The House Guest

By: Mark Edwards

Narrated by: Will M. Watt, Stina Nielsen

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

"Brilliant, shocking and very creepy. Mark Edwards has done it again." - Elly Griffiths, bestselling author of the Dr Ruth Galloway series

A perfect summer. A perfect stranger. A perfect nightmare.

When British twenty-somethings Ruth and Adam are offered the chance to spend the summer housesitting in New York, they can’t say no. Young, in love and on the cusp of professional success, they feel as if luck is finally on their side.

So the moment that Eden turns up on the doorstep, drenched from a summer storm, it seems only right to share a bit of that good fortune. Beautiful and charismatic, Eden claims to be a friend of the homeowners, who told her she could stay whenever she was in New York.

They know you’re not supposed to talk to strangers - let alone invite them into your home - but after all, Eden’s only a stranger until they get to know her.

As suspicions creep in that Eden may not be who she claims to be, they begin to wonder if they’ve made a terrible mistake....

The House Guest is the chilling new psychological thriller from the three million copy bestselling author of Here to Stay and Follow You Home.

©2020 Mark Edwards (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Tense, atmospheric, and full of twists and turns right up until the last page." (Angela Marsons, bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series)

"I flew through The House Guest, and loved its innovative twists and turns. Mark is king of the curveball." (John Marrs, bestselling author of When You Disappeared and The One)

"Marvelously gripping. No one can be trusted. No one is safe. The House Guest is psychological suspense at its very best." (Robert Dugoni, #1 international bestselling author of the Tracy Crosswhite series)

Suspense and a story of love and dedication.

Be careful who you trust in this suspenseful story. It held my interest throughout trying to figure out what was going on. I was able to solve part of the mystery, but it still surprised me, in the end. I highly recommend this book.

Better than expected.

Narrator was great. Overall well done. There were a few ripped from the headlines tidbits but not overwhelmingly so.

A Different Type of Thriller

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I felt it started a little slow but once you saw what was happening it kept your attention. There were twists and turns but not so much that you roll your eyes. Good book, worth the credit.

best book yet. I really enjoyed it

everything from the story to the narration was very well done. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I will read more books by the same author 😃

Hmmmm....

Story was pretty good. Narrator read well. If he was English and that was his natural way of speaking, he had an odd accent. Maybe just me. And it’s pronounced shone - long o. Not shun.
But most of all, please, never, never, never do a New York accent again. Or at least have a New Yorker review the performance first.
The cop was supposed to be from Bakersfield,CA? By way of Brooklyn?
I almost quit the book because of that character.
I did want to find out what happened, though. I finished.

Surprisingly Intense

From where it started to where it ended, I wasn’t sure where the story was going. It became very intense at several points and even up to the last page had you wondering. It was so intense at points, that I had to put it down for a couple weeks and come back. The performances were excellent.

Decent

This was a decent book but not really my cup of tea. I picked it up during one of Audible's two for one sales, so it wasn't one I spent a great deal of money on, and Im glad for that. While I wanted to see where the story went just to know how it ended it wasn't one that kept my attention to the last bit, (I did not particularly care for the main male character) and I probably wouldnt buy it at full price. Still good for a rainy day or in between other listens though.

Strong start, then wobbles all over the place

This was my first Mark Edwards book, and while I didn't love it, I found his writing interesting enough that I'd choose another of his books.

For me, The House Guest came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. With the exception of Adam, whose point of view most of the story is told from, I really didn't like or have any connection to any of these people. I found there were too many excuses made for Eden, and neither she, Ruth, nor Callum were ever consistently written. The final meetup between Eden, Ruth, and Adam felt like it was supposed to be some gotcha moment, but it really just fell flat. I couldn't help but wonder why Adam would let Eden get anywhere near him, despite the cardboard thin reasoning behind her actions against both him and Ruth.

Despite these criticism, I did enjoy the book when it focused on Adam, and only Adam. I thought his actions while trying to find Ruth were believable, if not always justified, and I was more invested in the story when I was in Adam's head. He was a likable, if naive guy who usually got in his own way. And I thought Edwards did a great job of getting me to sympathize with Adam the handful of times when his decision worked against him. I lost complete interest in Ruth in the final third, though I actually really did enjoy the chapters.

As far as the vocal performances go, the audiobook had two narrators. Will M. Watt performed when the story was focused on Adam, and Stina Nielsen performed when the action was focused on Ruth or Eden. I liked Watt's narration, but I found Nielsen distracting, and ultimately unnecessary. I'd give Watt's performance a solid 4/5, but I deducted a star overall because of Nielsen's lackluster reading.

my favorite Edwards book so far!

I have probably listened to 10 of his books. This one really kept my interest and I didn't want to stop listening.
Couldn't wait to get back to it each time. It had so many twists and turns! The narrator did an excellent job.
I wish it had a sequel because he left the door wide open for one. If any of you saw that show The Following, it kind of reminded me of that. On to my next Mark Edwards book!

Started out good...

This latest of Mark Edwards started out pretty good and held my attention throughout most of it. Toward the end it started falling apart and disintegrating into total silliness. In the last two chapters things picked up again, culminating with a strong finish. It’s typical Mark Edwards in a lot of ways, good but not brilliant . Something light to listen to for mindless entertainment. Liked the male narrator!