'The Red House' starts with a shocking crime and from there we skip forward to a grown-up Eve who is faced with uncovering a disturbing and long-buried truth. For the most part I really enjoyed this, I say for the most part as there was a section where I thought the pace slowed and events became a bit muddled and weird and I did begin to lose interest. Watkins did pull it back and I ended up enjoying it but this read was not without faults.
'The Red House' is definitely not a read for squeamish people and there are a lot of dark and difficult scenes to read. However, they are not there for shock factor and they are integral to the plot and they all have an important role to play in the overall plot.
I really liked the characters in this, they all felt quite realistic, they are definitely not all likeable but I was sympathetic towards them and wanted to read about them.
Watkins weaves a complicated plot throughout this book and it is well worth reading for the end twist alone. Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for an advance copy.

Wow!!! What an ending!!! I was shocked. I loved this book, kept me on edge trying to figure it out.
A family is murdered. 5 years old cellie says her brother Joseph did it. Joseph was found with the gun and had crashed his dad's car, He is now in a coma.
Joseph did it, obviously........or did he?
Thanks to netgally and the publisher for a copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I would absolutely recommend this book.

A seemingly happy family is murdered by one of their own who then spends decades in a coma. It was all cut and dried…or was it?

The psychological thriller genre is packed with titles and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in the crowd. The Red House sets the scene with a creepy location in a marshy area. There’s a witness, but is she a reliable narrator? This is a fast paced murder mystery which kept me guessing from start to finish. Packed with unexpected twists, it borders on a bit OTT at times, but I was so gripped I can forgive a couple of contrivances. It’s a belting read from start to finish and I polished it off in a couple of sittings.

The Red House by Roz Watkins is a standalone thriller and the first book from the author I have read. I was intrigued by the Blurb, so I had to read it.
Twenty years ago, Joseph flowers was convicted of murdering his parents and his baby brother Benji. By the witness of his five-year-old sister Celestine. But a car accident left him in a vegetative state and in a coma since. Celestine’s grandmother has been looking after him ever since. But when she dies of Cancer it is left to her to look after him but instead, he is put into a care home.
When Celestine (now name Eve) finds a notebook leading to a secret level in a computer game that Jonathan wrote. New evidence shows that he might not be the killer after all. Eve has re valuate everything that she thought she knew. Should she come clean about her face blindness? But if Jonathon isn’t the killer of her parents all of them years ago Who is?
Thank you, HQ, for a copy Of the Red House. This is a well written, spooky thriller with a unique storyline. For the most part this is an enjoyable thriller. But I did feel about the last third of the book there was a lot of back stories that went a bit off track to the main story and the ending didn’t have the big impact that I was expecting. 4 stars from me

I love this book. This is my first read by author Roz Watkins and the blurb sounded right up my street. I was so excited to read this novel, and it really did not disappoint

We meet Eve, working in a little book shop in a quaint village and her boss is Marcus. We come to realise that Eve is not really who she says that she is and we learn that she used to live in The Red House, where her brother supposedly killed Eve's family. Eve used to be Celestine and her brother Joseph is now in a comatose state.

Eve has distanced herself from her brother but with the death of Joseph's carer (also Eve's grandma), Eve is given the heavy task of caring for him. Eve has Joseph placed in a care home and she realises that he is in fact communicative and aware somewhat of his surroundings.

Eve questions if Joseph really did kill her family and this sets the premise of this wonderful tale. Told through the eyes of Eve, Joseph and their father, Andrew, Roz Watkins weaves an utterly brilliant tale with an ending that was incredible and I did not see happening at all.

If you love a good thriller of a story, that is fast-paced and extremely enjoyable then this book if for you.

Thanks to NetGalley, Roz Watkins and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this brilliant novel in exchange for my honest review.

A fast paced thriller of a read with a great storyline and characters which kept me engaged from the beginning until the end

Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this ARC which I can thoroughly recommend.

Oh my bloody god! This book!! My heart was racing whilst reading and this is my favourite ending of the year so far.

This storyline is so clever, I loved the twists and turns, especially seeing how the characters were involved. The setting was so creepy and perfect.

This is the first book I have read by the author, I am looking forward to reading her previous and any future books. Another auto-buy author added to my list.

I received a free copy from Netgalley below is the blurb
"The Flowers were the perfect family. Until the day fifteen-year-old Joseph shot dead his parents and baby brother whilst his younger sister Eve hid. The family home became known as ‘The Red House’, the place where the walls were covered in blood.

No one knows why Joseph murdered his family: the following day he crashed his car and has been in a coma for two decades. Eve’s always known he did it; she saw the crime, after all.

But how reliable a witness is a five-year-old? Now an adult, Eve is forced to re-examine her memories when disturbing new evidence about the case comes to light. Because if Joseph didn’t do it, then the killer’s still out there – and they’re coming back for the girl who escaped…"

Ok when I started reading this my expectations were low as I had just finished reading a book by one of my favourite authors but how wrong I was. I enjoyed this book right from the start and although I guessed some of it I was taken by surprise at the very end! It kept me engaged throughout. The book switches between the past and the present mainly from the main characters perspective but also including the other characters perspective too. A really good read and I have noted the author to look for other books too.

Two time periods. A family slaughtered in their own home. Two decades later the survivors continue to struggle with the ongoing trauma. A computer game created by one of the family and named after the site of the carnage regains popularity when a reward is offered using the game levels to solve the twenty year old mystery. Long missing adversaries re-emerge putting everyone who knows the family in jeopardy. A deadly game of cat and mouse played out against the hidden clues locked inside the game slowly emerge where nobody is who they seem and nothing of the night of carnage is as was believed. A hugely entertaining most unusual storyline that raises more questions as each discovery made to an unbelievably traumatic conclusion followed by a chilling sting in the tale delivering a finale like no other. Many thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC of this most entertaining and unique book.

I’ll start this review by saying I’m not a huge thriller/suspense/mystery fan. This book had a lot of different storylines and characters coming and going and used a trope which made it easy to “fudge” who characters really were and what their motives may be. There were various twists which were either predictable or nonsensical or some times both. The main character constantly contradicted herself-sometimes within the space of a paragraph and I just found the whole book quite hard going and a chore to reach the end of.

From starting to read this book to the very end, I was hooked.
I got to know the characters and the integral Red House setting inside out, as I wove my way through. I found it difficult to put the book down, because I needed to know what happened next!
Celestine/Eve was an amazing young lady - full of grit, determination and questions. I would have liked to have met her.
I definitely recommend that you read this book.

It was nice to read a standalone by the author of the well-established DI Meg Dalton series. There's plenty here for fans of suspense with surprises. I didn't see the twists coming.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

A perfect thriller. From the start I was hooked. I just needed to find out what was going on!

The red house is eerie with plenty of suspense and twists along the way. It has a nice range of characters and the story is told between two characters Eve and Andrew. Which really helps the story unfold.

I liked the base of this story, it’s very cleverly worked out and different.

Overall a fab read that I would recommend to others.

This was an excellent read. The pace was good and it had just the right amount of revealling and keeping you guessing throughout. Very clever indeed and a great ending.

The Red House is ingenious, twisty and thought-provoking.

For 20 years, Eve has believed her brother, Joseph, murdered their parents & baby brother. But a series of events throw new light on what might have happened, and Eve is forced to question everything she knew. With reluctant allies and old enemies around her, and others with vested interests, Eve must make tough decisions about her brother's life. She must confront the past and find out: if Joseph didn't kill them, who did?

With twist after twist, Roz Watkins has created a highly enjoyable and well-paced read.

The police take the word of a 5 year old child as to who murdered her parents - but the child is hiding a dark secret. The murder raises its head again after her grandmother dies 20 years later and her brother - who accused - is moved to a care home. He's been in a vegetative state since the day after the murder. Celestine - now known as Eve - is still guarding her secret.

A well written and exciting story. So strange that it could be true.

Loved it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

‘The Red House’ is set in a beautiful, atmospheric part of Britain that I had always thought would lend itself to a good murder mystery: Derbyshire’s Peak District. Here, finally, is a thriller that does the Peak District’s evocative landscape justice. In a dual timeline split between contemporary Derbyshire and events twenty years earlier, we follow the trajectory of Joseph Flowers. Twenty years ago, he stood accused of killing his entire family bar his five year old sister Eve, who was subsequently given a new identity. The adult Eve now wants to achieve closure to her trauma by investigating her memories and finding out what happened to Joseph. But what will she find once she starts investigating their shared past?

Earlier readers have described this novel as a ‘slow burn’ and I agree; this does in no way diminish the impact of the mystery that is unveiled here, however, and Watkins’ writing is superb. Highly recommended. I wish to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC I received that allowed me to produce this honest and unbiased review.

With many thanks to Netgalley and HQ for this free ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Oh my! What a fabulous book! Totally gripped from page 1 and literally could not put this book down hence read in a day. Wonderful characters beautifully written ingenious storyline and THAT last chapter - wow! Could not fault this a 5⭐️ read all day long

Atmospheric, Haunting…
A shocking crime, a confirmed killer, new evidence. A seemingly perfect family unit existed until their home was to become known as ‘The Red House’ following the most brutal of crimes - the killer was securely confined, in one way or another. Or, so they thought. Memories have a way of coming back to haunt and when new evidence comes to light things may well change. A deftly and confidently written intricate mystery - atmospheric and haunting, starting with a bang and continuing with a slow burn of tension, twist after twist before hurtling to a breathless and wholly unexpected denouement.

The Red House is a thriller set in the Peak District that flows between present day and twenty years earlier. Twenty years ago, Joseph Flowers murdered his parents and baby brother in cold blood before spending the night at a friends and the crashing his car in a serious accident leaving him in a coma. The only person to escape the house was Eve, Joseph’s younger sister who aged five was the only witness and is now living under a new identity. Faced with the decision of choosing whether to keep her brother alive, Eve decides to find out the truth of what really happened that night. I found book to be a slow burner but it did hold my interest. It’s a tale of secrets and lies that builds to a climactic ending. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.