The Spare Room by M.I. Hattersley
Release: May 5, 2023
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Seal Publishing
Source: Amazon
Find it at: Amazon , GoodReads
Some doors should never be opened…
After a heart-wrenching break-up, Lauren Williams is seeking a fresh start. A work course offers the perfect escape. But when the booking of venue’s accommodation is full, she stays with an elderly couple in their spare room. It’s not ideal, but Lauren resolves to make it work.
Yet as soon as she enters the house, she feels uneasy. Her hosts seem nice but there’s something odd about them. And a locked room upstairs piques Lauren’s curiosity. She hears mysterious noises at night. She can’t shake the feeling there’s something sinister going on in the house.
What’s behind the locked door? Who is the couple’s mysterious daughter? And can Lauren even trust her own instincts?
Desperate for answers, she breaches the forbidden room where she uncovers a chilling secret that changes everything. Entangled in a twisted web of lies, she realises the once-kindly couple may not be who they seem.
Her safety becomes increasingly precarious and her tumultuous past refusing to let go. Can Lauren unravel the truth and get out before it’s too late?
About the Author:
Writer of psychological and domestic thrillers.
He was born in United Kingdom
The Spare Room Review:
Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me, and I’m settling on two stars. While the premise had plenty of potential for a dark and gripping thriller, the execution left me feeling detached and frustrated.
The main hurdle was the protagonist, Lauren. From the start, I struggled to connect with her. Her reactions felt inconsistent—one moment she’s upset at Peggy for not showing her to her room, and the next she’s warmed over by a simple breakfast offer. Throughout the book she often comes across as self-absorbed, torn between ignoring unsettling events and playing detective when it suits her. There are brief glimpses of empathy toward the Clifton family, but these moments are overshadowed by her constant inner turmoil and indecision.
Another drawback was the overemphasis on Lauren’s personal struggles, particularly her fixation on her ex, Graham. His presence looms over nearly every other chapter to the point that it became repetitive and pulled me out of the story. Similarly, the detailed focus on her HR classes and self-improvement journey felt oddly disproportionate in what is marketed as a thriller. Instead of adding depth, these sections often stalled the pace, making the narrative feel more like a personal diary than a suspenseful read.
The actual thriller elements were minimal until the last handful of chapters, and by then, the reveal didn’t land with the kind of impact I was hoping for. There were a few genuinely unsettling scenes—such as the eerie scratching noises Lauren hears outside her room—that hinted at the atmosphere this book could have delivered more consistently.
Overall, while there were flashes of suspense, they were too few and far between. The novel leaned more on personal growth than psychological tension, which left me unsatisfied.
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