Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California (1)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa (2)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas (1)
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (4)
- France (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 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
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano

Listening
If Walls Could Talk by Juliet Blackwell


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins13 minutes ago
-
-
-
-
A Blog Milestone Has Been Reached!!13 hours ago
-
I have been reading...13 hours ago
-
#Throwback Thursday ~ October14 hours ago
-
When Skies Aren't Blue15 hours ago
-
Beach Vibes - Fiction Review17 hours ago
-
-
NetGalley Book Tag: 2025 Edition17 hours ago
-
A Review of The Broken Home19 hours ago
-
Murder at the Orpheus Theatre by Irina Shapiro19 hours ago
-
The Bridge Kingdom21 hours ago
-
28. Famous Last Words1 day ago
-
WWW Wednesday 3.19.241 day ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday #3122 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery3 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October4 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I6 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus7 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
