By: Emma Rous
ISBN: 0593201604
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: 01/12/2021
Format: Hardcover
My Rating: TBR
The USA Today bestselling author of The Au Pair returns with another delicious, twisty novel—about a grand estate with many secrets, an orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.
1988. Beth Soames is fourteen years old when her aunt takes her to stay at Raven Hall, a rambling manor in the isolated East Anglian fens. The Averells, the family who lives there, are warm and welcoming, and Beth becomes fast friends with their daughter, Nina. At times, Beth even feels like she's truly part of the family...until they ask her to help them with a harmless game—and nothing is ever the same.
2019. Sadie Langton is an actress struggling to make ends meet when she lands a well-paying gig to pretend to be a guest at a weekend party. She is sent a suitcase of clothing, a dossier outlining the role she is to play, and instructions. It's strange, but she needs the money, and when she sees the stunning manor she'll be staying at, she figures she’s got nothing to lose.
In person, Raven Hall is even grander than she'd imagined—even with damage from a fire decades before—but the walls seem to have eyes. As day turns to night, Sadie starts to feel that there’s something off about the glamorous guests who arrive, and as the party begins, it becomes chillingly apparent their unseen host is playing games with everyone...including her.
Praise
Clever and engaging. Rous creates the ultimate house party mystery. A room full of strangers—or
are they? Whispers of an old tragedy—or is it? An elaborately plated dinner—until one by one the guests fall ill. Old secrets and new dangers collide in this deliciously thrilling tale."
—Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A richly atmospheric time-slip mystery with the pulse of a thriller, The Perfect Guests is deliciously evocative and absolutely spellbinding. Set up like a game of Clue, the story alternates between two narratives, one in the past, the other in the present, each chapter winding the tension higher as you discover the pieces you need to solve the puzzle. With vividly drawn characters, gorgeous prose, and an electric sense of place and time, I was sucked in from the very first page. [A] fun and immensely satisfying treat!”
—Christina McDonald, USA Today Bestselling Author of Behind Every Lie
“Anyone yearning for a page-turning gothic story with a big house - and a shocking family secret - at its heart should gatecrash The Perfect Guests immediately.”
—Eve Chase, author of The Daughters of Foxcoate Manor
About the Author
Emma grew up in England, Indonesia, Kuwait, Portugal and Fiji, and from a young age she had two ambitions: to write stories, and to look after animals. She studied veterinary medicine and zoology at the University of Cambridge, then worked as a small animal veterinary surgeon for eighteen years before switching to full time writing in 2016. Emma lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her husband and three sons.
The Au Pair is her first novel, published in eleven countries in ten languages. The Perfect Guests is her second novel, due out in January 2021. Website
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