Author: Emma Rous
Publisher: Berkley
Read: December 2020
Expected publication: 12 January 2021
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years
old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the
isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm
and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At
times, Beth even feels like she's truly part of the family...until they ask her
to help them with a harmless game--and nothing is ever the same.
2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a
well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a
suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and
instructions. It's strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the
stunning manor she'll be staying at, she figures she's got nothing to lose.
In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she'd imagined--even with damage
from a fire decades before--but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to
night, Sadie starts to feel that there's something off about the glamorous
guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent
their unseen host is playing games with everyone...including her.
What attracted me to this book:
I love a good family mystery where
people are acting strange and you have to figure out what is going on – and
again Emma Rous has fully delivered on that front. It comes with a bonus of an
atmospheric English manor house (with a turret no less!) that seems to be the
centre of all the drama. Throw in a creepy kid for good measure and you have
the formula for THE PERFECT GUESTS.
My musings:
In one timeline, young orphan Beth finds herself a
guest of the old manor house Raven Hall when the Averell family take her in as
companion for their precocious only daughter Nina. In the present, Sadie, an
unemployed actress and a drifter, takes on a job role playing the part of a
guest at a murder mystery weekend at Raven Hall, a formerly grand country house
that has seen its share of tragedies. How these two characters’ stories
eventually connect is the fabric that makes up Emma Rous’ latest mystery, and I
thoroughly enjoyed the journey.
I loved all the secrets, the twists
and turns and the foreshadowing that drove this story for me. I was consumed
with the hows, and whys and whats that every new revelation brought with it. I
did however think that the murder mystery weekend section could have exploited
the mystery and suspense of the old mansion a bit more, as it started out
strong but then seemed to run out of steam before reaching its true potential.
Summary:
I really enjoy Rous’ writing style, and it quickly
drew me in. The atmospheric setting made for a brilliant backdrop to the
strange family living in the manor house, and I was thoroughly intrigued. I
think that if the last ¼ of the story could have lived up to its potential, it
would have been a solid five star read for me, but the ending was a tiny bit
convoluted and lacklustre for me. That said, this was a fast and entertaining
read I devoured over the course of two nights, and I was loathe to put it down
before finding out all the truths. I very much look forward to reading more
from this author!
Thank
you to Edelweiss and Berkley for the free electronic copy of this novel and for
giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment