I was unable to get invested in the characters. I liked the idea behind the story, but really struggle to stay plugged in.
This book just wasn’t for me.

We are transported to a beautiful Italian luxury resort which seems like paradise, but is it?

We are told this story from three POV - Amy, twenty-one-year-old Amy, daughter of the resort's owners, who dies, and her story is told in the past. Leah, Amy's aunt, who is struggling to believe Amy's death was an accident. And Joanna, who seemingly isn't connected, but is a counselor at a university dealing with job stress and also dealing with her recent breakup from her long time boyfriend, Luke.

Amy's death was ruled an accident, as she was out on the water in a boat during a storm. Leah, a year later, goes to visit her sister and her family, and feels something's not right pertaining to Amy's death. Her sister, brother-in-law, and Olivia, her niece, are all behaving odly, almost as if Amy never existed. Leah is determined to get to the bottom of Amy's death despite warnings not to and harm that may come if she does.

Back in England, Joanna is struggling after a sudden breakup with her long time boyfriend. She meets Callum, who is working behind the bar at a locl pub. He's injured in a hit and run and she kindly allows him to stay with her, she starts to realize he may not be who he claims and starts an investigation of her own.

This was more of a slow burn thrilled. You wonder how Amy, Leah and Joanna may be connected and it's fun trying to figure it out. There is a lot of family drama in addition to the mystery. And it's quite satisfying when it all comes together!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars. I loved the premise of two women who don't seem to be connected, but ultimately get entangled in some dangerous situations that reveal their connection. Leah and Joanna are the two women. We don't find out their association until later, when all the puzzle pieces fall into place. I enjoyed how the author unraveled the details with surprise and a bit of shock. It is kind of a slow-burner, but has plenty of page turning events that keep the pace going all the way through. The story is told from three points of view and we get to understand the motives behind the actions.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this e-arc.*

I don’t know how I feel about this. I went into it excited and ended disappointed. I didn’t like the characters and the story was all over the place. It read like one of those Lifetime movies. This was one cat and mouse game no one won.

After Leah’s twenty-one year old niece drowns in a lake near their family Italian resort she is devastated. One year later her loss still feels fresh. She decides to return to her family’s resort and is dumbfounded when her family seems to have removed all traces of her niece. Leah suspects something is fishy and is determined to figure out they are covering up.

Simultaneously in England, Joanna is heartbroken after she splits with her boyfriend. When she meets charismatic bartender she thinks her luck has changed. However, she quickly realizes this guy is not what he seems. This stranger connects these two women in ways they never thought possible.

The Other Guest is available July 26,2022.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

The Other Guest by Helen Cooper is a travel thriller told from three perspectives.

In one, Leah travels to Lake Garda to confront her grief over the death of 21 year old niece the year prior. Only, when Leah arrives, all traces of Amy and her tragic drowning, have vanished.

In the 2nd, after a devastating breakup, Joanna meets Callum, a handsome bartender. She soon learns that Callum is hiding a past and on the run....but what exactly is he hiding?

And in the 3rd perspective, Amy's story bring everything together.

This thriller was rather lukewarm for me. Almost like the beautiful waters of Lake Garda...it's nice and warm, but not all that exciting. I could see what I was getting, it was all there on the surface. There wasn't anything scary down below.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Set at Lake Garda in Italy, this atmospheric thriller would be a great book to read on vacation. The story alternates Points of view between Janna, Leah, and Amy. After an initial slow start, the book really picks up about halfway through. I really enjoyed the atmosphere for this one and there were nice twists that I didn't see coming. The characters had clear personalities and motivations, which was helpful, and there were a couple of them that I had clear reactions to, like Callum. The book has a very satisfying ending as the author brings everything together nicely.

Many thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog @autumn.booked the week of publication.

Three women. One Island resort. One devastating incident. How do they all connect? What truly happened that night one of them turned up dead?

This book was a very unique idea, and I moderately enjoyed the twists & connections between the characters, with the incident. I would definitely say from the pace of it, it’s a very slow burn thriller. The pacing was a bit sluggish for my personal taste, and it didn’t become “thrilling” until 70% into the book.

When the pace did in fact speed up, I enjoyed the full action taking place. It was like watching one of those movies of action, and the fight for survival.

The main leads of the story were very relatable in their needs for family approval, loneliness, and trauma. I felt incredibly invested in closure for the family that suffered the loss of one of their own. And, I was relieved there was a full circle moment/scene that completed the entire novel.


Overall I wouldn’t say this was my cup of tea, but it definitely falls in line with slow burn thrillers that pull you in. Thank you to Putnam Group & Penguin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

It was OK and I would give it 2.5 stars. I usually enjoy books where the POV alternates between characters, but not this one. I didn't love any of the characters and never connected with any of them. Amy and Olivia's family was dreadful. The family and resort just seemed so fake. I felt like the ending was a let down. The reason for Amy's death wasn't what I expected. Amy was a captive on her family's resort, she wasn't allowed to do anything but work there. I knew Joanna and Callum had to be involved somehow in Amy's story. It wasn't hard to figure out who Callum had to be, I was just shocked that Joanna let a complete stranger move into her house.

Definitely give the book a try, it just wasn't for me. I loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from PENGUIN GROUP Putnam through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this novel by Helen Cooper. It is my first read of hers and I’m looking forward to reading more.
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The story alternates between Joanna, Leah, and Amy’s POV and I loved how the author was able to weave them together into a story that flowed well.
I loved the atmospheric setting in Italy at Lake Garda.
I thought it was really well written and it kept me guessing on how everything was tired together and what would happen next.
I think it’s a good vacation read or for anyone who loves a good suspense novel.
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Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this eARC!

Before I even started reading the story, I got a pretty good hint of what to expect from the Table of Contents. Each chapter was either titled Joanna, Leah or Amy. Then the dedication stated that "This is a book about sisters". The prologue has someone caught on the lake in a tiny boat during a wild storm, but I had no idea if it were one of the sisters and, if so, which. So I read on....
... and discovered that I was, oh, so wrong! But I still kept hanging on to the silly notion that at least two of these were sisters. Since Amy was the one in the boat and was missing, I deduced that Jo and Lee had to be the sisters and kept reading and reading and reading to discover the link.

Well, there WAS a link, and it was quite a surprise. But the story did get more interesting (and involved) at that point.

3.5* This mystery thriller is set in a family owned resort in Northern Italy. The family was struck by a tragedy when one of their own Amy drowned at 21 years old. The family appears to have moved on and contented with it ruled as an accidental drowning. Her aunt Leah is not so sure and begins to see things in a different light that maybe she was murdered. This becomes a dangerous trek and may cost her life.

In a separate story in Central England, Joanna is recovering from a broken heart and meets a bartender that sweeps her off her feet. These two stories will collide when Leah and Joanna become part of a conspiracy with the bartender knowing more than what he lets on.

It is told in 3 POVs with Leah, Amy and Joanna bringing their story to the forefront. It was really slow in the beginning, but I enjoyed this atmospheric read and wished I was on a beach while reading it.
It is the first time I have read a Helen Cooper book and from what I gather she builds her stories slowly then brings them all together smoothly.

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amy, Leah’s niece drowned in in a lake by their family resort. Leah was horrified over her death but decides to finally visit the resort again. It turns out Amy’s family has made sure her death has been ruled an accidental drowning. Leah can’t believe her own family would do that, and even go as far as erasing any memories they used to have of Amy, almost like she didn’t exist. She finds this a bit strange considering Amy’s death didn’t seem so accidental.

Joanna needs a pick me up after her break up, and goes to a beautiful resort by a lake, the bartender there might just be the pick-me-up she needs. But after getting to know him more, she realizes he might not be who she thought he was.

I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second half. I did find it to be very slow in some parts and it took me a good while to get through all of it. It was a good book but just not the kind of style I usually read.

This book started out strong for me; the premise was so interesting and the first few chapters did a good job setting up the setting on the Italian resort. However, past the premise, I found it difficult to get into the story and enjoy it.

For one thing, I felt like it was hard to connect with any of the characters. The points of view changed very quickly, normally as soon as I started to warm up to a character. I also felt like most of the characters never really made it past the surface level of development.

I also feel as though the narrative itself did a lot of showing rather than telling. Instead of seeing that a character was angry or sad or confused, I was just told that they were, which is another way that the characters and story as a whole fell a bit flat to me.

I’m not the kind of person to think that predictability is a bad thing in a story; I actually love it when I can piece the clues together and figure out what’s going on before the characters in the story do. But on that point, it’s also possible to be a little too predictable, which I think this story definitely fell into, especially with the character of Callum and his identity.

Overall, this book promised a lot but delivered very little of what it promised, ultimately falling a bit flat for me.

2.75 stars rounded up

A compelling mystery that remains breezy and fun despite delving into some dark topics. A great beach read!

This book is ok. It follows two different main characters Leah and Joanna. They have separate lives and stories. I think they were suppose to connect? But I was lost through this story. I almost didn’t finish it.

How these two characters link up, will take the entire book, and you will not see it coming! Nicely crafted with interesting characters.

This book was amazing. I was hooked from the very beginning.

It's told from 3 different points of view so you get the whole story in bits a pieces at a time which builds the suspense.

Leah is out to find out what happened to her niece. Joanna has just come from a hard breakup and meets a mysterious man. Amy centers around the whole thing. Eventually all their worlds will collide but how?

I loved how the author unfolded this book. I could not devour it fast enough!

*Thank you to Netgally for a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.*

My thanks to Penguin Group/Putnam, Netgalley and Helen Cooper.
I'll confess that I kind of loved this story. It was engaging throughout, and had enough p.o.v.'s that kept me intrigued.
But...that damned milquetoast ending!
The conclusion. The big reveal? Yeah, it just didn't sit right with me. I was left with a sadness. Mad actually that this was how a life was ended.

This book was more a mystery than a thriller with a few unexpected plot twists. I enjoyed the two stories of Joanna and Leah but often questioned some of these characters' decisions. Some of their choices did not make much sense at the time, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Helen Cooper for the ARC!

Reading Helen Cooper's book The Other Guest is like solving a puzzle. Pieces slowly come together for an outstanding conclusion. The story is about three women, Amy, Leah and Joanna told in alternating timelines. To move forward with their lives, Lean and Joanna must distinguish the truth from a web of lies.

Leah is still grieving the loss of her beautiful niece Amy, a 21-year-old who drowned in a lake in Northern Italy. Leah returns to Lake Garda to confront her grief. As Leah searches for answers to Amy's death it soon becomes apparent that the truth could put Leah's own life at risk.

Joanna is still struggling after a recent breakup when she meets Callum, a handsome male bartender. Soon after meeting Callum, Joanna discovers Callum is on the run and hiding a secret past. But what is Callum hiding?

The Other Guest is a slow burn, but once you are familiar with the authors writing style the story moves along nicely. I especially liked the way Helen Cooper ended the book. The last few chapters make it a very satisfying read. (3.5 bumped up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐)

The Other Guest by Helen Cooper is available on July 26th. I look forward to reading more from the mega-talented Helen Cooper.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam Sons, for allowing me to review this twisty book. Your kindness is appreciated.