This book is extremely s l o w. Repetitive. It had an abrupt and kinda absurd ending. The whole story was unbelievable and I did not care for the characters either.

I am definitely a mood reader and Hank Phillippi Ryan's latest The House Guest was the right pick for this gloomy, cold Canadian weather. Tea, my reading blanket, cat snuggles and this twisty game of cat and mouse suspense novel led to some quality reading time.

Alyssa Macallan thought she had it all - a successful, rich and charismatic husband, a luxury home, lunches at the country club. And then her husband just walked out on their life. Trying to come to terms with her new situation, worried her ex is manipulating her in sneaky ways, she unexpectedly connects with a stranger she meets in a bar. Bree's situation seems worse than her own and in an attempt to forget about her own problems, Alyssa invites her to stay in her guest house. As the two women try to support each other, unexpected things start happening to both of them. Goodreads summary captured it perfectly: "but which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?"

This was medium paced, engaging, with interesting characters and the kind of plot twists I really enjoyed. There were hints and red herrings throughout the book, a number of possibilities for which way the story would go and Ryan cleverly has the reader constantly doubt their guesses. The House Guest is a great read for getting you out of a reading slump, escaping the winter weather or simply enjoying a fun, well written suspense novel.

My gratitude goes to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for gifting me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The House Guest was such an interesting read. I found myself wanting to ask Alyssa if she'd lost her mind so many times. Who moves a stranger into their home, guest house or not? Especially someone as well off as Alyssa?

And then when things started to get strange, I kept thinking throw her out! This is a crime scene waiting to happen!

So thank you, Hank Phillippi Ryan, for keeping me guessing and wondering the whole book through. I distrusted everyone and began to wonder who could be trusted and what was coming around the corner. These are the best types of books, in my opinion. Very cat-and-mouse to keep the reader guessing while a great story unfolds.

If you've read this author before or never have, I would still recommend picking this up and giving it a read. I think you'll enjoy it and find yourself recommending it to others.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing an ARC at my request. This was a wonderful read!

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan does it again! She sets up a scenario that is so easy to see yet so hard to see through. Just Who is this house guest really and is her guest’s guest truly a guest? Ryan winds us through a shadowy twisted trail while handing the reader a rope to either find our way home, or hang ourselves trying to outguess the author. I was tempted to do both at times. I LOVED every twist, especially with the petty, vindictive estranged spouse. (or louse?) Highly recommend this 5-star read!

From a Netgalley ARC, with a preorder in the works, the opinions are my own.
#TheHouseGuest #HankPRyan #HankPhilippiRyan #MacMillanForge #ForgeBooks #NetgalleyReview #TwistyTwistyTwisty

Would you invite a stranger you met at a bar back to your home?

This cat and mouse thriller threw me for a loop. For a good portion of the book I had no idea where it was going then the action amped up, the twists started revealing themselves and I was shook

Alyssa’s a bundle of nerves. She’s convinced her wealthy husband is going to divorce her and leave her with nothing. She meets Bree while drowning her sorrows at a bar. The drinks keep flowing and Alyssa invites Bree to live in her guest house. Then the FBI shows up. Things get crazy from there.

The House Guest is available now.

Thank you netgalley and macmillian-tor/forge for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Alyssa Macallan knows what it is to have no money, no power, no control. And then she married Bill Macallan, and she found out what it was to have money. He was a trust fund kid, and he worked with charities to raise funds, to help donors find opportunities where they could donate. And he was good at it. He was celebrated in Boston, at the parties, at the galas, at the country club. And Alyssa was by his side for all of it.

Until she wasn’t.

Suddenly, one day, Bill left. He didn’t explain. He didn’t sit her down for a heartfelt apology. He said he was leaving, and then he left. And Alyssa was heartbroken.

When she’d met Bill, she had been a first year law student. She’d had a plan. But she fell in love and gave it all up to be Bill’s wife. She decorated their houses. She looked the part. She accompanied him to all the best restaurants, all the most important events. She got used to the lifestyle, to the comfort, to the power. And now, it could all be ripped away from her in the divorce.

That’s how Alyssa ended up in a hotel bar, drinking a martini by herself. And that’s where she was when Bree came in and sat next to her. Alyssa offered to buy her drink for her, and then she was going to head back home to her empty house. But she decided to stay. They talked. Alyssa found out that Bree was being stalked by an abusive boyfriend, and she was in the process of moving to Boston to get away from him. Alyssa heads home after they talk, but she goes back to the hotel bar the next night.

After some more drinks and more talking, Alyssa invites Bree back to her house to stay. Bree will be safer in the guest house, and Alyssa won’t be as alone. Despite having an alarm system and an agreement with Bill that he not enter the house without letting her know in advance, Alyssa knows that Bill is going into the house anyway. Sometimes something is moved or left behind, but Alyssa has no power to stop him. But if Bree is around, maybe that will keep Alyssa safer also.

But then the FBI shows up, asking to speak to Alyssa. Apparently, not all of Bill’s work is completely above board, and the FBI is asking for Alyssa’s help to trap him. Alyssa is not left with many options, as the FBI could change tactics and come after her. Or maybe they were coming after her, and this was just a fishing expedition, to find out how much Alyssa knows about Bill’s financial shenanigans. So Alyssa is left with a complicated decision, whether to help the FBI entrap Bill, or to take her chances that she won’t be implicated in his crimes.

But with Bill gaslighting her, Alyssa doesn’t know who to trust. How much should she confide in Bree and her financial advisor Dez, who seems to be hanging out with them a lot? Should she believe what the FBI is telling her? Should she cooperate with them, or not? Should she tell Bill that the FBI were watching him? And how will all of that affect her upcoming divorce? Alyssa is tired, she is grieving, and she doesn’t know who to trust. But she will need to figure out some way out of the dilemma she’s in, or she may end up divorced, penniless, and in jail.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is back with The House Guest, a twisty story about money and its ability to change everything in a heartbeat. This novel has a lot of talking, but you can never be entirely sure of who is telling the truth and how much truth they are telling. There are more twists than a roller coaster and more switches than a train station as this cold-burning thriller unwinds into the final reveals.

I’ve been a fan of Ryan’s for several years now, so I knew some of what to expect with her writing. She likes to bring the complexity and the twists. And this is the epitome of that. However, it felt a little like this one was mostly a handful of characters talking and talking and talking, taking the situation apart piece by piece, until my head hurt. I’m glad I stuck with it, because the end explains everything (eventually), and that helped. This was a good HPR book, not a great one, but still fun overall.

Egalleys for The House Guest were provided by Forge Books through NetGalley, with many thanks.

I received this ARC through NetGalley and was very intrigued! It started out really strong and mysterious, had me hooked pretty quickly. There was some parts in the middle that seemed to slow down a bit and become a bit repetitive. But the ending came in strong and had me hooked right back in! This is my first book by this author and I really did enjoy it. I think the writing was done well, very descriptive with some foreshadowing. I would definitely recommend this read!

This is Hank Phillippi Ryan at her best! Kept me guessing the whole way through. I would think I had figured it out but no.. I turn a page and Bam! Another twist! Great read that kept me in the edge of my seat~

Although I've long been a fan of Hank and Karen Dionne's popular The Back Room author interviews, this is the first book I've read by Hank. And what a ride! There is something to grab and hold your attention in each chapter. The plot is complicated but not so much that you can't follow along. The main character does come across as a bit guileless, but essentially is a good person who sees another woman in a bad situation and makes an offer she might later regret.

As the book moves toward the end, you might think you've got the full story, but there's more to come. At first the ending seemed to contradict some of the events that happened previously, but everything is explained. I loved that this book had different storyline than the types of thrillers I'm used to. This is one of those "stay up until you finish it reads"!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Forge Books for an advance reader's copy.

Just when I think Hank Phillippi Ryan can't top her last book, she does. The House Guest was a constant roller coaster of, wait, who's the "villain" here, or is there a villain? I absolutely loved the characters, and, although I probably wouldn't have invited a near stranger to stay in my guest house, it made for the best story, It really is true - You can't always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve, All the starts to Hank and the House Guest! Thanks so much for the opportunity to review.

𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦, 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵? 𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴.

After Alyssa Macallan and her husband separate, she feels all alone. She meets Bree Lorrance at a bar, and is drawn to her. Bree is running from her abusive ex so lonely Alyssa offers her her guest house to stay in. When the FBI shows up investigating Alyssa’s husband, her and Bree form a plan to figure out what is going on.

This was a slow burn thriller with lots of twists and red herrings thrown in to keep the reader guessing. I enjoyed the build up in this book, and the slow burn helped to make the story suspenseful. I kept thinking I had it all figured, but then there would be a twist totally throwing me off.

I did think the ending was a tad unrealistic and then just kept getting more far fetched. It could have stopped at one point, and I would have been fine with that. I enjoyed the unreliable narrator in this story and trying to figure out who was lying and who wasn’t. HPR definitely kept me on my toes!

I had the pleasure of meeting HPR last summer at an author event, and I’m glad I finally got to read one of her books. I really like her writing style and look forward to reading her backlist.
Thank you Forge Books and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Forge Books and Netgalley for this great book. I am gateful also to my friend who told me about this book. And she was right a great mystery and shocking ending. I was on the edge how the sudden decision of a divorce would turn out. I should know noone is who it seems and that is completly fine

Alyssa has been happily married to her wealthy husband Bill for eight years, or so she thought right up to the minute he walked out, saying he wanted a divorce without telling her why. She dropped out of her law degree to marry Bill and now she’s about to lose the lifestyle she’s become used to as Bill’s lawyers are ruthless. Bill’s clearly being spreading lies about her as all their friends are giving her the cold shoulder and she’s never felt more alone. That is until she invites a distressed woman she befriends in a bar to stay in the guest house.

This is a twisty psychological suspense. Most of it is over the top and far fetched, but in a very entertaining way. No one is quite who they seem to be, except Alyssa who often seems naive and artless, at least until she finds out what Bill has really been up to. It was definitely fun to go along for the ride and I did enjoy the ending.

American author Hank Phillippi Ryan is not widely known outside of United States, which is a shame as her books are quite enjoyable. After writing two popular series about investigative journalists, Hank is herself an award winning television reporter, she has more recently moved into the stand-alone suspense realm with books such as The First To Lie and Her Perfect Life.

The House Guest is also firmly in the psychological suspense arena and revolves around Alyssa Macallan, who has just been dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband, Bill. Friendless and with a devastating divorce looming, Alyssa begins to suspect that her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her and leave her penniless. When the FBI turns up at her door, Alyssa knows that she is in real trouble. A drunken and seemingly chance encounter with the engaging and enigmatic Bree Lorrance, who is running from her own dangerous relationship, seems to offer Alyssa a way out, but can she really trust her new house guest?

This an entertaining and easy flowing suspense novel that smoothly weaves its way through a labyrinthine plot of suspicions and surprises. Alyssa is easy to like, although she is not the smartest or the most decisive person you could find, and Hank is very good at building up the detail of her outwardly desirable life. She also nicely contrasts Alyssa with the less refined Bree. The other characters are also finely sketched, and Hank has good fun in skewering Alyssa’s society friends who promptly desert her when she loses the status of being Bill’s wife.

The book builds to a good climax and fans of domestic suspense thrillers will eagerly consume this one.

The House Guest is a great thriller full of twists and turns. Hank Philippi Ryan keeps you flipping the pages until the end of the book. You will be rooting for one character then instantly turning to cheer for the other character. A very fast and easy read. I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

Very slow burn. At times I wanted to give up BUT I’m glad I didn’t because when it got going it really went. It did seem like it went for a little *too* much at times, however, because I did have to go back a few times to make sure I didn’t miss something. Twisty to the core.

Thanks to NetGalley, Tor/Forge Publishing, and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies.

Out now!

EXCERPT: She patted her face dry with a fluffy white towel, monogrammed, and wondered if she could somehow cut all the monograms off. She reached out to pull down the blue-and-white striped duvet, then paused, arm in mid-air. She had never been in this bed alone.
Now she stared at it, a thing suddenly from another life. The elaborate headboard had been crafted from local driftwood, buffed and painted a bleached blue, like a stone tumbled by the waves and left in the sand. Blue-striped linens, thin white matelassé blankets, and an oversize almost threadbare antique quilt of pale blue and white diamonds draped across the foot of the bed, so lavish that both ends draped on the floor. Bill's favourite ship model, the Cutty Sark, he'd explained, still sailed to nowhere atop three steamer trunks, stacked like unpacked Russian Dolls in the corner. She had half a mind to throw the thing over the balcony and onto the grass below, and it gave her chills, thinking about destroying Bill's possessions. Destroying what he loved, just the way he'd destroyed her.

ABOUT 'THE HOUSE GUEST': After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

MY THOUGHTS: Yeah, nah, maybe . . .

Sometimes reading this was like wading through molasses, or being caught in a whirlpool, going round and round and round in circles over and over again. At other times it was intriguing and engaging.

The story started well with Alyssa meeting another down on her luck woman in a bar and taking her home to stay with her. Shortly after this the story gets a bit bogged down and repititious, not really becoming interesting again until the final 20%.

During the middle period my mind ran over all the possible scenarios and I was 90% correct with my predictions. Which isn't a criticism, but had I been fully engaged and living 'in the moment' of the storyline, I wouldn't have had time for my mind to wander . . .

None of the characters, with the exception of Mickey, are particularly likeable. And I was kind of rooting for Alyssa throughout but, for such a smart woman, she made some remarkably dumb decisions.

The plot is clever, but I never became fully invested. I have previously read books by this author and loved them. Had I gone into this not knowing who the author was, I never would have picked it to be Hank Phillipi Ryan.

A story of love, betrayal and revenge that isn't up to the author's normal standard. But I adore the cover.

⭐⭐⭐.2

#TheHouseGuest #NetGalley

I: : @hankpryan @macmillanusa

T: @MacmillanUSA

#contemporaryfiction #crime #domesticdrama #friendship #psychologicaldrama

THE AUTHOR: Hank Phillippi Ryan is an American investigative reporter for Channel 7 News on WHDH-TV, a local television station in Boston, Massachusetts. She is also an author of mystery novels.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The House Guest by Hank Phillipi Ryan for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

A sense of unease rolls over you almost from the moment you read the first page of The House Guest, and the unease settles in and stays with you, getting worse once Bree appears. That is author Hank Phillippi Ryan’s superpower: in every book she sets the stage like nobody else, throws you on it and doesn’t let you get up until the shocking, terrifying conclusion. She creates an environment we can almost identify with, even if we’re not married to a billionaire. Who of us hasn’t felt hurt, lost, unwanted and been grateful for even the smallest bit of kindness? We want things to work out fine for Alyssa but we’re so worried, we’re thinking, thinking, thinking. What a great start for this novel.

Alyssa is cautious, paranoid, afraid, desperate – pick one, pick them all. She’s vulnerable and susceptible to any little bit of kindness, to feeling like she is in control of something. But something is off about Bree. It just doesn’t seem right. Maybe it’s that we are conditioned to not trust strangers, to not put ourselves at risk, open to trouble and being taken advantage of. Or that this is a thriller we are reading so we are expecting something terrible to eventually happen. Alyssa wants to escape her fears and despair and helplessness and helping Bree, taking charge of Bree taking charge, seems to make that possible. Bree’s situation seems to Alyssa to be even worse than her own: they can be two against the world instead of Alyssa all by herself, doing something instead of waiting for something to happen. Maybe Alyssa is right and Bree is just another woman getting a bad deal. From her barstool it does look like Alyssa is the one who approached her, who questioned and pushed and pried and insisted until here they are – instant BFFs at Alyssa’s house. I still have that creepy feeling, though. It can’t be that simple and it can’t be good. Bree always seems to strike the right pose, say the right words, protest at the right time to keep reeling Alyssa in. She’s really revealed almost nothing about herself but has allowed Alyssa to create quite the story. Alyssa’s vulnerability is very close to gullibility. She seems baffled, in a fog. Maybe it’s because of everything that’s happened with Bill. Maybe – as she seems to have come to believe – she’s not that bright to begin with. But it is very unsettling to think Alyssa may have been so easily targeted.

My dislike of Bree was instant. She seems manipulative and phony. And I didn’t like Alyssa all the time because instead of suspecting a setup with meeting Bree, she thought of Bree as waiflike and untethered that first night. The one who seemed untethered and off balance was Alyssa. But she is lost and grasping at anything that will give her the tiniest sense of control, of normalcy.

The completely unexpected brutal way that Bill dumped her was devastating. And her life has only continued to deteriorate. Her so-called friends have quickly abandoned her, many in a malicious way, probably poisoned by Bill. She feels watched and knows Bill has been in the house when she’s not there. It’s against their agreement but Bill has always been in charge of everything and vicious to his enemies, which is the category she now seems to be in. So every bit of closeness with Bree – real or otherwise – feeds the hurt and resentment Alyssa feels about her new unexpected, unwanted life.

After the excellent set up by author Ryan, The House Guest moves briskly along, with twists and turns we don’t see coming and characters we don’t know if we can trust or not. Just when Alyssa begins to feel certain of the “facts” something happens to set her reeling. It’s at this point we begin to realize that even though she is baffled and hurt and uncertain she has strength Bill never gave her credit for and was maybe not quite as clueless as he thought – or hoped.

The House Guest is one excellent read that will keep you guessing. You won’t know who to believe but you will know that the danger to Alyssa is real. She just has to figure out exactly where it is coming from. Thanks to the author for providing an advance copy of The House Guest. I am voluntarily leaving this review; all opinions are my own. I cannot recommend this book, and this always-fantastic author – highly enough.

The House Guest
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook and Audiobook
Date Published: 2/7/23
Author: Hank Phillippi Ryan
Publisher: Macmillan
Narrator: Stephanie Willing
GR: 3.83

HAPPY PUB DAY!! I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: The House Guest is a disturbing cat and mouse game thriller from Ryan. Alyssa is a newly separated wife, from a very powerful, wealthy man. Charles, the soon-to-be ex, gives a new meaning to gaslighting. She meets this timid young woman, Bree, in a bar, and truly wants to help her. They form an instant bond. The plot seems simple, however the simple plot is delivered into many complex subplots that really up the level of a thriller. I do not want to give too much away as to not spoil for other readers.

The story is narrated by Alyssa. Alyssa appears as an unreliable narrator, but is far from this. Bree appears to be a timid young lady hiding from her abusive ex. The characters were developed well, fleshed out, had depth, were mysterious, and brilliantly created. The author’s writing style was complex, multifaceted, twisted, dark, intriguing, brilliant, and engaging. This story had me guessing to the bitter end. There are few thrillers that keep me guessing until the end, so when a book stumps me, to me that is a very well written book!

For the last few thrillers I have read, only a few have really gripped me, this being one of the top ones. This was gripping, diabolical, dark, and kept me on the edge of the page. The last quarter delivers a punch and the ending was twist upon twist and brilliantly carved out. I devoured within a few days. I HIGHLY recommend picking this one up today. I know that I will be adding Ryan’s backlist to my TBR.

Synopsis: Alyss Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend. She meets Bree, who she met at a bar and the two become instant friends as Bree just left an abusive relationship. She lets Bree live in her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a tempting offer: maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

Review: This book has lots of twists and I recommend to listen the the audiobook! The pacing is great and I enjoyed the narrator! This book is slightly predictable but still keeps you on your toes! This is quite entertaining but you need to suspend reality at how quickly the friendship evolved and to the level it did.
Recommend if you like:
 Lots of twists Strong female friendships Cat and mouse story Red herrings and lots of breadcrumbs Fast paced
Redemptive ending
A good comeuppance