How far would you go to protect the ones you love?

Jamie and Victoria are off for a last quick vacation before the arrival of their first baby. The remote country guesthouse Victoria chose seems like the perfect retreat—miles away from the distractions of work and their regular life. And the older couple that run the establishment, Barry and Fiona, are more than accommodating.

But when Jamie and Victoria awake on their first morning, they find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. And their cell phones and car keys have disappeared.

Even though it’s a few weeks before the baby’s due date, Victoria feels the contractions starting. The baby is coming… and there’s no way out.

The Guest House is an unputdownable thriller with an explosive beginning and shocking twists perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Ruth Ware.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for letting me read this book prior to its publication. My opinion is 100% honest, unbiased, and my own.

I am so sorry that life interfered and I hadn’t managed to read this book sooner because… oh my goodness! It’s been quite a while since the last time I read a thriller that made me be hooked from the very beginning. The very unique way of telling the story is original and, despite feeling a bit “spoilerish”, it does not spoil the story at all. If anything, it makes you more curious about what’s going on and how they got in that situation.

It was great to read about characters that are not physically perfect. I am tired of characters that are “book perfect”. And that gave more dimension to the protagonists. It helped to understand them better and, in some cases, to sympathize with them better too.

The chapters keep going back and forth in time, giving you pieces of the whole picture so you can start filling in the blanks and discover what happened. It twists and turns but, although I still think it is a great book, it failed to really shock me or surprise me. A couple of things got predictable after I got to a certain point in the book, but it still kept me going, so there is that.

All in all, a really entertaining and surprising story about the secrets we keep, about how we can never be sure to fully know the people we deal with on a daily basis, about complex family dynamics, and the mysteries of motherhood. I really recommend it as a fantastic weekend read.

So, for all of that, I give this book… 4 TEA CUPS!