Our House

When Fi arrives home to a removals van outside her house, she is completely stunned. Trinity Avenue has been her family home for years and now all of their belongings have gone. Following a desperate phone call to her ex-husband Bram, Fi discovers he has disappeared. The more Fi uncovers the more she realises their lives have been turned upside down by a nightmare of their own making. A devastating crime has been committed, but who is responsible? What has Bram hidden from her?

'Our House' is a real treat in that this is a highly original and explosive plot. The beauty and terror of the plot lies in the realistic nature and the thought that I had the entire way through that this could happen in real life. The events that unfold are terrifyingly simple and happen right under the characters noses. Once Candlish gets the plot underway we then follow Fi as she desperately tries to reclaim her home and learn how events led Fi and Bram to where they are now. I promise you once you start reading this, you will be completely hooked.

As well as adoring the plot I loved how Candlish tells this story. We have Fi telling her perspective through a podcast named The Victim and we have Bram detailing his account through a letter. This enables the reader to get two different takes on events and learn how the events arose. Candlish does not allow you a moment's breath, when you think you have one think worked out there is another twist. Which brings me onto the plot twists, of which there are many. Some are very obvious and some less so, the obvious ones although a little disappointing, they ensure the plot works and I would not want it any other way so in a way these work perfectly. 

A novel such as 'Our House' would not work without the right cast of characters, Fi, Bram and company definitely are the right characters. Again, like the plot, their brilliance lies in their ordinariness. They are likeable, normal people whose lives are inexplicably changed. As you will see it is a culmination of small mistakes over the years that have led them to where they are, again this brings me back to the terror of this novel lying in the realistic possibility of this happening. 

'Our House' is a terrifyingly good thriller. I was pulled into the story and devoured this in no time at all. This novel is realistic, entertaining and shocking.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

At first I thought this book was going to be slow to read but what a mistake that was!! I was soon hooked on the characters and storyline and spent a few late nights just reading one more chapter.

I'm new to Louise Candlish's books but will definitely be reading more ! Great writing and a very different storyline make this an addictive book.

The two main characters in the plot are Fi and Bram who are separated are still sharing a house and coparenting their two young sons.

Fi arrives home to find a new couple has moved into her home . Unbeknown to her her husband Bram has been involved in a complex blackmail plot and this is just one of the consequences which evolves from it.

There are numerous twists and turns in the book and the writer portrays the story with insight and believability. Just when I thought I'd worked out the plot something unfolded which changed my mind! Brilliant storyline and the ending is magnificent .

I would recommend this book to everyone. It had me thinking about it even after finishing the last page. The sure sign of a excellent read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this fantastic book.

Imagine coming home one day to find strangers moving into your house completely out of the blue – strangers who say they’ve bought it for two million pounds (it’s a nice house!) and have all the paperwork to prove as much. Furthermore, your husband – separated, but still very much involved in parenting - has apparently dropped off the face of the earth at the same time.

That’s what happens to Fiona Lawson right at the beginning of Our House, and much of the rest of the novel recounts how this situation came about, with the testimony of both Fi – telling her story on a popular podcast called The Victim - and husband Bram, who is writing it all down after the event. Interspersed with this are “present day” snippets describing what happened next. To say more would spoil the experience of watching a complex story unfold – but I think it’s safe to say there is much more to this situation than meets the eye...

Our House is a really enthralling and intriguing read – although we know the ending from the start (almost – there are definitely some twists in the tale), there is an appalling fascination in following how things got to that point. The characters are vividly drawn, particularly Bram, who I could visualise very clearly (I realised towards the end that I was actually picturing someone I knew many years ago!). He’s a flawed but also very human character who finds himself caught up in a situation he can’t control. The author does a great job of building up the menace, and a sense of inexorably looming disaster pervades the story.

I’ve read several books by Louise Candlish now and enjoyed them all tremendously – this was no exception. It’s an original, compulsively readable and very well constructed story which will keep you reading and leave you thinking.

Many thanks to the publishers and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.