Wylie smiled, waved back, and then turned to Becky. “Everything is actually going to be okay, isn’t it?” she asked.
They stood there, watching for a moment as Seth, Josie, and Margo laughed and called out to them, “Hurry up!”
“I think it is,” Becky said. “But listen, I know you still blame yourself for what happened to me. I saw how you reacted when you read from that part of the book.”
Wylie shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
“No, wait,” Becky said standing in front of Wylie so she had to look her in the eye. “Sometimes letting go is a good thing. Sometimes it’s the only thing left to do.”
Wylie bit the insides of her cheeks, trying not to cry, but still the tears came.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Becky said. “It was Randy Cutter’s fault—his alone. Let go of it,” Becky begged. “I never blamed you, not even once, so please stop blaming yourself.”
Becky took Wylie’s hand in her own. “Sisters forever, right?”
“Sisters forever,” Wylie whispered.
Read ahead for a bonus excerpt of Heather Gudenkauf’s
gripping thriller Not a Sound.
Acknowledgments
Even though this novel was written and rewritten during the pandemic, I never felt alone along the way and there are so many people to thank for this.
Thank you to Marianne Merola, my dear agent, who continues to be a great source of wisdom, friendship, and support throughout my career. Thanks also to everyone at Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents Inc. for all their work on my behalf.
Many thanks to my favorite plot puzzle solving partner and editor, Erika Imranyi—I love our phone calls talking through those sticky plot points—it’s always an adventure. Emer Flounders, PR guru extraordinaire, works tirelessly to spread the word about my books and for that I am so grateful. Thanks also to everyone at Park Row, HarperCollins, and Harlequin including the amazingly talented marketing, sales, art, and production teams who support me and my books in too many ways to count.
Several early readers offered priceless feedback on The Overnight Guest including Jane Augspurger, Molly Lugar, Amy Feld, and Lenora Vinckier. Thank you.
Big-time thanks go to Mark Dalsing, Dr. Emily Gudenkauf, and John Conway for their expertise. I can always count on them when I need guidance when it comes to law enforcement, the medical field, and farm life.
My sweet family continues to be my greatest supporters. Much gratitude goes to my parents, Milton and Patricia Schmida, and to my brothers and sisters. And as always, thank you to Scott, Alex, Annie & RJ, and Gracie—I love you and couldn’t do it without you.
Questions for Discussion
With Wylie’s tragic history, why do you think she would choose to be a true crime writer where she is continually faced with the brutal realities of violence and its impact on victims and their families? Why do you think Wylie felt the need to return to Burden and her childhood home in order to write her book?
Discuss the rural setting of the novel. How do you think living in Burden shaped the characters? How would the story be different if it was set in a large city?
The child says, “It isn’t the dark you should be afraid of… It’s the monsters who step out into the light that you need to fear.” What do you think they meant by this?
Wylie and Becky vowed to be “sisters forever.” After all that they’ve been through, what do you think their friendship will look like? Will it last? Why or why not?
The Overnight Guest is set in a blizzard and in the scorching heat of summer. What role does weather play in the story, both literally and metaphorically?
The child says there are three kinds of dark. What is the relationship that each of the characters have to darkness? How does it change throughout the novel?
Parenthood is a common theme throughout the story. How does it manifest itself throughout the story? How did each of the characters step into that role?
Wylie, Becky, and Josie have been through so much. Where do you see them a year from now? Five years? Twenty?
Discuss the ways in which the idea of being a prisoner is explored throughout the story for each of the characters.
By the end of the novel, we learn secrets that change the way we think about certain characters and the way the characters see one another. What character do you think changed the most over the course of the book? How did your opinions of the characters change throughout the story?
Not a Sound
by Heather Gudenkauf
Prologue
I find her sitting all by herself in the emergency waiting room, her lovely features distorted from the swelling and bruising. Only a few patients remain, unusual for a Friday night and a full moon. Sitting across from her, an elderly woman coughs wetly into a handkerchief while her husband, arms folded across his chest and head tilted back, snores gently. Another man with no discernible ailment stares blankly up at the television mounted on the wall. Canned laughter fills the room.