The Forever Home

By: Sue Watson

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard

Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

You thought you’d always be safe there…you were wrong.

Carly had thought they’d always live there. The beautiful Cornish cliffside house they’d taken on as a wreck, that Mark had obsessively redesigned and renovated - a project that had made him famous. It was where they’d raised their children, where they’d sat cozily on the sofa, watching storms raging over the sea below. It was where they’d promised to keep each other’s secrets....

Until now. Because Mark has fallen in love. With someone he definitely shouldn’t have. Someone who isn’t Carly. And suddenly their family home doesn’t feel like so much of a safe haven.

Carly thinks forever should mean forever, though: It’s her home, and she’ll stay there. Even the dark family secrets it contains feel like they belong to her. But someone disagrees. And, as threats start to arrive at her front door, it becomes clear, someone will stop at nothing. Because someone wants to demolish every last thing that makes Carly feel safe. Forever.

A utterly psychological thriller about what lies are hidden in the most beautiful homes. Perfect for fans of Date Night, Gone Girl, and The Woman in the Window.

©2021 Sue Watson (P)2021 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

Great book

This is one that you have to keep listening to. Great if your doing projects and need something very engaging!

Irritating weak clueless woman

Seriously??? Weak silly woman with a superior air, did she not learning anything?? Embarrassing author would not present a better person. She comes off as a fish wife

Not very shocking

Ⓐⓤⓓⓘⓞⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝙷𝚘𝚖𝚎
𝙱𝚢: @suewatsonbooks
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense
𝙿𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚛: @bookouture @hachetteuk
𝚁𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝙾𝚗: June 4th 2021
@goodreads 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 4.04
𝙼𝚢 𝚂𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚎: 🏠🏠🏠 / 𝟻 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚜

𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆…𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈.

It was where they’d promised to keep each other’s secrets…Mark & Carly were a Celeb Couple. They have everything. Until the night of their 25th Wedding Anniversary. Where Mark confessions he's been having an affair with her best friend's daughter Erin. Mark has been a womanizer for years; this is the last straw and Carly tells him to leave.

Months later they now are going through a messy divorce, arguing about money, the house; their once forever home is now a bargaining chip between those once kept secrets from many years ago. But threats start to arrive in gruesome packages warning Carly to leave her home. Who is it and why is Marks new girlfriend receiving them too? Whoever it is Carly will not let them win, this is her house and she will stop at nothing to keep what she is owed.

The Forever Home is a story filled with few twists, loads of lies and lots of drama. This suspenseful read will have you on the edge of your seat wondering who and what is going on. However, it doesn't last. The cast of characters is quite short so there is room for you to pretty much guess who or what is going on but then the book will surprise you in the end because in fact it wasn't at all what you thought.

But honestly, I felt with all the woo and ahh moments I wasn't fully satisfied at the end of the story. I do not wish to give anything away. I'd recommend reading it but I would also say don't expect the ending to be a powerful shock. Did I figure things out? No. But once explained I had more of and emotion like "meh" okay on to the next book. But this is just my opinion.

Not surprising, yet surprising

Good listen. I got so mad during this listen that I started yelling in my car. Mark was a first grade narcissist a-hole. I guess I got so mad because men like him truly exist. At one point I was like “let him tell the cops her secret and let him prove it!” It’s easy to tell an abused woman to leave but being the abused woman it is not always that easy. A narcissist will convince a woman she can’t live without him and that she will never do better. Being on the outside looking in you wonder why she just doesn’t leave but when a man tells a woman something over and over especially a young naive girl they start to believe it. A man like Mark will find something to hold over a woman’s head and keep throwing it in her face. I like how it ended.

Enjoyable Enough

Overall, I enjoyed listening to this. If I could have given 3.5 instead of 3 stars overall, I would have. I found it a bit challenging to get into the storyline at first, but I was pretty hooked after a few chapters.

I wasn’t expecting or looking for the (relatively mild) “bodice ripper” segments that were occasionally included, lol. That type of material isn't generally my cup of tea (not that I find it offensive, just a bit silly), but overall, there weren't many of those passages.

One detail that bothered me was that the protagonist kept saying “Ryan and me,” “Phoebe and me,” etc. It was done enough to be distracting to me, and it me wonder whether, as a professional writer, the author actually thinks this is the correct grammar or whether the protagonist is supposed to think this (although she attended university and received a degree, if I remember correctly..?). It was just noticeable to me as no one I know says this, and my family/friends and I are certainly not elitist or overeducated...

The plot was enjoyable enough and kept me listening, but it did seem a bit unbelievable in some places and dragged on in others. As another reviewer stated, it's probably best to wait until this one is on sale.

As she generally is, this narrator was good, and she matched the tone of the story.

I do not regret spending time listening to this, and I will certainly listen to more from this author and narrator here on Audible.

narcissistic disturbing people

I don't know why people in these type of books act so differently than people would Irl but they do. These people made me feel dirty however it was well written and held my interest. I'd recommend just know that there isn't likeable characters in here. They are a messed up bunch.

Not as good as some of her other books

I found the main character a bit simpering and somewhat predictable. And this book was really as suspenseful as I hoped for. Not my favorite read this summer.

This British thriller is a winner!

You’ve read the description, so you know the basic plot here. Sue Watson and Tamsin Kennard combine their literary talents to bring us this British audictive listen. Though some may think it over-the-top, I reveled in the entire book from the very first word to the jaw-dropping ending. As I listened, I wanted more, more, more. And that’s exactly what Watson gave me. Kennard again proves her narrative skills shine through. Worthy of a cherished credit, I can’t stress it enough. So highly recommended, I’m dancing on the rooftop shouting, ”EPIC! EPIC! EPIC!” If you’re looking for edge-of-your-seat suspense, family secrets and lies, and psychological drama, this intriguing offering is for you.

✍🏻👏🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟✍🏻👏

Definitely Not A Psychological Thriller

The Forever Home is what I would classify as 'an easy read.' It's a pleasant enough story and it's well read. However, this is not a psychological thriller that will keep you guessing. The cover makes it seem like the people in the home will be somehow in danger.

In reality, The Forever Home is a simple cliche about a marriage that is dead, a cheating husband, and his stupid new floosy who is the same age as the couples' twenty-something daughters. The wife wants to keep her home, the ex spends all of her money, and she is tired of it.

I always enjoy Sue Watson's books for the most part but when I reached the end of 'The Forever Home' I heard myself say 'That's it??'

This book is just okay. I would wait until there is a sale to order it, and listen on a rainy day.

-Wendi

Characteristic “Sue Watson Heroine” But a Little Less Credulous

I find all of a Sue Watson’s books quite enjoyable- the domesticities that people point out as being ‘slow’ are quite what I’m looking for. I want a close, domestic tale with a twist and I certainly do not want to hang out in a detectives head. Comparing this to actual thrillers isn’t fair because it isn’t really a thriller. The only issue I tend to have with Sue Watson is that her heroines have to constantly ask themselves if they’re “just not being fair and maybe [so and so] isn’t *actually* as bad as they seem?? But they always obviously are so it can’t get tiresome. Carly is much less ready to assume that Everyone is Good but still has to ignore obvious signs in order to continue believing that ‘maybe THIS PERSON is actually ok and It is me who is the problem!’ And it can get tiresome. But overall I did find this one very fun to listen to. You gotta like the domestic stuff though, otherwise it’s time to switch to detective trilogies.