1988 & 2019 are the time periods for this story which takes place in the Fens in England. 1988: Leonora, Markus and their 14 year old daughter, Nina, live in a grand estate named Raven Hall. An orphan teenager, Beth, is taken in by the family to be a companion for Nina. The girls become inseparable but Beth begins to discover that all is not as it seems. 2019: Sadie is an unemployed actress. She is offered a job of playing a part in a Murder Mystery Weekend at Raven Hall. She takes the job and finds that the players are not random and the game is personal and deadly. This book keeps you engrossed by wondering who is directing the weekend and why.

When the story opens, Beth’s parents’ have died in an accident, so Beth’s aunt takes her to live with “friends” at Raven Hall---a very grand house in the isolated area called The Fens. In current day, Sadie has been invited for as an actress in murder-mystery dinner at the same location, only now, Raven Hall has grown older and shabbier, in a state of disrepair. The story moves back and forth through time, from Beth and Sadie’s perspectives, culminating the reader finally understanding how the two are connected. I enjoyed the suspense in this book as well, especially in the flashback moments, trying to understand why Beth was staying at Ravel Hall and what it all meant. Another good one.

Note: Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

An interesting read, a bit of a struggle to get through but overall ok - I appreciate the opportunity to review it!

A story about what you would do to keep your ancestral home...told through Beth and Sadie. At first you are a little confused in how this is all going to come together but by the last third of the book you are bombarded with details. The author does a nice job in connecting all the dots.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

If you are looking for a good mystery with twists and turns, then Emma Rous’s novel The Perfect Guests is it. Within the first fifty pages she has you questioning everything, who, what, what, and how? Told in Dual timelines 1988 (Beth) and 2019 (Sadie). The unknown narrator added another layer of mystery to the story.
The backdrop is Raven Hall, a mansion in the isolated East Anglian fens where games can have deadly consequences. The author has plot twists keeps you guessing all the way to the end. Sit back and enjoy

4.5 stars

Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story reminded me of a game of Clue or maybe, at times, Clueless! It was a fun, easy read combining two time periods and varying perspectives with interesting characters.. Loved the tension and creative writing in most of the book. But what should have been a crescendo turned out flat. The ending just didn’t do it for me. It felt like a rush to tie every loose end together. The final twist was a bit of a surprise but the path to that ending was way too contrived and not well-developed. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of "The Perfect Guest" by Emma Rous in exchange for my honest review.

Y’all I was so excited to read this just by reading an excerpt of it and omg... I was correct!!!! It was excellent. Truly you will dive in and not want to stop until the very last word.

I couldn’t put this book down. Told from two POVs in two different times, one present, one in the past. There are so many twists and turns, the book keeps you on your toes, even if you see a twist coming. This is the first book I’ve read from this author and it won’t be the last. Thank you @NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Well written gothic contemporary mystery that went seamlessly back and forth through two timelines. The author gets a great bit of credit
for the character titled mini chapters that tie it all together. I would suggest reading this in a day or two. I feel like I lost some enjoyment by
reading it over several weeks with other content interspersed. For me the ending was too everything resolved I would have liked the space
to wonder. super impressed by the mystery company concept great business idea.

The Perfect Guests alternates between two stories – the story of Beth in 1988 and Sadie in 2019. Fourteen year old Beth Soames lost her parents and brother in a tragic accident and had been residing in a Children’s Home. Her Aunt Caroline is her only living relative but her busy work schedule prevents her from caring for Beth. When Caroline tells Beth that she has found a private foster placement with a couple who are wanting companionship for their daughter, it sounds promising. When Beth arrives at Raven Hall, the majestic mansion where she’ll be living and gets to know Leonora, Markus, and their daughter Nina, she feels hopeful. All is going well until her new family has a strange request for Beth. Before long, Beth begins to feel more and more uneasy. Her life quickly spirals off kilter and Beth learns that she is immersed in a web of lies.

Sadie Langton is an actress who is down on her luck. She has never been able to hold down a job for very long, and is wondering how she will pay her rent when her Agent offers her an acting deal that she can’t refuse. Sadie has been chosen to play a role in a trial run of a Murder Mystery experience for a lucrative fee. Sadie is given an embossed invitation that invites her to a weekend at an old mansion called Raven Hall. What begins as seven people playing roles in a Murder Mystery soon turns much more sinister as the event unfolds. The Perfect Guests is chock-full of mystery, secrets, and twists that will keep readers guessing until the end.

Told from two POV about the infamous Ravens Hall...

Back in 1998 Beth’s parents and brother passed in a horrific accident. She is gifted a stay with the lovely family and their daughter while her aunt travels for work. The stay sounds too good to be true so she must be on her best behavior.

In 2019 Sadie is struggling to makes ends meet acting when a perfect role comes in to play a role in a murder mystery for the weekend at famed Ravens Hall complete with time period clothing and clue cards. When she arrives and strange things begin to happen- including the clues hitting too close to home... she begins to piece them together. And is startled to find how much in common she really has with the the gorgeous Ravens Hall.

As a mystery, this novel works, but toward the end it got so soap-opera like that it felt really insubstantial. Which is fine—we all need light things to take our minds off the challenges of the actual world, but the first part of the novel didn’t have that frothiness to it.

This is told from two different points of view: Beth in 1988, when she is thirteen and carted off to Raven Hall to be raised essentially by foster parents, and Sadie in 2019, who is offered a job at a murder mystery at Raven Hall. I liked both Beth and Sadie and cared about their struggles.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this novel, which WILL BE RELEASED JANUARY 12, 2021.

(3.5 stars rounded up)

When recently orphaned Beth finds herself on the steps of Ravel Hall Manor, she could never begin to suspect the sinister twist of events that brought here there.

While this novel started off extremely strong, the last 25% or so started to fizzle out for me. I loved Rous' descriptions of Raven Hall/Avermere and the dual timelines and POVs of Beth and Sadie worked out really well, until the end at least. Some of the twists were more obvious than others and some surprised me, but by the book's conclusion, everything just felt a little too drawn out. Other than my minor qualms with the ending, this was one of the more entertaining and enjoyably conceivable thrillers I've read in a while!

Lots of twists in this book. The twists were a surprise, predictable and a few a little too much resulting in a tangled mess.

I liked the first half but wasn’t as pleased with the second half. The first half was well presented with the alternating of past and present of characters.

I found the second half to be redundant not to mention confessions with little prompting and zero questions asked.

Once again twists popped up, however, they were disorganized border lining on awkward. I felt like the second half was furiously assembled and a mad dash was made to fill pages. There was lots of filler and it deterred from the thriller aspect - a clear case of too much where too little would have spoken volumes.

Opportunity for potential but mark was clearly missed. Quick, soft read but second half was a drag. A book full of pros and cons, a subjective read due to tastes and expectations.

*jigsaw killer voice* do you want to play a game?

why yes, yes I do. Or…do I?

Two mysteries, one in the past and one in the present. A sinister game turned deadly. A mysterious house with a secretive past.

Are you intrigued yet? You should be.

This book was an excellent mix of gothic galore, suspense, lies, intrigue, and a whole lot of sinister happenings.

This was like a combination of an Agatha Christie novel and the board game Clue thrown together in a creepy manor house, and it was so much fun to partake in everything that was happening alongside the characters as the events of the game unfolded.

This story is told in dual timelines, one in the past, one in the present, so you follow along a character who lived in the manor in the past, and a woman in the present who is taking part in a murder mystery game dinner at a manor called Raven Hall.

I was completely captivated from the moment I opened this book, and further enraptured the more I read, as it was fascinating to see how the past events affected the present events, and how they all came together.

I completely devoured every word of this book in less than a day, and found myself lost in the secrets and mysteries of Raven Hall, unable to put the book down until I was finished solving all of the mysteries of both the past and present.

If you’re looking for a suspenseful gothic thriller to read while enjoying a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, then do yourself a favor and pick this one up. The mysteries of Raven Hall will completely captivate you and enfold you into its world of secrets and mysteries, just waiting for you to uncover the truth and unlock its secrets.

The Perfect Guest by Emma Rous
Pub Date 01/07/21

Dual timelines~ Beth in 1988 and Sadie in 2019. A story about a grand estate with many secrets called Raven Hall where they'll do anything to stay.
And orphan caught in a web of lies, and a young woman playing a sinister game.
The story starts when Sadie lands a job as an actress playing a part in a murder mystery dinner at the estate Raven Hall. From here the story unravels. And some of the twist are quite shocking. If you think you have it figured out think again.
If your looking for an excellent suspense, gothic style read then mark your calendar for this one.
From the writer of Au Pair comes this next great read in 2021.

Thank you to the publishers and to #netgalley for the advanced copy of The Perfect Guest
⭐⭐⭐⭐

You'll undoubtedly see mentions of Agatha Christie when people are reviewing this book and the comparisons are apt. While the half of this book that takes places in the 80s is more of an mystery, the half that takes place in modern times feels like classic Christie (in a good way.)

A group of mysterious strangers thrown together in a rambling old mansion to "play a game" is always a great set up. Like a Christie book, the story isn't scary (and not even that much of a thriller) but more of a straight up mystery.

For the most part, this book delivers on both past and present timelines. The part that takes place in the 80s is a tad stronger, in my opinion. Unlike the modern character Sadie, we really get to know 1989 Beth and the uncomfortable position she's put in being saved by ostensibly very nice people who sometimes ask her to do very odd favors. The modern half felt like it was under the weight of too much mystery set-up and solving to do much character development.

The pacing of the book is strong, although a bit uneven (the first half was a bit slow and the last third, very fast with continuous big reveals) and the mystery was well-played out. There were some twists I figured out before they were revealed, but plenty of others I didn't see coming.

I think I liked least (which can also be a beef with some of Christie's books) is that EVERYTHING was tidily connected to the mystery. In the vein of stories that end with far too many revelations like, "And, she's his second cousin! And, he was carrying the hidden watch all along! And, he's actually s0-and-so in disguise!" If you're looking for a book with zero loose ends, you'll be thrilled.

Overall, an enjoyable read. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thrilling, fun, loved the characters. I don't normally read YA fiction, but I did enjoy this book and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Very unique plot line. I enjoyed this story. It was interesting. I really loved the characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Told in a dual narrative by Beth in 1989 and Sadie in 2019, both stories star Raven Hall as the main character. Beth is 14 in 1989 when she goes to live with Markus, Leonora, and their 14-year old daughter Nina at Raven Hall. Recently orphaned, Beth is anxious to make a great impression on the family, in the hopes that she can stay. Despite some odd rules and looks, everything is going well until Leonora and Markus ask her to take part in a game. After that, nothing is the same.

Sadie is a perpetually out-of-work 28-year old. Still chasing an acting dream, she jumps at the chance to take part in a Murder Mystery weekend taking place at Raven Hall. Despite a warm and mysterious welcome, the mystery murder dinner quickly devolves.

This was an easy and quick read. The twists weren't particularly twisty, and there were times when I could have benefitted from a family tree, but it's worth a read.