Release: August 7th 2018
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Berkley
Source: NetGalley
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, Kobe
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On a bright January morning in the London suburbs, a family moves into the house they’ve just bought in Trinity Avenue.
Nothing strange about that. Except it is your house. And you 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 co-parenting 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.
About the Author:
Sunday Times bestselling author Louise Candlish was born in Northumberland and grew up in the Midlands town of Northampton. She studied English at University College London and has lived in the capital ever since. She is the author of 14 novels, including the thriller Our House, winner of the British Book Awards 2019 Crime & Thriller Book of the Year and shortlisted for several other awards. A #1 bestseller in paperback, ebook and audiobook, it is soon to be a four-part ITV drama, produced by Red Planet Pictures. Her new release The Other Passenger, a Hitchcockian tale of adultery and double crossing set among the Thames river commuters, is also in development for the screen. Louise’s first Richard & Judy Book Club pick, is on the longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award 2021.
Louise lives in Herne Hill in South London with her husband, teenage daughter and fox-red Labrador, Bertie. Besides books, the things she likes best are: coffee; TV; salted caramel; tennis; lasagne; old heavy metal; ‘The Archers’ (but not the lockdown monologues); white wine; Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (or, failing that, a Starbar). Her favourite book is Madame Bovary.
Our House Review:
“Our House” is a stylish mystery thriller with a unique concept, and I enjoyed reading this book!
Firstly, I love how the author told the story. She writes the tale from the perspectives of the two leads, Fi and Bram, and it was a thrill to see the plot progress from their views. The author creatively tells Fi’s storyline through podcasts and Bram’s version through word documents. Moreover, the author also adds articles and user comments from people who are following the case. I loved the author’s approach towards narrating the story because I felt like I was part of a spectator community witnessing the events.
Also, there are quite a few twists and turns that you don’t expect. You don’t know who to trust because both Fi and Bram’s perspectives are so convincing. My feelings towards both of them changed over the course because I did not know who to trust. The author also ended the story with a shocking twist that I did not expect. Frankly, this book had the potential to be one of my all-time favorite reads.
However, I must confess that the story dragged quite a bit in the middle. While we witness a few exciting twists and turns, the story doesn’t progress but instead goes back and forth. The book is around four hundred pages, which I felt was unnecessary for the storyline. The author could have kept a few portions short and straightforward to avoid this.
Apart from that, I enjoyed reading “Our House” and thought it was a creative suspense thriller with a stylish way of storytelling.
