Emma Rous’ new book, The Perfect Guests, it out now; and if you love thrillers, you’re going to love this novel!
The Perfect Guests
by Emma Rous
I received an ARC of this book free from NetGalley; however, all opinions are my own, and I was not required to give a review. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.
The Perfect Guests
by Emma Rous
Publisher : Berkley (January 12, 2021)
Publication date : January 12, 2021
Print length : 302 pages
The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel—about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.
1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she’s truly part of the family…until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same.
2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It’s strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she’ll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.
In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she’d imagined—even with damage from a fire decades before—but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone…including her.
My Review
Emma Rous writes books that I cannot put down. I read The Au Pair in a day, and I read The Perfect Guests in a day too. The only problem with this is…..they’re over in a day!! Both books are in the Gothic Fiction genre which is one of my favorite genres to read. It has that twisty plot and dark, mysterious feeling that I love.
The Perfect Guests is a time-slip novel in which the story “slips” between 1988 and 2019. Though we know the characters are connected, it’s not clear how until much later in the story. In 1988 we meet Beth who is 14 years old. She is an orphan who is also, apparently, “abandoned” by her aunt who’s Beth’s only relative. Beth’s aunt “somehow” makes an arrangement with The Averells who oddly welcome Beth into their home as one of the family. They’ve got a daughter, Nina, and the two girls become inseparable very quickly. And then things happen, of course! It is a crazy, twisty, mysterious book after all. No, you don’t get to know what things happen. Read it!
In 2019, we meet Sadie, a sometimes actress who jumps from job to job much to the chagrin of her mother. So when Sadie gets an invitation to act in a murder mystery weekend, a well-paying job at that, she doesn’t hesitate to accept. And, of course, things happen in 2019 too, and I won’t tell you what!
I absolutely love the descriptive setting, the way that the timelines weave together, and the depth of the characters in The Perfect Guests. I’m looking forward to seeing what Emma Rous has in store for us next!
If you love mysterious stories and are drawn to the Gothic genre, you’ll love Emma Rous and The Perfect Guests.
About Emma Rous
Emma Rous is the USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair. She grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, and worked as a small animal veterinarian for eighteen years before starting to write fiction. Emma lives near Cambridge in England with her husband and three sons, and she now writes full time.
Leave a Reply