The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan Is a deliciously evil cat-and-mouse twisty game!

Ryan killed it with this latest book!

The House Guest is a stunning, wonderfully tense thriller about the secrets we carry beneath our skin. Written with amazingly the page-turning plot is flawlessly woven with beautifully-drawn characters to tell an utterly irresistible tale by a master in this genre.
Alyssa and Bree are interesting characters who kept my attention though it all.
Ryan's books are always highly entertaining.
Her characterizations and their thoughts are "off the charts" good.
Cleverly written, Ryan fans will devour this one. I have read most of her books and each is a heck of a ride!
Move this to the top of your list. You are gonna love it.
A magnificent, knockout thriller with lots of twists and turns and, as always, an ending that you won't see coming.

If you haven't read this author's previous books... You should!
They all are so damn amazing!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Forge Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Oh wow! The House Guest had me thinking about the intentions of the characters. Alyssa is used to living a rich lifestyle with her husband Bill. Bill up and leaves and stops communicating with her. She befriends Bree in a hotel bar. Alyssa invites Bree to stay in her guest house and feels like they are creating a friendship. . Dez comes into the picture and I was constantly thinking who is bad? Who is good? What is really going on with Bill? A great cat and mouse story with great twists! This was such a good read!

I received this book as an ARC with no expectation of a positive review. Alyssa fell in love with the handsome, rich Bill Macallen. She knew he was a fundraiser. One minute she is happily married, the next minute he leaves with no explanation. She goes to a bar and meets Bree. Do you really know your friends? Who can you trust? When you think you know, it may not be the truth. This book is a twisty story that will have you guessing until the end. It is a must read.

Before I even started reading The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan I was drawn in by the amazing cover! Alyssa can not get over why her husband Bill has left her. There weren't any problems and she can't believe there could be another woman but all of a sudden he's gone. She has been used to a lavish lifestyle throughout their marriage where money was never an issue. While drowning her sorrows at a hotel bar she meets Bree who has an entirely different set of problems. They become friends and even gets invited by Alyssa to stay in her guest house to help her out. But this is just the beginning! There are so many twists and turns! It makes you wonder who really is the house guest?!!!

In the interests of full disclosure, I know Hank Phillippi Ryan and consider her a friend. And she was generous enough to let me read an advanced copy of this book.

It took a chapter or two before I warmed up to the characters, but then the questions started.

Was Bree setting Alyssa up for something, or was Alyssa hooking Bree into some scheme of her own? Each new character started a new round of questions. Was Dez good? Or bad? What was Bill’s game? Or was he being set up? Who was the FBI really after, Bill or Alyssa? Each new revelation answered one question, only to raise 2 more. And they all left Alyssa (and this reader) wondering who could be trusted.

That continued right up to the end, keeping me constantly off-balance and out of step, and that’s what a good suspense novel should do. Although to be honest, I would have appreciated a few clues earlier in the book.

Leaving the reader perplexed is what a good suspense or thriller novel should do. And Hank Phillippi Ryan delivers it in spades here.

Another great title from this author! Alyssa is devastated when wealthy husband Bill leaves her suddenly. She is used to the lifestyle she has grown to love and is dumbfounded with his disappearance. Then she meets a crying and lonely Bree at a bar one night and it's an instant friendship. And how lucky that Bree is coming into an inheritance soon! This is an awesome game of cat-and-mouse as we navigate all the twists and turns of Alyssa's life as she struggles to make sense of...pretty much everything in her life! Don't even attempt to figure it out as you may break your neck...but it is well-worth it as it's a tension-filled satisfying novel!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

This was another very good Hank book. It was very exciting and hard to figure out. Thanks to Hank and Netgalley for the change to read this book early I have been a super reader for all of her books

Imagine being blindsided by your husband as he walks out the door telling you your marriage is over. Alyssa Macallen thought life was moving in the right direction. She married a charming man that swept her off her feet. She is living in a wonderful house, member of the country club, and attends a multitude of social events. Her husband Bill had been acting distant lately but every relationship has a few bumps. Bill leaving has set her adrift. She can't determine her next steps. When she decides to go to a bar for a drink and to escape her house, she goes outside her social sphere. Alyssa meets Bree, a woman trying to escape an obsessed boyfriend. Alyssa offers Bree her guest house for as long as necessary. Will this new friend take advantage of Alyssa when she is vulnerable? Will Bree help Alyssa strengthen her resolve to move on?

Hank Phillipi Ryan has created another psychological thriller that will lead the reader through the lives of the country club rich. Money doesn't make them immune to problems. Ryan has a sympathetic character in Alyssa, her problems are understandable. People can disguise their intentions and Alyssa must understand who she can trust. Some of the outcomes are expected, and other outcomes are surprising. The twists and turns are well-crafted and entertaining. Hank Phillipi Ryan has another hit on her hands.

Alyssa's wealthy and powerful husband has left her. She has no idea why and believes he is trying to ruin her in leaving. Loneliness leads her to a bar where she meets Bree who seems down and out. She invites Bree to stay in her guest house. Is the house guest on the up and up or is she being targeted.

I appreciate when an author keeps you guessing throughout the book and the twist at the end is not what you expect. This makes a book exciting to read. There are many twists and turns in this book to keep you guessing.
I would recommend this book if you like mystery/suspense novels.

Thank you to #netgalley, #ForgeBooks, and @HankPhillippiRyan for a copy of this book.

I feel like this book needs more work. It could be edited--how many times do we have to hear Alyssa's internal dialogue about how wonderful her husband was and then just suddenly wasn't? I didn't find it plausible that she would push a virtual stranger to do the DNA test, and then drive her to the "brother's" home. I kept reading hoping the end twist would be satisfying, but it wasn't very. And the fake FBI agent was obvious. Sorry, maybe with more critical editing/restructuring it would work but for me it just wasn't very good.

This book started off slow and dragged a bit with the same questions over and over again but soon picked up momentum and threw several twists and turns that kept me wanting to read on.
I recommend this book.

First I have to say that I received an ARC copy of this book but I can assure you that has no influence on my opinion of this book. Okay, what do I say about this book? Amazing for one thing. Great read that I did not want to put down until I finished for another. Alyssa Macallen is going through a separation and probably a divorce when she just happens to meet a stranger in a bar and they become friends or do they? There are several twists and turns that you won’t see coming and then they twist again. Trust me, this book is well worth your time.

I was delighted to be a first reader of Hank Phillippi Ryan's fabulous
2023 novel, The House Guest! Thank you, Hank, for always delivering a 5-star, heart stopping,
on the edge of my seat, cannot put it down, mystery thriller! Everyone will want to join in
on this exciting, suspenseful ride, that will keep you guessing until the end!
Thank you for the honor of reading early.

Twist into twist into another twist! You don’t know who you can trust! In the middle of the cat and mouse game, everyone is a suspect and each of the players has different motives for betrayal. You keep guessing who’s the big bad wolf and who’s fooling who till the end! I love this smart execution, riveting and absolutely interesting mystery!

Poor Allyssa suffers from the betrayal of her sadistic husband who acts like Charles Boyer from the movie: Gaslight, keeps playing mind games and putting her into several tests to make sure she’s the best wife he can have! And now he decides to divorce her without proper reason after eight freaking years.

She’s at the end of her thirties, without kid cause her husband never wanted, shunned by their mutual close friends. She’s lost and lonely. She’s sacrificed a lot to be with this man. She even gave up her own name Alice, changed into Allyssa.

Now she finds herself befriending young Bree, a banker who is suffering from possessive man’s secret threats ( a husband, a fiancée, boyfriend, a boss, Allyssa doesn’t know her entire backstory) .

She meets Bree at the bar and at their second meeting she invites her to stay at her guest house. During her stay she helps her new makeover look. She pushes her to check her ancestry results as like her recently deceased mother requested.

Bree finds out she has a brother and the person who keeps harassing her on the phone has important information about her brother. That man’s name is Dez. He involves into those two women’s lives and offers his help.

In the meantime Allyssa gets a visit from a FBI agent who wants to put her husband into prison and if she doesn’t help them, she may also lose everything she cares!

Allyssa finds herself connected with those people, thinking harder to understand who’s fishing her and who’s telling the truth.

Overall: the last quarter was mind bending and conclusion was great. I can honestly say this is the best book Hank Philippi Ryan has written.

I definitely recommend to twisty thriller lovers.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/ Forge for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Hank Phillippi Ryan has done it again! I absolutely loved The House Guest. I was hooked from the very beginning until the end. The book keeps you guessing with every turn of the page. I immediately become intrigued with the bond Alyssa and Bree were forming. Was Alyssa so lonely she needed to form a connection with anyone? What was Bree’s angle? What is Dez going to gain from the friendships? How is the soon to be ex-husband going to factor in? The twists and turns throughout the book keep you guessing until the very end. Everything ties out quite nicely by the end of the book which I didn't think was going to be possible with all the different scenarios happening. I thought there would be many unanswered questions, but Hank Phillippi Ryan manages to pull everything together.

What does friendship mean? Can it arise after knowing someone for an hour or two in a bar? Alyssa Macallen isn't sure about that but what she is sure of is that her husband Bill unexpectedly announced he wants a divorce, left their home, and by the force of his personality all of their former friends are now his alone. Stunned by this turn of events in her life Alyssa goes to a bar where she meets Bree Lorrance who confides that she is in danger but gives no real details. Wanting to help and needing a friend, Alyssa invites Bree to stay in her guest house while Bree decides what to do with her life. But, as you might expect, not everything is what it seems to be as Alyssa will soon find out.

If you are a regular reader of Hank Phillippi Ryan's work you already know that you will soon be on a roller coaster ride as you, along with Alyssa, try to figure out what's going on, who is a friend, and who isn't. I could not wait to finish this book and it was well worth the time spent!

Thank you to Hank, the publisher , and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

Hank has written another soon-to-be bestseller! This is a page-turner; not so much for continuous action but for the constant need to see if my guesses were correct (for the record; yes, some were). A Hitchcockian psychological thrilling peek into the lives of the wealthy, but perhaps not happy. (I also imagine the research for this tale might have been fun though.)

Take the ride; you won't regret it!

Alyssa Macallen's privileged life is falling apart when she befriends a young woman in a suburban hotel bar. Alyssa invites Bree to stay at her Weston guest house and tries to help her move forward. Then an unexpected huge financial windfall changes Bree's life.

Manipulative mind games occur between Alyssa, her estranged husband Bill, house guest Bree and financial advisor Dez. It is not clear who is watching who, who is setting a trap, and who is telling the truth. Another fine cat-and-mouse thriller by author Hank Phillippi Ryan.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Forge Books. All opinions are my own.

The House Guest is a twisted thriller that will cause you to stay up all night reading. This book had me on the edge until I finished. Oh, what a ride to that finish!! I have to say, I didn't see that ending coming. Don't miss this one.

What a ride! I devoured this book in 2 sittings. I just didn’t want it to end, which by the way I did not see coming!!

Highly recommended to all you mystery/psychological suspense fans. Lots of twists, turns, deception & uncertainties. Short chapters kept the storyline going at a fast pace. Characters were written beautifully. Loved them all in different ways.

A must read. It has all the ingredients we love in Hank Phillippi Ryan’s novels.

Thank you to NetGalley & Hank for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoy!