The House Sitter is a bit hit and miss with an abrupt; could have been expanded to be more satisfying, ending alongside the entertaining deviousness of Ruth.

A interesting and original thriller of a book did not think i would enjoy it but i did

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

So, straight up. The current cover is soooooo wrong. It gives the book a spooky appearance and there's nothing spooky about it.

That being said, it was a largely enjoyable little thriller. I don't think it was very disturbing - mostly because there's no mystery to it. Character A is doing this and you know why and you know how and you're just waiting for the other Characters to find out and yep that's it.

But it was a quick read and I did largely enjoy it.

A very creepy and atmospheric read. Well written and the plot was interesting, if not completely original. I would recommend this to a friend and read more by this author

Suzanne and Eddie Deacon aren't getting any younger. They have been very content in "The Sugar House", their comfortable, renovated house in mid Wales. However, they have decided that the time to downsize, and move on, has come. They find that winters in their remote home are long, and they miss their children and grandchildren. They make the decision to move back to England to be closer to their family.

"Somehow, they must be made to pay.
This was her future they were tossing out like a bundle of rags."

Ruth, their neighbour, is distraught at their decision to relocate. She is quite close to the couple and occasionally house-sits and dog sits for them when they travel. She had assumed that they would come to depend on her more and more as the years passed. Being fifteen years their junior, she wanted to act as their caretaker and move in to the Sugar House. A house she covets. Shortly after she learns of their decision to move, she hatches several devious plans to thwart the sale of house, thus making their move impossible. For instance, she enlists the help of a neighbouring farmer to block the driveway so that prospective buyers cannot enter the lane. At first we think it is just a lonely woman resorting to drastic measures to ensure company and a way to be needed. Then, we learn that she has history of such behavior and that she once went by a different name... She is clearly unstable - but to what lengths will she go?

"The more she contemplated Suzanne and Eddie's casual disregard of her feelings, the fiercer her indignation stung."

The story moves forward, with an increasing sense of menace, when Ruth is entrusted to look after the Sugar House when Suzanne and Eddie go away. Ruth's character seems more and more creepy as she dons disguises and different personas to manipulate events to her own agenda.

Meanwhile, Bethan Harley, the estate agent, wonders what, or who, is behind the events that are sabotaging the sale of The Sugar House. It is a gem of a property and is generating a lot of interest. Every time she schedules a viewing by prospective buyers - something goes awry. One interested party, Ray Kirby, is undaunted by the odd events that seem to be plaguing Bethan. Eventually an unlikely romance blossoms between Bethan and Ray as together they try to discover who is behind the sabotage and prevent the cunning, guilty party from proceeding further.

"Luxury. Security. Companionship. Control.
All these things were seductive. Addictive."

Ruth continues with her cunning plans. She is revealed to be a very lonely and delusional woman. Orphaned at a young age, and without any support system, she has built herself a fantasy world. Even though we begin to understand Ruth - she remains an unsympathetic character.

I found the cover of this novel to be very misleading. It makes you think it might be a ghost story or have other paranormal features. Nothing could be further from the truth. This novel was part 'cozy' mystery, part chaste romantic suspense. It was a 'light' enjoyable read. The premise held a lot of promise, but the weak ending let down the rest of the book. All in all, not great, but an okay read...

Sorry DNF I gave up on this book it just wasnt for me :(

Thanks to Netgalley the Author and Publisher for a chance to try this book.

Though lacking in twists the book is still thrilling. Whilst frightening and menacing the novel somehow still manages to be somewhat warm and funny in places. The area of Wales this novel is set in is very easy to picture and seems very real, which makes the tale even more thrilling and eerie. I particularly enjoyed seeing the story unfold from 3 different viewpoints. However, although I did really enjoy this book I am giving it 3 stars as I felt the conclusion was very sudden and abrupt. Just a couple of chapters more and this would have been a 4 star novel.

I have mixed feelings about this book, on the one hand it was a nice easy read if a little predictable, in fact I read the whole thing in one day whilst recovering from flu, but on the other hand I did think it slightly improbable that Ruth wasn't sussed sooner than she was, surely people are really not that gullible, or maybe they are , I don't know. Whatever if you're looking for an easy read to wile away a few hours then this could be for you, I have to say the description of the Welsh countryside is perfect, and delightful , but I did find the ending very weak indeed, needed fleshing out somewhat in my own opinion, but that of course may not be the case for every reader.