The House Guest: Story 23 in the “Tales of Suspense” Series

Val was just like any suburban housewife in 1947—counting the minutes until her loving and devoted husband finished his shift. She fills her time by cleaning, playing records, listening to radio dramas—exhausted but satisfied, and most definitely in love. Making fresh coffee to fortify herself through this long evening, however, she is unaware that not all dangers announce themselves or just walk through the front door.

The House Guest is a classic-styled psychological thriller that revives the elegant menace of mid-century suspense for a contemporary audience—where obsession enters quietly, trust becomes lethal, and the most dangerous presence is the one found inside.

The House Guest blends the predator psychology of Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates, the existential dread of I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, the domestic trap-thriller construction of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, the memory-as-terror tension of Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson, and the claustrophobic paranoia of Lock Every Door by Riley Sager.

Each book in the “Tales of Suspense” Series is a standalone story and not connected to the others. Readers can jump in at any point.