Published: June 23rd, 2022
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Medical Thriller
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this tense and twisty thriller. Thank you to Tracy at Compulsive Readers Tours for the invitation to take part and Orion for the gifted copy of the book.
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SYNOPSIS:
KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE.
WHATEVER THE COST…
Jamie and Victoria are expecting their first baby.
With a few weeks to go, they head off for a final weekend break in a remote part of the North Pennines. The small and peaceful guesthouse is the ideal location to unwind together before becoming parents. Upon arrival, they are greeted by Barry and Fiona, the older couple who run the guesthouse. They cook them dinner and show them to their room before retreating to bed themselves.
The next morning, Jamie and Victoria wake to find the house deserted. Barry and Fiona are nowhere to be seen. All the doors are locked. Both their mobile phones and car keys have disappeared. Even though it’s a few weeks early, Victoria knows the contractions are starting.
The baby is coming, and there’s no way out.
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MY REVIEW:
“Every time, after each scan of the nursery, I find myself on the verge of surrender… My hand hovers over the nine. Just press it three times, Jamie. Take the risk. Tell them what happened in the guest house.”
The Guest House is a thriller that packs a punch from the start. It opens with Jamie and Victoria enjoying a last weekend away in a remote guest house a few weeks before their longed for first baby arrives. But on their first night Victoria wakes up with labour pains and they find the guest house is deserted, the doors locked and their mobile phones and car keys missing. Leaving us on tenterhooks, the story then jumps forward. Jamie and Victoria are now home but we have no idea what happened that day at the guest house. Is their baby ok? Why is someone sending them anonymous veiled threats? And what is the secret that they are so scared will be revealed?
Robin Morgan-Bentley has done it again. Deceptively layered and complex, this perfectly executed psychological thriller takes you on a twist-filled rollercoaster ride that exceeded my already high expectations. It is deceptively layered and complex, a perfectly executed psychological thriller takes you on a twist-filled rollercoaster ride that I absolutely loved. The story moves between timelines as Jamie and Victoria tell their story piece by piece, slowly revealing the true horror of what happened that fateful day. Drenched in atmosphere, sizzling with suspense and charged with adrenaline, the fear, heartache, guilt, regret and internal conflict leaps from the page and the scenes from the guest house are a ticking time bomb of sheer dread. It is one of those books that you clear your schedule for and I devoured it in under a day.
The characters are well written and intriguing, and I liked that both Jamie and Victoria narrated the story and that neither of them were what you’d typically expect. Victoria isn’t the sweet, demure new mother that we typically see and I actually found her quite cold, hard to like and difficult to connect with. On the other hand, Jamie is a very likeable, endearing character that I felt a strong connection with. Another thing I liked about Jamie is the representation of disability. As a disabled person it is great to see disability portrayed in such a realistic way, where it is simply part of his character and not a weakness or flaw. It doesn’t stop him doing normal or even heroic things, in fact it makes him even more determined to protect his family. I also liked that he was given the opportunity to address how other people’s perceptions and judgement make him feel, something I related to on a personal level. We need more characters like Jamie in fiction so that those without experience of living with disability see us as we are, not simply a token character to be pitied or seen as a burden.
Riveting, addictive and unbearably tense, this dark and twisted tale will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. A must read for any thriller lover.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Robin Morgan-Bentley was born and grew up in London. After studying Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University, he went on to work for Google before moving to Audible, where he has been working since 2014.
His debut thriller, The Wreckage, was nominated for the CWA Dagger John Creasey New Blood Award, the CrimeFest Specsavers Debut Crime Award and Capital Crime’s Debut Book of the Year Award. His next thriller, The Guest House, will be released in the UK in June 2022 and in the US in September 2022.
Robin lives in Buckinghamshire with his husband and son.
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BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones*| Amazon*| Bookshop.org*
*These are affiliate links
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Thanks for reading Bibliophiles 😊Emma xxx
Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.
Emma's Biblio Treasures 