After arriving home from a mini break, Fi notices a removals van on her street. As she approaches her house, she realises its her home the furniture is being delivered to. Upon entering she is confronted with a surreal situation: the house has been sold by her ex husband Bram and he has disappeared. Why has he done this to her and their sons considering how well they have got on since discovering his affair.

This interesting story is told in a variety of ways which at the beginning makes it hard to follow whats going on. Fi's point of view in the form of The Victim podcast telling her story of the last few months since Brams unfaithfulness and then Bram through a word document alongside present day events and social media comments about the podcast.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable well thought of story about lies, secrets and manipulation, which just when you think all is as well as it can be, it finally comes to a conclusion with the sending of an email which turns another untruth into an even bigger problem.

I received this eBook from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

You haven't sold your house... So why on earth has another family moved in? Surely your soon to be ex husband with whom you share the house and co-parent your two children using a 'birds-nest' arrangement might know what is going on, if only you could get a hold of him! Where is he and where has he taken your children?

This is the predicament Fiona finds herself in, as we get to read from her perspective via a podcast for The Victim, where women share their stories of being hurt and betrayed and listeners get to comment. Fi's husband Bram, tells us the details Fi doesn't know via a letter where he confesses all that has been tormenting him and of the great lengths he has gone to as a consequence of his poor judgment.

The majority of the book focuses on the unfolding of events over the past six months, providing the reader with the full picture, with some events I had seen coming whilst other twists and turns shocking me to the point that I was compelled into needing to know the why's and the how's of it all. And just as I thought I had it all figured out, a brilliantly clever plot twist sucker punched me right in the stomach taking my breath away with its cherry on top twist.

With exceptionally well developed characters that brought this story to life, this unique, modern and fresh offering to the domestic noir genre had me thoroughly enjoying my first read by Louise Candlish! I eagerly look forward to reading more of her work.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster and the author for the opportunity of reading an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

A real sense of unease looms as you read this book what mistake has Bram made to bring about such disruption or was it Fi !,

Our House is a clear 5 stars for me and couldn't think of rating it any lower.
Our House is a thriller that is based around secrets, lies, fraud and deception and oh my there is so much deception.
The story starts with us meeting Fiona she lives in a large house in an affluent part of London, knows all the neighbours and loves that house and never wants to move except she returns home early from a mid week break to find someone moving into her house, but why and how as she hasn't sold it she tries to get hold of her soon to be ex husband but can't get hold of him, the children aren't where they are supposed to be, what the heck is happening!! This is the start as the chapters flip from a few months before to present time with Fiona and her estranged husband Bram being the narraters of their own chapters.
I loved this book and how it was set out and played out! That the whole deception was so close to home, that the whole story was believable and the characters in it were believable and thats down to the good writing by Louise Candlish.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK fiction for this ARC I recieved in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine coming home to find that someone is moving into your house. You dig deeper and realise your partner has sold the house from under your nose. What do you do next? I found the setup rather terrifying. The story is told from the viewpoints of Fiona and Bram, the two house owners, one thread in the form of a podcast transcript and the other in an almost-novel-sized suicide note. There are a sections interspersed that are in the present, helping us catch up with what's happening.

I enjoyed the book overall, even though it contains a pet peeve of mine: that in diary format or epistolary novels, the narrative sounds nothing like a diary/letter, but like a, well, novel! Anyway, this was a different sort of thriller as you already know what's happened; it's a matter of figuring out how everything fits together. There are a few twists, some of them not so surprising, but it ends with one that I certainly didn't see coming. I thought there was a plot hole (if the police really investigated, wouldn't Fi and Toby be recognised at their holiday destination?) but that could just be me.

Overall, yes, I would recommend this book.

(Review copy from NetGalley.)

This is the third book I have read by Louise Candlish and for me this was her best yet. Our House grabbed my attention from the very first page, Louise has created a truly original story I was completely enthralled by all the twists and turns. An absolutely riveting read which kept me up late into the night and with an ending that left me wanting to know more!

One to look out for when it is released, I will certainly recommend to friends & family and hope this is a huge success for the author as is deserves to be.

Thank you!

I enjoyed Our House by Louise Candlish. It has an interesting plot line that flows well and with twists and turns along the way it keeps you entertained.

The story is told from different perspectives: Fi via podcast and Bram via word document. With Bram’s version, we find out much more of the story than Fi does.

The book is really well written. It’s thrilling but not in the usual sense of the word and I’d be happy to recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster and the author for the chance to review.

Ooh my, I have such a knot in my stomach after reading this - you will know what I mean when you read it. And please do read it.

The whole premise of the story in itself is a bit of a stomach-churner; how the course of your life can change with one mistake, one error in judgement, In Bram’s case, his mistake has catastrophic consequences and in all honesty it’s very hard to feel any sort of sympathy for him. Fi on the other hand, well, perhaps a little too forgiving and generous in her dealings with Bram for sure. They’re both well written, fleshed out characters and I liked the way the novel was told through their two voices; it flowed pretty much seamlessly throughout, making it an easy, enjoyable and engrossing read.

That’s not to say that I didn’t silently shout for Bram to do the right thing and confess for most of the book, I mean it was never going to have a happy outcome but I was intrigued as to just how it was going to resolve itself from the outset. But the ending....ooh it’s a good one even though those knots haven’t dissipated yet! Though I’m jumping ahead of myself here, mentioning the ending without even discussing the beginning.

The whole initial event of Fi walking down Trinity Avenue to see the contents of a removal van being unloaded into her house, was quite disturbingly plausible; confusing yes, but plausible. And I mean who wouldn’t react with the same disbelief and sense of injustice that she displays? I must confess that at times I was a little confused by the jumps in the timeline of her entries, but I do honestly feel that this was all totally my fault as I read it in small chunks which I don’t really like to do. See Bram should have taken honesty lessons from me!! The slow unfolding and the emotional drama was well crafted and should keep most people gripped from beginning to end.

Anyway, a fabulous read, I really hope Our House does well for Louise Candlish, it certainly deserves to.

Wow, wow, wow! This book is just beyond the realms of everything I've read before and it completely blew me away. This book is so cleverly written you'll find yourself finishing it and wanting to go back and read it again just to try and look for clues to all those things you never saw coming. In terms of plot, this book just has it all and then some. Bravo to Louise Candlish for writing this, I am incredibly jealous but incredibly in awe of her all at the same time. This is my first Louise Candlish novel but she will now become one of my autobuy authors that is for sure!

Now onto the characters, also incredibly complex. I;m really not sure if I loved any of them but I could definitely sympathise with Fi, I mean what would you do and how would you feel if you came back from a trip away to find strangers moving into your house? There are definitely some characters you can love to hate in this one, some villains you boo every time they come on the page and scoff at every time they speak (yes I did this out loud) and then, again very cleverly, there are the characters who you begin to change your mind about as the book progresses.

Some of the events and people that come out as this story unfolds are really quite mind-blowing so some of the issues dealt with here are certainly not for the faint hearted. But it is the structure of this book that also needs to be applauded. There is some aspect of narration. We have sections at the beginning and end of the book that are narrated in the first and the third person, setting the scene and then closing it in some aspect. But the rest of the book is told through a podcast narrated by Fi, reactions to that podcast on Twitter or the podcast chat and then a word document written by husband Bram. Its genius because by the time I got the end of one section, I had to read on to find out how the other person saw that thing happening, and then back to the original person to see what happened next and back and forth and so on. I am glad that i read the majority of this book on a flight where I couldn't be interrupted by my phone/emails!

The ending of this book is somewhat abrupt and I am sure that a few people will close this book and shout at it because 'that can't be it' but I liked the way this book is resolved. I feel that what happens at the end of the book is appropriate to the events and the characters and again is a bold but clever choice by this author. I highly recommend getting your hands on this book and reading it immediately, but if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be busy buying Louise Candlish's backlist!

I am a big fan of Louise Candlish – she, like almost no – one else, can write gripping, dark and tense stories with twists that you never see coming. Her stories are clever and complex and never straightforward, and this is what I love – and this is why I was so excited for her newest release, “Our House”. This novel’s proofs are also one of the most brilliant ones, and just imagine my frustration when, deep into the story, I was trying to read and my daughter wanted to open and close the doors on the cover. If it were someone else, I’d bite their head off.

One day, Fiona Lawson arrives home to discover other people are moving in her house. Why? She has never sold it! Trinity Avenue has been her and her family’s house for years and there was no reason to sell it, so what’s happening right now? Her soon ex – husband isn’t answering his phone and he’s actually her only hope to explain things. Has he disappeared? What has Bram been hiding? Can they solve the mess?

I’ve never even heard about property – fraud to be honest, but I went into the book with an open mind, and well, after discovering what has happened, it all started to sound very plausible and, what’s worst, possible to happen! The novel was brilliantly well constructed. First we get to know Fi’s point of view, through her recorded podcast, and then Bram’s, through a word document, and so we slowly start to see what has really happened. It was all so easy to follow and there was never a moment of confusion, as everything was brilliantly sorted and logically structured. This alternating narrative works so great that soon I had a feeling I’m in the characters’ heads, living Fi’s life, being part of her world. This way of telling the story, this she said/he said, she did/he did absolutely fits the plot and the author uses it to its full potential.

The characters were proficiently and marveloussly portrayed, however they were not all so much likeable. I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Fi was too forgiving and too naive and yes, she was too whingy and self – centred, just like Toby said at the end. Nonetheless, you wanted to ask yourself what you would do in Fi’s situation, how would you react. It was so easy, thanks to the rich and descriptive writing, to feel her confusion, her fear. Bram was weak, and even the lengths he will go to to somehow solve the situation, his desperation and genuine sorrow and grudge couldn’t change my mind about him. I also couldn’t believe there was really nothing he could do about it – he probably could, he just didn’t want. All the same, nothing was of course so straightforward in this story and they both, Fi and Bram, made wrong choices, had their flaws and they just felt like normal, real people.

As much as I adored this story there were moments that it just dragged on too much, and not in a good way. It spoiled the reading for me but ultimately it didn’t affect me so much, as it is this kind of novel that you read holding your breath – you can’t believe the things that happens, you wonder how much Fi is going to still handle and the chain reactions, like the proverbial flutter of butterfly wings, quickly turns into an avalanche of lies, secrets and misunderstandings that is building up to a shocking outcomes that are going to change so many lives.

This story touches upon so many issues – property fraud, betrayal, lies and secrets, adultery, murder but it never feels too jammed, overcrowded. There were many twists and turns along the way and while some of them I guessed, the rest I haven’t seen coming, and it made the reading even more exciting. It focused mostly on the characters and their interactions. The author has so well captured all of their emotions and feelings and inner thoughts and filled this family drama full with very relatable and genuine domestic dilemmas. Dark and very detailed but I liked it – in this kind of books I just need to have everything clearly expounded.

Altogether, “Our House” was an exceptional psychological suspense, with a very unconventional end, when the author really and literally allows her readers to insert the end of this story by themselves. It was immaculately written, hooking and hard to put down. This is a story not to be missed, it’s unique, clever and brilliantly crafted and full of surprises. Highly recommended!

I am dazed, slightly dehydrated and have aching eyes - I couldn't put this book down.

The old adage of An Englishman's home is his castle is true, and in the current times when homeowners are asset rich and cash poor, castles are very important investments. Fi returns from a few days away to find that her house is being moved into by another couple, they are under the impression that they have bought the house.

There are so many twists, turns, slippery slopes and 'oh no!' moments in this rip roaring read that I do now need to go and lie down with a soothing copy of the Radio Times. The excitement is sustained right up until the least sentence - great read!

Even though it’s in the blurb it’s still a cracker of a start with Fi returning home to find folk moving into her house when she hasn’t sold it. We then have versions of events from the points of view of Fi and her husband Bram. I wasn’t too far into it before I was thinking we know what happened so how is the author going to fill the rest of the book. Actually I was way off and Louise Candlish had plenty more to give, right up to the final word on the last page.

Back of the book : 

There's nothing unusual about a new family moving in at 91 Trinity Avenue. Except it's her house. And she didn't sell it.

When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she's sure there's been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern coparenting arrangement: bird's nest custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down.

Now Bram has disappeared and so have Fiona's children. As events spiral well beyond her control, Fiona will discover just how many lies her husband was weaving and how little they truly knew each other. But Bram's not the only one with things to hide, and some secrets are best kept to oneself, safe as houses.

What I think : 

The story is told from three different perspectives : ' The Story' 'Fi's Story' told in the form of a vlog and 'Bram, Word Doc', which to all intense and purposes is a suicide note. So you find out what happened in 'real time' (The Story) and Bram and Fi's accounts.

There are many twists and turns, just when you are just getting over one thing happening, something else, just as bad happens and you think WOW ! just WOW ! can it get any worse ? But then its does ! I must admit I did gasp out loud quite a few times.

Bram's character makes really bad choices ! I don't think he's really bad, but he's very selfish and he's so misguided ! I really didn't like him that much. But I felt really sorry for Fi, she'd been a long suffering wife long before the 'house' incident happened.

The story keeps you right on the edge of your seat all the way throughout the book, its so skilfully written that you just cant put it down until you get to the last page, you just have to see what happens.  Talking of the end, I really liked the subtle twist, it really makes you sit up and think. And on that note, its such a scary thought to think that this could happen to any of us ...

I really loved this book and give it 9/10.

I'm not sure what it says when on coming to the last page of the book, I am so convinced that I must have a broken download and that the book couldn't possibly end there, that I run to my room, to double check my paperback proof copy to see if that really was the ending or not! Well it was, and my head is spinning as a result. Is it too soon to ask for a sequel? I think this may be one of those books where the reader really is left to draw their own conclusions.

But then nothing about this book was possibly as I expected, and it is one that covers huge topics and arguably gives a great how to guide for how to pull of various crimes, although how successfully, and the affects on your mental health may vary!

What would you think if you returned home one day to find another family moving into your house, despite knowing 100% that you hadn't sold the house. Then take into account that your soon to be ex-husband isn't answering the phone and he is the only other one that may be able to explain what is going on. Well that is what happens to Fi at the start of this book.

Now alternating with Fi's perspective we get the full story from Bram, her husband, and can see the lengths a desperate man will go to and how a few errors of judgment can quickly escalate.

The timelines move about a bit during the book, and the majority of it is the explanation of the events of the past 6 months, from both Bram and Fi's point of view. I'm not sure how much I identified with either character but what I was sure of was I wanted to see how it would all turn out, and just what all the reasoning behind it was.

Of course nothing is quite that straight forward and as the story ramps up, there are some twists and turns, some that I sort of saw coming and others that did blindside me. All of which added up to a very compulsive read that I was hooked on.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Negalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

When Fi arrives home to find a removals van outside her house, she is completely blind-sided. Trinity Avenue has been her family’s home for years. Where are all her belongings? How could this have happened? Desperately calling her ex-husband, Bram, who owns the house with her, Fi discovers he has disappeared.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and found it compelling reading! The chapters were fairly short so it was easy for me to read while commuting and I finished it within a week.
The story alternates between the wife, Fi, and the husband, Bram, narrating the events from their different perspectives, with a smattering of social media comments from observers in there too. There were plenty of twists and turns and I liked how it finished with a big twist - implied rather than explicit - but left you thinking about what must happen next!

This was the first book I have read by Louise Candlish and I will certainly be looking out for her other titles now to read them too.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for providing me with an advance copy in return for my honest opinion. Also sharing this review on Goodreads.

Loved the end! I was on the edge of my seat reading this book!

However unbelievable it seems that someone's house can be sold from under them without their knowledge or approval it does happen in real life. This is the premise of Our House when Fiona comes home after a weekend away to discover another family moving into her home in an affluent London street. We are taken back to how Fi and her husband Bram have become separated and the secrets he has hidden from her.

It took me a while to get into Our House but once I did I was riveted by the twists and turns. The ending was superb. Another domestic drama in keeping with Louise Candlish's previous books, and won't disappoint her fans. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really loved the premise of this book, and couldn't wait to start reading it. However, unfortunately, I was disappointed. There were problems both in writing and the plot. The book dragged on and on, too many unnecessary conversations, information, etc. It needed a good editing, and a big chop. It's too many pages compared to the actual content of the plot. If the book was way shorter, it could have a much better pace, and it would make it more interesting.
I also didn't find the story behind this mystery quite ordinary, not imaginative. I kept looking for more, but it really was all there is. I found it simplistic, and not a good woven thriller mystery. It didn't get me excited. I think what happened was unrealistic as well. The writer didn't delve into the characters deep enough too, which makes the readers care more.
What I liked was the multiple perspectives. We read from the point of view of the husband and the wife both. I also liked the idea of the wife going on a podcast.
Overall, although there were interesting elements here and there, it was not enough to pull the story together.
I would like to thank the Publishers and NetGalley for sending me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping tale! I enjoyed the author's previous novel, so I looked forward to this. It is told is a very unique way, two character perspectives, one told via a podcast, the other via a letter. This method worked very well and unravels the story in a way that is exciting, and full of twists and turns.

You can't help but be immediately sucked in, as it opens on a bizarre and unnerving situation. A must read for those that love a twisty novel and want to enjoy a rather unique style.