"What would you do if you were stalked and hunted down after rejecting a house sitter??".
This is the predicament facing Angie after her and her husband Dan are forced to fire their house and pet sitter (known as Martha Hunt) upon discovering their home in a shambles after cutting short a much needed holiday due to extenuating circumstances.
Martha Hunt (whose real name is Rita), sets out on a rage fueled revenge after feeling rejected and treated badly by Angie to the point of pretending to be someone close to Angie from her past before going to exact her revenge. However not everything goes as planned.
This story had me gripped from start to finish with a breakneck plot, unique characters with differing personalities and an ending that left me wondering if it really was all over for Angie (if she had indeed seen the end of mad, sinister Martha).
It was my first foray into Mark Gillespie's writing and it certainly wont be my last.
Thankyou to Net galley and Inkubator Books for the arc of this story.

This was a lot to unpack, but thoroughly enjoyable. Mark Gillespie is high on my list of must read thriller authors. Angie and Dan are looking forward to a last minute getaway, but with animals they have to find a housesitter. Enter Martha, a quirky woman who is willing to take the last minute job. Angie and Dan feel a bit unsure, but figure they're just being paranoid. Dan is suffering from a cough that seems to be getting worse, so instead of risking getting their friends sick they decide to come back home unannounced. To their shock, the house is a disaster and animals outside with a naked Martha asleep on the couch. Angie demands she leave immediately and reports her to the house-sitting service and costs Martha her job. Thinking this will be the last they hear from Marth is a big mistake. I really enjoyed this and just when you think you've reached the basement of Martha's crazy, you find out there's a sub-basement.

A really great phycological thriller. Dan and Angie took a much needed vacation after hurriedly finding someone to watch their house and pets. After a few days they decide to come home early as Dan wasn't feeling well. When they arrived home they were shocked at what they found and this is when the trouble began. There are lots of twists from here on out with a somewhat predictable ending . Still a great read!
Thanks to Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

A really good psychological thriller, I really enjoyed this book. It was steady paced and followed Angie and Dan as they embark on last minute holiday, hiring a last minute house sitter (Martha) to look after they’re beloved pets and house, only to have plans change and they come home early to a shocking scene.
After an furious, uncomfortable confrontation with Martha, they think everything is now behind them until strange things begin to happen to Angie. Little does she know she is being stalked and her sanity at risk. A page turner I could not put down. There were moments I thought the plot dragged out a little- but overall, a good super quick easy read.

Thanks to Mark Gillespie, Inkubator Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!!

While You Were Gone is a gripping, emotionally charged story that pulls you in from the very first page. Mark Gillespie masterfully blends suspense, heartache, and redemption, crafting characters that feel raw and real. The pacing is tight, the twists are unexpected, and the emotional depth lingers long after the final chapter. A must-read for fans of compelling, character-driven fiction.

Another great thriller from the master. I do love anything Mark writes. Great plot, great characters and always a gripping g and engaging plot.

This book originally drew me in with the house keeper/pet sitter suspense but it seemed to drag on after
It was okay but didn’t keep my attention the way I expected

A slightly Bunny Boiler by Numbers read which for me didn't hit the spot.

As someone who generally puts their animals welfare above their own the chance of upping and leaving them with a last minute sitter for a little holiday ( rather than a death bed dash) was never going to ring true.

A lot of damaged characters orbiting one more bonkers than the rest.

If you want a light holiday read without too much substance this may fit the bill.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC which was very much appreciated.

Angie and Dan hire, Martha, a house sitter, to take care of their pets and home while they vacation in Scotland. When the couple returns home from their vacation early, the entire house is in disarray, forcing them to fire Martha on the spot. The couple thinks that they are done with Martha after this - but Martha has other plans in mind.

This was a super quick and easy read. Overall, very average for me due to its being very predictable. This is a very familiar trope (benign-seeming woman becoming obsessive) and unfortunately the plot did not do anything to take it out of the cliches and familiarity. I think.a lot more could have been done to give this a fresh take on a classic trope, but it ended up falling flat. It was still an okay read, but for an avid thriller reader like myself, it missed the mark.

Thank you Inkubator Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent cast of characters in this one. The relatable you'll be cheering for and the ones you'll love to hate. Raw, dark revenge. An intense read with chaos you won't see coming.

This was such a good thriller. I really appreciated the character development, the pacing and the storyline of this book. This is my first book by this author, so I’ll definitely be checking out more of their work.

While I thoroughly enjoyed Fool Me Once, I am not sure how to feel about this one.... I didn't quite like it. I was expecting it to go a certain direction (it didn't at all!), and the way the story actually went felt like it was all fluff with little to no resolution in sight. Many thanks to the author and Netgalley for a copy for an honest review. It won't stop me from reading more of Mark's work - this one just didn't hit the mark for me. My next read by him will be The Lost Girl

OMG! What have I just read! This book is amazing!!! I loved the storyline, I loved the characters, the good ones & the bad ones. There's so many twists and turns, this book will have you staying up reading well into the night. I read this in one sitting. Definitely 5 stars from me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So so good a page tuner griped me in from the very first page I loved it and will recommend this read as a top 10

Angie and Dan are thrilled when they hire Martha to care for their pets and their home while they have a much needed break in the Scottish highlands.

They decide to go home early and this is where their nightmare begins..

No spoilers frome me but this a terrific read.

It has everything a reader needs in this genre and at times it is dark and quite creepy. Marthas wants, no needs, revenge and it all turns explosive... but who wins?

While You Were Gone by Mark Gillespie is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps readers on edge from start to finish.
Absolutely loved this book, the way the story unfolded was amazing, the characters were so relatable and you really felt you were along with them.
If you like psychological thrillers this book will have you on your toes. So many twist and turns you can not predict what happens next.

While You Were Gone by Mark Gillespie was a great quick and easy read that just flowed perfectly. I ended up reading this book in one sitting which was great, especially as it was the first book I have read by from this author.
It was full of great twists and turns throughout that will have you. hooked and turning the pages over quickly especially as I wanted to find out more about Martha and who was she? She was hiding something but what?

Angie and Dan were on their way to the Scottish Highlands and this was a last minute getaway for both of them. They have a problem! they need someone to care for their beloved pets and their beautiful home while they are gone.
Then, Martha Hunt steps in to help, and she seems to be just perfect for the job. They had to say Yes to her!

When, Angie and Dan returns home early from their dream holiday everything turns into a chilling nightmare.
They find their beautiful home is in chaos and they have no choice to fire Martha on the spot.

This should be the end of everything. . . . But it is just the beginning!

Because lovely Martha who appeared to be perfect, hasn't finished with them yet! She has more up her sleeve!
But, Why them. . . . . What have they ever done to her?
All Martha wants is far worse than Revenge!

WoW. . . . I highly recommend this book.

Big Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Inkubator books for my ARC

WHILE YOU WERE GONE BY MARK GILLESPIE.
4 ✨ ✨ ✨ ✨s.
This was a quick and easy read for me.
I enjoyed the flow of it and I was very Intrigued.
I thought the ending on this book was great aswel.
Really really looking forward to picking up another Mark Gillespie book

I was torn between giving 2 or 3 stars on this one, but ultimately there was too much wrong with the plot and characters to go with a 3.

Dan and Angie hire an oddball house sitter Martha. Upon their early return they find their home in disarray and fire her. Things turn malicious and ugly from that point on.

Angie was hard to like. She is overwhelmed each year on Nov 15 and the days surrounding it; over 30 years ago she witnessed something that causes her to barely function on the anniversary of this traumatic event. Okkkkk so somehow this translates to her making continuous terrible decisions and not telling her partner what’s actually going on.

Martha’s motivations are somewhat explained, but sooo ridiculous. I’m supposed to believe she has the time and energy to stalk and harass strangers and still pay the bills?

I’m sorry, but both these female characters are poorly written and are not believable. Hopefully the author consults more women on how we would think/react/etc in tense situations when writing his next story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Inkubator books for a copy.

When Angie and Dan book a last minute trip to the Scottish Highlands, they are excited to just pack up and go. The one thing they need though is someone to take care of their pets and watch over the house while they are gone. When they meet Martha Hunt, she seems to be the perfect candidate for the job. But when Angie and Dan are forced to abandon their trip early due to illness, what they find waiting at home is nothing short of a nightmare. The house is absolutely trashed, Martha is passed out naked on the couch, and their pets are missing. With no choice but to report Martha to her job and fire her, Angie and Dan try to pick up the pieces. But they have no clue just how unhinged Martha really is and she wants something worse than revenge.

Remind me never to hire someone to take care of my house or my pets without running a full background check on them! With a relentless pace and building tension, this was a great domestic thriller! A highlight of the story is that it doesn't rely only on jaw dropping twists but rather that creeping dread feeling you get from trying to figure out the motivations of the characters. I do feel like you should suspend your disbelief a little bit but other than that I definitely would recommend this for fans of Theo Baxter, Daniel Hurst, and Shari Lapena!

Thank you to NetGalley, Mark Gillespie, and Inkubator Books for this ARC! Publication date is June 15th 2025.