Think of the childhood game of hide and seek but put a totally creepy spin on it and you have the premise of this book. A group of adventure seekers slash influencers run a reality show where contestants compete against each other for a grand prize. Problem is, someone went missing from their last challenge. They hid but were never found. Now all eyes are on this competition, and single mom of two teens struggling with finances signs up to compete. Once she arrives, it becomes obvious that things are not as they seemed online.

Overall, a solid thriller. I kept waiting for that point in the book where I was HOOKED, but that did not come. I enjoyed the ending, and there were enough twists to keep you guessing for a good amount of the book.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc, all opinions are my own

Great thriller! While some things played out like I thought, other aspects of this book truly surprised me! I’d love to see some kind of sequel.

I love love an isolated location thriller so much, so was so excited to read this thriller set in an abandoned hotel on a remote island, and this book from Lisa Unger did absolutely suck me in.

After her husband embezzled from his business, ruined their reputation in the town, and took off with everything, Adele joins an extreme hide and seek to win a million dollars, urged on by her teenage kids. But Mac and the Extreme team are dealing with their own fallout, from the disappearance of a young contestant the last time they had an extreme challenge, movements against his shenanigans, and is loosing money. So an already dangerous game becomes more dangerous as creepy things start happening. Will Adele even make it out alive? And who is sabotaging the games?!

I really liked Adele as post-divorce work out badass and felt for her and her kids as they dealt with the fallout of her husband’s crimes. The commentary on all the ways young women do things because they should and then feel lost later in life really resonated with me. The building horror of the violence and sabotage happening on the island really worked to keep me sucked in. I also liked the commentary / way the internet and social media culture played into the way everyone in this book dealt with life. I do think there were a couple of threads I needed more to feel closure or understanding, but overall this was a fun thriller that kept me wondering!

This is a quick, easy to read, slow burn mystery. I loved the isolated setting and the multiple view points. There were a lot of characters but I was able to follow all the side stories and keep everyone straight. Adele and her children were my favorite. The tension in the book is palpable and there is a feeling of doom as the storm rages and the contestants fight to survive. I both read and listened to the story which is narrated by Vivienne Leheny. I thought she did an excellent job making all the characters voices distinct. Overall I thought this was a solid mystery with medium pacing and I enjoyed it.

3.5 stars

Lisa Unger stories are always entertaining. Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 brings a lot of recent book subjects together-true crime podcast, reality TV, influencers, people who live their lives online, women left behind by a man who had committed crimes, a group of people stuck somewhere remote with a storm coming in-and makes them into one wild story. I went back and forth between reading the ARC and listening to the audiobook. I preferred reading it. The narrator had some interesting choices for a few characters that made it hard for me to listen. Most of the characters were thinly written so it was difficult to think about whether or not their decisions made sense for their characters, because they didn't make sense for anything else sometimes. Overall, it was enjoyable and quick on a snowy morning.

If you love a thriller that you cannot put down this one is for you. At first the book started slow then BOOM it picked up!! I could not put it down!! I truly felt like I was on Falcoa Island myself! The intrigue and the mystery were soo good!! I also love Adele so much. She is such a strong mother and loved her kids so much. The family aspect of the book was a favorite part of mine. Lisa Unger ROCKED with this title! 👏🏻👏🏻

This book is an extreme game of hide and seek that turns deadly. Lisa Unger is one of the best at writing thrillers that keep the reader engaged. The characters were relatable, It was a good thriller that kept my attention throughout. I recommend. Thank you NetGalley & Harlequin for allowing to read this ARC.

Adele is struggling to pick up the pieces after her husband’s devastating betrayal. Not only has he swindled their company and deceived their friends and neighbors, but he’s also drained the family’s finances, leaving Adele to face an uncertain future. In a desperate attempt to secure a better life for herself and her two children, she must resort to bold and extreme measures. But what she uncovers in the process will push her beyond what she ever thought she’d be willing to do.
Enter Maverick Dillan, a daring YouTuber known for his extreme stunts. His next big project? A high-stakes game of hide and seek on a deserted island, with a massive cash prize at stake. However, Maverick’s past game, which ended in tragedy, looms over him. Can he shake the ghosts of that disaster, or will it mark the end of his career?
The premise of this book immediately hooked me, and I was intrigued by the concept of the abandoned building and the inspiration Unger drew from her own family trip. However, I did feel that the novel contained too many subplots that didn’t quite come together. I wished the story had focused more on the deserted island and the game show, with additional attention to the backstory of the main character and more exploration of her husband’s role in the narrative. However, the ending twists were expertly executed, delivering a sense of justice and wrapping up the story in a satisfying, neatly tied bow.

*Thank you to Lisa Unger, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

This was not good. It was my third Lisa Unger novel and I enjoyed the first two for the most part, a 4-star and a 3-star. This was definitely way worse. I love the cover, it's beautiful, even though nothing happens underwater so it's kind of strange that most of the cover is UNDER the island...but anyway. The story was mediocre to begin with and then it just got worse. Unlikable characters, terrible motivations (for some, not all), just kind of sloppy.

Close Your Eyes and Count to 10 is Lisa Unger’s latest thrilling release. I really enjoyed the high stakes tension that this one brought and the fact that she wrote this book around a game of hide-and-seek was such a fun concept. Who hasn’t played that game at some point in their life? I also loved the idea that this was a social media competition. I love competition shows in general so reading something similar in a book is always a good time. However, keeping everyone’s storylines together was difficult for me. There’s just too much going on with each character that I had a hard time keeping track. If I don’t know who I’m reading about right away it takes away my enjoyment because I feel like I need to take notes and that’s just not something I want to do when reading. Aside from that, this is a really quick and easy read. Fun for those who like an isolated setting where characters are stranded and there’s something strange going on.

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Reality TV thrillers
❥ Isolated Settings
❥ High Stakes
❥ Mysteries

I love reality tv and the thought of extreme hide and seek on a deserted island sounded like the perfect thriller. The book was fun with twists and turns but there were a lot of different characters which made the book feel a bit crowded. Overall it was a fun read and i recommend it to thriller lovers

I love the idea of extreme hide and seek which is initially what sold me on this story other than the fact that the one and only Lisa Unger wrote it. Found this thriller to be a quick and easy read, but found influenced plot line to be a little cheesy and overdone. Thanks for the ARC netglalley

While I was initially intrigued by the concept of this book, it lost me with the Mav storyline. There were so many people involved in the beginning that it was a bit hard to keep it straight. I felt the story was a bit disjointed and it wasn’t interesting enough to keep my attention. It took me a lot of resolve not to just DNF 😬

There was some mystery and some intrigue in this book, but overall missed the mark as a psychological thriller for me. I was excited that the blurb mentioned an extreme game, and although the plot did have this element in some chapters and the setting in some chapters. it was put on the back burner. There were a lot of characters and PoVs, and I was a bit confused and then a bit bored with all of their issues. I do appreciate the ability by the author to have developed a story with so many complex elements, and was invested enough to finish…but it pains me to say this wasn’t a favorite of mine.
I started as an audio read-the single female narrator was fine, perhaps I am spoiled listening to audios with a full cast when there are multiple characters and their PoVs. I did need to switch to the ebook to be able to try to keep things aligned and try to understand better:
Thank you to NegGalley, Harlequin Audio and HTP Hive for an advanced copy and offer my honest thoughts.

Extreme hide and seek, who can resist that! A single mum and fitness influencer who has been going through a rough time signs up for the challenge. The prize, $1 million is hard to pass up. An isolated island full of people who all want the money, and a dodgy crew of staff that are hiding plenty of secrets from each other. Add to that a storm brewing and it becomes a game of survival. This was a fun read and Lisa Unger books are always entertaining!

I love Lisa Unger's books! I really enjoyed the plot and the characters were easy to picture. This was a fast moving thriller once more of the action focused on "The Game".

Unfortunately I subtracted a star because I found the timeline of the scenes on the island confusing. This definitely won't stop me from reading more books by Lisa. She's one of my favs.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Being a reality TV show lover I had to get this one and it disappoint! A deadly game of hide and sick on a deserted island, be the last one to be found and win a million, sounds easy right? Not so fast! Everyone here has there on agenda and plenty are livestreaming! Adele was the perfect heorine, after her husband left with all their money and his company's money, she thinks winning this game will solve her money problems. But when it's all said and done Adele found more than money. "We're worthy of life and love because of who we are, not because what we do" "the only true prize in this world is living another day."

Due to the fact that it was written by one of my favorite authors, I had exceedingly high expectations for Lisa Unger’s newest locked room mystery/thriller, Close Your Eyes and Count to 10. After all, thanks to an atmospheric setting, strong female protagonist, and reality-TV-show premise, it seemed like it just couldn’t go wrong. Does that mean it was utter perfection? No, not exactly. You see, with a slow burn pace and a multitude of alternating POVs, it wasn’t the rollicking ride of unbridled thrills that I had been expecting. Just the same, nothing could stop this book from being one heck of a rollercoaster ride of suspense as this motley crew of characters were trapped by a storm in this atmospheric and eerie locale.

The biggest win in this psychological thriller, however, was most definitely the thought-provoking message underneath the popcorn thriller core. Critiquing social media and how it can exploit the struggles of those posting for the sake of mere entertainment, it was an eye-opening view of what we all tend to take for granted as we spend time online. Making this point even stronger were the realistic, vividly painted characters—with Adele front and center. A mother first and foremost, she and her children were the few individuals who I felt I could relate to amidst a cast of personas that felt decidedly extreme. All together, however, I nevertheless got swept up in a plot that kept me invested from beginning to end.

All said and done, with long-buried secrets, dark lies, and underhanded deceptions, this drama-fueled plot kept my eyes firmly glued to the pages. Could it have used some editing to keep the middle as riveting as the rest of the novel? Well…yes. But considering those last 100 pages delivered in spades, I’ll give a little leeway to one of my favorite authors. After all, there was a definite ebb and flow to the unease until the explosive climax led to the one heck of a surprising reveal. So if you like slow burns that feature plenty of secrets, this book is for you. Intricately plotted around a reality TV show gone wrong, I enjoyed this one even if I didn’t wholeheartedly love it as much as I would’ve expected. Rating of 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Lisa Unger, Park Row Books, abs NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Loved this book! It was fun read full of twist and turns you won’t see coming. This book will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happens next.

Spooky, atmospheric, dark and mysterious.

Adele, a mother of two, decides to go on an extreme activity reality TV show hoping to win the million dollar prize. The extreme event is being held in an isolated location with lots of history. Participants start to arrive for the competition, but all is not as it seems with the background and owners of the company who are running the reality event and many red flags are being hidden from the participants. In a past event, another participant had gone missing, and someone on social media is blaming Mav, the owner of the Extreme company for the participant’s disappearance. Things start to unravel before the competition starts and this book kept me guessing as to what was coming next. If you love “locked room”, isolated settings in your thrillers, this won’t disappoint!

Told by multiple character POVs and in multiple timelines - it became confusing at times to keep up, so but I fully appreciated The Game being in Italics.

Overall, I would rate this as 3.5 ⭐️. I would recommend to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.