A fast-paced thriller that keeps you intrigued all the way through. Delves into the "wicked mother-in-law" trope and tackles the breakdown of a family throughout.

Very late review but this was a brilliant book. It kept me engaged from beginning to end and left me completely surprised by the twists and turns. I truly wanted more as soon as it was over!

Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. Nick and Amber are selling their family home. Their real estate agent arranges an open house to help with the sale. 13 people are seen attending the open house but only 12 leave it. The storyline was a bit all over the place for my tastes, the ending was an anticlimactic letdown too sadly. #samcarrington #theopenhouse #netgalley #goodreads #thestorygraph #tea_sipping_bookworm #litsy #bookqueen #bookstagram

When Amber and Nick split up they need to sell the family home. It isn’t selling at all so an “open house” is arranged which is where Amber’s problems start when she spots that one person doesn’t appear to leave. It’s a bit creepy but then becomes comical at the end when everything is thrown at the finale bar the kitchen sink which ruins the atmosphere somewhat. It also verged towards predictability once the whole array of characters turned up. The point of the book and title get a bit lost to make way for another plot. Some odd people in this village, not least whiny Amber. It was irritating every time she mentioned “my” house when it was actually Nick’s. Great cover and blurb. It was entertaining, gripping in its own way - something not too deep for a summer holiday.

I flew through this book. The writing style is pretty simple but this made the book a very easy read. Further, I liked how I couldn't predict the outcome of this book because sometimes I am able to guess the outcome, which makes the read a lot less interesting. However, even though I was pleasantly surprised by the plot twist, it got followed up by more plot twists, which made the ending a bit too busy for me. There was a lot going on while the book didn't have that many pages left. Personally, I would've liked it better if the writer had stuck to one big plot twist instead of complicating it by throwing in more. Next to this, I also expected the book to be more creepy. All in all, I did enjoy this read and liked how I didn't guess its ending, but I was not completely satisfied by its ending and wished the story had been more creepy. I'd still recommend checking this one out if you're looking for an enjoyable, quick and easy thriller read but wouldn't recommend it if you're into spine-chilling thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an e-arc. This did not affect the honesty of my review in any way.

I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. The twists and turns kept my attention throughout. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author and I would recommend this book to friends and family.

Oh wow what an amazing read this was. I just knew from the first chapter I was going to really enjoy this book. It reeled me in from the very start. A brilliant story with excellent characters.

DNF - did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style/plot and decided to put this one down. Thank you, NetGalley and publisher for the early copy.

The premise for this book was really intriguing and I did enjoy the story quite a bit. My one complaint is that it was very obvious where the storyline was going so towards the end of the book it seemed to be taking a little too long to go where you know it’s been going for quite some time now. It gets a little frustrating when a story is stretched out longer than it needs to be.

Fantastic book, kept me on the edge of my seat all the time. I loved the ending, wasn't expecting it at all. If you're a mystery reader then I couldn't recommend this book enough.

Amber Miller is going through some major life changes: she’s divorcing her husband and the husband of her two boys, selling her house, then moving with her new boyfriend to a new city and starting fresh. But the house doesn’t seem to attract any interest, and her meddling mother-in-law seems to be sabotaging her efforts to move on. After an open house makes Amber question an important detail, things seem to start to spiral out of control, with Amber starting to question her own sanity.

This one is one of those stories that really starts off kind of light, then builds to a spiraling crescendo that is so twisty and intense, you have to read things twice to make sure you’re getting everything. The climax scenes were so intense and the revelations were so fast-paced I could barely keep up! They were a little far-fetched in some places, but hey, I’m willing to stretch my imagination a little for a good story.

The suspense in this one was really good, because it was definitely a case of “is Amber just imagining this or is something really going on here?” Those are some of my favorite stories because it adds that extra mysterious layer to the mix - wondering whether the narrator is just completely unreliable or whether things are really spiraling out of control.

Overall, if you’re looking for an intensely suspenseful thriller with some good twists, pick this one up. It will have you turning pages late into the night (then hiking your locks!).

Amber and Nick Miller are selling their house due to a divorce and Amber is leaving her life in Devon behind to move in with her new boyfriend Richard, in Kent.

After the house fails to spark any interest, she decides to host an open house, when 13 viewers were seen to go in, but only 12 come out.

Strange going’s on start to happen and Amber thinks her mother in law Barb, is trying to sabotage the sale. What is really going on?

A real twisty domestic noir that kept me on my toes right until the end.

Some of the twists were quite far fetched but made it all the more thrilling.

A good mix of suspense, intrigue and mystery in Sam Carrington’s new novel. Great characters whom, by the end, I suspected everyone.

I did feel for Amber as she was slowly doubting her sanity and everyone around her. Her ex Nick was likeable and it’s a shame they were divorcing in that book, even though they still had a good relationship. It’s good to know not all divorces are bitter!

This book was great, full of twisty plots, sub plots and an array of interesting characters.

When Amber and her Husband decide to split up, they need to sell their house. Its been on the market for a while but there hasn't been any interest yet. When it's suggested to Amber that she has an open house to attract more interest, although not thrilled with the idea of people nosying around her house, she agrees. The only problem is it seems that 13 people went into the house, but only 12 came out. I was intrigued as to how this would make the premise of a whole book. But there were many subplots which were based around this idea.

There were lots of creepy things happening in Amber's house and I thought she was brave to stay there alone with her children. When weird things happen, do you convince yourself that you must have done it yourself and forgotten or do you remember that only 12 people came out of your house and where is that last one? Did you count wrong? Were you seeing things? Questions questions! Perfect for a thriller.

There were lots of great characters, not necessarily likeable ones but lots of interesting ones. The chapters alternated between different characters points of views. I think this made me consider lots of red herrings which is always fun in a thriller. I read this book on my own and having participated in lots of book club reads recently, I found there were many thoughts that I would have liked to discuss. This would be fab for a book club read.

The end of this book ties up all the loose ends properly and the many twists that come up throughout the book all make sense. I found myself suspecting many of the characters, from the husband to the new boyfriend to the nosy neighbour who wants to know everyone's business to the annoying busy body of a mother in law to the estate agent. In fact the only characters I didn't suspect was Amber herself and her 2 friends ( whose names were mentioned in the acknowledgement as having their names taken from the authors friends). I did guess some parts towards the end but I didn't see all the twists coming.

A great read with twists, sub plots and a page turning finale.

This book took twists and turns that I never saw coming. The ending came out of left field, and I’m still reeling with what happened.

This was more of a drama than a thriller. It is told by numerous points of view. I found it to be flat in parts. The chapters were short which was good, there was some good parts in it but it just didnt have that thrill factor for me

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was gripping from the start and kept me guessing until the very end! Fantastically written! Would definitely recommend!

I so wanted this to be an atmospheric horror/psychological thriller but it ended up being just drama. The characters and plot development was very poor.

As someone who recently attended multiple open houses before purchasing a new home, I enjoyed the premise of this book. There were many twists and turns along the way that I wasn't expecting. The conclusion was satisfying, and it made sense why certain members of this family wouldn't want the house to get sold to developers! I wish some storylines were explored even further once we got the final reveal of what happened at the end.

I was hooked on the beginning, I love a good thriller and this book had me at the edge of my seat and then, well it just piddled out. The ending felt rushed, thrown together and took this book in my mind from a 5 star down to a 3 star.

I prefer my suspense a bit more plausible, AND I was so disappointed in a decision that Amber makes in the end, that the final rating dropped for me.