The Perfect House

By: R.P. Bolton

Narrated by: Emmy Rose

Length: 10 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Their perfect home - or their worst nightmare?

A fresh start

Ellie knows she has found her dream home - number six Moss Lane. The place she and Tom can settle down, raise their new baby and start again.

A dark secret

But why do their new neighbours think they’re so brave for moving in? Why are Ellie’s keys never where she left them? And why can she hear strange noises in the night that Tom can’t?

A living nightmare

Suddenly their dream house no longer feels so perfect, and when Ellie learns the truth about number six’s dark past - a truth that Tom has been keeping secret from her - she no longer knows who she can trust.

She thought they’d finally found their forever home, but will it tear them apart instead?

A gripping new psychological thriller that will have your heart racing. You won’t be able to stop listening! Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell and Jackie Kabler.

©2021 R.P. Bolton (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Gripping, well written and genuinely creepy." (Cass Green, Sunday Times best-selling author)

"The Perfect House is a nail-biting deep dive of paranoia and tension that had me rushing to turn the page! A chilling, nerve-wracking debut that will leave your heart racing! This novel latches on and refuses to let go." (Karin Nordin, author of Last One Alive)

A great start…

This book had enormous potential. The first half of it, I was engaged, interested, intrigued.
I liked the protagonist, the story was pretty believable, and I love when you aren’t sure whether you can rely on the main character’s perspective or not.
It was creepy for sure, to start.
The backstory was interesting and the different characters are relatively well developed.
Unfortunately, it starts to lull and slow too much about half way through. It becomes repetitive. If you’re going to delve into the realms of the supernatural it should be thoughtful, creative, it should make sense and hold your interest.
We get to a place where things aren’t really moving forward in an interesting way, it becomes a bit boring. I tried to finish it because I truly enjoyed the story itself. But something is lacking.
There needed to be more detail, more description, things need to evolve as the story proceeds.
I didn’t experience that here.
It became too much of the same thing over and over again.
If there is a legitimate haunting going on, then go there, all the way there. Allow things to escalate, to get scarier and scarier.
I felt like there was so much raw potential here that I truly hated putting it down, it just did not hold my interest all the way through.
It was sort of disappointing because the start is so strong. I was positive that this would be one of those “what a pleasant surprise” reads.
It seems like a lot more could’ve been done with the place, the characters, the situation.
I was left wanting.
It was worth the credit just for the hours of entertainment I got from the first half of the story.
But it needs a good rewrite, with things fleshed out more thoroughly as the story proceeds toward its conclusion.
Lovely beginning, and a truly wonderful performance by our narrator.
But this book is missing a solid wrapping up.
I would love to read more from this author because I believe there’s an extraordinary amount of potential with her.
The premise is unique, the protagonist is relatable, and the story could have truly been very, very scary.