4.5⭐

Featuring ~ multiple 3rd person POV, dual timeline ~ now and 2005, brutal murder, dark secrets

17 years ago, Camille, was brutally murdered and Lana's testimony put her boyfriend, Xav's, brother, Sebastian, away for his murder, which instantly torn them apart. Now Lana heads back to Mead House to clean out her grandma's things after her sudden death. Twin brother, Ollie, and his new fiance, Elise, join in, but not so willingly.

Who is the mysterious 'G'? The author expertly gives us quite a few likely suspects. Could it be George ~ the gardener, Greg ~ Ollie's friend, Graham ~ the vicar, Godfrey ~ the 80 year old greengrocer, AnGus the beloved town doctor, or is Trudy short for Gertrude, maybe, Bree ~ short for Gabriella? Gah, so many options and I loved trying to figure it out. The journey to find out who killed 19 year old, Camille was quite a suspenseful one.

There are a bunch of POV's to keep track of, but overall, a fantastically executed psychological thriller. If you haven't read Keri's work before I highly suggest you do so.

Lana and Ollie’s grandmother dies, and they head to Mead House to clean and sell the home. It’s been 17 years since there sister murder.

Lana finds her sisters diary and questions her past decisions. She helped put away the boy who murdered her sister. He was the brother of her ex-boyfriend.

Secrets, lies and deceit come to the forefront. Get ready for one wild ride.

Started out with a great premise but unfortunately the plot wavered for me and there was just way too much happening. Worth a one-time read but you can totally skip this one.

What a twisty thriller this was! Our main character, Lana, has gone back to her grandma’s home to clear and sell it after her death, and gets dragged back to the horrifying events from her youth when her sister was murdered. During the clearing, a second secret diary is found, detailing her love for another man, who she only mentions as G. It’s after this that all hell breaks loose.

Same as another book I’ve read by this author, there are chapters written from someone else’s POV and we’re left guessing who it is. I think I changed my mind about 3 times over the course of the book and only twigged who it was at the same time as Lana!

So many secrets twisted into this story, and one that will keep you guessing and page turning until the end.

The Summer House is not a pleasant place as you will find out in the first chapter. Family comes home to deal with a grandmother's estate and things from the past come back that they can't ignore. What I loved most about the book was how the characters interacted with each other. So many devious characters! It is hard to tell if I liked or hated a character but regardless I enjoyed reading about them.

Mead House was once our childhood home.
It is a place where the oldest sister is murdered and the twins left behind go separate ways as adults. Now the house is left to them in their grandmother's will and they need to fix it up in order to sell it. Lana finds her sister's diary and things start to make her wonder what really happened. Ollie has his fiance with him who is a spoiled rich bitch.
As Lana uncovers what really happened the night her sister died, shocking truths come out in this psychological thriller. I read this in one day.
Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the book to review.

So much intrigue, this book had me room page one. Played out not how I saw it which I loved! Got better and better each page I turned. Family, lost loves, new loves and murder. Who can't love all that!!

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

Keri Beevis has developed a tense, unsettling and immersive plot with The Summer House. An enticing, dark and passionate chapter one is a great way to reel readers in until...it horribly goes wrong. I loved how the author created multiple narrations across different timelines, which was easy to follow and kept me on my toes. The underlying premise of one sister murdered, one brother jailed. and one love betrayed was skilfully deciphered, with all three elements integrating exceptionally well. The shocking and brutal murder of Camille Hamilton has left deep scars on twins Ollie and Lana. While their relationship starts tense and hostile, the character developments are remarkable. In addition, the long-lost love and the heart-tugging friends-to-lovers story between Xav and Lana beautifully blossomed. The pacing between the multiple sub-plots was well executed. The twists and turns were remarkable, and the breadcrumbs were smartly sprinkled until the shocking reveal! I finished this book in one sitting. Do not skip this one for fans of small towns with themes of lies, secrets and betrayals! A 4.5-star read.

Thank you to NetGalley & Boldwood Books for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

One sister murdered....One brother jailed...One love betrayed...

A dark and compelling tale that is as complex as it is enticing. THE SUMMER HOUSE has a tangled web of secrets mingled with a brimming anger for revenge...and an abundance of twists sure to keep you turning the pages. The structure whose initial purpose was relaxation and leisure had become something of a den of lust, obsession and, ultimately, murder. With all the clues peppered throughout, the hints dropped, the nuances alluded to...can you guess whodunnit? It took me a couple of guesses before I settled on a suspect but Keri Beevis makes you work for it, let me tell you!

Twins Lana and Ollie Hamilton return to the house in which they grew up after the death of their grandmother. Mead House, situated in Norfolk, had been their grandmother's home since shortly after her marriage to their grandfather and then became their home after the death of their parents when they were children. It had been a place of sanctuary where memories made...until a day one summer seventeen years ago that changed their lives forever.

Lana and Ollie's 19 year old sister Camille was brutally murdered in the summer house on the Mead House estate and, though it had once been a happy place, it was left to rack and ruin after the murder, overgrown with weeds and the lights turned out leaving it forever in darkness. Nana Kitty, having once loved the summer house and the rose garden that surrounded it, left it to nature to bury it along with the memories of what had died there.

Now Lana has returned to Mead House with Ollie in her wake, bringing with him a perky new fiance who looks as though she has never done a day's work in her life and spends most of time sunbathing by the pool...when she's not in it...often with a margarita. The twins plan to clear out the house as quickly as possible and sell the house, along with all its memories.

While clearing out Camille's bedroom, which has remained virtually in tact since her death seventeen years before, Lana discovers a hidden diary of her sister's beneath the floorboards. Having already read the one kept in the bedside drawer, Lana wonders what secrets this journal holds that it needed to be hidden. What secrets did Camille have that she didn't want to risk anyone finding out? But whatever startling secrets Lana did discover, they also raised yet even further questions...leading Lana to wonder if the man she had seen, Camille's boyfriend Sebastian, from her bedroom window on the night of her sister's death was really guilty of her murder, despite having been serving a prison sentence for that very crime for the past seventeen years. Had the person Camille been seeing in her secret trysts, who is only identified by a lone initial, really been the one responsible for the murder?

Lana and Ollie's return to town has also stirred up the long buried emotions of Sebastian's younger brother Xavier who, having grown up together, had once been best friends with the Hamilton twins. A friendship that had turned into something more romantic between Xav and Lana. But when she provided evidence that helped put his brother away, Xav was left betrayed and devastated. And now Lana is back and all those old feelings have been brought back to the surface. And it isn't long before he finds himself embroiled in something he had no desire to be caught up in. But when Lana's life is threatened more than once, Xav can't ignore that someone really wants to keep some secrets buried. And if that's the case...does that mean someone else was responsible for Camille's murder 17 years ago?

As Lana, Ollie and Xav team up to try and unlock the mystery surrounding the murder, time is running out before the murderer will strike again. And there are some secrets that must never come to light.

THE SUMMER HOUSE begins as a slow burn but it is compelling enough to keep you intrigued and turning the pages as you try to uncover the truth. I love the multiple third person POV which helps throw plenty of red herrings our way as we try to wade through them all to get to the truth. I love the relationship between Lana and Xav and seeing how feelings are rediscovered, but also Lana and Ollie's troubled relationship finding common ground once again. There are, of course, the usual token irritating characters to help throw us off the scent...are do they have a more sinister purpose?

I had hoped to see a few more flashbacks once the journal was discovered but given the nature of its dark obsessive content, maybe the overall gist that Beevis gave us through Lana was more fitting. But the flashbacks came hard and fast around the 60% mark, leaving us to question their significance.

I enjoyed this book far more than the last one "The Sleepover" "Every Little Breath" (my thrilling introduction to Beevis) which I totally loved. But it does come a close second. I'm not normally a fan of slow burns but then it is all in the delivery...and Beevis certainly delivered.

Overall, THE SUMMER HOUSE is a dark and enticing but wholly addictive psychological thriller that you will not want to put down until you reach the satisfactory end.

I would like to thank #KeriBeevis, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheSummerHouse in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

The Summer House is a dark psychological thriller, shocking and harrowing. Unflinching, edgy and intense.
#BlogTour with Rachel's Random Resources

I love the cover of The Summer House by Keri Beevis. It really drew me into the story.

The story was a little slow in the first third, but after that first part, it really picked up and kept my interest. I also didn't like Ollie at first. He seemed self-absorbed and not always nice to his sister Lana. But he grew on me, and his character did develop and grow.

And, wow, what a shocker of an ending and the culprit. At first, I thought the killer was revealed early, but I was in for a surprise. A good plot with good twists.

It brought tears to my eyes when Lana did a final walkthrough of Mead House to say her goodbyes. Sad to leave your childhood home even though there were tragic events that occurred there.

I would recommend this book and this author. I rate this 4 out of 5 stars.

#TheSummerHouse #NetGalley @BoldwoodBooks @bookandtonic

OHH SNAP!!! Fans of Keri Beevis are in for a treat as we get a glimpse into her naughty side! Ohh yes!! The Summer House seems like a tame title but this book is anything but!! This book is filled with intrigue, suspense, tragedy, heartbreak, deep hidden secrets, wicked twists, and mind blowing revelations that you will not see coming!

DANG!!! Keri Beevis you sure know how to get my attention!! I was pleasantly surprised she went the dirty girl route right off the bat!! It was incredibly hott and arousing until-I started yelling at my kindle for Camille to use a safe word!!!! Panic set in as I was feeling the fear that she was feeling!

The Summer House is intensely addicting in that you will lose track of time as this book is super fast paced!! In fact, I now have a book hangover from staying up til the wee hours of the morning to finish this book! It is one of Keri’s best!

The character who annoyed me the most had to be Ollie’s fiancé Elise!!! She kept calling Ollie Nolly!! That got under my skin and Lana’s skin quite quickly! Elise was a cold, heartless, rude, Barbie doll that only thought about herself and nobody else! There were a few conversations she had with Lana that made me want to push her into the pool too!

Keri Beevis is an incredible storyteller! Where she got her inspiration for this book I have no clue! What I do know is that it is unlike any psychological thriller you will ever read! She thought way outside the creative box for this one and man did it pay off! This book deserves way more than 5 stars and must be at the top of your TBR pile!

Loved this book with a passion keri beevis never disappoints amazing author and it was that good I would read it again...so many twists in this book that the ending was a total suprise :)

I’ve read most of this authors books but I think this might well be my favourite. Written in duel timelines and multiple POV’s, including that of the killer, and set in Norfolk, more specifically mainly at Mead House in Holt. A shocking start in Chapter 1; it is 2005 and a woman is meeting a man in a summer house, she thinks for a sexual encounter but things get out of hand. Quite a number of characters and most of them seemed nice and genuine- what do I know?!

Briefly, following their grandmother’s death twins Lana and Ollie Hamilton have returned to sell the house. The house where their sister Camille was brutally murdered 17 years earlier. But when Camille’s secret diary is found Lana begins to think that maybe the wrong person was convicted and her evidence was key in convicting her then boyfriends brother.

This was a real page turner of a novel with so many twists and turns my head was spinning. Despite the little clues I had had no idea who the killer would turn out to be although I did have my suspicions about G. Sorry that’s all I’m saying about that you will have to read the book. A good domestic crime thriller which was really tense at times, with an undercurrent of second chance romance, a very enjoyable read.

Absolutely amazing!! I was hooked from the beginning! The twists and turns were endless and I honestly loved how I was wrong each time guessing who was the culprit! When you think you know, trust me you don’t! Such clever writing!

I’ve been figuring about how to put this into words for a while now….. SO.

Lana and Ollie are twins and after having an estranged relationship since their sisters brutal murder they come back together to pack up their grandmothers house after her unexpected passing.

While packing up the house they come across a journal that belonged to their sister which was hidden away under the built in wardrobe’s. This journal reveals dark secrets which make Lana question the truth about her sisters murder.

As Lana delves into finding out the truth, she finds herself being in danger on more than one occasion. Are the incidents linked to her sisters death or are they isolated accidents?

Desperate to find out what’s going on she seeks help from the last person who wants to see her. Her ex boyfriend Xavier, who also happens to be the brother of her sisters killer. Xavier is reluctant at first but old feelings creep back in and he finds himself wanting yo know the truth himself, especially if it’ll help his brother. Lana also gets her brother on her side and the three of them start speculating.

With so many obstacles and too many suspects it seems like they’ll never get the answers they’re looking for. Until plans mess up and things go astray.

Lana and her twin brother Ollie are back at their grandmother Kitty’s house following her death, neither of them have been back for a period of time since their sister Camille death 17 years ago.
They are there to clear out the house and ready it for putting it on the market to sell, and in doing so they unearth her sisters hidden journal, and in those pages Lana discovers that her sister was seeing someone other than her current boyfriend Sebastian,
When her sister was murdered Lana testified that she saw Sebastion on the night of her death, which saw him go to prison for her murder, now with the revelation in this journal could she have been wrong? Could it have been someone other than Sebastion she really saw?
Lana had a thing for Xavi - Sebastian’s brother and when he was sent to prison she lost not only sister but Xavi as well, so now she is back in town and with the discovery of the journal she meets with him to discuss the possibility that she was wrong.
Lana really has set the cat amongst the pigeons with finding the journal, and when it goes missing she has no proof to show Xavi. And not only that she becomes the target of the true killer when she is deliberately ran over then almost killed by being stuffed in the boot of car with its fumes in a locked garage!
We are giving tidbits of who it could be, there were three on my radar and when they were being excluded I was left scratching my head wondering who it was, then when that moment it was revealed who it was I was excited as they were not on my radar!
The Summer House was a great read and really sucked me in.

When I read The Summer House, I had just put my mother in the hospital. Usually, when that kind of stress is going on in my life, I can't keep my brain focused on a novel. You know - when you read the same paragraph 10 times and you realize you still don't know what you just read? The Summer House did not do that to me! I was able to take a break from real life for a bit, and completely immerse myself in one of Keri Beevis' greatest novels. Thank you, Ms. Beevis', for giving me the breaks that I needed! This is another winner!!!!

I read one of Keri’s books – The People Next Door – in 2021 and it was excellent, I really loved it and found it such a page-turner! So I was really looking forward to reading her latest release – The Summer House.
The story begins in 2005, with a very unsettling prologue, then we move forward to the present day. We meet Lana Hamilton. Following her grandmother’s death, Lana and her twin brother Ollie have inherited her home, Mead House, where they spent most of their childhood.
Seventeen years earlier, Lana and Ollie’s sister Camille had been murdered there, aged nineteen. Lana is now clearing the house in North Norfolk, so it can be sold. Unsurprisingly, neither her nor Ollie want to live there, with all the terrible memories.
Most of the characters seem a bit suspicious. There’s Ollie’s fiancée Elise, who he’s only known a couple of months, yet they’re already engaged. There’s George Maddox, the creepy caretaker and gardener of Mead House and there’s Xavier ‘Xav’ Landry, who was Ollie’s best mate from childhood and Lana’s first love. Now he is an artist, but is quite reclusive after his brother Sebastian was jailed for Camille’s murder. Sebastian had been Camille’s boyfriend at the time.
Could it be that Sebastian didn’t kill Camille, but someone else did? Someone who is free to kill again?
And when Lana finds Camille’s secret journal, what will she discover? …
As always with Keri’s books, you’re straight into the action and want to keep reading, to find out more. Lana is the only character I really liked from the start, so I was definitely on her side. Everyone else seems suspicious and your mind comes up with all sorts of theories…
It’s all wonderfully twisty-turny so you never know quite who to trust and you just want to keep on reading to find out the answers to all those questions!
A really clever, intriguing, compelling read!

Lana and Ollie are responsible for cleaning out their grandmother's house, but when they come across the journals of their dead sister; who was murdered 17 years earlier. What they thought happened may now be wrong.

This is a great read, full of twists and suspense I could not put this down. Beevis writes giving atmosphere and tension to every chapter; by the end, I was sitting on the edge of my seat wanting to know what happens next.

This was a narrative full of family drama, romance, murder, mystery and second chances. I highly recommend this read for anyones to be read pile.

Keri Beevis returns following The Sleepover with her latest multi-layered suspense thriller, THE SUMMER HOUSE—a twin sister and brother return to their grandmother's home after her death, and the dark secrets of the past unravel.

As the book opens, it is 2005, and we are privy to some dangerous games. Someone by the initial "G" has written instructions for Camille. She is promiscuous with flaming red hair. The opposite of her sister.

The letter had instructions about what to wear/and not to wear—to meet at THE SUMMER HOUSE, a private part of the garden far from the main house (The Mead House). This was not romance but addiction and obsession. Who is this lover? Or is there something more sinister at play luring her here? Motive?

There is a chair, a blindfold, a red scarf, a heart pendant with a ribbon, and another note. She fears they are going to cross the line. Realization follows; she is strangled and murdered. Her former boyfriend, Sebastian, is charged and in prison.

Flash forward to the present day; Lana Hamilton is returning to Mead House following the recent death of her grandmother, Nana Kitty. She and her twin brother, Ollie, are charged with cleaning the house and putting it on the market for sale. The three had lived with their grandmother after their mother died of cancer.

It was seventeen years since their sister Camille's murder. She was only nineteen, and the twins were two years younger.

Main Characters
The Hamiltons:
Lana: twin
Ollie: twin (London) former best friend of Xav.
Camille: older sister murdered
Nana Kitty: Grandmother of the three and owner of Mead House and The Summer House - Dead (from a fall. Accidental or pushed)?

Xav: former boyfriend of Lana. Artist.
Sebastian: brother of Xav.
Charged with the murder of Camille.
Former boyfriend. In prison.
Lana's testimony put him away.
Joanna: mother.

Supporting characters: All horrible
Elise: fiancee of Ollie
George Maddox: caretaker/gardener
Barney: George's uncle
Derek: George's older stepbrother
Bree: lesbian. Mechanic.
Friend of Sebastian & Xav

The Palmers:
Trudy: daughter. Art gallery owner. Dispised her.
Doc Palmer: Agnus: father to Trudy.
Former doctor. Retired. Stroke/dementia. Disgusting man.

During cleanup, Lana discovers some disturbing journals of her sister, leading her to suspect Sebastian was not the murderer.

Next is a series of menacing events—someone knows she is getting too close to learning the truth of that night. The journals are now missing, she gets hit by a car and then drugged and put in her trunk for dead.

Her former boyfriend, Xav, comes to her rescue. No Hamilton is safe with a killer on the loose determined to take down this family in a race against time. Everyone is collateral damage.

While I enjoy Keri Beevis' books and am a big fan, THE SUMMER HOUSE was not my favorite. Yes, there were a lot of twists and red herrings—however, due to the number of characters (way too many), there was not enough overall character development, too much evil and bad things, and not enough balance with the good. I did not care for any of the characters. NO humor.

I understand the author needed the characters for red herrings and was especially creative with the "G" initials to throw you off.
The setup was clever.
The first part pulled me in.
The middle seemed to drag and drag.
The last part was more action-filled for the showdown.

However, the main concern was you need to "suspend your disbelief for the sake of enjoyment."

When the killer is revealed, no way - if you go back to the original event. Also, I did not connect with ANY of the characters. I was not invested in any of them.

They were mainly evil, narcissistic, delusional sociopaths: selfish, with envy, jealousy, greed, and classism. Revenge, obsession, blackmail. Some were disgusting and the actions were over the top bordering on horror.

The only two somewhat likable were Lana and Xav, who were more concerned over Lana's safety and hardly ever talked about getting Sebastian out of prison and the damage to his life. So again a disconnect here.

However, I am looking forward to her next book!

Thank you to #BoldwoodBooks and #NetGalley for a gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4 Stars
Pub Date: March 6, 2023