The House Guest

A Novel

By: Hank Phillippi Ryan

Narrated by: Stephanie Willing

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

"Stephanie Willing is first-rate in her narration of this audiobook about marital strife and deceit."—AudioFile

The House Guest is another diabolical cat-and-mouse thriller from USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan—but which character is the cat, and which character is the mouse?

After every divorce, one spouse gets all the friends. What does the other one get? If they’re smart, they get the benefits. Alyssa Macallan is terrified when she’s dumped by her wealthy and powerful husband. With a devastating divorce looming, she begins to suspect her toxic and manipulative soon-to-be-ex is scheming to ruin her—leaving her alone and penniless. And when the FBI shows up at her door, Alyssa knows she really needs a friend.

And then she gets one. A seductive new friend, one who’s running from a dangerous relationship of her own. Alyssa offers Bree Lorrance the safety of her guest house, and the two become confidantes. Then Bree makes a heart-stoppingly tempting offer. Maybe Alyssa and Bree can solve each others’ problems.

But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.

Other books by Hank Phillippi Ryan:

Her Perfect Life

The First to Lie

The Murder List

On the House

Trust Me

THE JANE RYLAND SERIES:

The Other Woman / The Wrong Girl / Truth Be Told / What You See / Say No More

THE CHARLOTTE MCNALLY SERIES:

Prime Time / Face Time / Air Time / Drive Time

A Macmillan Audio production from Forge Books.

©2023 Hank Phillippi Ryan (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Hank Phillippi Ryan is one of my favorite authors, and THE HOUSE GUEST proves why. This riveting novel twists and turns through the pageturning story...events turn shocking, with revelation after revelation in a thriller that never forgets to touch the heart.”—Lisa Scottoline

"THE HOUSE GUEST is great! Ryan creates memorable characters—then pulls off the nearly-impossible: she orchestrates half a dozen twists, turns, and backflips—and then sticks the landing. What a pleasure to read this!"—James Patterson

"An edge-of-your seat thriller! Ryan breathes new life into the classic Hitchcock tale with this dramatic cat-and-mouse set up, where you must race breathlessly to the end to discover who is the cat and who is the mouse. Will you see the end coming? I didn't."—Lisa Gardner

Good listen

Enjoyed the narration, original plot and overall energy of this book. Although it was slightly dark and mysterious, it somehow kept a lighthearted tone, probably because of the upbeat narration.

Never boring

This was so intriguing. I enjoyed listening to every minute. Surprises galore in so many places.

Dull

The characters were relatable but the story just didn’t have any juice. No depth, No twists. No surprises.

Super good

Great book club choice. Lots to discuss. It will be one of my favorite books.

The House Guest

The House Guest by Hank Philippi Ryan
Mystery thriller. Contemporary.
Alyssa is divorced and believes her ex husband is gaslighting her. She thinks he’s enters the house when she’s not there and moves things just to scare her. Or to make her think she’s going crazy because she can’t really prove he’s doing anything. Even if she calls the police, he could say it’s his house. Alyssa meets a woman that seems to be going through something similar or at least enough that Alyssa feels the need to support her. She invites Bree to stay in her guesthouse and soon Dez follows and they believe they can help Alyssa win against her ex.
Can they though? Is this too much of a coincidence?

It’s a convoluted twist and turning of friends and questions of what might be the true situation. Is it real. Can anyone be trusted?
Intriguing and suspenseful. I was suspicious.

🎧 I listened to this on an audiobook narrated by Stephanie Willing. I believe the audio book added a height of tension that may be missing by reading the book. Voices tended to be a bit the same and confusing at times but paying attention makes it easy to follow the story and characters. I listened at speed 1.5.

D+/C- rating. Didnt finish, listened for 4ish hours & nothing really happened

Meh. Wasn’t terrible bc narrators were decent but I listened for apx 4 hours & nothing really happened! This needed to be sped up bc I couldn’t even finish it. Might have had a great ending but I couldn’t keep listening to the same storyline on repeat with no/very little twists. If it were free, if for sure try, but i wouldn’t spend a credit on this

Loved it!

Kept me intrigued the entire story.
Light and enjoyable story. Great book for vacation reading.

twisty tense thriller

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan is a 5☆ twisty, tense filled thriller! Stephanie Willing does a superb job with the narration! I love a book that keeps me on the edge of my seat and me thinking I have it all figured out then bam! Such a great thriller!

Great Listen

Usually just listen in the car but found myself popping in my headphones to listen around the house.

Kind of boring w a weird ending

I listened to it all but the initially promising story got repetitive and ultimately boring and the ending unsatisfying