Thank you Netgalley and the publisher.
I enjoyed this mystery, well written.
I was interested to this weird story for page 1.
Thank you

A domestic noir novel that will pull you into the suspense and shock you with every last twist! Wow, I am beyond impressed with the new novel Our House by Louise Candlish!

This book… Man, I wanted to like it more. Going back through my statue updates on GoodReads, the only comment I made was 14% in where I said I enjoyed the podcast aspect of the book, but I was having a hard time getting into the writing. And even now, when I reflect on this book, that is all I remember. I enjoyed Fiona, the main character who shows up to find strangers moving into her home. This concept for the book was incredibly interesting, but I just felt like it needed more. I will say this book has one of the best covers I have ever seen.

Fi comes home and discovers someone moving into her house. The rest of the story slowly unravels from there, culminating in a pretty intense ending.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The dual perspectives and jumping around the timeline gave an interesting perspective, although it was occasionally a bit confusing (i.e. a character wouldn't know a piece of information that is common knowledge to the reader). The ending surprised me, although it left me wanting a bit more resolution (maybe a sequel is in the works?).

I could not put this one down! It was exactly what I look for in a domestic thriller! I will officially read anything Louise Candlish writes going forward!

I think this book had an interesting and unique story. There were moments when I thought that it was dragging, I felt like a lot of the husband's plot could have been shortened. The "twist" at the end was anticlimactic. I wasn't left wanting more, I was just happy it was over.

Wonderful characters. Interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. A great, captivating read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book from NetGalley & Berkley Publishing Group in order to read and provide a voluntary and honest review, should I choose to do so.

#OurHouse #NetGalley

This is the first book I have read of the author and I’ve heard many good things about her story’s. So undoubtedly I was very eager to delve into this book.

The reader meet’s Fi, a mother of two boy’s and separated from her husband Bram; as she returns home to Trinity Avenue from a break away. She see’s a removal van and people coming in and out of the house to the van bring someone’s belonging’s into her home. On reaching the house Fi is greeted by a woman claiming that she and her husband has just brought it from herself and her husband; for a substantial amount of money and are now moving in.

Fi in the depths of despair and confusion about her home and where her two boys are; she try’s Bram’s mobile only for it not to be in use and than try’s the school to see if her children are in there. Only to find out Bram has gain permission for them to have a day off. Fi’s whole world has come crashing down around her and she is becoming frantic with worried and confusion. Later finding out they were safe with their grandmother. Just what has gone on here? Has there been some kind of a mix up? And Where is Bram? why did Bram take the boys out of school?

Then the story goes back and show’s the reader what went on prior to Fi returning home; giving the reader a back ground of what happened to Fi and Bram to make them split up and how the house came to be to be sold; which shows something more sinister has gone on. Then back to the present day.

Louise has written the story in a very interesting way by, showing both Fi and Bram’s word document points of view, which really helped me to see things from their point of view. I really enjoyed this part and all the twist’s and turn’s the story takes; of which there are many! I found myself completely immersed in this book from the very beginning to the very last page. I really found it hard to put down to be honest! I felt so sorry for Fi and her boys for the situation Bram has got them in. Bram’s mistakes seem to me like a snow ball rolling down a hill gaining momentum and snow until it smashes into a tree at the bottom.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of Our House is intriguing...imagine returning home after work and finding people you don't know moving into your house. The twists and turns from there were engaging although this did drag a bit. I was screaming internally at the ending...oh my goodness! Entertaining thriller that I would recommend to others.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fiona thought she and her estranged husband had a great arrangement to co parent their two sons but when Fiona returns to her days in the house with the boys her husband and sons are gone and a new family is moving in. Great mystery that keeps you hooked.

Very enjoyable book. Good mystery and was a real page turner! Looking forward to reading more by this author!

Gripping and suspenseful. I was hooked from the beginning because it’s so confusing but in the best possible way in that you just want answers and want to figure out what the heck is going on. This was my first read by this author and I look forward to reading more by her.

Another amazing read by Louise Candlish!
Riveting with lot's of twists and turns. Could not put it down!

One of the best endings I have read in ages.

I was looking forward to this book but sadly fell short of my expectations. It was very drawn out which made me put it down frequently. The story was just so unlikely. Maybe next book will be better.

I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. It was somewhat slow-paced, and I had trouble staying interested in it. The pace picked up closer to the end, and looking back, it wasn't a bad story. It could have been better with a bit more action to hold interest. I will still read the new book by this author, Those People.

I just can't decide how I feel bout Our House. It took me until about 45% to really commit. It was slow in the beginning and just hard to not want to DNF. I think the "Twitter" like comments should have been left out. They were distracting and ultimately not necessary to understand the story. Once I reached that 45%ish percent mark it became an easy read, because I wanted to push forward. Ends start coming together and it starts to feel like we're getting somewhere. I definitely was surprised by the ending and was not expecting that outcome. That being said, the last chapter blew it for me and knocked it back down to three stars. I feel like it just ended? If that makes sense? It felt rushed and just like the author wanted to be done writing. It was a cliffhanger when, as far as I know, there is not a second book. And honestly, it wouldn't make sense to write another. So, I don't know, I did enjoy it after I got about half way through. Just super disappointed, I guess.

I don't feel that the book was bad, I just couldn't get into it at the time of the review. I may attempt it at another time as it was something of a unique concept

I expected to like "Our House" more than I did. It has a great premise and an interesting execution, but I felt that much of it dragged. The very long middle was so depressing and anxiety provoking that I found it rather torturous to read. I was tempted to abandon the book, but instead I skimmed through the most unpleasant parts and was rewarded with a rather excellent ending with lots of nice twists. The last few sentences were particularly striking. Probably not everyone would find it as disturbing as I did so I recommend giving it a chance! Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an e-ARC of this book.

Louise Candlish’s latest domestic suspense novel, Our House, has had a ton of buzz surrounding it, so I couldn’t wait to dive in. Londoner Fiona “Fi” Lawson’s husband, Bram, has cheated on her one too many times, and she finally decides to call it quits. Wanting to negate the impact on their two young boys as much as possible, she and Bram decide on a “bird’s nest” option. This isn’t something I’d ever attempt, but hey, to each their own, right? They decide to keep their beautiful home in a very sought-after neighborhood and take turns living there with the boys while alternately using a small flat that they come to call “Baby Deco” due to the art deco look of the building. It actually seems to work out pretty well. The boys barely register a blip on their existence, and Fi—though struggling with the aftermath of infidelity and the breakup of her marriage—is starting to look forward instead of lingering in the past.

Until…

She must be mistaken, but it looks exactly as if someone is moving into her house.

The van is parked halfway down Trinity Avenue, its square mouth agape, a large piece of furniture sliding down the ribbed metal tongue. Fi watches, squinting into the buttery sunlight—rare for the time of year, a gift—as the object is borne shoulder high by two men through the gate and down the path.

My gate. My path.

No, that’s illogical; of course it can’t be her house. It must be the Reeces’, two down from hers; they put their place on the market in the autumn and no one is quite sure whether a sale has gone through. The houses on this side of Trinity Avenue are all built the same—redbrick double-fronted Edwardians in pairs, their owners united in a preference for front doors painted black—and everyone agrees it’s easy to miscount.

Can you imagine coming home and finding someone moving into your house? Of course, Fi is in shock, and with the help of the new homeowners (as much as they can—I can imagine how horrid it would be to be the ones thinking they bought a house on the up and up and finding out otherwise), Fi attempts to find out what has happened.

Bram, it seems, is in the wind. Fi can’t find him, and he’s left the kids with his mother after telling them some ridiculous cover story. Fi is stumped. After all, Bram is a cheater, but could he actually do something this horrible to his wife and kids?

Of course, nothing is simple, and Candlish drops readers into a truly dark rabbit hole of blackmail and deception, the lengths that some will go to in order to protect themselves, and the lies we tell those we love the most.

The narrative is split between Fi’s recording of her story for a podcast called The Victim, her and Bram’s third-person narratives, and a Word document that seems to be Bram’s confessional. The split narrative does require you to pay attention, but those that do will be rewarded. It’s a type of storytelling that could have been confusing in lesser hands, but Candlish handles it like the pro she is, and it expertly highlights the many near misses and misunderstandings that can so often occur between even the most loving and healthy of couples.

I predict that some readers might label Fi as cold while finding Bram—despite his many (so, so many) transgressions—sympathetic. Don’t fall into this trap! To me, Fi was a breath of fresh air. She had to make some pretty hard decisions, even at the expense of her own emotional wellbeing, in order to not impact her children’s lives, and if she bears her pain with stoicism and pragmatism instead of dissolving into puddles of tears (which, personally, I totally would have), it’s absolutely her right and doesn’t make her any less sympathetic. That said, Bram is actually sympathetic. He fully recognizes that the spiral his life has taken is completely due to his own idiotic, selfish choices. By the time the book wraps up, he’s a pitiful, tragic shadow of his former self—a golden boy whose brash hubris never got him into more trouble than he could handle until now.

No one comes out on top here. Not really. The ending isn’t nihilistic, but it may leave readers with a sense of melancholy that will linger. This thoughtful, sophisticated, and suspenseful read is well worth your time.

FILED UNDER:

A masterfully told psychological suspense story, I thoroughly enjoyed the thrills and plot twists. This is one I'll recommend to my thriller-hungry customers! Thank you, Berkley Books and NetGalley for the preview.