Search This Blog









2023 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (16)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (3)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (3)
- Massachusetts (3)
- Michigan (4)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (2)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (1)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (15)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (2)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (4)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (6)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (2)
- (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Barbados (1)
- Canada (8)
- Chile (1)
- England (25)
- France (2)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Nigeria (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (3)
- South Korea (1)
- Sweden (1)
- The Netherlands (2)
-Vietnam (1)





2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge







Thursday, September 10, 2020
Gudenkauf Thriller Keeps Me Up Way Past My Bedtime
11:48 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
When it comes to scaring the kids of little Pitch, Iowa, the tale of Joseph Wither—an alleged murderer who lived locally decades ago—is right up there with Bloody Mary and The Vanishing Hitchhiker. So, when a junior high school teacher gives her class an assignment to research an urban legend, 12-year-old Violet Crow and two of her classmates decide to look more closely at the Wither story. Obsessed with the creepy tale, the girls agree to a late-night meeting at an abandoned rail yard with someone claiming to be Joseph. Hours later, one of them is found beaten near to death. The other two are in shock, refusing to speak about the incident. What really happened that night in the rail yard? Was Cora attacked by a supernatural entity? Or someone much more corporeal?
Despite its simple premise, Before She was Found by Heather Gudenkauf is a taut, twisty thriller with an ending I didn't see coming. Populated with interesting characters, the novel also poses some intriguing questions about the dangers of hysteria and groupthink as well as asking how far a parent will go to protect their child. Atmospheric and engrossing, this one kept me reading late into the night, desperate to know what was going to happen next.
(Readalikes: Hm, nothing is coming to mind. You?)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language (a couple F-bombs, plus milder expletives), violence, blood/gore, and mild sexual content
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)




Reading
Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

Listening
Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.



Followin' with Bloglovin'



-
-
Cover Love Scary Covers8 hours ago
-
-
-
Grounds for Murder by Tara Lush9 hours ago
-
Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books Set On SF Worlds10 hours ago
-
Unnatural Death by Patricia Cornwell11 hours ago
-
We the Sea Turtles12 hours ago
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday17 hours ago
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday- Circus stories18 hours ago
-
Cookbooks for Book Lovers: Gift Ideas18 hours ago
-
-
TOP TEN TUESDAY-COTTAGE SETTING20 hours ago
-
TTT – Books Set In New York20 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
I have been reading...2 days ago
-
Sunday Salon: November 26, 20232 days ago
-
-
The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper2 days ago
-
-
-
-
Happy Thanksgiving, 2023!!5 days ago
-
2024 Motif Reading Challenge1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 month ago
-
Reading Recap August 20232 months ago
-
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra5 months ago
-
-
Dotty Beanie with Ears6 months ago
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!



Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)