Mark Edwards’ books are always very easy, escapist reads.

Ruth - an actress on the cusp of success - and Adam - an aspiring writer - are house sitting in New York for a couple they met on a cruise. When a young woman, Eden, turns up claiming to be a friend of the owners of the house and persuades them to let her stay, it’s not much of a spoiler to say that things quickly get a bit weird. Given the title and the setup, I don’t think any reader would be at all surprised to learn that Eden is not exactly who she claims to be. However, where it goes from there is a bit harder to predict, as both Ruth and Eden go missing...

Although the plot sounded promising - I love a mysterious cult - it didn’t totally grab me. I didn’t really engage with Adam or Ruth (the best character was Wanda, who was awesome - I’d have happily read a whole book about her). The story is mainly told from Adam’s viewpoint, as he tries to find out what’s happened to his girlfriend, and Adam just isn’t that interesting. The cult itself isn’t, either. Although a couple of characters from previous books did make brief appearances - Mark Edwards seems to like doing that, and it’s fun to spot.

It’s an enjoyable enough read, although the plot becomes increasingly preposterous. Mark Edwards does have a lot of devoted readers (in an endnote to the book, he suggests jokingly that they should form a cult, and honestly it doesn’t sound that far-fetched) and I’m sure this book will be enjoyed by many. I don’t think it’s his best, though.

This review will go live on the link below on 20 May:

Hi and welcome to my review of The House Guest!

There I was, a Tuesday night after a horrid day at work, feeling drained, wanting to read to take my mind off things but the book I’d planned on reading suddenly didn’t interest me anymore, and the one I picked instead couldn’t hold my attention for longer than a page or two. Peering at my physical TBR shelf, scrolling through my e-reader, no title jumped out, and I felt more drained by the minute. And then I remembered: I had just been approved on NetGalley to read Mark Edward’s latest novel, and I thought: if Mark can’t snap me out of it, no one can!

So I started reading The House Guest and it did exactly what I’d hoped it would: it drew me in and made me forget about everything and everyone, until I looked up and noticed that I had devoured a third of the book in what felt like one single breath. And I was feeling a lot less drained and a lot less sad to boot. Such is the magic of books, especially those written by your favourite authors, your auto-buy authors, the ones whose minds might work in scary ways, but who know how to glue you to their pages regardless of your state of mind at the time, and Mark Edwards is definitely one of those authors for me.

The House Guest is set in New York City, one of my favourite cities in the world and one I have very fond memories of, and Mark’s vivid writing transported me right back there. I’m hesitant to tell you more about the story than what’s in the blurb, as I feel it’s been deliberately kept vague, and I loved the journey The House Guest took me on, finding out what was going on, which turned out to be a plot that I hadn’t expected at all and that I enjoyed tremendously, probably to a greater extent because it caught me by surprise as much as it did. So I won’t ruin that experience for you, I’m just going to tell you that if your interest is piqued, you should go ahead and pick up a copy of The House Guest!

The House Guest is a solid psychological thriller with a highly original and intriguing plot, thrilling action scenes and interesting and well-rounded characters (some likeable, some a lot less likeable). Highly recommended to all thriller fans!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC! All opinions are my own.

My third Mark Edwards book and just as grippinh and unputdownable as the other two. Ruth and Adam are capulated into a suitation where it's impossible to know who to trust. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who reads this review but I loved the ending as, it leaves you not knowing what could happen. I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased

I appreciated getting an advanced copy as I’d never read a book by this author before. This was a mystery/thriller that kept my attention throughout and had a twist somewhere around the middle that I didn’t see coming!

After having read and absolutely loved Here to Stay, I was immediately ready for this book. While I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, once the story showed it's true direction, it became a little too far fetched and the more disinterested I became. I did finish it but I really did not enjoy the story.

Another great Mark Edwards creepy, but very satisfying thriller. Are we just too trusting of people when we are in our safe environment, when people tell us things we want to hear ? Can you always tell when people are lying to you? Adam and Ruth , boyfriend and girlfriend meet a lovely older couple , Jack and Mona ,on a cruise. They befriend them and share details of their lives. They become friends and later ask Adam and Ruth to housesit for them while they are on vacation. While housesitting a stranger rings the doorbell . It is raining and this sopping wet stranger asks where the owners are and says she’s a friend of theirs . She says they told her she could stay there if she was in the area. She said things about Jack and Mona that made Adam and Ruth think she really did know the house owners. They felt guilty because she was dripping wet and invited her in. Somehow she then became “the houseguest” and things slowly got strange and creepy and the twists and turns kept me guessing and wondering how this could unravel! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Ruth and Adam, a British couple consisting of an upcoming actress and a writer, meet another couple on a cruise named Jack and Mona. They instantly click, and agree to house sit for their new friends in New York. Ruth is supposed to star in a big Broadway play, so the opportunity is perfect for the young couple.

A few days before the homeowners return, a woman named Eden shows up on the doorstep. She claims she is a friend of Jack and Mona's. Eden convinces them that Jack and Mona told her she could crash at their place whenever she came to New York. But soon, Jack realizes they made a grave mistake by inviting her in.

I've read several other books from Mark Edwards before and all truly enjoyed them. He knows how to set the stage for his characters, and makes them seem real. Sadly, this book just wasn't all that great. Let me say that the premise for this book was really good, and I was expecting a lot. Yet, a lot of it felt so unrealistic that it was almost ridiculous.

Let's be honest, would you really let a stranger stay in the house you're only house sitting? In our day and age of social media, you can pretty much find out everything about some people. So, it's not too far fetched, that a young woman like Eden can find that information, and then pretend to be someone else. Also, the way Ruth reacted to Eden and the things she said to Adam about her in the beginning are very unbelievable. I can't give too many examples, because I don't want to give the plot away.

I will give this book 2 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the arc Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK.

The House Guest starts out pretty promising. Eden shows up to the house Adam and Ruth are house sitting and says she knows the owners. They invite her to stay and then things go sideways. The story in this book is “ripped from the headlines” and it’s news I had a lot of interest in when it came out. Unfortunately this book just didn’t do it for me. It was constantly trying to one up itself for the next action packed twist and ended up being kind of silly. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the book.

What I love about The House Guest is that from the first page, I was hooked. The plot is constantly moving and full of action making the book impossible to put down. The author skillfully wrote a lot of twists and turns without the book becoming confusing or unrealistic. I’ve always been a fan of reading thrillers involving cults, so I was excited as soon as the book brought up a mysterious group of people. I will be recommending this psychological thriller page-turner to everyone!!

Mark Edwards has managed to do what so many haven’t; he has written a book that had me guessing right until the very end. A brilliant, original storyline that had me hooked. Definitely a book I will recommend to friends!!

What would happen if your life suddenly changed as you know it?

This is the question I was thinking as I was reading this book - normal people whose life had suddenly spun off into a different trajectory!

The story starts off with two Brits who are temporarily living in NY, house sitting for an American couple they met on a cruise when lo-and-behold, a girl lands on their doorstep who will change their lives forever...

This was the first book I have read by Edwards and I'm not sure if it will be my last. I loved this book for three-quarters, it was gripping and the premise was great but I found the end lacking something... I'm not quite sure what it was though as it was a well paced book and the ending didn't seem rushed. I just can't put my finger on it!

I like the way Edwards can make you feel a certain way about a character and then completely turn it around on it's head, like Callum. I really liked him and then I hated him. The characters were very well written and I really liked the main character, Adam. I felt like if I was in his position I would have acted similarly - he didn't become the alpha male hero type all of a sudden, he acted like most people if they suddenly found themselves in that position!

I could take or leave Ruth, Adam's girlfriend, I understand she was pivotal to the plot but she was a bit lacklustre. Didn't bring much to the story, only acted as the catalyst for the plot.

The twists were good and I didn't really guess them, they came out of left field but kept me interested. I could definitely see this book being made in to a movie - it has all of the right elements. I liked the small facets of humour that were thrown in as well.

Again, I am just not sure about the ending... I think I often feel let down by endings though so maybe that's my own flaw!

This book is a solid 3.5 stars and I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a good action thriller of a book. Definitely surprised me as it wasn't your typical suspense thriller!

I recieved this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Always enjoy a good mark Edward's novel, and this one was no exception, full of all the suspense twists & turns that you would expect from this author with a very interesting subject matter, cults. Read this you will not be disappointed.

I was expecting big things from this book and sadly it fell short and left me a little bored and it is not a book I’d recommend.
The story at first seemed a little slow and yet far fetched. You’re staying in someone’s house whilst they’re away and let a complete stranger stay too.
I found the beginning part of the book slow and struggled to keep going.
When Ruth went missing it picked up but then when it became clear what was actually happening for me it went back to being far fetched and slow.
This book just didn’t grab me and I struggled with the cult topic and the pace of the book didn’t keep
Me entertained sorry.
I am hugely grateful to net galley and the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this book and as promised I have provided an honest and unbiased review.

I enjoyed reading this. I think that this author writes good psychological thrillers consistently and i always know i am going to get a good read.

This book was a fast and easy read. The turns it took were exceptional and it really dived deep into the main theme of the book. The house guest is a page turner I finished in no time flat!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of The House Guest!

Wow! What a great book this was! Mark Edwards is becoming one of my new favorite authors. I really enjoyed two of his other books. Adam and Ruth are a British couple who met Jack and Mona on a cruise and were asked to house-sit for them for a while. Close to Jack and Mona’s return, a girl, Eden, shows up claiming to be there friend and Adam and Ruth decide to give her the benefit of the doubt and let her stay. However once Jack and Mona return home they claim they don’t know anyone named Eden and Ruth and Eden have mysteriously both disappeared, leaving Adam dying for answers. What comes next is just so incredibly unreal! Where is Ruth and Eden? Are they safe? Why are people trying to kill Adam? The shocks just keep coming up until the very last page. Highly recommend!!

Mark Edwards is one of my favourite authors so I knew I was going to enjoy this new book, and I was absolutely correct! This is a real page turner which I read in a couple of sittings. Mr Edward really knows how to spin a tale and this one is easy to read, fast paced with lots of twists and turns.

The setting of NYC is well researched and I felt like I knew the area of Williamsburg. The authors research, living in NY for a time, (it’s a hard life being a writer!) definitely paid off. The characters are interesting, though mostly unlikeable apart from Adam.

The House Guest isn’t my favourite book by this author (I think that will always be The Magpies) but it is a great read which I highly recommend.

Wow! I could not put this book down. So intriguing and kept me guessing until the very end. I loved the writing style and such great character development. I easily related to so many people in the story. Some my heart broke for and some I just kind of needed to slap!
Lots of twists and turns. I read this one in one day. Look forward to reading more of Mark Edwards’ masterpieces.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Definite 5 stars!

Entertaining but silly. That’s the best sentence I can give to describe The House Guest.

This story gripped me, it’s interesting and full of excitement but it lacks the danger of other books with cults as part of the central plot. I found the start of the story and plot much scarier. A stranger you invit3 in. I’d like to read more of that please!

Was I worried about any of the characters at any point? No. Would I recommend this book? Yes. If you’re looking for a story that thrills without chills then pick up The House Guest!

This is a bit of a departure from Mark Edwards ' usual psychological thriller genre of book but once again he has nailed it with The House Guest.Set in New York it centres around the world of cults and the damage they can do to ordinary people,I have read everyone of Mark's books and with the exception of The Retreat which I found hard going they are with out a doubt the best psychological thrillers I have read,and this book is up there with the rest of his books, it is filled with twists and turns and he has excelled himself once again,in my opinion Mark Edwards Is at the top of his game and The House Guest just confirms it for me,a superb 5 star read yet again from Mark Edwards.Carry on the good work !!