A tangled mess of secrets, lies, and deceit, “The House Guest” by Alison James is 315 pages that goes by in a flash. It’s that good!

About the Book

She thinks she can steal my perfect life. But I know her secret…

I open the creaking oak front door of my beautiful country house to see a woman with glossy red hair and flawless make up. She introduces herself as Alexis and tells me she’s a distant relative. My husband Hugh welcomes her in. Because everything has been so tense between us lately I feel I can’t say no…

We drink wine and Alexis shares the truth about her sad childhood. Her green eyes are mesmerising and I can see Hugh is being drawn in by her story. Then she asks for our help. I should feel sorry for her but I don’t trust her. There’s something about her perfect smile that makes my stomach flip. Before I can speak, Hugh invites her to stay. I’m suspicious. Why does he want her here?

I’ve never completely felt at home in this luxury world that’s so different to my old life. But Alexis seems made for it – swimming carefree in our outdoor pool and cosying up to Hugh. She’s pushing me out and making me feel like I’m stranger in my own home – in my own marriage. Did she plan this all along?

But nothing is as it seems. And Alexis has underestimated me. Because I’ve uncovered her secret. I’m not just going to let her steal the life I’ve worked so hard for. I’ll do whatever it takes to stop her…

My Review

From the moment Alexis shows up at their door with her suitcase at her feet, Juliet Mullens is suspicious of her. She’s supposed to be her husband Hugh’s long-lost distant cousin. She’s supposed to be next in line to inherit the beautiful Mullens End estate on which they reside. But all Alexis Lambert seems interested in is Juliet’s husband. He basks in Alexis’ attention and even flirts back. But Juliet isn’t worried. Although Alexis is beautiful, she’s his cousin. Hugh wouldn’t. Or would he? 

There’s a chill that’s settled into Hugh and Juliet’s marriage. However, Juliet doesn’t seem to notice. She also doesn’t notice when her husband tip toes across the landing to Alexis’ room the night after her arrival. Hugh hasn’t been happy since he realized he and Juliet would never have a child of their own, meaning there would never be a direct heir to the home he loved so much. He couldn’t move on with his life and have a family with another woman either. Under the terms of his inheritance, divorce wasn’t an affordable option. It would cost him Mullens End.  It would have until Alexis showed up, that is. 

Alexis isn’t what she seems. Before she even knocked on their door, she had plans for Mullens End.  And for Hugh. When Juliet gets called away to Italy to visit her teenage son, she clues Hugh in on part of her idea to get rid of Juliet for good. Hugh jumps at the idea of getting her out of his life without having to get a divorce. It means he’ll be stuck with Alexis instead, and she’s less his type than Juliet, but that’s okay. He has a plan of his own. It starts with him and Alexis faking his death.  

With everything going on, Juliet’s grateful to have her best friend Belinda as her confidant. While she’s away in Italy, she trusts Belinda to keep an eye on her husband and new cousin. And after Hugh dies shortly after her return, she leans on Belinda for help while she grieves. Belinda might be the only person she can trust as she lays her husband to rest and Alexis disappears.  

A tangled mess of secrets, lies, and deceit, “The House Guest” by Alison James is 315 pages that goes by in a flash. It’s that good!  It starts out like almost every other psychological thriller. It sucks you in almost immediately. You fly through the pages, caught up in the suspense and anticipating the big twist. Let’s face it.  Books in this genre are judged by the size of the twist more than anything else. But “The House Guest” isn’t anything like any other psych thriller you’ve read. Not recently anyway. The way it’s written will blow your mind. It’s as intricate as a spider web – and as sticky too!

“The House Guest” is told from the points-of-view of Juliet, Hugh, Alexis, and Belinda. Each character narrates at least one of the seven parts of the book. Because the different POV’s are divided up into parts instead of chapters, it’s not confusing or hard to keep up with at all. In fact, it’s what makes the book so compelling. Each character narrates the goings-on in the story from their first-person perspective. This means there’s some repetition when the details of a scene are repeated by each character (albeit in different sections). However, it doesn’t feel like repetition, because each character is telling their version of the events. You get to know each character and their mindset in-depth because of this, but you’ll also have a lot more questions and doubts. For example, Hugh and Alexis each have their own motives for what they’re doing. That’s clear from nearly the start. But the motives they reveal might not be their true motives.  They lie to each other, and they lie to you.  You’re left to try to figure out their true motives, as well as who is out to get whom  – and in what way.  What about Juliet?  Can you trust her? Or Belinda?  

You’ll think you have this book figured out early on. You’ll think it’s too easy, and you won’t believe I gave it 4.5 stars. Just keep reading!  You’ve never had so many secrets and lies to untangle. (Who’s in Hugh’s coffin anyway?)  The only thing you can count on is Belinda sweating through her clothes in nearly every scene. She might be a little stinky, but hold your nose and keep reading. The book is brilliantly done!

Thank you to Bookouture and Alison James for the complimentary eARC in exchange for a fair, unbiased review – and thank you for including me on the book tour.  It’s been my pleasure!

About the Author

Alison James was born in the Cotswolds but spent most of her formative years abroad. She studied languages at Oxford, then became a journalist and author, returning to university after her two children to take a law degree. After a three-year stint as a criminal paralegal, she worked as a commercial copywriter and then a TV storyliner, before coming full circle to write fiction again.