A psychological thriller with the emphasis on psychological, inspired by Christie's And Then There Were None I assume given the many nods to that narrative within this narrative.

A disparate group of characters trapped in a house with a killer on the loose and a mystery to solve. Really well plotted and lands an ending that whilst not unique, is managed well because you kind of go oh OF COURSE.

Overall very entertaining. The type of book to while away a rainy Sunday.

Mind blown.

What a heck of a locked room murder mystery! I couldn’t put it down and had to put my life on hold to finish it as I had no idea how it was going to end! I was not disappointed.

We have a ‘And Then There Were None’ Christie set up. 10 guests, all strangers, having dinner in an old mansion. None have any memory of how they got here. The doors are locked. The windows are shuttered. They must find an abducted girl before she dies and each have a countdown timer attached to their wrist.

10 very different personalities. With hidden secrets.

A ‘Beast in the Cellar’ who pops up now and again to discuss the progress and pose questions.

The book is narrated from the POV’s of each ‘guest’. Very very clever!

And the Hispaniola! Omg I remember that at Scarborough!

Fasten your seatbelts for a heck of a ride in April 2025!

This reminded me immediately of a certain Matt Ruff novel, which I won’t name so as not to give spoilers.
Told in a bouncy, tricksy and dark style, it is ideal for readers who like to be played with a little.
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 the blurb and this short review on my blog.

This was an interesting read. At first it was very confusing but even so I felt compelled to read on. The plot was good but at times t was weird, until I got to the end and it all makes sense. I have never read a boom like tis before. I am not sure if would want to read another like his but still, very interesting.

This is much darker than the cosy crime feel the cover gives off! Try not to read reviews or marketing before reading as there's a lot given away by combining it to certain movies. The book does follow two movies and merges them so try not to read reviews that mention them! The house is really well written and described and it was a great adventure reading it! A very unusual and unique read if you go in blind!

Mostly this was fun.
In a shocking brutal murders kind of way.
The voice of the beast gave it the fun element.
It took me a while to work out EXACTLY what was going on, but I got there.
I enjoyed the multiple pov for the chapters, and each character was distinctive enough to stand out.
A little gruesome at times, but it works for the story.
Overall, I very much enjoyed this one.

Everything until the end is superb. It’s clever, whipsmart and shocking. It could have been perfect but the ending is a trope, a fairly harmful one at that.

10 strangers wake up in a locked house with no idea how they got there, to escape they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman, all while a killer is amongst them! This was a twisty and fast paced thriller. Makes you wonder who you can trust!

Thanks to Netgalley.co.uk and Atria for sending me this book review copy.

This was unlike any murder mystery I've read, and I thought it was incredibly well done. It had everything it needed to grip the reader, and then some. The unexpected ending was fabulous too.
The first point I enjoyed was the way each chapter was focused on a different character, and presented from their POV. It made for interesting reading and meant that the reader got to understand the person's hidden thoughts and feelings.
Secondly, the narrators voice making up the other chapters in between and posing questions, clues if you like, and getting the reader to think what might be happening. A brilliant piece of writing, I think it was this that glued it all together.
It was a bit gruesome and there are several murders, but that's what we want from a book of this genre.
Halloween is the perfect time to read this story and added to the excitement.

This was an interesting and gripping read with a good old-fashioned whodunit told from multiple POV.
I disliked the beginning and was wondering where it was going, but thankfully, I didn't stop reading because it was a really cleverly written story with Agatha Christie vibes going on and an ending that was not expected
Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK for the ARC.

Ten strangers wake up in a house that’s locked, offers no way out, and a mystery to solve. Specifically, they must investigate a young woman’s disappearance – are any connected to the missing woman? While they must find the clues and make sense of what’s going on, there’s the slightly worrying fact that a murderer is haunting the house’s hall, picking off strangers as and when they please. Why have the strangers been chosen? Are they even strangers? And who is the beast in the cellar, an omnipresent commentator who’s got a lovely turn of phrase. If you loved And Then There Were None, and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, this is absolutely the book for you. I inhaled it.

This book has an Agatha Christie set up with ten strangers finding themselves in a house with no idea how they got there. Then a killer begins picking them off one by one as they race to solve a mystery.

I loved how we got different POVs of each of the strangers, plus the POV of “the beast in the cellar”. Such a refreshing take on a standard thriller. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the scene through each character as they processed what was happening.

The ending was something I did not even remotely see coming. I feel like you’ll either love it or hate it, but I absolutely loved it. The ending tied everything together and is so shocking! I highly recommend this book.

With many thanks to Netgalley for this free arc and I am leaving this unbiased review voluntarily.

This debut novel by CB Everett could have been just another predictable locked room mystery but surprisingly, it was refreshingly unique and highly original. A plethora of interesting characters get picked off one by one, so nothing unusual there - or so you think! Different POV narrate the story with the ingenious addition of ‘the beast in the cellar’ posing the questions. This is a very clever, well written story culminating in a twist that was quite simply brilliant. A wonderful 5 star read

I still can’t decide if this was absolutely incredible or a bit of a hit and Miss.

I was so drawn in by the premise and loved how the story progressed. It was absolutely gripping and I loved it.
When the conclusion came I was at first disappointed, I thought it was perhaps a bit of a cop-put. However, the more I think about the story and on reflection how clever it was, I’m pretty impressed. Clever, intelligent and gripping.

This book gave me Agatha Christie vibes with the people and the death plotline.. I loved trying to discover 'whodunit'

The plot is well thought out and I enjoyed it immensely.

The storytelling has a richness to it and I adored the characterisation. Each one brought something to the tale and I really enjoyed the drama..

This is a high concept mystery about a group of strangers who wake up in locked rooms. It follows the And Then There Were None trope of people being picked off one by one.

It's a perplexing story that rattles towards its conclusion.

I hated that the book opened with a dream sequence but that's a personal ick of mine. I also found the characterisation a bit clumsy at times and the writing was basic in places.

The strength of the story is in the plot and the puzzle, though. On this level it does what's expected. An enjoyable read.

Wow wow wow !!
I have no words
What an incredible masterpiece
Like nothing I’ve read before.
Blew me away the ending WHAT!!!!
Can’t wait for more people to read this so they can be as surprised as me as this really was amazing
Love love love it !! A must read
A book like no other, Twists you just don’t see coming, characters so well written they feel real,
Could not put this down.

The Other People is a gripping, high-concept thriller that blends the classic intrigue of Agatha Christie with the eerie atmosphere of Shutter Island. The story revolves around a group of ten strangers who wake up in an old, locked country house, with no memory of how they got there. To escape, they must unravel the mystery of a missing girl. But as they begin their search, a killer starts picking them off one by one, leaving them in a race against time.

The tension builds as the strangers try to piece together who they are, why they’ve been brought to this house, and why someone would want to kill them. The sense of dread is palpable, especially as they discover what lurks in the cellar. With every twist, you find yourself questioning everything – no one is safe, and nothing is as it seems.

Narrated from the perspectives of each guest, the book creates a rich tapestry of suspense and intrigue, pulling you deeper into the mystery with every chapter. The cleverness of the narrative structure and the constant twists made this a truly unputdownable read. I found myself having to put my life on hold just to finish it – and I was not disappointed.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

Well, I guess this is my first 5* read for 2025.

10 people wake up in a big sprawly house, in rooms that seem pretty much like their own and with no idea of how they got there. The doors are locked, the windows are shuttered and they have 12 hours to find a missing girl.

All while they are being picked off, one by one.

Billed as 'And Then There Were None meets Shutter Island' I had a pretty good idea of what was going on and while I was correct to a point I was also way off the mark as well. There is a lot going on here and some truly heartbreaking moments (Cerys - you'll know when you get there).

This book had me hooked from day 1

Thanks to Jamie-Lee and Black Crow PR for allowing me early access to this book.