A fast-paced, mysterious thriller full of twists and turns guaranteed to keep you gripped to the very last page.
Leigh decodes to offer up her spare room to local barista Gina when she has no where else to go, but at what cost does this snap decision come.
I loved the short snappy chapters that leave you wanting and needing to read on. It made this a quick and easy to read thriller.
We are introduced to many suspicious characters along the way which added to the mystery and tension, keeping you wondering what is going on!
I found the ending to be a little rushed and abrupt however a clever ending that keeps you guessing right to the very end and beyond.

THE LODGER is a mystery thriller by Valerie Keogh. Having read and enjoyed four of her stand-alone novels, I was anxious to start her latest novel.

Her Stand-Alone Novels Include:
Exit Five from Charing Cross (2014)
Secrets Between Us (2018)
The Housewife (2019)
The Three Women (2020)
The Perfect Life (2020)
The Deadly Truth (2020)
The Little Lies (2021)
The Lies He Told (2021)
The Couple in the Photograph (2021)
A Taste of Deceit (2022)
The Lodger (2022)

This is my review of The Lodger.

She made a decision, an act of kindness… and one of no return.

Leigh Simon, who works and lives in London in a high-profile job as a commodity trader, goes early to her favorite coffee shop for her usual coffee pickup, and is greeted and served by Gina, the waitress. But Leigh notices a change in character with Gina, and asks her what is wrong. Gina tells her she is homeless and Leigh offers her an empty room in her house.

Gina moves in immediately that night.

A decision that Leigh would come to regret…

Leigh’s boyfriend, Matt, a teacher who works out of town in Salisbury, comes to stay with Leigh on weekends, coming to London for the week to attend some events. But there is a change to their schedule when Leigh has to attend a course out of town the following week.

Gina had confronted Leigh before she left on the course, once Leigh had told her of the changes. Gina did not feel safe in the house with Matt, as she didn’t know him.

So, when Leigh returns from a work trip, she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone…and why?

Leigh fears that something terrible has happened - why else would Gina leave her?

But as she sets out to find her missing lodger, what Leigh discovers changes everything she knows about Gina….and her own life, too.

The mystery storyline develops slowly with information being revealed on a need-to-know basis. The author drags you into the journey.

The Lodger was an interesting read and well worth read. I was interested in finding out what happened to Gina.

Many thanks to the author, Boldwood Books and Netgalley, for my digital copy.

She’s in your home…
Leigh Simons can’t say for sure what made her do it. A moment of madness, perhaps, but when the young, loud and gorgeous waitress at her favorite coffee shop reveals she is homeless, Leigh offers her the empty room in her house.
In your head…
Gina is the perfect lodger; Leigh, lonely and frustrated with her life, becomes infatuated with the woman – her boldness, her zeal. If only Leigh could be more like Gina…
And missing without trace.
So when Leigh returns from a work trip she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone…and why?
Leigh fears that something terrible has happened - why else would Gina leave her?

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

First 'wow', second 'wow'. What a great book, I love, love, love this story. So well written with plenty of twists and turns and full of suspense to keep you reading more. 

Ok I will slow down! No I won't do I recommend this book? Oh yes definitely. 

I am looking forward to reading more books by Valerie.

The Lodger is an expertly executed and entertaining psychological suspense. I haven't read any book by this author before and I quickly got used her writing style which was simple and addictive. The beginning was a bit slow but as the plot progressed it started to get twisty and engaging. I kept flipping the pages and was eager to find out how it would end.

I really love it when an author keeps me guessing till the end. So when the conclusion came it was jaw dropping and unexpected but still a perfect end. Highly recommended.

This is what I would class as a chewing-gum-for-the-brain book. It didn’t require much thought; you could get through it at a decent pace, leaving you pleasantly satisfied at the end. It was the exact book I was looking for at this moment in time.
If I’d read it at any other time wanting something more detailed or a story that would blow me away, this would have disappointed me. However, as it stands, it was the perfect book for the mood I was in.
Leigh is your typical protagonist of one of these types of books, screaming for someone to take her seriously. These types of characters can be annoying, but in this book, she didn’t bother me, and I was getting frustrated on her behalf. She did have more gumption than the main characters of this elk usually has. She was able to make decisions and often tried to get her life in order, only to have it derailed by events beyond her control.
The story is relatively slow-paced, but I did get through it at a gentle speed. At one point, I found myself wanting to throw off all responsibilities and get back to reading. This is always a good sign that I am enjoying a book.
The ending and the conclusion to everything that had happened was a little bit of a letdown. Leigh had been through a lot, and there was much to tie up, but I felt a bit meh when she got the answers. I think something cleverer was needed as a way of her discovering all the facts. The last paragraph, though, was brilliant and made up for the slightly disappointing prelude to this decision.
A solid four-star book, not too intense but enough to keep you gripped and turning those pages!

Leigh Simons works hard as a commodity trader in London and has a daily routine of stopping for coffee before heading to work. One morning, the barista, Gina, seems out of sorts and not her bubbly self. Leigh invites her to join her for a coffee and Gina tells her she needs a place to stay for awhile. Before thinking it through, Leigh impulsively offers her the extra room in her flat. Gina is thrilled and moves right in.

Leigh’s boyfriend, Matt, is a teacher outside London. He loves his school and hopes to be the principal soon. However, he is not thrilled about Gina moving in because he usually spends the weekends at Leigh’s flat.

After being out of town on business, Leigh returns to find Gina has moved out with no word from her. Leigh is worried about her and can’t stop thinking of her. This interrupts her sleep and she even thinks she hears noises in her house at night.

I didn’t really care for Leigh because she is impulsive and easily angered. She’s a loner and seems to prefer her own company. This is why I guess she hooked up with Matt who is just a weekend guy. He is a real jerk and needs a comeuppance. All in all, the story is good and I’m sure many readers will find it entertaining.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Leigh Simons can’t say for sure what made her do it. A moment of madness, perhaps, but when the young, loud and gorgeous waitress at her favorite coffee shop reveals she is homeless, Leigh offers her the empty room in her house.
So when Leigh returns from a work trip she’s shocked to find Gina missing. Where could the young woman have gone…and why?
But as she sets out to find her missing lodger, what Leigh discovers changes everything she knows about Gina….and her own life, too.
Gina starts to wonder if she is losing her mind as strange events occur.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Lodger in exchange for my honest review.
The Lodger was an engaging read that I couldn't put down. It was very fast paced and I raced through it. I will be looking for more books by Valerie Keogh in the future.

Wow! This was a page turning fast read.

Not kidding.. I put off two other arcs to finish this 😂

Leigh Simons meets young waitress Gina at her local coffee shop needing a place to stay. Leigh, loving Gina’s personality, and boldness invited her to rent a room spur of the moment. The two could not be more different. Gina is lively and bubbly. Leigh more reserved and responsible.

Shortly after moving in, Leigh had to leave for a mandated work trip. Gina and Leigh have a disagreement on Leigh’s boyfriend staying in the house while she is gone. Leigh returns from her work trip to find Gina has up and left. To everyone else, this isn’t a big deal. She must of found a new space and left. For Leigh, something doesn’t add up. She’s on a mission to find out where Gina disappeared to. It doesn’t help Leigh’s boyfriend has started acting odd. Is Gina who she really says she is? Did Matt know something?

I thought I had this story figured out but then a wrench was thrown in that I did not see coming!

Thank you to Netgalley?, Boldwood Books, and Valerie Keogh for the opportunity to read The Lodger in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic writing and excellent thriller I throughly enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing all the way to the last page! The writing flowed easily with nice short chapters! Also it had very Likable characters! This was my first book by this author and it certainly won't be my last I loved her writing style!!!! I will highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to #netgalley and #boldwoodbooks for allowing me this ARC to read and review

My review of this book will also be posted in the Facebook group I created in the near future
@DOMESTIC THRILLER READERS BOOK CLUB

So rare for a story to catch me out, so well done to the author. I LOVED IT!!! Clever, beautifully written and entertaining. And, what is unusual in the mass market of contemporary domestic noir/psychological thrillers, characters you actually care about. This book has a great plot and I enjoyed reading it because it was really engrossing. I liked the characterization and the plot progression and pacing was really good.

I love all of Valerie’s work, and this book was no disappointment. A real page turner, telling the story of Leigh, after she takes in theLodger of the title.

Throughly enjoyable read.

I was double guessing what I believed in this book. Leigh invites a girl she’s only known in passing to live at her house as a lodger. But then the lodger moves out suddenly and strange things start to happen, Leigh doesn’t know what is happening.

The storyline keeps you moving in this book. I enjoyed it and it’s unpredictable ending.

Rounded up from 4.5

I've enjoyed several of Valerie Keogh's thrillers in the past, so I was eager to get stuck into The Lodger.

On the spur of the moment, Leigh offers barista Gina a place to stay after she reveals she's homeless. When she goes away for work, she returns to find Gina has disappeared. Everyone around her tells her to drop it. Gina is a grown woman, but the why tortures Leigh. In her quest to find the young woman, her life starts to unravel around her.

Valerie Keogh combines an extraordinary situation with ordinary characters that makes you think 'wow, this actually could happen!'

Leigh is the type of character who thinks she had the perfect life, but as you read on, the cracks start to appear and you watch reality slowly dawn on her.

There's so many creepy yet realistic moments throughout the story. At one point, I actually looked over my shoulder while I was reading it to check there was nobody lurking there!

I found it a bit sluggish to start off, but the tension was built up nicely, with plenty of shocks and surprises along the way.

The lodger is a brilliant and twisted psychological thriller and I'd highly recommend it if you love this genre!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for my advance copy of #TheLodger by #ValerieKeogh

When Leigh calls in to the coffee shop on her way to work, she has no idea how her life is going to change.
On hearing that Gina her favourite waitress is looking for somewhere to live she offers the spare room in her house, hoping that some of her cheerfulness and spirit will get her out of the rut she is in.
But when she comes back from a work trip Gina is gone
When strange things start happening in her home she doesn’t know where to turn
Nothing could have prepared her for what is to come.
Compulsive reading.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn’t read this one fast enough it was so good and very twisty. I didn’t trust anyone in this fascinating book and although I did guess the culprits it didn’t spoil my enjoyment. I’ve heard a lot of good things about this author and I fully intend to read more by her in the future. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

An intense read with some moments that have you holding your breath. And I loved the ending! Well written, it keeps you gripped throughout. A couple of twists keep you guessing, and it's a fast-paced, entertaining read.

"She is in your home… and in your head."

I've read a couple of books by Valerie Keogh in the past but THE LODGER explores something of the darker side of vulnerability. There is a dark and almost sinister edge to it though throughout I cannot put my finger on it. It's about the genuine kindness of one woman only to be seemingly exploited by another. It's about secrets and deception. It's about smoke and mirrors. And just when you thought you knew everything, in the words of the protagonist herself - "I (the reader) thought I knew everything but I'm now doing cartwheels simply to keep up with the twists and turns...truth seems to have become an optional extra."

On her way to work one morning, Leigh Simons stops at her usual coffee shop where her favourite barista is not her usual bubbly self. Leigh takes sympathy on Gina and in a burst of kindness she offers her spare room to her. But why would you invite a complete stranger to live in your home? Almost immediately she regrets her spontaneity as Gina awaits with her meagre belongings for Leigh's return home that evening. But maybe sharing with this vivacious and vibrant character will bring some much-needed colour to her life. Gina is like a breath of fresh air to Leigh's somewhat stale existence. After all, things haven't been going all that great for her on either the personal or the professional front.

Firstly, boyfriend Matt lives and works in Salisbury. Leigh lives and works in London. Neither will compromise. Matt does come up to London most weekends to spend with her so there is that...isn't there? Secondly, her work as commodities trader is demanding and she doesn't need the leering attentions of any male colleagues. So when a creepy colleague peers, or rather ogles, a minute too long at her cleavage and Leigh calls him out on it, her reaction thus has her hauled into HR with a "please explain". So when she then has to leave for a week-long anger management course, she breaks the news to Gina the morning of her departure who is uncomfortable being left alone with Matt in her absence.

A week later, and after spending the following weekend with Matt is Salisbury, Leigh returns home to London to find Gina has disappeared and all her belongings gone. All that remains is a note simply saying "Sorry" and a fridge full of pre-cooked meals. If she'd simply left, why would she buy all that food and then leave it? It makes no sense.

There are too many unanswered questions but Leigh may wish she never started her search for her...

Soon Leigh hears bumps in the night, creaks on the stairs, disappearing quiches, front doors left wide open...what is happening to her and why? Is someone trying to scare her into silence? Or is she going stark raving mad? And then there is the over friendly, if not slightly creepy, guy she met on the course who tricked reception into giving him her address. And what has any of this got to do with Gina's disappearance? And what has it to do with her?

THE LODGER is a slow burn psychological thriller in which the tension builds gradually. It was not as predictable as I had thought, although I had long foreseen one aspect that no one else (least of all Leigh) saw coming. Leigh was a sweet-natured woman who only wanted to do good deed and then felt she'd been taken advantage of. Gina was a colourful character that we didn't see quite enough of to get a real feel for. And Matt? Well, he gave me the creeps from the start. He was self-obsessed, selfish and cared nothing for anyone but himself.

Although it was slow to start, it did pick up eventually and made for an enjoyable read. It was certainly different and would make one think twice before offering your spare room to a stranger!

And then that ending. That certainly was the coup-de-grace. I'm not sure I could do it, but it was certainly a just outcome that was well executed.

Overall, an engaging read that I couldn't quite put down. Different but didn't disappoint.

I would like to thank #ValerieKeogh, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheLodger in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

I enjoyed this twisted tale but I thought the main character to be a weak woman, not standing up for herself in almost all situations .. the story itself had a few twists that were interesting and the ending was good where she redeemed her wishywashiness

5 star read!! A single woman, Leigh, helps out a woman down on her luck and let’s her move into her spare bedroom. All too quickly Leigh realizes she knows nothing about her lodger. Before long, the lodger disappears. Did she just move out and move on? Or is she missing? This story has a lot of twists, lots of character relationships, and keeps you guessing until literally the last line of the book. It’s an easy read. Good satisfying ending with the storyline all tied up. I would definitely recommend this book.