Kerry's life is falling apart, so a fresh start as the caretaker of a remote motel in the Catskills is just what she needs to get back on track. But, arriving in a snowstorm and power outage, the first thing Kerry stumbles across is a dead body...

The Woman in Room 13 mines several of the themes of Konen's previous books - female friendship, substance misuse, city vs. rural living - and results in a pacy, gripping thriller.

An isolated hotel, A body in the snow, A killer lying in wait.

Kerry finds the ideal chance to escape everything and finish writing her book. Looking after a remote hotel will offer her solitude and a distraction free zone, except it’s far from that. The mysterious disappearance the last caretaker, concerning neighbours and battling her own demons mean Kerry is facing far more than she anticipated.

I enjoyed this book, fab setting and it kept me wondering throughout. Thanks to @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and good luck to the author on its release.

Publication Date - 30/01/2025

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#TheWomanInRoom13
#LeahKonen

From the premise I was keen to read this book. An isolated motel. A body in the snow. A killer lying in wait. Kerry arrives to start a new job as caretaker at a remote hotel. She’s looking for a fresh start but soon realises something is very wrong. Her room is full of the previous occupants belongings and then Kerry sees trails of blood, leading to a hand poking out of the snow. All the trappings of a fantastic psychological thriller. The plot is great with plenty of twists but for me it was just too slow paced. I was hoping for short, punchy chapters to draw me in but in reality it was all just a bit laboured. Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and the author for the chance to review.

I really liked the concept and atmosphere of this one. The winter setting, the locked-in mystery, the mystery of this single motel room. It definitely plays homage to some classic horrors.

For me to love it more, I wanted the horror elements to be heightened. But it's definitely a great read for anyone who enjoys a lighter thriller with dark tones.

Kerry takes a winter caretaker job at a remote motel, only to find a room left in disarray and a dead body in the snow—except when the police arrive, the body is gone. With a solid premise and a dual POV adding depth, the story had its moments but felt repetitive at times. The main characters weren’t particularly likable either.. Still, it was a solid thriller and I’d check out the author’s next book.

The Woman In Room 13 is a ‘locked room thriller’ set in a secluded location during a snowstorm. The atmosphere this creates definitely adds to the tension in the book which I loved.

There is a dual perspective and dual timeline which works well as the reader is gradually fed more information from both Kerry and Siobhan in order to get closer to working out what has happened.

There are some great twists and turns and I was definitely tricked by one or two of the red herrings throughout the story. However, I wasn’t as gripped as I expected to be and I think this is because the book can be slow paced in places and I’d normally go for a more fast paced thriller.

At times, I did feel empathy and frustration for Kerry as she struggled through her alcohol addiction and dealing with the situation she had found herself in. However, I didn’t particularly connect to either of the main characters.

Overall, I think you would enjoy this if you like a medium-paced thriller set in a secluded location with some twists.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman In Room 13 was a decent locked room thriller that was just a little slow going.
Kerry accepts a position as caretaker at the Twilite Motel which is in the middle of nowhere whilst it is closed for winter. When she arrives she sees one of the rooms is in disarray with possessions from the previous occupier still there. When she has a look round outside there is a dead body in the snow but when she manages to get the police to the Motel the body has disappeared. Where is the body? There definitely was one and who owns the possessions left in the room? Is it the dead persons or is someone else here besides them?
This had great promise to be an amazing read, which in parts it did just that I just found it a bit on the slow side and a little repetitive in parts. But having said that it had a good storyline, I liked the dual POV as this gave a good insight to events that were happening and that had happened in the past. I didn’t particularly like the main characters, I thought they were quite self centred so I didn’t get behind either character to survive. This is my first book by this author and would read the next one they write.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read and I wanted to stay up late every night and just keep reading. Every single chapter added more twists to the story and the dual POV/timeline was done very well. The way this booked kept me so intrigued I just cant recommend it enough. It is a 1st person POV though so bare that in mind because I don't read many 1st person POV books. The last few chapters had me reading so fast just to find out that there was more surprises in the epilogue! Amazing.

My first book by this author so I have nothing to compare it with. The synopsis was good but I found the plot a little slow. Told from two point of view - Kerry and Siobhan -the story is a little slow and sometimes repetitive. Unfortunately neither character is particularly endearing, so it was hard to feel empathy. The twists and turns did keep me guessing, and keep me reading. There were several possibilities as to what was going on - and I was led down one or two false trails. The pace did pick up towards the end.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Leah Konen/Michael Joseph Penguin for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

A really exciting story following Kerry as she starts her job as caretaker at a motel in the woods of Catskill only the room which she was supposed to be staying in is full of clothes and toiletries belonging to someone else so she goes into the room next door wondering who was in room 13. When she looks outside she sees a hand sticking out of the snow so phones the police but when they turn up there is no body but later when she checks the boiler room she opens the freezer and finds the body but no one believes her.
Loved the character Kerry who struggles with alcohol and wonders if she dreamt the body but when other events happen she knows there is a killer around.
This keeps you wanting to read more and find out the truth it is like a Stephen King story.
Would highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

This story is a perfect winter read. Set in Twilite Motel in the middle of a snowstorm storm. Reminiscent of The Shining. A body in the freezer and a whole cast of dodgy characters with plenty of motive.

Told in a dual POV narrative. Firstly we get Kerry's point of view as she lands in the motel with all intention of writing her book. But, things start going awry, Cue the dead body, dodgy neighbours, and lots of snow.

The other point of view is from Siobhan. She is or was Kerry's friend. Both are in the creative industry and both came to Twilite Motel to do their Jack Torrance impersonation. Siobhan is there in January whilst Kerrys story picks up in February.

Kerry is definitely your classic unreliable narrator. An alcoholic who also pops some pills for her anxiety and any other ailments. So, half the time when reading her parts I did find I didn't know what to believe.

Now this book has all the great elements for a creepy snowed in thriller. But, in my opinion it fell short. The pacing was completely off. It was too much of a slow burn. I struggled at times to find the vim to pick up the book as the action and mystery was few and far between.

I was really excited to read The Woman in Room 13 – from the blurb it sounded like an atmospheric locked room thriller, perfect for dark, cold nights curled up with a book.

Kerry has been employed as a caretaker for a remote and closed motel over winter. However, when a dead body appears (and subsequently disappears!) from the snow outside her room, she starts to suspect she may not be as alone as first suspected.

The narrative of The Woman in Room 13 skips between perspective and timelines –Kerry in the present and another caretaker in the past. This worked nicely to keep the tension fresh and to drip-feed information to the reader about what has been happening at the motel. However, both of the character’s personalities and narrative voices are very, very similar, which led to some initial confusion as I was reading. I also found that I didn’t really empathise with either of them, which is a shame. Kerry has some substance issues and some mental health problems, which lead her to become an unreliable narrator as we get further into understanding her past. It also leads to her making some very questionable decisions which causes frustration for the reader.

Sadly, this book didn’t grip me as much as I expected it would, and I kept looking for excuses to put it down. The story felt slow and dragged out in the middle and other than the nice twist at the very last chapter, the plot was actually quite simplistic looking back at it in hindsight. I certainly predicted quite a few of the twists far before they arrived.

Overall, The Woman in Room 13 is a slow-burn thriller - but with two main characters who sounded the same and I didn’t care for, it didn’t leave me as gripped as I would have liked. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House – Michael Joseph for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is said to be a feminist retelling of the Shining but it's much more than that! Very creepy and horror filled, this has to be read with no food as you might be sick and read in the day time! Very atmospheric. VERY atmospheric .

Sadly I did not enjoy this book. I was excited to read it after the description, but found the reality different. It was very slow going, quite soporific in places, and I just couldn’t get to grips with it. I found the constant switching of narration confusing and had to keep backtracking so see who was narrating that particular section. It did not have the suspense that I anticipated. I did not enjoy the S&M references which I found unnecessary. On the whole a big disappointment.

This book was confusing at times flitting between 2 different peoples points of view. But in the end it actually shocked me who the unaliver was! I wouldn't highly recommend it but its worth a read if you want a quick thriller.

The winter caretaker job at the Twilite Motel seems like the ideal opportunity for Kerry to focus on her writing and take a break from the mess her life has become.

However, when she arrives, her room is in disarray, and the previous caretaker’s luggage is still there. Taking a different room, Kerry decides it must be a mistake.

However, the next morning, she sees a woman’s body in the snow… The locals don’t believe her and when the police arrive the body has disappeared.

Trapped in the snow Kerry realises she might not be as alone as she thinks. What happened to the previous woman in room 13 and can Kerry figure it out before it’s too late?

An ok thriller which gradually comes together with some clever twists (but nothing like The Shining).

Left alone to manage an abandoned motel in the middle of nowhere- what could possibly go wrong for Kelly? Unfortunately for her, the motel's not as empty as she was promised, and sinister spooky things start to happen.
A good premise but I wasnt sold on the story-telling Im afraid and was waiting for the story to end.

This was a bit of a slow read for me and felt very drawn out. I don't mind when there are multiple POVs however if was very hard to separate the two characters and if the author couldn't make them sound different, they should have stuck to one POV. I just didn't gel with the writing or characters and ultimately dnf'd

Recovering alcoholic Kerry takes a job as a caretaker at a remote motel that is closed for the winter. She hopes the isolated location, away from distractions, will keep her off the booze and focused on completing the manuscript of her novel. However, things go wrong immediately. When she arrives and follows the written welcome instructions, she discovers her allocated room littered with a woman’s belongings and the debris from a seemingly wild party. And then, outside, she spots a hand with painted fingernails poking out of the snow. Let’s just say her writing takes a backseat to the small matter of getting out alive. And as for remaining sober, well… can you blame her?
Ideal for fans of slow-burn, straightforward storytelling with plenty of twists.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

Upon publication, I will post this review on my blog and on GoodReads.

This was a sort of modern-day take on Stephen King's The Shining, which was referenced a few times throughout.
Kerry has been hired to stay at a roadside motel to take care of the place while it was closed during winter. It's also supposed to give her time away to write her novel. She's supposed to be the only person there. However, she quickly finds a room filled with someone else's belongings and what looks like the aftermath of a booze and drug fuelled party. Soon after, she finds the body of a woman in the snow. Now she's stuck in the middle of nowhere, snowed in, with a dead body that keeps disappearing.

The synopsis sounded great, and I had high hopes for this one, but I struggled. It took me the better part of two days to get through it, with me continuously finding myself becoming distracted with other things just so I was doing something other than reading. Usually, if I'm super into a book, nothing distracts me. I just kept finding every reason not to pick it back up again.
The story itself was great, with plenty of twists that keep the reader guessing throughout. However, it was the pace of the story that I struggled with. It was incredibly slow, and I just kept waiting for something, anything to happen.
I am glad I stuck with it, as the twists kept me from giving up, but I found myself skimming some of the more dull parts.