BOOK REVIEW:
The New Home by: Chris Merritt
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Publish Date: September 07, 2021
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Synopsis: Freya loves her new home on a quiet suburban street. And her beautiful neighbour Emily is everything she’s ever wanted in a best friend. Finally, she has somebody to share her secrets with over a glass of wine. But as Freya watches her new friend setting the table for dinner one evening, she sees something shocking that makes her think that Emily’s life might not be as perfect as it seems. Days later, Emily and her daughter vanish…
When you meet Emily’s husband, you will think you know what he’s hiding.
You will ask yourself whether Emily and Freya really did meet by chance.
You will think you know what happened to Emily and her little girl the night they went missing.
But when you discover the truth, it will shake you to your core and you will lie awake at night wondering if you can ever really trust the people in the house next door…
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Review: I could not put this one down. Each chapter kept me wanting more. Wanting to discover the lies, the secrets, the motivates. The ending of this one for sure got me off guard. Even though I feel like the ending was a little drug out and a few of the loose ends were not tied up, I definitely did not see that coming. I had the wrong culprit, so I always enjoy books where you can’t guess the ending. No matter how good you think you are with picking up the clues. This was my first book by Chris Merritt and I would definitely read more from him. I enjoyed his style of writing and all around this was just a good read. Big thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Bookouture for the advanced copy of this book.
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Recommend: Yes, absolutely. Be sure to check this one out on Sept. 7!

An intriguing story about a couple moving to a new home. The woman and her daughter next door disappears, leaving the husband behind. The new neighbour is sure the husband did it, and she is willing to do pretty much anything to prove it. There are many secrets going around, There are many psychological triggers in the book, and it is impossible to now whom to trust. It really messes up your mind, and you just have to know how this book ends.

Well-written, with a strong voice, filled with the suspense a book like this needs. I'm not sure all the questions I had were answered at the end of the book, but still an enjoyable read I can recommend to others.

You move to a new house and you bond straight away with the woman of the couple next door. One day she vanishes. Would you let the police handle it or you would start your own investigation? 

Two guesses which option Freya, the main character, picks. Someone has to when the police does not deliver, right?

In this story you constantly wonder who is sane and who is crazy, who is telling the truth and who is hiding it, who to trust and who to fear.

I enjoyed the format of the story. On the one hand we follow Freya and all the emotions she goes through, how she is thrown from left to right and back again. On the other  we are allowed to dive into the culprit’s twisted mind which keeps you guessing for a very long time in whose head we are digging.

This is a very enjoyable story with a happy ending for everyone. Well, except for the culprit, of course. I admire Freya and her determination. Even tough she is battling anxiety, she delivers and keeps her cool when it matters. 5 stars

Thank you

When Freya and Jack move into their new home they make friends with the couple next door, Michael and Emily. But when Emily and her daughter go missing, Freya finds herself trapped in the mystery, desperately trying to find them.

This is a twisting, turning sort of book but I didn’t feel like it ever explored each element fully meaning it didn’t quite gel. It flits between events happening at break neck speed to long lulls where nothing much is going on. I didn’t really warm to any of the characters and some of the relationships felt quite forced. I guessed some of the twists and I really disliked the ending- it didn’t ring true at all.

The story itself is enjoyable enough, but it didn’t have enough redeeming features for me to give more than 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

This really dragged. I felt a lot more action could’ve taken place. I didn’t feel the suspense. I knew who John Smith was immediately. I also knew Emily’s husband hadn’t killed her, because she did take off. That was obvious.

And Freya’s actions were just boring and monotonous. Her past mental history did nothing to add suspense sadly. I didn’t second guess her actions because we had the monologue of the “stalker” taking place. So her background added nothing to the story.

Then there was Cathy…for a bit I thought perhaps she was involved in some of this. But disappointingly, she was just an elderly lady with cognitive issues.

Freya’s fiancé was a total jerk. And none of his actions were redeemable in the end.

I was pretty disappointed overall.

When documentary filmmaker Freya and her husband Jack move to a new town, she becomes close to one of her new neighbors. When this new friend and her young daughter vanish, no one seems worried enough to Freya. The police, the husband, and even her own husband seem to not take the disappearance seriously. As she begins to investigate for herself, she becomes the target of internet threats from someone who seems to know her, and she isn't sure who she can trust.
The twisty, with a surprise ending that I didn't see coming. I will recommend to fans of Paula Hawkins and Ruth Ware.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital review copy in exchange for review.

Well done with so many amazing turns in the story. I was engaged and entertained the whole book. It kept its momentum from start to finish.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have really enjoyed all this authors books and this was no exception. A fast paced page turner of a thriller which will have you hooked from the beginning to the end

Definitely a must read! The New Home is a well written, can’t put it down book. The pieces carefully fall into place, one by one, but it’s not until the very end that the puzzle is complete. There was an audible “I didn’t see that coming!”, as I flew through it in one sitting. I’m anxious to read Knock, Knock by Chris Merritt next.
Thank you to Bookoutur, NetGalley and author, Chris Merritt, for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC.

This was a decent read, with a few surprising twists. It centers on Freya, who moves into a new house with her fiance Jack, and becomes fast friends with her next-door neighbor Emily. A few months later, Emily and her daughter disappear. Freya doesn't believe that the police are taking it seriously and has suspicions about Emily's husband, so she launches into her own investigation to figure out what happened.

The book moved mostly at a fast clip, though not much time was spent building up the Freya/Emily relationship before she disappeared and I found myself surprised that they had become such great friends in such a short period of time. Though the characters were believable, Freya kind of drove me crazy by constantly whining and jumping to conclusions about everything.

The ending was a surprise, though some parts of it did require me to suspend my disbelief a little bit. The author threw out a lot of good red herrings that kept me guessing, though the loose ends on some of them never got tied up.

Overall, a pretty good read with some surprises. I imagine those who aren't annoyed by Freya might like it better than I did. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This plot started out well but I feel there was a lull in the middle of this book and it wasn’t always believable.
The characters were well formed and I was invested enough to want to know the ending.

Freya and her husband Jack move into a new neighborhood and Freya begins a fast friendship with her neighbor Emily. Emily and her daughter are both lovely but Freya has immediate reservations about Emily’s husband Michael When Emily and her daughter go missing, and frustrated with the slow police investigation, Freya takes it upon herself to launch her own counter investigation. Without giving anything away, I’ll say the author does a good job of providing interesting twists and turns in the story. Beyond that, I found it difficult to accept Freya’s investigative prowess compared to that of experienced investigators. Some of the situations were a little too far-fetched, but Chris Merritt did put together a fun and fast-paced read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

Wow, wow, wow.

This is my first time reading a thriller by Chris Merritt and "The New Home" did not disappoint.
I genuinely had no clue where this story was going and who the main the culprit was going to be! Every time I thought I knew what was going to happen/ who the person was- I was to be proved wrong!! I absolutely loved the story line which follows Freya trying to find her missing next door neighbour Emily and Emily's young daugher Thea who have disappeared into thin air- and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

One thing that irritated me about the storyline was the fact that Freya had only known Emily for around 4 months before she went missing- but she recalls numerous times and conversations in which she'd been out or been with Emily. Which in real life probably wouldn't of have happened and it seemed a bit far fetched.

Anyway- so many twists and turns and although at times i felt the storyline was being repeated or drawn out just a little too much in places- I found it was great that there were no unanswered questions- and the "The New Home" definitely makes you QUESTION EVERYTHING!!!

After so much suspense, I was so shocked when I did find out who the culprit was, and wow what a turn up for the books!! "The New Home" is very well written, also touches on important issues such as domestic abuse/ violence against women and mental health issues. I would DEFINITELY recommend this book and would definitely read books by Chris Merritt again!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy "The New Home" in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first stand-alone psychological thriller from Chris Merritt. As I enjoyed his Detective Lockhart and Green series I was very much looking forward to reading his new book and it did not disappoint. The characters are engaging and the topics are timely - intimate partner (or ex-partner) violence, trauma from miscarriage, paranoia and delusional beliefs brought on by trauma, anxiety and/or isolation.

The story spans the time frame between March 13th and October 23rd, with the final chapter taking place a year later. Freya Northcott is a documentary film maker who is just moving into a new home with her fiancé Jack who is a cardiologist. Freya throughout the book is prone to wild imaginings that sometimes get the better of her. They meet their new neighbours from one side Emily, Michael and their daughter Thea as they are moving in. On the other side is a lovely older lady named Cathy who is prone to forgetfulness and confusing time but on a good day she is sharp as a tack.

In between telling the story from Freya's point of view their are chapters in italics that tell the story of someone (a man) that is never identified - except when all the pieces fall into place towards the end. 4 months after moving into their new home we meet the character of DI Paul Henderson from the Surrey Police. He is investigating the disappearance of Emily Crawford and her daughter Thea. She and Thea were on their way to Activity Club on a Monday and never arrived. She was reported missing by her husband the following day.

There are a lot of red herrings in this story which take Freya on several different paths in her quest to find Emily and Thea. She feels that the police are not doing enough to find her and she also feels that Michael doesn't care. She is convinced that Michael killed his family and buried them in the garden. She sets up a webpage to try and get the information out about the missing mother & daughter. Soon she is getting threats in DMs from someone who doesn't like her digging but she is determined to keep to her mission to find her friend.

At times the reader feels that Freya's relentless campaign and pursuit of the truth is bringing more danger towards not only herself but to Emily and Thea.

There is a lot of brilliantly written suspense in this book. There are several characters that could be behind the disappearance. Once all is revealed at the end, it's quite the shocker.

I hope that Mr. Merritt will write more books in this genre because he did a brilliant job of keeping me hooked from page 1 and wanting to know what will happen in the end.

Let me just say wow. I truly enjoyed it and as a reader I wasn't bored one second through the book. So many twists and the ending were a surprise. I couldn't guess that it was going as it did and I love when I think I know and then a freakin twist comes and turn it all around :) I can highly recommrnd it to anyone who are looking for a good and chilling psychological thriller.

Possible spoilers: Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This book's main character Freya and her fiance move into this new neighborhood into their fixer upper home. Freya quickly makes friends with Emily, her neighbor with a five-year old daughter and Cathy, a widow with early dementia. When Emily and her daughter go missing Freya is determined to find out what happened to them. Everyone is a potential suspect from Michael, Emily's husband to even Freya's own fiance Jack. Freya has a history of a mental health issues which is exasperated after suffering a miscarriage. Her therapist Laurence seems to be the only one who understands her, until she finds out how he fits into Emily's disappearance. The ending was a bit gruesome for me and I am not sure that I would have forgiven Jack as easily as Freya seemed to but overall a good and dynamic read that I would recommend.

THE NEW HOME… When new neighbors Jack and Freya meet the couple next door, Freya and Emily connect immediately. They enjoy spending time together until one day, a police man shows up on Freya’s doorstep informing her that her neighbor Emily and daughter Thea have gone missing. How far will Freya go to find out what happened to her friend? FIND OUT by indulging in this new twisty tale by Chris Merritt

Freya and her fiancé Jack move into a wreck of a house to do up, she’s got a roses round the door view of the future or is it rose tinted? She meets Emily and her daughter Thea who live next door, Emily is lovely and friendly whilst her husband Michael is most definitely not. A few months later Emily and Thea disappear and the police investigation gets nowhere, which Freya feels is due to lack of effort on their part and so, of course, she has to get involved!

This is an easy read mystery thriller which does include some thought provoking issues such as mental health especially how a miscarriage can impact on that and domestic abuse. The plot has a fairly good pace, there are moments of tension and several twists and turns in the storytelling.

However, although you sympathise with Freya and her issues, unfortunately I’m sorry to say that I find her a very irritating lead character and her nosy parker blundering about to solve this just makes my eyes roll in frustration. There are a number of things that occur that are too convenient and at times it’s rather predictable. There are so many red herrings and aspects of the story that don’t go any where or are just left dangling which just clutters the plot up. I think it would be a much better story if these are removed and it’s shorter in length as this would give the good sections much greater impact. The final plot twist is very left field and we are not offered any explanation as to why???? The conclusion is definitely roses round the door and is much too happy ever after. Really? After all that???

Overall, I don’t love this book but I certainly don’t dislike it as there is a decent story in here but it’s been overwhelmed.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This book is a twisty wild ride of a thriller! Many red herrings and just when you think you’ve figured it out another switch back! Rich characters drive a well crafted plot. A quick read, a must read for fans of J.T. Ellis or Ruth Ware.

Well, I thought I had this book figured out pretty quickly and I couldn't have been more wrong. Even if I figured out the who after a little while, the story was full of unexpected twists, misleading information and fast pacing.