I really enjoyed this overall. I liked the mystery and trying to figure things out. There were elements of the writing that weren't as tight as others but overall I felt the story and characters were interesting enough for me to keep reading.

This book is really well written and I hugely enjoyed the scene setting as well as the characterization. However, for me, it wasn't mysterious enough. The concept of bringing all of the characters together in the house was great but I thought the outcome was a little too obvious. A really enjoyable read though, and I kept turning the pages.

Sadie, an aspiring actress who’s trying to make ends meet between jobs, receives a mysterious invitation to a murder mystery dinner at Raven Hall. She is one of seven strangers who are invited to the old, secluded mansion that, until recently, was left to ruin following a tragedy that occurred there years earlier. The job promises to be a fun one, to pay well, and to be a nice break from her current life. The whole thing seems to good to be true and it isn’t long into the evening that Sadie begins to question why she’s really been chosen to attend.

An enjoyable mystery, full of twists and turns that kept me guessing throughout, The Perfect Guests is a great little read. I loved the setting, the use of different narrators, and the jumps back and forth in time between the 80s and the present day. A fresh take on an old trope, I really enjoyed it and I highly recommend if you enjoy mysteries and you’re looking for a relatively quick read. I’ll be looking out for Emma Rous’ next book!

I said last year when I read this author’s debut novel that she was one to watch out for and I think that is the case.

This book has a lightness to it but still is a rather intriguing mystery. What seems like two independent stories, simply featuring the same setting, clearly have to link, but how and who are all these characters?

Raven Hall – Past

Beth turns up at this big house, out the way in the Fens on the east of the country. Her aunt who really does not want the responsibility of an orphaned niece, has brought her here to live with Markus, Leonora and daughter Nina. Nina is of the same age as Beth, and it is hoped that the girls will form a companionship, as Nina is rarely let out of the house. There is something odd about this family set up, when Nina falls ill it is left to Beth to fill a purpose, but the question is why?

Raven Hall – Present Day

The big mysterious house is the perfect setting for a murder mystery weekend. Sadie an actress waiting for her big break gets the opportunity to take part in the test event to presumably publicise these weekends. Needing the money and the purpose she jumps at the chance, to play Miss Lamb. She turns up and thinks this going to be easy money. One of the clues to the game is quite near the truth and it looks like that perhaps this might not be a game after all.

How does it all come together? Who are all these people and how can a simple game reveal all the past as it all comes tumbling out as people go missing, start feeling ill and turning up unexpectedly.

A book with twists and turns, I thought I could see the path the author was intending us to go on, but on some occasions I was wrong. For thriller fans, they may want something a bit more darker and gruesome, but a lot was said about the setting and the characters without it being said at all. The art of suggestion enabled the red herrings and the twists and turns to work for me.

For the infamous ‘second novel’ this was very good and I stand by my original thoughts – this is an author to watch.

Two timelines. Raven Hall has been abandoned for years since after a fire happened in the 1980s.
In 2019, eight guests were invited to the Raven Hall to play a murder mystery game. Each of them has a role to play. Sadie Langton's is one of the guests got invited to Raven Hall. She did not know what to expect until they arrive at the Raven Hall and things starts to look strange. There's so much happened in Raven Hall during the 1980s. Are the guests invited randomly and who is behind it?

I do enjoy reading it. There's some good twists and turns. However, I don't love it. Not my favorite mystery thriller.
But I believe some of you might enjoy more than I do. Its fast pace and easy to read. Just not my favorite.

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for this advance digital copy in exchange of my honest review.

This is my first novel by Emma Rous and I did really enjoy it. The plot is around a murder mystery at the beautiful yet mysterious Raven Hall. There are eight guests who attend and one of the guests is unemployed actress Sadie. There is an enormous amount of mystery surround this evening, as they do not know who has invited them or who owns this beautiful Hall.

As a reader it keeps you guessing as we read about the present day and also see what happened back in 1988. If you love to read a good mystery where you are curious to know what is happening and lots of why questions then this novel is for you.

The novel immersed me and I read it within 3 days, some nights staying up well past my bedtime. I enjoyed Emma Rous' detailed descriptions of her characters and the way she paints a picture to the reader and I will be getting her Au Pair novel as I see that it has good reviews.

Thanks to NetGalley, Emma Rous and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

Well...... you will definitely not see that ending coming!! We've all come across murder mystery type thrillers before but this has an entirely new spin on it. Yes, some bits are a bit predictable but in the context of this story you don't actually kind because the rest of it is so unexpected. Its got a nice pace to it and with the narrative split between 3 timeliness then it just makes the story absolutely fly in. This is one of those books that will have you going "omg"! More than once as the pieces click into place. Don't be so quick to write it off as just another who dunnit or you really will be missing out

This had a great premise and the potential to be a really cracking thriller. Sadly it confused me no end! I couldn’t finish it as I had no idea what was going on half the time

I'm afraid this didn't quite hit the spot for me, the set up confused me with the three different timelines and viewpoints. A murder mystery dinner party set in Raven Hall, an abandoned mansion in the middle of the Fens - some of the characters know more about the background to the building than they've let on. Our heroine is there to play a role, but what is Raven Hall hiding? Then the storyline of the younger girls growing up and the mysterious grandfather, and the third thread in italics...
thanks for the chance to read it

This is a very good take on the locked room mystery genre which this time takes place at a fancy party where a lovely young woman who has some secrets in her past is invited to. I very much enjoyed the twists and turns!

When 8 guests are asked to a house, to play a murder mystery game, surely it's all for fun.

But when everyone begins to feel unwell, the phone lines are dead and the cars are gone, questions need to be asked before everyone ends up dead.

This novel is written in two parts, the first is split into 3 narratives. Two are in the past and one is in the present.

From the very start of this novel, the tone is sinister. We start with the character of Beth arriving at Raven Hall in 1988, the second narrative takes place in 2019, and the third is unknown until later.

Although these chapters jump time, it isn't hard to follow, and by the end, it all comes together.

At the beginning of part 2, I had guessed what was happening, however, Rous leaves you guessing, as I ended up being wrong!
But not only does this author mislead the reader they add in two more twists that I didn't see coming.

A great novel with a good pace and one I would recommend.

After years of abandonment, Raven Hall has been restored to its former glory. For one night only, it is playing host to an evening of murder mystery.

The guests have gathered. The roles have been cast.

But someone is playing a sinister game, one with devastating consequences.

And as the guests are about to discover, the truth is much darker than fiction.


This is an absolutely outstanding psychological thrillers, which is full of twists and turns. The book is a real page turner, with one amazing twist,. I read this book in two sittings as I just found it so hard to put down. I really enjoyed the gothic element to this novel and highly recommend this book

The Perfect Guests is a FUN read. Really, if books of this genre are your thing, I can almost guarantee that you will get some form of enjoyment out of reading it. But if that's the case, why not a higher rating? First, the positives:

The writing style: I adored the writing. I haven't read The Au Pair yet, but it's safe to say I'm getting my hands on it ASAP thanks to the author's style of writing alone.

The settings: Big manor house in a small village? Yes, please. Murder mystery party taking place in said big manor house in a small village? YEsss PLeasssse.

The alternating POVs: Done well, this is something I really enjoy in my books, and it was certainly done well here.

The ease of reading: I sped through this in a single day, which is really what you want when you're reading a propulsive, twisty thriller/murder mystery.

Now, unfortunately, for the negatives (which really can be overlooked, to be fair). I had one major issue, which I'll do my best to explain. It has to do with the first two timelines and their respective settings.

Basically, you have three timelines:
1) Raven Hall, late 1980's (Beth and Nina)
2) Raven Hall, 2019 (Sadie's POV and the murder mystery)
3) Raven Hall, unspecified time (character unspecified until at least halfway through the book)

In timeline 1, you know there's something funny going on. The tension and question marks hanging over Beth's time at Raven Hall make for delicious reading. Then, in timeline 2, you have the marvelously intriguing murder mystery party, which you know has to somehow connect to the other timelines.

Alas, it's with that connection that the problems lie. I was honestly not sold on the WHY of the murder mystery party, as in, why exactly were all these people brought together to act out this murder and solve it? Without getting too far into it (to avoid spoilers), basically, the means to an end that the murder mystery was supposed to be for the plot didn't really make sense. You're left with more "why's" than you started out with, and I think even if Rous still wanted to stick to the murder mystery theme, a bit more exposition and more careful explanation of character motivation would have gone a long way.

In the end, the murder mystery theme felt like a puzzle piece that was pressed into the overall picture by force, rather than letting it slide in easily the way a puzzle piece should. But hey, overlook this if you want, because fun is fun.

The story alternates between 1980's where a young orphaned girl named Beth is taken in by a family who live in Raven Hall and 2019 where Sadie Langton, an out of work aspiring actor takes a job as a guest a murder mystery weekend in the same rambling Manor but things aren't as they seem.

I really enjoyed the parallel stories happening in the late 80's and then more of the present day. With the dark and brooding atmosphere of the house it felt very gothic like and the twistiness of the story had me captivated. I now want to read the Au Pair as I enjoyed this book so much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group UK & Emma Rous for my arc of The Perfect Guest in exchange for an honest review.

In 1988 Beth is rescued from the children’s home and taken to live at the grand and mysterious Raven Hall to be a companion to Nina, daughter of the current owners of the house. Fast forward to 2019 and Sadie, a failing actress is offered the chance to go to Raven Hall, all expenses paid for a murder mystery weekend. But with mysterious goings on in both timelines it seems Raven Hall isn’t all that it seems.

I really enjoyed this author’s other book, The Au Pair but I don’t feel like this one was as good unfortunately. The plot was a bit far fetched and the execution poor. I didn’t feel engaged with the story or like any of it really made sense. Due to enjoying the author’s first book I would probably read her next one but this one just didn’t hit the mark for me.

After reading the blurb I couldn’t wait to read this book as it sounded exactly my type of story. I did enjoy but not in the way I was expecting. If you’re looking for a plot focusing on a Murder Mystery Weekend you’ll be disappointed as that is certainly not the focus point. However, it still drew me in as I was invested in the main characters story and how the past and present would link up.
I don’t think I would really describe this as thriller so it may disappoint some that are looking for that exciting page turner.
#ThePerfectGuests #NetGalley

After years of abandonment, Raven Hall has been restored to its former glory. For one night only, it is playing host to an evening of murder mystery.

The guests have gathered. The roles have been cast.

But someone is playing a sinister game, one with devastating consequences.

And as the guests are about to discover, the truth is much darker than fiction.

It was thrilling, it had intrigue, suspense, and lots of heart pounding moments! Lots of twists and turns!

This book is a quick read and well written with some good characters,howevere for me it was at times unbelievable as the book went on although I did not see all the twists coming
An intriguing idea
6/10
3 Stars

eARC kindly provided by Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley

After reading the blurb, I was immediately intrigued by this book. I love Agatha Christie and mystery stories and the whole premise was very exciting to me.

Sadly however, I felt that the book did not quite deliver. I thought it was fast-paced and well written, but felt the conclusion was a bit of a letdown. There were so many twists in the final 25% that I got a bit confused and it almost felt a little convoluted at times. I much preferred one timeline to the other, but that was very much personal preference.

I would definitely pick up a book by this author again and would recommend it to people looking for a quick, twisty read that doesn't necessary go too deep into details.

Guests are gathered at Raven Hall for a murder mystery weekend. Some are actors paid to be there, others are genuine guests. Who is who? Who has gathered them there? Is it simply a new business venture or is there something more sinister afoot? Will the weekend be a game or will there be any real murder mysteries to be solved?
The Perfect Guests is a great quick read. It is well plotted, with a really good mix of characters and jump in timelines that works, kept me on me toes and maintained my interest. I saw some of the twists coming, but certainly not all of them!
I would recommend this book as a really entertaining quick read which doesn't require too much concentration.
Thanks to NetGalley for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.