3.5/5 stars. fast, engaging read, good for a distraction. Not a great deal of depth on the characters or plot, but suited its purpose well.

4 Stars from me

I devoured this book on a lazy Sunday and totally did not see where the story was heading!

For the first few pages I was fairly convinced that I would be spending the next decade of my life housesitting in New York - ahhhhh bliss!

But then Eden entered stage left and I bristled. Hmmmm. Hats off to Ruth for being a kinder, more trusting person than I will EVER be, but then again hey, my suspicious mind will have meant that I didn't end up in a pair of snazzy white PJs... (almost a spoiler but not quite so shhhhh.)

A fast and easy read from Mark Edwards which I flew through and thoroughly enjoyed.

3.5 stars
A young couple from the UK Adam, a future writer and Ruth an actress who is about to become famous are house sitting in New York for a wealthy couple, Mona and Jack. One day a young woman, Eden, knocks on the door, claiming that Mona and Jack invited her to stay at their house anytime. Everything is fine ,until one evening when the three of them are getting seriously drunk. Adam wakes up unable to remember anything. The only thing that is sure is that Ruth and Eden are vanished. More to this, Mona and Jack do not know anyone called Eden.
A wild chasing starts off for Adam who desperately tries to find his girlfriend, despite all the problems they seem to face.
The charakters are all on a wild roller-coaster; for my taste, a bit too much; but nethertheless a satisfying read.
Thank you #netgalley #thehouseguest #markedwards for this reading copy

Thank you to Netgalley, Mark Edwards and Amazon Publishing for my arc of The House Guest in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis: When Ruth & Adam are offered the chance to house sit in upmarket Williamsburg, New York after meeting the house's owners on a cruise they jump at the chance. Adam is a wannabe playwright and Ruth has a part in a broadway play so it's the perfect opportunity. When the homeowners friends Eden turns up looking for a place to stay, they can't help but invite her in. Eden is charismatic, beautiful and smart and the three of them get on like a house on fire. But Eden is a stranger after all... have they made a terrible mistake?

Review: I usually love Mark Edwards' books but something just wasn't right for me with this one. I didn't find it as engaging and interesting and the few twists there were didn't feel shocking. I still read it in a couple of hours and it was ok but not the page turning thrilling experience I'm used to with Mark's books.

Mark Edwards is an author who seems to be rather hit or miss with me and unfortunately, The House Guest turned out to be a miss.

Adam and his girlfriend Ruth are housesitting for a couple in New York. One evening, a young lady called Eden rings the doorbell. She claims to be a family friend and when Adam and Ruth realise Eden has nowhere else to go, they ask her to stick around until the owners return from their cruise. But after an evening of too much fun with tequila, Adam wakes up to find himself alone in the house. Ruth and Eden have disappeared.

And that’s where the story started to lose me as events became increasingly far-fetched and somewhat over the top. Suddenly a story that had bags of potential went completely off the rails. The characters all felt like cardboard cut-outs, bewilderingly uninteresting and boring cliches that I couldn’t connect to at all. I didn’t care what happened to any of them, I’m sad to say.

The House Guest is really a run-of-the-mill, rather forgettable psychological suspense story that sorely lacks the suspense, tension and thriller element I look for in this genre. Ultimately, this is a quick and easy read but it’s awfully superficial. This is nowhere near the author’s best work.

Really interesting psychological thriller. Twists and turns throughout.
The House Guest was an amazing read and I look forward to more from this author.

Liked it-but not all of it

This is the first book I've read by this author and it got off to a great start, a pleasant surprise.

From England, Adam and Ruth had been in New York a few weeks. Their friends Jack and Mona are on a retreat in New Mexico. They're staying at their house, looking after it.

This was really keeping me guessing-what could have happened? Very mysterious. Some cracking moments.

Unfortunately, it went a bit downhill for me in the second half of the book. It was a good book, but then it went off a bit, and my interest waned. We all like different things, and the second part of the book just wasn't to my taste.

I have read many of Mark Edwards books and they’ve all been brilliant, so I was eager to read this. Unfortunately this just didn’t hold my interest as much as the rest. I struggled with the storyline and it all felt a little flat. It won’t put me off reading more by Mark Edwards and I look forward to the next.

Never invite strangers in.

Adam and Ruth are house-sitting for the Cunninghams, people they had met on a ship. They are in New York as Ruth is an aspiring actor and has finally got the chance to make it big in both theatre and films. Adam is a play writer. When Adam opens the door to find a woman dripping wet – saying that she’s a friend of the owners, Adam lets her in – initially thinking they would help her dry off before finding somewhere else for her to stay. However, she proves to be very persuasive, and they invite her to stay.

It isn’t long before things turn creepy – Ruth, ordinarily reliable and dedicated to her career, disappears. Adam must search for her.

Mark Edwards, I usually grab your books with glee, knowing that I’m going to have a brilliant read. Unfortunately, this one left me stone cold. In fact, I cheated and read about halfway before jumping to the end, something I never do. I couldn’t find the energy to follow the plot, it felt like you’d tried an experiment with something so different to your usual writing and unfortunately, it didn’t work for me. I’m pleased to see that others loved it.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Super chilling and intriguing, just the way I love my stories. An exciting plot with an ending that didn't fail to deliver. I will be looking out for more books from this author

The premise is so intriguing. You are house sitting in NY, the doorbell rings, and standing there is a young woman who looks harmless (drenched from a storm I might add!), who says she's friends with the owners and they had said she could drop in anytime if she was in the area...

Sounded good, but it wasn't. This author has a huge following! I've not read anything else by him. Maybe I'd try another book but this one did not deliver.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book for an honest review. It was released June 3, 2020.

I really enjoyed this book and it’s the first I’ve read from this author. While I thought the beginning was a little slow with Eden and drawing things out, it all made sense in the end. The small cliffhanger at the end made me stop for a few minutes post-read and think about things. This book makes me want to read more by this author.

The House Guest by Mark Edwards is a thrilling psychological thriller. Fast paced and teeming with suspense, twist and turns this book will have you second guessing everything. The book is thought provoking and you are always trying to guess what happens next. The characters Adam and Ruth are in for a wild ride let me tell you. This book will have you on the edge of your seat and turning page after page to see what happens.

What a fantastic read! A brilliant story with the anti hero being a character who at first seems sweet and innocent and heroes with human frailties.

All the ingredients for another mind-blast from Mark Edwards.

Very well written and enjoyment is guaranteed.

Read it in less than three hours. Once again, I couldn't put it down. Mark Edwards is just brilliant and knows how to keep you turning the pages.

I really enjoyed this book! It was weird and twisted and kept my interest. I loved the characters and was surprised when their identities were revealed! I rate this book a 4.1

Who knew house-sitting could be such a dangerous activity? With the title being The House Guest, the moment Eden inveigled herself into Ruth and Adam's life, it was clear something was amiss. However, I missed the 'amiss-ness' by a mile. I certainly never expected that to happen! The consequential events take every single opposite turn to the one you may have been expecting. Nothing my devious mind imagined came close to Mark Edwards' even more devious, and possibly warped, mind. This is a very clever, complex tale that kept me reading into the wee, small hours of the morning. My gob was suitably smacked and I thoroughly enjoyed every single minute of it. I'll tell you what, he can't half write a gripping story that Mark Edwards. The concept was unique and its execution was excellent. A book not to be missed - another hit from the quill and ink of Mr Edwards. Bravo sir!

This book was okay. I usually love Mark Edwards books, and his writing definitely hasn’t changed, I just believe that perhaps my disinterest in cults set the tone for this book for me. I felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a lot in this book.

Enjoyable and action-packed- a good holiday read but I've preferred other books by this author. Liked the New York setting.

This book was just so bizarre. I found it unbearably slow and not at all gripping, I only finished it because it is relatively small at 300ish pages. I found the writing style to be not to my taste and the overall telling of the story to be pretty messy. I’m honestly struggling to know what to say in this review as it was honestly just so strange and uninteresting that I’m not at all inclined to spend anymore time thinking about it. Thank you Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the opportunity.