I was able to figure out what was going on but had enough interest in the marital drama that I did keep going with it.

I didn’t find this title that all suspenseful, it was rather slow going and I found myself skimming chapters so I could get to the ending. Would have preferred the ‘accident twist’ mentioned earlier.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This psychological thriller was very suspenseful. The author crafted a great story. The characters were well developed. I would recommend it.

I liked the premise of Rebecca Fleet’s The House Swap. We live in a world that’s changed a great deal in the last few decades: the internet makes the globe smaller in some ways and also much more dangerous. Through the story of a troubled marriage, The House Swap shows the ease with people can elbow into our lives.

The House Swap

The novel opens in 2015 with Caroline and Francis, a married couple, parents of a small boy, traveling to Chiswick on a house-swap arrangement. Caroline signed onto a house swap site “on an idle whim,” but then was contacted by an S. Kennedy who expressed interest in swapping a Chiswick house for the couple’s flat in Leeds. Francis had wanted to go abroad, but Caroline nixed that due to concerns about leaving their son. So the book finds the couple, who’ve left the child with a grandmother, a bit combative and miffed with each other. Chiswick seems a poor exchange for Paris or Spain.

The truth underneath the choice of location is that neither Caroline nor Francis have the energy to rustle up a holiday that requires much planning. You see, their marriage is on the rocks. Caroline has been a bad girl, but their marriage has survived the affair. Sort of….

Not in the best of moods, the couple arrive at the Chiswick house. Caroline finds the house a bit odd.

It’s the emptiest house I have ever seen. Nothing on the walls, not even a mirror. Pale pine floorboards and smooth blank doors opening into near vacant rooms.

Weird, weird weird…. But then things get weirder when Caroline finds items in the house that remind her of her former lover, and what of the nosy, pushy neighbour a few doors down.

The story goes back and forth in time through a few different voices, while the background of Caroline’s affair and her marriage to Francis unfolds. Francis is a therapist, and gradually we see what a wreck Francis is, his unhealthy behaviours and exactly what pushed Caroline towards another man. Against this backstory, events in the past also occur which trouble Caroline in the present; she’s tried shoving thoughts of the affair into the back of her mind, but the Chiswick house brings memories flooding back.

This is a domestic thriller about two married people who had a lot going for them but threw it away, and now the consequences are there, back in their lives in spite of their best efforts otherwise. The characters are not likable (which is often a plus for me) but they were also not terribly interesting. Caroline ‘wakes up’ too slowly IMO, but the novel is stronger when showing that when a marriage is wrecked, the pieces never fit together again…

Here’s another review at Cleopatra Loves Books.

review copy.

Good quick read. Not the best book I have read this year. But I was looking for something simple and this did the trick. I did not get really invested in the characters. Wish they had a little more personality. It did not scream read me.

Rebecca Fleet’s debut novel, The House Swap, is a literary matryoshka doll, with unexpected twists and shocking secrets revealed chapter after chapter.

The story focuses on the relationship between married couple Francis and Caroline, who receive an offer to house swap their apartment in the city for a house in the outskirts of London with a complete stranger.

In the beginning, they welcome the change, their relationship barely on the mend after Caroline’s affair with a man named Carl, and Francis’ own erratic and unreliable behavior. But soon after they arrive at their temporary home, Caroline realizes that the house’s owner seems to know much about her and particularly about her heated but disastrous affair and the way it ended.

A magnificent debut, The House Swap redefines domestic noir into a mix of fantasy, danger, lust and redemption.

Caroline and her husband Francis decide to save some money by doing a house swap for vacation. Caroline finds items in the house that eerily remind her of her past and events that both she and Francis would rather forget. As the story unfolds, more and more secrets come to light and the house exchange takes a dangerous turn.

I can’t say that I really liked any of these characters. They were all flawed and some committed absolutely despicable acts. Despite this, I was drawn into hearing their stories and kept wanting to learn more. The plot had a nice, easy flow to it and this turned out to be a really quick read for me. The ending was a shocker, but I felt that it worked well and I finished the book very satisfied.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for providing a complimentary e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

The House Swap is a good read, but I would have to agree with other readers that it is a bit of a
slow burn. I enjoyed the twist and most of the story line.

Secrets and lies are at the heart of this domestic psychodrama. Once again, the blurb doesn't really give a very good picture of the crux of the story and I'm not sure if describing it more accuretly would be considered spoilers, but the foundation for the issues at the center of the plot involve unsavory behaviors such as adultery, drug addiction and death.

Caroline and Francis need to get away alone and they decide to do a house swap. It's once they get to the place on a quiet cul de sac and step inside that Caroline becomes quite unsettled and knows that there is something else going on besides a change of housing vacation. Things that only have meaning for her in the context of her past appear in a house that is nearly empty in its starkness. Flowers on the windowsill, a particular fragrance, a photograph. Who does this house belong to? And what does this all mean? Suffice to say that Caroline is slammed back 2 years to a time, place and person she's been trying to forget.

Tons of drama and some tension as the point of view flips back and forth between persons and time. The reader finds out what Caroline had been up to, what Francis has done, and then there's a neighbor across the way who seems to really want an instant friendship with Caroline. It all comes together with a surprising revelation and resolution of sorts.

As far as the characters in this sordid tale, well, they aren't particularly likeable really. Certainly not any of the lot that I'd like to befriend -- way too messed up. But they made for a good story and I was engrossed as I read it in one sitting. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, you'll not want to miss this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Group, Transworld Books for the e-book ARC to read and review.

I think the premise sounded more sinister than it ended up being. It was a good story, just not enough heart pounding suspense that I was hoping for.

The premise of this debut novel by Rebecca Fleet sounds so creepy and just downright good. After advertising their home on a website, a couple swaps houses for a week with a stranger. Of course, everything isn’t necessarily as it seems and soon Caroline finds things more than a little uncomfortable. As she and her husband try to heal a very damaged marriage, the behavior and the motive of the stranger living in their house becomes more bizarre and spine-tingling.

I really wanted to like this novel but as I read page after page about Caroline’s previous affair with a co-worker I only felt incredibly sad. Sad for Caroline, who seems incapable of realizing what she has, her husband who is fighting demons of his own, and their marriage – so terribly strained and broken by their actions.

The story shifts from one character to another and also from one time period to another. More than once I found myself double checking the chapter title to make sure I knew what and who it was referring to.

This is a well-written book but the continual confusion, turmoil and childishness expressed by Caroline was trying. I really wanted to reach into the book and give her a good hard shake. For me, this is what made the book annoying. The final twist to the story is a little unexpected but, to me, it was just another sad revelation. Rebecca Fleet is a good writer and I’m sure I’ll pick up her next book. However, I will hope that next book has characters that I can respect and care about. For now, I will give this first attempt a 2.5 stars.

The premise and the characters here were great - but the writing just didn't work for me, and I found myself wanting to skim read to get through it quickly.

A solid entry in the increasingly crowded domestic suspense category. Perfect for fans of B.A. Paris and Louise Candlish.

Was really looking forward to reading this psychological thriller, but there was too many places where the characters were swapped out and I had a hard time following which character the author was referring to. Plot was good but totally confusing at times.

Great novel. Just when I was expecting a rabbit in the pot scenario, the plot took an entirely different twist.

I wanted to love The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet, but it was too slow moving for me....

Hoping that a change of scenery will help bolster their flagging marriage, Caroline and Francis swap their city apartment for a townhouse in a quiet corner of London. Of course, their problems aren’t magically cured by the move, and their attempts at fixing what seems to be too broken to mend are further complicated by a neighbor that seems to be obsessed with them. At the same time, Caroline starts having odd bits of deja vu. She seems to recognize things in the house that she should have no knowledge of. And that raises a question about the person who arranged the house swap. Someone obviously knows the secrets that Caroline has tried to conceal. I can’t say too much more without giving away a major plot twist, just take my word for it and read this intense and gripping thriller