Heather Gudenkauf

True crime writer Wylie Lark doesn't mind being snowed in at the isolated farmhouse where she's retreated to write her new book. A cozy fire, complete silence. It would be perfect, if not for the fact that decades earlier, at this very house, two people were murdered in cold blood and a girl disappeared without a trace. As the storm worsens, Wylie finds herself trapped inside the house, haunted by the secrets contained within its walls, haunted by...

When a tragic accident leaves nurse Amelia Winn deaf, she spirals into a depression that ultimately causes her to lose everything that matters: her job, her husband David, and her stepdaughter Nora. Now, two years later and with the help of her hearing dog, Stitch, she is finally getting back on her feet. But when she discovers the body of a fellow nurse in the dense bush by the river, deep in the woods near her cabin, she is plunged into a disturbing...

"Big Brother meets Clue in this utterly original and incredibly tense locked-room mystery." —May Cobb, author of A Likeable Woman
A mysterious high-stakes game proves life-threatening in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Overnight Guest
The Best Friend. The Confidant. The Senator. The Boyfriend. The Executive.
Five contestants have been chosen to compete for...

"Everyone has a secret they'll do anything to hide... Twenty-five years ago, the body of sixteen-year-old Eve Knox was found in the caves near her home in small-town Grotto, Iowa -- discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and her sister, Nola. There were a handful of suspects, including her boyfriend, Nick, but without sufficient evidence the case ultimately went cold. For decades Maggie was haunted by Eve's death and that horrible night. Now a detective...

In the midst of a sudden spring snowstorm, an unknown man armed with a gun walks into an elementary school classroom. Outside the school, the town of Broken Branch watches and waits. Officer Meg Barrett holds the responsibility for the town's children in her hands. Will Thwaite, reluctantly entrusted with the care of his two grandchildren by the daughter who left home years earlier, stands by helplessly and wonders if he has failed his child again....

“Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorite new authors." —Lisa Scottoline
In this riveting prequel to New York Times bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf's novel Little Mercies, even the smallest lies can have far-reaching consequences.
When a woman's body is discovered in a local park—with her bewildered four-year-old son sitting beside her—veteran social worker Ellen Moore is called in to assist...

Video recordings of author lectures given during the annual AViD program sponsored by the Des Moines Public Library Foundation.