I enjoyed The House Guest tremendously. It is a tightly plotted page turner with an intriguing pair of central characters (Kate and Della). Competitive mums, north London cafes and languid holidays are evoked with equal skill, as is the spiral of Kate's confusion and decline as the story unfolds. Definitely a novel for fans of domestic thrillers.

When Kate was ten her older sister Scarlett left home and she never saw her again which puts her family’s life on hold. As an adult Kate leaves her parents Cambridge home to work in London and soon comes into the orbit of a well known motivational life coach Della with very unpredictable results.

This is a good psychological thriller with moments of darkness which keep you interested throughout. The characterisation is good from the malleable, naive Kate to Queen Bee, tour de force, powerhouse Della who becomes less and less likeable as the novel progresses. There are a number of intriguing themes that run through the book from obsession and attachment, to control and manipulation and betrayal and abandonment. The latter is especially important as it’s something Kate feels from the point at which Scarlett leaves home and the portrayal of the families life halting in its tracks is extremely well done. Kate is easy to control as it’s been a feature of her life for the bulk of it, it traps and ensnares her. The mystery of Scarlett permeates all and is a puzzle which keeps reappearing throughout and the impact on Kate seems never ending. There is plenty of tension, some good twists, there are scenes that are very unsettling, filling you with unease and the deeper we go into the storyline you anticipate the inevitable ‘car crash’. The ending is very good as some of the fog surrounding Kate clears and she sees pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

Overall, this is a good slow burner thriller which makes for compelling reading.

With thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins:Harper Fiction for the arc for an honest review.

This book was a slow burner but it managed to keep me reading. It’s definitely the best if it’s genre as the plot was somewhat predictable. The characters were interesting and it was well written overall.

A slow burner of a novel that rewards you as you read. A good thriller with twists that whilst some we’re slightly predicable, it didn’t detract from the overall quality.

A tense read following the life of Kate, who has recently moved to London to find her missing sister. She soon finds herself wrapped up in the world of Della, a life coach and seemingly perfect mother. Although some of the twists were predictable, there was enough to keep it going. I'd read this author again.

This for me was a slow burner thriller, it started of as quite a slow story but got more intense the further I got through the book. I found it dark with twists and turns, some of which I guessed before they came, all the characters are compelling with their own stories to tell, We as readers are lead to explore loss, betrayal and motherhood which comes with an intensity. I found Della quite creepy and unsettling, I wouldn't want to meet her. It is written well for a thriller.

This was an insightful story of the friendship bonds between women, emotional closeness and the risk it may carry. An enticing novel!

#TheHouseGuest #NetGalley
An ingenious debut.
Kate moves to London after the disappearance of her sister, she’s in need of a friend. A chance meeting leads Kate to Della, a life coach who runs support groups for young women, dubbed by Kate as ‘the Janes.’
Della takes a special interest in Kate, and Kate soon finds herself entangled in Della’s life – her house, her family, and her husband. It’s only when she realises that she’s in too deep that Della’s veneer begins to crumble, and the warnings from ‘the Janes’ begin to come true.Why is Della so keen to keep Kate by her side? What does Kate have that Della might want?
I loved the characters of this book and the way in which the author explored the concept of toxic friendship.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Harper Fiction for giving me an advanced copy.