The Guest House: A Psychological Thriller

Wow! What a ride. I was hooked from the first page. I did not see that ending coming. Full of suspense and intrigue. A good follow-up to book 1, but it could be read as a stand-alone. There's an entirely new storyline, but it also returns to wrap up some unfinished business from book 1. The addition of a deaf protagonist with a cochlear implant who can sometimes hear and sometimes not was original and refreshing. It added another dimension of complexity and sense of danger. A great read.

Allie Dawson is so excited she has a chance to head to Silicon Valley to bring her innovative product to market! She's deaf with a cochlear implant and she's developed a screen that can clip onto eyeglasses and caption speech in real time! But she had no idea how cutthroat the market can be! Even housing in the valley is hard to come by! She meets a man in a coffee shop who happens to have a guest house to rent! Are things to good to be true?! She takes the place and soon discovered she should have listened to her instincts that something was off about her landlord! This book had a bit of everything! It had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The storyline was interesting and kept me glued to my kindle! I definitely recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I really love psychological thrillers and was really impressed by this book. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. It kept me in suspense and eager to turn the page!

This was my first read from Bonnie Traymore and it certainly will not be my last. Seeing the dueling perspectives of both Laura and Allie were incredible. I actually felt my heart race when Allie's was racing in the book. I would love to see a sequel to this if it were to go that way because there is so much family dynamic to unpack for Laura. As for Allie, her representation for the D/deaf or hard of hearing community was fantastic. Bonnie Traymore spoke from personal experience on the matter and really did a great job explaining things in detail. The Guest House was very easy to follow as I can get lost within a Mystery/Thriller and the explanations, but throughout the entire novel that I binged in one day, I felt involved, invested, and thoroughly entertained. I give this an EASY 4 stars. I think it wrapped up a bit too perfectly for me to give it a 5 stars, but again, this book is for every Mystery/Thriller reader and should absolutely be on their bookshelf.

Thank you to Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I really enjoyed the book. Loved the story plot and twists. Approachable characters, realistic situations. Some descriptions or story „fillers” were tiny bit too long, but in overall - very good book and I’d read more by the author. Thank you, great job!

I missed Book 1 - with this being my first read by Bonnie Traymore - I will be checking into Book 1! I enjoyed the plot - a few storylines going on to keep track of - sometimes I can get a bit ‘lost’ if too many characters - but I found it easy to follow without backtracking. Included lovely imagery that paints the scene - and helps to take in the feeling of the moment. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced opportunity!

Allie Dawson received a grant to join a group in Silicon Valley where she had the opportunity to launch her product onto the marketplace. Allie was born deaf and had a cochlear implant. She developed a screen that can clip onto eyeglasses and caption speech in real time to make it easier for those with the implant to communicate.
When Allie reached town she was faced with a cutthroat rental market. While shopping in a supermarket she was approached by a man who started a conversation with her. He guessed she was new to town and when she told him she was looking for a rental he offered to rent her his guest house. Reluctantly, she agreed. Little did she know the sequence of events that would follow.
After moving in she became disturbed by the strange behavior of her landlord and his wife. Then she discovered they had bugged the house. Were they after the details of her technology. This was Silicon Valley where nothing was safe. She quickly moved to the house of a friend in town but her life was still in danger. Someone was after her.
I was hooked from the very first page. The twists and turns and spine-tingling events that occurred left me with a book I couldn’t put down until I finished it.
I would like to add that the author has done a great service to those who live with cochlear implants. Her description of Allie’s everyday life in coping with and managing her deafness is beautifully written. I was happy to see there is a Silicon Valley Series Book One which I am anxious to read.

This was such a good book! I loved the characters, and their story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable. I was very surprised by the ending!

This is my first read by author Bonnie Traymore. I was unaware this was story two in a series until just now, so you don’t need to have read the first to enjoy the second.

New in town digital entrepreneur Allie heads to the valley to get her captioning device off the ground. I love that Traymore utilized a character with hearing limitations and used this to build her storyline. Hopping from two different perspectives, Allie and her mentor Laura, you learn the complicated pasts of both main characters and watch the two begin to collide and intermingle.

This was a quick and easy read for me. As a reader who loves a psychological thriller it’s sometimes easy to see through the plots, but this story had me guessing for the most part until the end. Just the right level of spooky for me without the blood and gore that some authors choose to use. Would definitely recommend.

I really enjoyed this book. I could really feel the madness increasing and wouldn't have pegged the correct villain. The ending was a bit too "Hallmark movie" for me but had a twist that confirmed my suspicions.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for allowing me to read this book early.This is the 2nd book in a series which I did not realize but it can be read as a standalone. Additionally this is my first book from author Bonnie Traymore and I will be checking out others.This book reeled me in from the start. I found myself not wanting to do anything else until it was finished.

Such a great read!!! Was enjoyable loved the plot and was great writing!

I will read more by this author!

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read and review

This is the second book in the series about Laura a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who leads a team of young women trying to create new products. I wasn’t aware this was the second book, but it can be read as a standalone.

The book starts off strong. Allie, a rising star, creating technology for the dead moves into a new guest house. Things take a turn for the worst right away, from the bizarre landlords to a creepy tenant also staying there. I was hooked the first half trying to make out where her story was going because it was very suspenseful.

Laura has another set of issues with her family and she is weary of trusting anyone. She is trying to help Allie settle her situation but her family keeps getting closer and closer to Allie and that’s not necessarily a good thing.

I loved how the deaf community was represented. The author mentioned her daughter had cochlear implants and it was a big part of the story. I thought the ending finished several chapters too early. A lot of unanswered questions and a little too wrapped up. Like some characters just completely disappeared. It needed about 30-35 more pages to round it out. The last paragraph leaves a major cliffhanger though.

Overall it was an entertaining read but I wish the end was better. I was left wanting more. It’s a quick, entertaining read. 3.5 rounded up!

This was my second book by this author, and I am definitely a fan. I loved that Traymore wrote a book with a main character that is part of the D/deaf or hard of hearing community and wears a cochlear implant. I loved the premise of this book. It was narrated from two different POVs - Laura (who was my fave in the 1st book) and Allie. I read this suspenseful book in one sitting, and it did not disappoint. As someone that reads a ton of thrillers every year, I can say that I didn’t guess right on this one.

We see Laura come into her own from the 1st book, and I loved that she stood up for herself and followed her heart. She found her voice in this book, and I enjoyed watching her develop. I also loved Allie. It was great getting to know her in this book. Traymore did a great job with character development in this novel.

The suspense was at an all time high and I devoured this book in a few hours. The twists were twisting in this one! I was invested and very entertained while reading this. Traymore did a great job weaving a tale that was gripping while also educating me on the D/deaf or hard of hearing community.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I'm rating the guest house 4 stars. The characters were a little hard to tie together at first, this might be because I didn't read the first book in this series, but towards the ending everything tied together nicely! And that ending was INCREDIBLE, such a good cliffhanger. I'm going to read the first book now and hoping for a third in the series!

Amazing book!
I was thoroughly engaged throughout this book and I didn't want to put it down! The author captured my attention from the get go! Five stars from me :)

I have just stayed up all night working through this and I have absolutely no regrets! I love books about creepy tenants and weird rental homes so this was perfect for me. The twists and turns kept me hooked throughout, it's really well paced and there's just always something going on. The writing style flows naturally and the suspense was perfectly built. Really enjoyable

It is the second book in the Silicone Valley series. : Looking for somewhere to stay Mike Tabernaky lets Allie have his guest house as a tenant. This is where her problems start, a suspense-on-the-edge-of-your-seat book, I did have to keep looking back in the book to remind me who the characters were as there are a few. This is a very good plot and once drawn in you will hang there till the end

absolutely riveting thriller that can be devoured in one single sitting (which i did.) interested to see more work from this author!!

Thanks to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for this ARC. I had such a good time with it! This is the perfect book when you want something fast-paced, easy to get into, and suspenseful.

Allis Dawson is an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, not an easy gig for a young woman. While she works hard to find the funding she needs to bring her vision to life, she quickly finds herself involved in intrigue, possible corporate espionage, and even murder. I love the deaf representation, and really enjoyed the setting. The characters were entertaining, though I wish we'd had a little more depth out of some of them.

Overall, I recommend this if you're looking for easy read that catches you from the beginning and keeps you guessing. I give it 3.5 stars, rounded up.

I am so glad I gave this author a second chance after not loving the first book in this series. The writing of this book flowed together a lot better and there was one clear point of view here and different chapters related to the 2 main characters in this story. It is very clear the author was passionate about this story and I'm glad she wrote about Allie who is hard of hearing and has a cochlear implant. Not only did I blow through this book super quickly because I didn't want to stop reading the story about this weird guest house and wondered what on earth was going to happen with her former landlords but also I got closure on Laura and Peter from the last book. Overall this was a great story that kept me guessing, I did not see the ending of this one coming and I enjoyed that. I'm hoping there will be a book 3 for the series and that Allie and Laura both make appearances in it! Overall great book I definitely reccomend giving it a read!

Couldn't put this book down, I had to read to know what happened and who was behind all this. It was a gripping and anxiety induction wild ride.

This is my first book by this author. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.

Allie is new to town and trying to get a product developed. that will greatly help those who are deaf and hard of hearing. She is young and new to the competitive nature of creating new products. I liked her drive to do everything she could to get the job done.

I enjoyed the unique premise and how the D/deaf community was represented. It seemed very realistic to me.

Quite a few twists and turns in this one.

I felt connected to Allie at times, but found the other characters a little vague in their development.

This is the second book in a series. I did not read the first one. I don't think that took away from the story at all.

Thanks to netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the arc.

Thank you to Bonnie Traymore, Booksgosocial, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange with my honest opinion.

He holds out his business card, and she plucks it from his fingers without touching them. “Hope to see you around, Allie Dawson,” he says. That was over a month ago. It seemed too good to be true, but Allie told herself to ignore the nagging feeling in her gut. That was her first mistake.

When she saw Laura Foster’s email welcoming her into a cohort of grant recipients, Allie literally jumped for joy. She was headed to Silicon Valley with a chance to bring her innovative product to market. She’s deaf with a cochlear implant, and she’s developed a screen that can clip onto eyeglasses and caption speech in real time.

But she had no idea how tight the rental market would be, or how cutthroat the competition is for everything from housing to venture capital. So, after a futile search to find a short-term apartment she could afford, she rented a guest house from a chummy real estate agent who approached her at a coffee shop.

But it’s clear now that she should have trusted her instincts. Because there’s something off about her landlord. And his moody wife. And the cryptic Hungarian guy renting his master suite.

Are they after her technology? She knows what it feels like to see her life flash before her eyes, and she doesn't need that kind of stress right now.

So why is she still living there?
And has she already seen too much?

This was the first time hearing of this author, Bonnie Traymore and it really made me want to read more books that she's written. I was not aware that this book was the second in a series, but it didn't affect how much I enjoyed the story. I really loved that Allie is a representation for the deaf community and it was interesting seeing how she navigates with her hearing impairment, especially with today's technology. This story had me invested. Allie quickly finds herself involved in a host of tangled webs laced with betrayal, lies, and even murder. It is full of some twists and turns. My only complaint was that I figured out the twist at the end and I like the endings to be unpredictable. Overall it was a pretty good thriller and left me wanting to see what else this author has up her sleeves.

The Guest House starts off with a bang. Someone is committed to reaching their goals, whatever the costs, and will kill if that’s what it takes to succeed.

Traymore keeps good pace and suspense right to the end.

Her characters too are an interesting mix. Allie is busy with the upcoming launch of her startup that would market light wireless clip-on caption frames for the hearing impaired. But she can't move past what she believes she saw being dragged across the lawn of the guest house in the dead of the night.
Laura's hands are full with her program that mentors and funds aspiring women entrepreneurs. But she's constantly preoccupied with thoughts of her family having murder in their genes.
And then there are a bunch of scamsters out to steal unpatented tech ideas.

I especially liked how Traymore weaves new tech and funding into the story, without coming off as contrived.

The only thing I found odd was Allie feeling there's a language barrier between her and Barton, whereas Barton's English is nothing but fluent.

But all in all, a real thriller. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.

This was my second book by this author, and I am definitely a fan. I loved that Traymore wrote a book with a main character that is part of the D/deaf or hard of hearing community and wears a cochlear implant. I loved the premise of this book. It was narrated from two different POVs - Laura (who was my fave in the 1st book) and Allie. I read this suspenseful book in one sitting, and it did not disappoint. As someone that reads a ton of thrillers every year, I can say that I didn’t guess right on this one.

We see Laura come into her own from the 1st book, and I loved that she stood up for herself and followed her heart. She found her voice in this book, and I enjoyed watching her develop. I also loved Allie. It was great getting to know her in this book. Traymore did a great job with character development in this novel.

The suspense was at an all time high and I devoured this book in a few hours. The twists were twisting in this one! I was invested and very entertained while reading this. Traymore did a great job weaving a tale that was gripping while also educating me on the D/deaf or hard of hearing community.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This was my first read from Bonnie Traymore and I quite enjoyed the psychological thriller.. There was so much drama with the characters which I found quite interesting.

There was a loose end that I found, which was the Taberskys and where did Barnet go?

Definitely fast paced. Quite enjoyable

Thank you to Netgalley

Such a good book. I love the writing style and storyline. Cant wait for another book from this author

Allie was a great and unique character I so enjoyed reading. This story was riveting and I couldn't put this down. I will be looking for more from this author, including the first book in this series.

I almost finished in this book in one night. As with any book this author writes I find myself reading into the night. I look forward to reading more of this authors books in the future

Truly enjoyed every minute of this twisty and turny book! It was a pretty standard psychological thriller, in my opinion, but I was on the edge of my seat and didn't figure out any of the twists which is always an A+ in my book! I do think I should have realized this was a series and read the first book before diving into this one for osm ebackground information on one of the main characters but otherwise absolutely loved this one!

A relentless, suspenseful, and propulsive thriller that I devoured in two days. I always love the authors books for vivid characters and clever twists. She is a master at crafting truly palable tension, and her skill at plotting and suspense building that have readers glued to the pages. Then add in a jaw-dropping, earth-shattering final reveal, and you have all the key ingredients of a well executed thriller. Bonnie nailed it as she always does. I thoroughly enjoyed .

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for this copy for my honest review.

I enjoyed the stepfamily so much that I couldn’t wait to read the sequel! A brilliant physiological thriller full of twists and turns! I am now a big fan of this author and can’t wait to read more.

Thank you to the author and Net Galley for providing me with an e-arc of book #2 in the Silicon Valley series.

Innovation, greed, and danger collide in 'The Guest House', a standalone sequel to Bonnie Traymore's 'The Stepfamily'.

When Allie moves to Silicon Valley to pursue funding for a device she's created to help the D/deaf community, she quickly realizes that Silicon Valley is a cut-throat place to be, especially when you're new in town. With a little help from a familiar face, Laura Foster - our FMC from book #1 in the Silicon Valley series, Allie seems to be on her way to making her device a reality. That is, until she moves into the guest house on a property owned by the Silicon Valley real estate agent she met at Starbucks. Once she's settled into the guest house, Allie quickly realizes that something is off with her new landlords. Is it Mike, the real estate agent? His wife Susan? Or is it Barnat, the other young entrepreneur that's living on the property?

'The Guest House' is a multi-POV psychological thriller with twists, turns, and a little bit of romance. Like the first book, I like that the author doesn't shy away from complicated family dynamics. Unlike book #1, 'The Stepfamily', all POV's in this book are first-person, which I love! Switching back and forth between first-person POV and third-person POV was a huge turn-off for me while reading book #1.

If you're not looking to get into a series, please note that while this book is technically book #2 in the Silicon Valley series, it can be read as a standalone. However, if you struggle with multi-storyline plots that include a variety of characters, reading 'The Stepfamily' first may help.

In conclusion, I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from the author. I would recommend 'The Guest House' to anyone looking for a fast-paced psychological thriller set in the tech world.

This is a standard thriller book that that follows the plot progression of a all other thrillers. However, there are several plot twists that make it less formulaic than your run of the mill thrillers. The story starts off slowly, it gradually builds momentum and then slows back down at the end. Despite this the character development of Allie, was phenomenal and i truly felt like i got to know her. She's a very authentic and relatable character. This book is the second in a series; however, it functions very well as a standalone novel.

I enjoyed this book from the get go, the characters and storyline were both fabulous! face paced but not to the detriment of the story, this oculd make a very good netflix series!