This Is How I Lied

by Heather Gudenkauf

Overview

Gudenkauf proves herself the master of the smart, suspenseful small-town thriller that gets right under your skin.” —Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of The Nanny

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 Grotto, and seven months pregnant, she is thrust back into the past when a new piece of evidence surfaces and the case is reopened. As Maggie investigates and reexamines the clues, secrets about what really happened begin to emerge. But someone in town knows more than they’re letting on, and they’ll stop at nothing to keep the truth buried deep.

Don’t miss Heather’s upcoming twisty locked-room thriller, EVERYONE IS WATCHING!

Check out these other riveting novels of suspense by bestselling author Heather Gudenkauf:

The Weight of Silence
These Things Hidden
Little Mercies
MIssing Pieces
Not a Sound
Before She Was Found
The Overnight Guest

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780778309703
Publisher:	Park Row Books
Publication date:	05/12/2020
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	73,744
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Heather Gudenkauf is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and Not a Sound. Heather lives in Iowa with her family.

Editorial Reviews

03/23/2020

Early in this suspenseful psychological thriller from bestseller Gudenkauf (Before She Was Found), Det. Maggie Kennedy-O’Keefe of the Grotto, Iowa, PD is assigned to a cold case, the murder of her 16-year-old best friend, Eve Knox, after two kids find a new piece of evidence, Eve’s boot, in the cave where Maggie found Eve’s body 25 years earlier. Maggie’s job is to inform the Knox family, review the case files, gather all the evidence, and send it to the state lab for testing. She speaks to Eve’s mentally unstable sister, the sister’s abusive boyfriend, a pedophile neighbor, and her own father, the former Grotto PD police chief, who suffers from dementia. To complicate matters, Maggie is eight months pregnant and fatigued. When she receives threatening phone calls, and the barn on her property is torched, it becomes clear this small town is filled with secrets people want to keep buried. Maggie has to make one impossible choice after another as the action builds to a satisfying conclusion. Through alternating viewpoints Gudenkauf keeps the tension high throughout. Fans of dogged, resourceful female detectives will cheer Maggie every step of the way. Agent: Marianne Merola, Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Once again Heather Gudenkauf proves herself the master of the smart, suspenseful small-town thriller that gets right under your skin…. The question of who can be trusted, and how far, will have you racing to the end. I was utterly absorbed.” —Gilly Macmillan, New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew and The Nanny


“A twisty, evocative tale of the danger of secrets and the power the past has to lead us down deliciously dangerous paths. Immersive and richly atmospheric, This Is How I Lied intertwines page-turning suspense with characters that creep into your very bones…. An exhilarating thriller that shows Heather Gudenkauf is at the top of her game.” —Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author of The Night Olivia Fell

“Suspenseful… Through alternating viewpoints Gudenkauf keeps the tension high. Fans of dogged, resourceful female detectives will cheer Maggie every step of the way.” —Publishers Weekly

“Be prepared for all kinds of surprises because nothing is as it seems in Heather Gudenkauf’s latest compulsive thriller, This Is How I Lied. Full of dark twists and turns, and questionable characters, this one will keep you wondering who did what, who will do what next, and if they’ll get away with it. Gudenkauf is a master at writing small-town creepy, and this novel deserves a top spot on your reading pile.” —Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of Her Secret Son, and The Neighbors

“Utterly chilling, This Is How I Lied is a deep, twisting mystery from a writer hitting her stride. You won't see it coming, and you won't be able to turn away.” —JT Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Lie to Me

From the Publisher

04/01/2020

Eve Knox's body was found in caves in Iowa when she was only 16, discovered by her best friend, Maggie, and Eve's sister, Nola. Twenty-five years later, both women are still haunted by that unsolved murder. Now seven months pregnant, Maggie is a police detective on the local police force where her father once tried to solve that case. When Eve's boot is discovered by a local boy, the new police chief hopes DNA results will help them uncover the truth. Maggie begs to work on the case, one that uncovers lies told 25 years earlier and involves a predator, abuse, a cover-up, blackmail, and false evidence. Someone was watching, and the tentacles of small-town secrets reach out now to touch neighbors, Maggie's husband and father, and Maggie herself. Nola, Maggie, and even Eve recall the earlier events in this troubling suspense novel. VERDICT Eve's own account foreshadows the disturbing revelations in the latest by the author of Before She Was Found. Fans of Lori Rader-Day's suspense novels featuring secretive women will appreciate this small-town nightmare. [See Prepub Alert, 10/28/19.]—Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Library Journal