The perfect family. The perfect chance. The perfect lie. A stunning novel about motherhood and betrayal, for readers who love Sarah Vaughan and Louise Candlish. 'Deliciously dark and totally twisted' ERIN KELLY 'Very acute on class, aspiration, women and status' SARAH PERRY, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT Kate trusts Della, and Della trusts Kate. Their downfall is ...
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The perfect family. The perfect chance. The perfect lie. A stunning novel about motherhood and betrayal, for readers who love Sarah Vaughan and Louise Candlish. 'Deliciously dark and totally twisted' ERIN KELLY 'Very acute on class, aspiration, women and status' SARAH PERRY, author of THE ESSEX SERPENT Kate trusts Della, and Della trusts Kate. Their downfall is each other. When Kate moves to London after the disappearance of her sister, she's in need of a friend. A chance meeting leads Kate to Della, a life coach who runs support groups for young women, dubbed by Kate as 'the Janes.' Della takes a special interest in Kate, and Kate soon finds herself entangled in Della's life - her house, her family, and her husband. It's only when she realises that she's in too deep that Della's veneer begins to crumble, and the warnings from 'the Janes' begin to come true. Why is Della so keen to keep Kate by her side? What does Kate have that Della might want? And what really lies beneath the surface of their friendship? A twisty psychological thriller for fans of Louise Candlish and Harriet Tyce. 'This twisty thriller is jam-packed with tense moments and a growing sense of unease' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 'Dark, smart and classy' GILLIAN MCALLISTER 'Northedge is good at portraying the distinction between the real insecurities of some young women and the minor problems of the privileged type' DAILY MAIL 'Charlotte Northedge turns the psychological thumbscrews with relish' THE TIMES 'Full of twists, The House Guest spirals towards its dark conclusion, wrong footing the increasingly uneasy reader at every turn.' THE OBSERVER
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Dispatched, from the UK, within 48 hours of ordering. Though second-hand, the book is still in very good shape. Minimal signs of usage may include very minor creasing on the cover or on the spine.
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Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
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Very good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! Greener Books.
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Fine in fine dust jacket. Signed by author. 352 p. Audience: General/trade; General/trade. in as new condition, read once, from my personal library, dust jacket wrapped in mylar. no marks or tears. first edition, first printing. signed on the title by the author and dated, 13th May 2021 with note by author " it could have been anyone who came across me, nurtured me, watched me grow. But it was her. " A terrific read and page turner. of authors first book..
The House Guest felt like a very typical thriller to start off with. There's a girl down on her luck, a creepy self-help group run by a mysterious woman and plenty of intrigue and confusion along the way. It' only told from one perspective and in one timeline which is quite against the grain from the usual thriller books being published at the moment. It's quite a slow build to start with -the action doesn't really get going until well over halfway and I couldn't actually guess where it was going until this point either which was a refreshing change! I didn't like the fact that most of the chapters finished with an ominous foreshadowing though (eg: 'if only I knew then what I knew now' etc). Although this can really help to keep a reader hooked into reading more, it felt very overdone here and it got tiring very quickly.
The twist reveal as to what was happening was shocking and took the book in a very different direction. I couldn't help thinking how many mistakes Kate made along the way though and I'm not sure this made her completely realistic. One or two bad decisions is fair enough but I don't think she made a single good decision after she went to France. I also really struggled with Della's motivations, although the author tries to spell them out towards the end. It just didn't feel real and I struggled to understand why she did what she did to get something she didn't really want in the first place (apologies for being vague - I'm trying to remain spoiler free!)
The ending confused me further. There's a sub-plot running through the book about Kate's lost sister and we get a bit of a tenuous link and things explained in the climax along with a shock reveal about who Della might be. However, this didn't really explain anything, in fact it sort of left the book open to a sequel to explain things further. I'm not really sure if this is what the author intended and I don't really think I'd be too interested in reading another book with the same characters - I just wished more had been explained in this book to make a satisfying ending.
Overall, The House Guest is a creepy thriller but with unrealistic characters and a unsatisfying ending, I was left a little disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins UK - HarperFiction for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
