My hat trick of Iowan #read99women guests continues! Thrilled to welcome Heather Gudenkauf to the blog today to share her recommendation. I first fell in love with Heather’s work after listening to the audiobook of NOT A SOUND, read by Julia Whelan. What a fabulous thriller. I’m equally excited for her upcoming novel THIS IS HOW I LIED, coming in May.

Heather Gudenkauf is the Edgar Award nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE WEIGHT OF SILENCE, THESE THINGS HIDDEN, NOT A SOUND, and BEFORE SHE WAS FOUND.

Heather was born in Wagner, South Dakota, the youngest of six children. At the age of three, her family moved to Iowa, where she grew up. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing loss (there were many evenings when Heather and her father made a trip to the bus barn to look around the school bus for her hearing aids that she often conveniently would forget on the seat beside her), Heather tended to use books as a retreat, would climb into the toy box that her father’s students from Rosebud made for the family with a pillow, blanket, and flashlight, close the lid, and escape the world around her. Heather became a voracious reader and the seed of becoming a writer was planted. Heather Gudenkauf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education, has spent her career working with students of all ages and continues to work in education as a Title I Reading Coordinator. Heather lives in Iowa with her family and a very spoiled German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo.

Heather’s #read99women pick is WESTERING WOMEN by Sandra Dallas. You can read the whole review on BookBub, and here are some highlights: “WESTERING WOMEN is a testament to the power of friendship, forgiveness, and the discovery of unknown and untapped resilience and strength. This novel will leave the reader bereft for those left behind and cheering for those who survive the journey.”