Features Iowa author Heather Gudenkauf
Iowa author Heather Gudenkauf will headline Greene County Reads 2026 with Zoom Watch Parties Thursday, Jan. 22, from 6 to 7:30 pm in all six Greene County libraries—Jefferson, Grand Junction, Rippey, Paton, Churdan and Scranton.
Greene County Reads, an annual county-wide book discussion, is a cooperative project sponsored by the Greene County Librarians Association (GCLA) and Greene County board of supervisors.
“In past years, we’ve had an Iowa author come to three of our libraries and speak at different times of the day—morning, afternoon and evening,” explained Alan Robinson, GCLA president. “We really wanted to have Heather be our featured author this year, but as she is a national, best-selling author we would not be able to have her come in person until 2028.
“However, we were able to schedule her for our virtual presentation via Zoom to all six of our libraries simultaneously,” said Robinson. “She has just released her newest book, ‘The Perfect Hosts,’ which is getting terrific reviews. It’s about a gender reveal party that goes horribly wrong and leads to a murder investigation.”
Gudenkauf primarily writes suspense, psychological thrillers, and mystery novels, often in small-town settings, blending deep family secrets and elements of crime to create gripping page-turners.
Gudenkauf’s presentation will include discussion of her 11 best-selling books. Library patrons are encouraged to stop into their respective libraries to reserve a spot for the Jan. 22 Zoom Watch Party and to check out one of her books to read before the event. Heather will talk about the writing process, her love of libraries and appreciation of her readers.
Gudenkauf was born in South Dakota, the youngest of six. Her family moved to Iowa when she was 3 and she grew up in Mason City. Having been born with a profound unilateral hearing loss, she tended to use books as a retreat. She would climb into the toy box with a pillow, blanket and flashlight, and then close the lid and escape the world around her. She became a voracious reader, and the seed of becoming a writer was planted. She went on to graduate from the University of Iowa with a degree in elementary education. She is the mother of three.
Gudenkauf lives in Cedar Rapids with her family and German Shorthaired Pointer named Lolo. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, swimming and hiking. “This will be an enjoyable evening spent with one of Iowa’s most well-known contemporary authors. We are thrilled to feature her as our guest author for this year’s Greene County Reads,” said Jane Millard, director of the Jefferson public library.
