Vein Of Menace..
An idyllic idea of a weekend on the Isle of Skye turns terrifying for DC Nicola McKenna and her partner. With their original hotel double booked, their start to the weekend is not the best - but, when they arrive at the only hotel with available rooms things are about to get much, much worse. Something is definitely not right at The Loch House - but what? With an intriguing premise that plays out well, a plot populated with an underlying vein of slow burn menace and a deftly drawn and credible cast, this is an edge of seat tale bubbling with suspense.

I received an E-ARC with a request for my honest review.

This creepy crime thriller follows DI Alex McKenna who is on a getaway trip with her boyfriend and her son on the Isle of Skye.

After a mix-up with the hotel booking, they must find another hotel to stay in to escape the snowstorm, the receptionist helps them obtain a reservation at The Loch House.

When they arrive, they are set several rules and start to wonder if they should have made the decision to stay. After discovering the history of the house, a one-night stay seems like a dangerous mission to stay alive.

What is the history of the house? Will they survive the night?

This creepy thriller is a mixture between a mystery and a horror, with the terrifying back story of the house and the uncertainty of what will happen to the people staying at the hotel. The owners of the hotel, also add to the creepiness of the storyline and you start to wonder which of the characters you can trust.

There is another shocking storyline entwined, which also adds to the eeriness of the mystery.
In between the chapters there are excerpts from a True Crime broadcast which adds to the background and helps understand more about the past of The Loch House.

Overall, a creepy crime thriller where an overnight stay at The Loch House, may turn deadly.

A fun and suspenseful thriller with a lot to unpack! So there are multiple stories connecting this one together but I really loved the setting. A dark and mysterious hotel with a sordid past, a snowy night and people who are all clearly keeping secrets. The story was fast pace and engaging, leaving me wanting more and more.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 16th April. This is the perfect for suspense/thriller fans it was action packed with many twists and turns that kept me guessing to very end! 😊

Overall, a suspenseful and cracking thriller that’s not to be missed! 😊

Nicola, her son and partner arrive on the Isle of Skye. They’ve come to see the northern lights and were booked into a luxury hotel. However after an issue with the booking, they have no choice but to accept a room at the only guest house with a vacancy, The Loch House. With the winter weather worsening, they finally make it to the guest house but here starts the beginning of their nightmare. And as the snow continues to fall, Nicola wonders if they will ever leave here alive. I found this book really hard to put down. With a compelling plot line, it’s a fast paced thriller that will have you hooked to the end. Thank you to NetGalley, Embla Books and the author for the chance to review.

Lots of interesting elements, and I appreciate the attempt, but wasn’t personally a fan of the parallel story telling via true crime podcast.

Firstly I would like to thank netgalley and Embla books,and the fantastic author Caroline Mitchell for an early copy of her book to read.


Nicola has a son George and her partner Matt,who's relationship isnt going well take a trip to the Isle of Skye.when they arrive the place they booked told them it was the following week they drove in bad snowy weather no where to stay the only available room was in the Loch house which has a terrible past,on arrival they didnt expect so many rules..no phones..no going out after nine but why? it soon becomes apparent why..my rating is 3.5 rounded to four.a creepy mystery read.still enjoy her crime reads abit more..enjoy reading her books and looking forward to reading more.


To be reviewed on goodreads and Amazon uk.

Having read and enjoyed a number of Caroline Mitchell’s books, I was keen to get my hands on her latest offering, and it did not disappoint! The setting couldn’t be more perfect: an old and eerie guesthouse in Scotland on the night of a heavy snowstorm. This atmospheric backdrop sets the stage for a truly mysterious tale. The characters really are an interesting collection of people, each being written in such a way that the reader is kept guessing as to who is telling the truth about themselves and their reasons for being at the guesthouse , as well as what other secrets are hiding within the walls. I particularly enjoyed the way the characters are described; I could picture them all in my head and feel the tense atmosphere in that room!

As well as the events taking place at The Loch House, there is a concurrent story, which is a set of murder mystery podcasts. Initially I was confused as to significance them, however, as the tale progresses the correlation becomes strikingly clear. All in all, this is brilliant book with many unexpected twists and turns – very highly recommended.

The title on Amazon states, “The Last Guest House: An absolutely unputdownable and gripping BRAND NEW thriller”. I am usually leery of books with such bold declarations; that’s a lot to live up to. But I won this book through NetGalley, and it is fairly short, So I gave it a try. And the benefit of the doubt.

The premise is alluring: During a severe snowstorm, Matt, Nicola, and wee George wind up at Loch House where there are already several other guests. They check the reviews and are hard-pressed to find any positive ones (which goes against the first part of the cover blurb under the title (“Your Perfect Escape”). They are all stranded due to the storm. The elderly proprietors give them several rules that they must all abide; two of which are the sticking points: no phones, and no leaving the building after 9 pm. They are locked into Loch House (get the word play?), and blithely give over their phones. They are never given a reason; the couple being cagey and obtuse (multiple times throughout the book there is basically the same conversation). Even when a crisis occurs, the guests never push for answers.

This is a frame story. The events at Loch house told through the points of view of Matt and Nicola (he wants to marry her, she doesn’t like him), and Elita (an unknown quantity to the guests), alternating with podcast banter between Alex and Matt (who are giving us some background information that will eventually bring the mysterious happenings at the Loch House, and a seemingly unrelated case history). For me, their banter and insincerity was painful to read.

Nicola is a police officer, but doesn’t know how to act like one. Matt is pathetic but believable (the only character who is). There is the obligatory twist at the end which I found silly.

I wish I could be more positive.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Embla Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Nicola and Matt along with their son George are taking a short break on the Isle of Skye. Unfortunately there was a mix up with the hotel they had booked so ended up at the Loch house.

The house is old, untidy with a creepy vibe. The old couple that run it are eccentric to say the least. They have rules that need to be kept such as no phone and no going out after 9pm. There is a severe snow storm so they have no choice but to stay here for the night.

There is a feeling of being watched, the other guests seem untrustworthy and George goes missing. This is a creepy mystery where all is not what it seems.

This had my interest right from the start. There are pov's from Nicola, Matt and Elita and the chapters are short, which I like. I did get a little bored mid way, I found it abit slow and repetitive but then it picked up again in the second half. There was a random unsolved mystery pod cast every couple of chapters that kept you up to date with the mystery of the Loch house which the owner and guests were murdered 10 years prior. This didn't add anything for me and seemed somewhat out of place.

Overall this was a quick, easy, fun read that did have you wondering who was who.

3 stars.

#netgalley #thelastguesthouse #carolinemitchell #mystery #murder

Nicola, a police officer, her boyfriend Matt and her six year old son George have travelled to the Isle of Skye to see the Northern Lights. Unknown to Nicola, Matt has booked a luxury suite in the hotel and intends to pop the question. However, something went wrong with his booking and they end up having to stay in the Loch House, an isolated guest house.

The Loch House is old and run down and the couple running the guest house, Henry and Dorothy are also very odd. And very odd are the rules of staying there – no smoking, no loud music, no phones and no leaving the premises after 9pm. However, with heavy snow falling, Nicola is just glad to have a bed for the night, although Matt is less happy that his plans for a romantic getaway have been scuppered.

There are other guests at the Loch House, not all of them who they say they are. After a surprisingly good dinner, they gather in the guest lounge and talk turns to the unsolved mass murder that happened at the Loch House ten years ago to the day. Dorothy and Henry’s daughter who ran the Loch House then was one of those killed.

This is a pretty creepy, atmospheric mystery from Caroline Mitchell. Between chapters there are transcripts of a podcast reporting on a crime in a showbiz family in London, although its relevance is not apparent until later in the book. The tension builds as the night wears on and strange events start to unfold and the reader can only wonder if any of them will get out of there alive. With quite a few themes, this is an unusual dark and spooky locked room that will appeal top fans of psychological suspense.

Told from three different perspectives - plus transcripts from a true crime podcast - The Last Guest House is a locked room thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. DC Nicola McKenna is on vacation with her boyfriend, Matt, and her six-year-old son, George, to see the Northern Lights. But a mistaken hotel reservation forces them to go stay at a creepy inn with a violent past.

I found the switching of perspectives and the inclusion of podcast transcripts to be effective, and I liked how atmospheric this novel was. I read it in almost one setting, so it definitely fits the bill for a tense, quick read. Some of the decisions made by the main characters are incredibly frustrating - I was definitely internally screaming "no!" at some of their choices, and I saw some of the twists coming. Nonetheless, this was an entertaining read, and I'd pick up another novel from Caroline Mitchell in the future.

A totally gripping psychological thriller set on the Isle of Skye on a bleak, wintery night .......
Nicola, her young son George, and her boyfriend Matt are away for the weekend on what was supposed to be a luxury break to see the Northern lights. What unfolds soon turns into an absolute nightmare when they discover that their fancy hotel has double booked and with nowhere else available, they check into a dilapidated guest house with the weirdest of Guest rules.
The moment the front door closes and is bolted shut by the eccentric hosts you can just feel the atmosphere building as the snow storm means they are now totally cut off from the outside world 🫣
What happens next is absolutely chilling 😱🫣

My Reflections ~ The novel opens with a chapter from a young girl called Elita, and I was curious straight away as we then move from Elita, to Nicola to Matt and then we have a short podcast scene which somehow catches the pace and adds to the tension ~ I loved the way the podcasts were used to give a bit of fictional history to the area and the guest house plot 😳
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Contemporary/suspense thriller at its absolute best 😱
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There is so much more that I haven't touched on because I don't want to spoil anything but the suspense kept me reading well into the early hours and is definitely a must-read for 2024
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Release date 16th April 2024
"The Last Guest House"
By Caroline Mitchell
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Thank you @netgalley & @EmblaBooks for sending me this e-arc for review consideration~ All opinions are my own
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What a fun, creepy book from an author I like a lot. With Rocky Horror vibes, Nicola, her son, and her boyfriend have to take shelter in a creepy guest house by a Scottish loch. The hosts are weird enough not to look out of place at a carnival, and the dilapidated mansion is full of gothic furniture and spooky portraits. They feel like they’re being watched, and they must follow some rules that make no sense. They obviously understand the bans on pets or smoking but, why can’t they leave after 9? They are also forced to give up their phones so when stuff starts happening, they have no way to call for help. At least Nicola is a police officer so she should know what to do but, when her son is in danger, she stops thinking like a cop and starts behaving like a hysterical mother. Her boyfriend Matt is there to help but he may not be as perfect as he makes himself out to be. The rest of the guests also seem suspicious and, oh yes, did I fail to mention that it’s the 10th anniversary of a horrific, unsolved murder? I loved all the characters, especially the excentric owners. The chapters are told by Nicola, Matt and a mysterious third person. There is also part of a true crime podcast that discusses the old murder at the Loch House, as well as another, seemingly unrelated crime. And this was the weak spot, in my opinion, since the recaps necessary to podcasts are a little repetitive for a fiction novel. That said, I was hooked and enjoyed this read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Embla Books.

Caroline Mitchell is a definite go-to author for me and I have read many of her books. This is a locked room, atmospheric thriller. The story takes place at an old, remote inn in Scotland during a snowstorm, with a cast of weary, snowbound travelers at The Loch House. This is a good book and I recommend this and all of Caroline Mitchell’s books!

I’m a big fan of Caroline Mitchell but this book was not really for me, despite me really being hooked in by the classic mystery trope- stranded in a storm in Scotland and a locked room mystery.

Positives: I find Mitchell’s writing style really easy to read; you feel like you are on par with the characters- it’s a very down to earth kind of tone and I could feel that in this book. I felt Nicola was really easy to like and yet she wasn’t perfect either. I liked that the book flitted between different POVs and I enjoy a bit of police procedural.

Negatives: although I liked the different POVs I found the podcast transcript really dry, boring and quite wooden. I also found a lot of needless repetition in this book about many different factors… perhaps this was to build tension/highlight relationships but it made the book drag for me when it didn’t need to. There were also a few discrepancies for me that irked me early on e.g. the house is described as a tardis (bigger inside than it appears out), yet a few paragraphs later it’s described as being bigger on the outside than the inside. I also found the overall plot quite far-fetched in terms of cults etc for my liking.

I can see why lots of people enjoyed this book, unfortunately it wasn’t quite for me.

When DC Nicola McKenna, her young son George and her boyfriend Matt arrive at a luxury hotel for a weekend getaway to the Isle of Skye (hint: Nicola plans this will be her “getaway” from Matt,) they discover that they’ve booked their reservation for the next weekend. There are no rooms available. In fact, the last room in the area is in the nearby Loch House. As if things weren’t bad enough, there’s a raging blizzard going on and the proprietors who greet them resemble Herman Munster and Raggedy Ann. Oh, and exactly ten years ago, the Loch House was the scene of a multiple murder that has never been solved. Nicola’s police senses are on high alert. Good thing. She’ll need them.

The Last Guest House combines horror, mystery and police procedural. Nicola and Matt share narration although their story is interrupted by a crime podcast that seems totally unrelated to the couple’s situation. If you like horror and crime fiction, this locked room thriller is for you. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Embla and Caroline Mitchell for this ARC.

DC Nicola McKenna is meant to be resting following her last case, so she lets her boyfriend to take her to the Isle of Skye for the weekend. But what's meant to be a getaway to see the aurora borealis soon turns into a nightmare when they discover that their hotel has double booked. In desperation, they check into the only hotel with rooms available nearby, The Loch House. And that's where the craziness begins! This book was definitely a bit different! It had suspense, intrigue, murder, mystery, crazy cults, and a few crazy twists and turns! The storyline was interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I will recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

When hotel reservations go sideways, policewoman Nicola, her boyfriend and her 6 year old find themselves off to a strange guest house in Scotland as they look forward to the Aurora Borealis. This house is creepy and the more she learns about it, the more time she spends there- the worse it is.

This is a page turner for sure - a locked room mystery in a snowstorm with lots of secrets swirling about. And early on we meet a mysterious character whose role will get murkier before it gets better.

I really enjoy the first half of this book, but my issues are:
1. The podcasts are plot crucial but are completely tell-don't-show. They are boring to read but also where the twists are.
2. It strains more and more credulity as the story moves on to the point of pure silliness.

I enjoyed this book but it is definitely a popcorn thriller with a better "hook" than actual story.
Thank you NetGalley and Embla for the early review copy;

Starting off with a rest for Nicola turns into a suspense full nightmare that is full of fear and danger.