I’d like to thank Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Other Guest’ by Heidi Perks in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Laila and her husband James book a week’s stay at the White Sands luxury hotel on the Greek island of Ixos. Laila is a people-watcher and the first five days she spends watching Em and Rob with their teenage sons Isaac and Theo, and Rosie and Spencer who tell everyone they’re newly married but don’t appear to like each other. On the sixth day, Laila wakes for an early morning walk and comes upon the hotel staff removing a body from the pool. Laila thinks she knows what happened but is unsure if she should tell anyone.

I’m a great fan of Heidi Perks and have been looking forward to reading ‘The Other Guest’ but unfortunately it hasn’t been to the the high standard I’ve come to expect from her. The plot is interesting but very similar to other books I’ve read and although I wanted to love it I was left feeling disappointed. The story was slow and dragged somewhat, I didn’t like any of the characters, and was glad when I finally reached the conclusion which was a bit of a non-event. My opinion of this novel is solely mine and won’t stop me from reading more by this author, I’m just sorry I couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for it.

Sadly, this book is not for me. I just could not get into it, I found I did not care about any of the characters, and it wasn’t long before I was skim- reading in the hope it would improve. It didn’t, so this is a DNF for me.
My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my advance copy of this book.

This book is the perfect book to pick up at the airport ready for a summer beach holiday. It has the perfect idyllic Greek island setting in an exclusive resort, a mystery, a dead body and plenty of people watching - which let's face it, we all do that on holiday when we are sitting on our sunbed with a cocktail in our hand!
However, I did find some parts were dragged out a little too much and the plot line was a little too similar to others I have read, but generally a solid holiday read and I enjoyed it.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e advance review copy.

Intriguing mystery set in a luxury hotel resort.
The story is told from the perspective of two women Em and Laila and the story develops through their eyes.
This is an engaging read as we have no idea what happened on that fateful night and learn more and more as we read on, although we still struggle with who was responsible with suspicion falling here and then there.

As usual in my reviews I will not simply rehash the plot...if that's what you are looking for, you can find other reviews already out there...

I've read several books by Heidi Perks, and enjoyed them, so was pleased to receive an ARC of this latest novel.
However, in this case, I class this novel as "quite enjoyable" as I had a few niggles with it.

Although the plot was well thought out, the pace of the novel was slower than I expected. I didn't warm to most of the characters (though they too were well drawn) - particularly James and Laila. The ending (which I will not give away) left me feeling rather sad, particularly for the family involved.

Overall, I think this would be good as a holiday read, as (a) the setting would be ideal and (b) I generally don't want to rush through a novel whilst on vacation.

I would happily read more by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

An easy read which kept me guessing until the end, although the narrative was a little bit frustrating in places.

Laila and James Burrows are holidaying at a luxury hotel on the unspoilt Greek island of Ixos. The holiday is a chance for the couple to reconnect after 10 years of failed IVF has put a strain on their marriage. Laila begins to question if she really knows her husband when a body is found in the hotel pool.

This will be an ideal beach read, particularly if you're one of those people who love to people watch. Laila Burrows is such a person, she becomes slightly obsessed with a family group who are also staying at the resort. You can understand the obsession with what appears to be a perfect family unit; mother, father and two sons. The family are obviously well off and the mother and eldest son have a great relationship. After years of failed IVF Laila is struggling to accept that she will never have children of her own.

The identity of the body found in the pool is slowly teased out. As the author takes us back to the beginning of the holiday you are reading between the lines, examining the relationships and attempting to put pieces together to try and figure out who is dead.

This is a story more about strained relationships and hidden secrets than it is about a possible murder. As the story nears the big reveal we realise how easy it is to jump to conclusions, to make assumptions about people and to avoid asking questions because we don't want to know the answers.

Laila and her husband James relationship has suffered following several failed rounds of IVF.
In an attempt to reset it James books them a 5* holiday in a luxury resort on a Greek Island
However Laila is more interested in watching the other guests. Sitting at the pool daily mainly focusing on a family with two sons.
So much so that she feels she knows them personally, so when one of the sons ends up dead she feels she actually has information to help the police solve the suspicious death.
The story was interesting in parts, however for the most part for me it dragged.
Not one that will stay in my mind.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read it as an ARC

I felt the story took a lot of time procrastinating and not getting to the point. It also seemed as if there was repetition, almost trying to make the point again.
However, the plot itself was interesting and very moving.
The ending troubled me. The family who had such a loss I understood why they were covering up the truth to avoid further loss for themselves. However because the truth did not come out I felt there could have been better closure for Laila and James who have had a sad life and without resolution for them it was a bad conclusion.

I usually enjoy books by Ms Parks and was looking forward to reading this one. However I don’t think it was her usual style. The characters were not as engaging and I felt that the story dragged a bit. I still finished it but I wouldn’t be raving about the book to anyone.

This is the first book that I have read from this author, and I was pleasantly surprised. I read a lot of books in this genre and I did enjoy this. The plot was interesting and the author kept the intrigue going throughout. She took time to build the characters and the plot was original. I would certainly be happy to read another. Would recommend.

A great page turner! It takes a while to find out who was killed and keeps you guessing all the way through. Great to read on a sun lounger!

This is the first book that i have read by Heidi Perks and i found this to be an okay read. I liked the holiday setting and the writing style of the author but it was a little bit too slow and fell a little bit flat as a thriller for my taste. I did enjoy the book and would read more from this author in future. The story is very relatable and i think the relationships are the thing that kept me intrigued throughout, with the various relationship dynamics going on and Lalia’s people-watching.

Laila and James are on holiday in Ixos, Greece for a much-needed break to try and give their marriage the attention that it has been lacking for quite some time. After several failed IVF attempts that have left them both (as well as their finances) washed out, James decided to book a surprise getaway (using the last of their savings that were supposed to be used on their final go at conceiving) in the hopes of reconnecting and rekindling their currently strained relationship, but instead of using their time away at the five-star resort working on their relationship, Laila finds herself people watching while relaxing by the poolside – specifically watching a couple and their two teenage sons, and James spends his time going off alone on day trips.

Having spent so much time observing the family, Laila thinks she has some critical information when the police come asking questions when one of the teenagers is found dead, floating in the communal swimming pool where Laila has spent so much time alone.

My thanks to the author and Random House Cornerstone for my advance copy to review via Netgalley. Due out 19th January 2023.

Three worth a read stars

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was excited to read this novel, as the premise looked intriguing - and with the current wintry weather, who doesn't want a mystery whodunnit set on a Greek island luxury resort right now!

However I struggled to get into this story, I felt the pacing was off and I didn't engage much with any of the characters. The plot only picked up in the final third and for then it was a little bit too late for me to really enjoy it.

A gentle whodunit set on a Greek Island. Leila and husband James go on holiday to try and sort out their marriage. Then the body of a teenager guest is found dead in the pool. Accident or murder?
I like Heidi Perk's stories but for me, there wasn't enough pace. Plausible story and worth a read

2.5 stars

Laila and James have been struggling through IVF and it has put a strain on their marriage, so they head off on a holiday to a Greek island in the hope of spending some time together. Their relaxing holiday takes a turn when a body is found in the pool and both of them seem to have reasons that they don't want to speak to the police.

I really struggled to finish this one. A very slow pace and aside from the body, not much seems to happen. Also, a whole cast of unlikeable characters didn't help.

I really like Heidi Perks' books and enjoy her style of page turning writing, but I have to admit I was disappointed in this one. It didn't really feel much of a thriller and was peopled with unlikeable chatacters and I didn't really care what happened to them. I also always struggle with plots which involve amnesia and blackouts, so when I reached the end I felt rather underwhelmed. Hopefully Ms Perks will return to form with her next one.
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book
2.5 stars rounded up to 3

I was very disappointed with this one.
Laila is on a luxury holiday with husband James. They have had several rounds of ivf treatment with no success. James thinks it's time to stop.
Laila is a people watcher but is she getting too obsessed with Em and her boys?
We go back and forth to the day where the body is discovered in the pool.
For me there is not enough action, it seems very little happens apart from arguments.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC in return for an honest review.

I got to the end of this book and just questioned what I had spent my time on for the last few hours.... I feel like nothing really has happened. One big incident but that's it - and then nothing feels properly wrapped up either.
Just all feels a bit of a blur.

I enjoyed reading, and Heidi Perks writes really well. I was really engrossed while reading. It was only after reading that I felt a bit lost.

Strange plot - but enjoyable reading experience.

(weird review, I know!)

From the comments I was looking forward to reading this book. The plot appealed to me, however, I found this book to be quite slow to develop the storyline. It picked up a bit in the middle but I found the end to be very unsatisfactory. Although we find out who the killer is there was no real reason given for the attack. Quite repetitive too, almost as though the artist was padding the story out. Not for me I am afraid.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy of this book.