This is a captivating and twisty read. I did get confused with relationships between characters. This book has a great plot. The pacing however is slightly off. There is a lot of tension throughout

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide a review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This book flips between 2 time lines, the late 80s and 2019. I'm not generally a fan of flipping between timelines, but the story wrapped up in this time warp was interesting enough to keep me going.

The story and the characters offer enough enjoyment to make this an interesting book, but not a binge read. Some chapters dragged and the time change could be jarring.

All in all a fun bedside table read.

This story time jumps between 1988 and 2019. In 1988 we meet Beth, orphaned at 14, and taken in care by her Aunt Caroline. Beth and the owner of the house they live in (Raven Hall), become fast friends. When the story jumps to 2019, the house features again, when a struggling actress is asked to join a party at Raven Hall. There are plenty of twists and turns in this novel, keeping you entertained until the end.

I loved this from start to finish and thought the end was fantastic. A very well written plot which had me gripped all the way through.

Loved ‘The Perfect Guests’. It had me hooked from the beginning. The book was very well written. Flowed well. Based on a murder mystery game. It will have you on the edge of your seat, then the ending will completely take you by suprise

A lot of tension builds throughout and the twists were clever. I'm new to the author but will look out for more.

Tons of potential, but nothing was really done with it so it ended up feeling very flimsy and insubstantial. Which is a shame as it sounded so good!

I enjoyed this story however I found the ending wasn't for me. I loved the setting of Raven Hall, the dual timelines and the Agatha Christie vibes. I would definitely be interested in reading more from this author.

Once again Emma Rous delivers a superb mystery suspense title. I was a huge fan of her debut The Au Pair and after reading The Perfect Guest I can safely say she is fast becoming an auto-buy author for me. With twists and turns a plenty, (ones I did not guess either) I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced readers copy in return for my honest review.

This was gripping from the beginning but slowed down about three quarters of the way through. It was an enjoyable read but nothing ground breaking.

This was a thrilling and exciting read from start to finish. I liked how this was spilt into the different time periods and each woman had a specific and distinctive voice. I liked Beth and Sadie's chapters the best and thought that they were the most interesting characters to follow. There were a few elements of the plot that were a little ridiculous but that didn't overshadow the rest of the book too much. The final chapter or so was quite surprising and i liked the final moments of it as that made that bit more memorable. I would definitely read another thriller by Emma Rous if it's anything like this one!

This was an entertaining locked-room mystery. It was fun trying to guess, and bringing the plot together. It was well written, but if the mystery was a little less obvious, it would have been better. Overall, fun read.

This book was really good I enjoyed the plot and the characters.
The house has been restored and 8 guests are coming.
The house holds secrets and new ones are coming.
Only time will tell what will happen….

The Perfect Guests is an original, fun take on a locked-room murder mystery. Eight strangers have been invited to a murder mystery party. Each has their assigned role. Little do they know - the murder is about to be real. The story is told in three timelines and gets very twisty. The writing has a gothic feel throughout. Highly recommended!

I loved Emma Rous's debut novel and so was looking forward to reading The Perfect Guests. It's a well written and atmospheric novel told in dual timelines. In 1988 orphaned teenager Beth is sent to live with a family at Raven House in the Fens. In 2019 Sadie, a struggling actress takes a job at a murder mystery weekend at Raven House. It takes a while for the link in the two timelines to become apparent and I found myself more immersed in Beth's story. As with any good Gothic novel the house plays an important role and Rous beautifully builds up the tension and the atmosphere. For me this wasn't as good as The Au Pair but still an enjoyable read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC.
3.5 stars

In 1988, an orphan named Beth is taken by her aunt from the childrens’ home where she has lived since her parents and brother died in a tragic car accident to live in the expansive Manor House, Raven Hall. with the eccentric owners and their only daughter. Here Beth soon becomes embroiled in a dangerous and sinister web of lies where she doesn’t know who can be trusted.

In 2019, the run down Manor House has recently been restored, and a group of individuals are invited to participate in a who-done-it style murder mystery to launch Raven Hall’s newest venture, but is this just an innocent game or something much more dangerous?

This fast-paced novel has many twists and turns which will keep you guessing til the very end. An enjoyable read, with the atmospheric Raven Hall being a perfect location for this exciting novel.

This is a good, chilling and deeply disturbing story of lies, deceit, death and betrayal. About obsessions and how for some it’s not a person but a place that holds them in their heart.I loved all the twists and turns and many little red herrings that got thrown up along the way in the story. If you are looking for a perfect murder mystery look no further.

The Perfect Guests is one of those elusive stories that deceives you from the outset but it is so captivating that you don’t mind at all.
I enjoyed the split timelines from the start as they are crucial to understanding exactly what is taking place at Raven Hall. In the past we have young Beth, orphaned and feeling a burden on her aunt, who is taken under the wing of the family who own Raven Hall. In the present we have young Sadie who is invited to perform a role in a murder mystery weekend at Raven Hall. As we follow the stories we learn of its tragic past, the family who own the Hall and exactly who the people are who’ve been invited to attend.
Though it’s set in a relatively contemporary time, it felt as if I were reading something that could have been dreamed up by Agatha Christie. Even the description of the Hall and its surroundings brought to mind Upper House (well known to Christie).
Once we’d reached the end of the story and things were laid out for us it was possible to appreciate the planning and shaping of this book. The characterisation felt a little slow at first, but makes sense once we start to piece together the links between these seemingly random people.
Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

EXCERPT: January 2019
Wendy is as good as her word, and the Raven Hall invitation is delivered to Sadie's flat the next day, along with an incredibly chic, old-fashioned suitcase with Sadie Langton printed on the luggage label. Sadie studies the front of the heavily embossed card: 'You are cordially invited to play a game at Raven Hall.' She flips it over to read the details: 'Saturday 19th January. Chauffeur to collect you 5:00 p.m. Drinks in the drawing room from 7:00 p.m. Dinner and the game to commence 7:30 p.m. in the dining hall.' Beneath this is a handwritten line in looping blue ink: 'Thank you so much for agreeing to join us - it will be a weekend to remember!'

ABOUT 'THE PERFECT GUESTS': A very quick read that hooked me almost immediately. The Perfect Guests takes place over two timelines.

1988: Beth is an orphaned teenager who is fostered out to a couple with a daughter of a similar age, Nina. They live at Raven Hall.

2019: Sadie, a struggling actress, is offered the very well paid role of a guest at a murder-mystery weekend at....Raven Hall.

The story is told from the perspectives of Beth and Sadie, and occasionally from that of another character, whose identity is not revealed until over halfway through the book.

I really liked this book initially, it swept me along, my feelings of apprehension and anticipation skyrocketing. But then it all began to get a bit untidy, repetitive, and a little loose, for lack of a better word. It started to lack cohesion, became a bit random and awkward. And the ending? Yeah, okay, I might have rated it a little higher if it were not for 'The Return to Raven Hall' - the last two chapters were just a step too far.

BUT, I will be interested to see what this author comes up with next.

⭐⭐⭐.2

#ThePerfectGuests #NetGalley

I: @emmarousaithor @littlebrownbookgroup_uk

T: @EJRous @LittleBrownUK

#contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #mystery #suspense

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Emma grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, then worked as a small animal veterinary surgeon for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons, and her rescue dog and cat.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Little Brown Book Group UK for providing a digital ARC of The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage