This book was a pretty captivating read filled with some twists and intrigue. The setting is the East Anglian Fens at a rambling mansion, alternating between 1988 and the present, In the 80s, Beth is a teenage orphan sent to live with the Averells who welcome her and she becomes friends with their daughter Nina. In the present, struggling actress Sadie accepts an acting gig at the same rambling mansion Beth lived 30 years prior. Sadie begins to feel uneasy with the weekend mystery game she has been hired for.

Overall, a fun and twisty thriller!

I love a good gothic mystery and this one did not disappoint. A manor house, family issues, and revenge? Count me in. This is a quick and entertaining read. I loved The Au Pair and am happy to say I loved The Perfect Guests too!

Thoroughly enjoyed The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous. This was my first read from this author and it definitely won't be the last. The story has lot's of mystery and twisty turns throughout. The story is told by multiple perspectives and the location/setting was perfect to add to the creepiness. I enjoyed learning about the history of Raven Hall. A real page turner that I can't recommend enough!

I quite enjoyed this book, despite the almost-but-not-quite jumping the shark that took place in the last little bit as the author tried to put all the pieces of her story into place.

Between the multiple time frames, the different narrators, the number of characters, and the various mysteries, I had a hard time figuring this book out, which added to my experience. Of the "games", I found the 1989 one to be the weaker of the two but enjoyed the Clue-like feel to the contemporary one.

Some people might not like all the twists at the end, but I didn't mind them. At times it was convoluted, keeping all the moving pieces straight, which makes this a great book club selection or one to discuss with friends.

My Thoughts
A rambling old manor house in the fens, a “harmless” game, and a mysterious fire? Yes, please! Here are my pros and cons for The Perfect Guests:

Pros

1. The book is told from three different viewpoints (two known characters and one unknown) and shuffles back and forth between 1988, 2019, and an unknown time period. The unknown narrator/time period is not revealed until well into the story (past the halfway point). A lot of books lately are written in the multi-narrator/multi-timeline format and I am a fan when it is done well. Thankfully, this book executed it very well.

2. I keep notes while I read books so I can remember things to include in my reviews. The first note I wrote for this book was “Very Agatha Christiesque with a Clue vibe”. First, I would like to inform you that according to Wiktionary.com “Christiesque” is actually a word! Second, it really did have a very Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with a candlestick whodunit feel! This story isn’t Clue exactly, but it was the sense I got reading the book… and I liked it.

3. The scenes at Raven Hall were my favorites. There was definitely something weird going on. It felt like everything and everyone in Raven Hall were just slightly skewed and you don’t know why… and that made it intriguing.

4. The characters from 1988 were well done. I felt the most connected to Beth and her situation, most likely because we learn the most about her and her back story. But in general, I thought the 1988 characters were well-developed, or at least well-written enough to set up the story.

5. The twists were good. Some were expected (even if I didn’t know exactly how they’d play out), some were very unexpected, and some were too random (see Con #1).

6. The ending was generally satisfying.

Cons

1. While I enjoyed the various reveals and twists, they seemed to go on forever. The reveal of what was actually going on at Raven Hall started started around the 75% mark and seemed to drag on and on and on. A few of the reveals felt a bit convoluted and random, including situations you would have never even fathomed from the information provided in the story. I love a good reveal/twist, but when there are like 7 of them the impact gets diluted.

2. While the ending was generally satisfying, I have to admit that the reason behind everything that happened felt a bit underwhelming.

Summary
This was a solid mystery that was very reminiscent of some classic whodunits. I enjoyed the first half of the book a bit more than the second part (where I felt it started to stumble and lag just a bit), but I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre. This is my first Emma Rous novel and I enjoyed it enough that I am definitely interested in reading her previous (and future) books.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an ebook, which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Love, love, love! The Perfect Guests by Emma Rous was fantastic! Mystery, suspense, and thrills - talk about a must-read book! I absolutely LOVED reading all about Raven Hall and the many twists and turns involved in its history and inhabitants' lives. Told via the past and present, the story unfolds seamlessly and provides a gothic vibe. The crumbling estate, the sketchy residents, and the dark secrets oozing from every corner - you can't help but get some chills and thrills from Raven Hall.

Rous has written a real page-turner that will have you reading late into the night. The writing is top notch, the characters are unforgettable and the story itself is unputdownable. I just LOVED it to bits! Every time I thought I had figured out what was going on, I found myself stymied once again. It was such fun to delve deeper and deeper into the story. Definitely a treat to read.

I would happily recommend The Perfect Guests to fans of Rous and for anyone looking for their next great read - you will LOVE this book!

The Perfect Guest by Emma Rous was my first blog tour and NetGalley read of 2021 and also my first Emma Rous book. I want to start with a thank you to Penguin Random House and the publicity team there for letting me join.

Within the first chapter I had major Companion vibes…the orphan coming to live with a family that has a little girl in need of a friend. But then oh man did it take a different turn. Readers are bounced between 1988 and 2019, between Beth Soames and Sadie Langton and told the story of a teenager and women that are both not sure where they belong in the world and what to do next when things don’t work out the way they imagined. They are both brought to Raven Hall and both discovered they had a story to tell about the mansion, but what do these two ladies have in common other than a visit to Raven Hall?

I did struggle with keeping the characters straight, especially in Beth’s point of view because the characters were involved in a murder mystery through the length of the book so I got lost on what “character” in the mystery lined up with the real characters. Although 75% of the book was a back story which bugged me while reading it, the way the author brought it all together in the end was so beautifully written. I LOVE when there is a big aha moment in book and I have to think “oh now it all makes since.”

I rated this a 3 on Goodreads but that was mostly because of the confusion and maybe another reader would not have that issue at all. However, I really enjoyed The Perfect Guest and will definitely read The Au Pair also by Emma Rous.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the alternating POV, the spooky mansion, and the twists and turns! I had a lot of fun trying to guess what might happen next but I was never right. the suspense had me not wanting to put this book down and keep reading! I really like books told in alternative timelines/POV and I thought this one was well done. I was trying to figure out how the POVs overlapped.

Thank you Berkley Pub and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Great book! Couldn’t wait to read it, and it didn’t disappoint! Grabbed my attention within the first two chapters, and then I didn’t want to put it down. Excellent character development - I think that every reader will find a character to whom they relate. I enjoy books where there is character development, and then also a surprise, and this book provided both! Looking forward to reading more from this author!

In 1988, Beth goes to live at a sprawling manor house in England where she becomes friends with the owners' daughter, Nina. Beth feels like she belongs and is part of the family, until she is asked to join in what she thinks is an innocent game. In 2019, Sadie is a struggling actress who gets a paying gig to attend a party at the manor house. As you start to piece together what the links are between Beth and Sadie, the book pulls you in. This book had the right amount of suspense that kept me interested until the end.

A decent enough mystery with several timelines, quite a few characters, and confusing family relationships. Hard to keep it all straight at times. Would recommend it to readers who don’t want anything too gritty as the action is mild.

I didn’t end up enjoying this one quite as much as I expected but I still enjoyed it I give it a 3.5 stars rounded up to four stars here and on good reads. I got some Mexican Gothic at home before dark vibes which I really enjoy because I love those books over this one isn’t quite as thrilling and is a little bit more of a mystery than a thriller however I feel like it’s being marketed as being a little more thrilling and I think it would’ve been a little more fun for the reader if you know your heart was pounding while reading it I never really got that feeling don’t give me wrong there are some twists and it’s not a bad book however it could’ve been better. I did listen to part of this on audio and I really enjoy the narrators. I will say with the lack of thrilling-ness if you will the author did a really good job at keeping me interested in the book and I found her writing to be very good.

The Perfect Guests is an atmospheric and gothic thriller that you should add to your TBR if you are a thriller/mystery fan! Swipe right for synopsis (although I do think going in blind with this one adds a lot more to the mystery). Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

From the same author of The Au Pair, The Perfect Guests is a game of Clue meets an Escape Room. Told in a nonlinear timeline with alternating points of view, it was the perfect creepy mystery to read over a cold winter weekend. Sit down by the fireplace with a warm cup of hot chocolate (make sure you trust who makes it) to get the full ambience with this one.

I have seen some mixed reviews saying that the twists and overall ending were a stretch for them. However, they completely worked for me. The present day setting of a murder mystery-themed overnight weekend already was a bit outrageous that anything but crazy, shocking and convenient twists would be a letdown. Emma Rous did an amazing job of transporting me to the setting that I felt I was in the game of “whodunnit.” The Perfect Guests is out now and I highly recommend picking up a copy for yourself!

Read if you like:
-Anything by Agatha Christie
-Clue
-Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift
-Hot Chocolate

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Well hello another soap opera episode!

This one drew me in with the gothic vibes, murder mystery party and the author. While I did enjoy her previous work (<i>The Au Pair</i>), I got so tangled and confused with how all the characters interconnected.

<i>The Perfect Guests</i> was the same. With seemingly even more lies and secrets. Seriously you'll need a bulletin board with family pictures and that red string to connect everyone.

The dual timelines definitely made it more suspenseful and after a while I just needed to know what would happen!

Mashups: <i>The Au Pair</i>, the movie Now and Then and a murder mystery party.

Unfortunately, this book did not settle good with me. I hope to try to read it again in the future, to better understand it.

When first reading The Perfect Guests I was intrigued as much as baffled by how the past and present connected. I knew there had to be a connection with Sadie and Beth but it was not until the end that the relationship is revealed.

The story splits between present time with the character Sadie being invited to take part in a murder mystery dinner as an actress, and the past telling the story of a girl named Beth.

Back and forth we read about Raven Hall and learn of the relationships forged between the characters that come to be involved with Raven Hall.

The story was certainly unique with its past and present split to tell the tale. Beth is invited as a companion to Nina in the past story and the present focuses on Sadie's experience during the murder mystery weekend. Trust me when I say nothing is at it seems and all of it is configured in a way that leaves the reader wanting more.

I certainly enjoyed the twist at the end. I think you will too. Until next time!

Thank you Berkley Pub and NetGalley for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Perfect Guests
By: Emma Rous

REVIEW ☆☆☆☆

If you read The Au Pair by Emma Rous, I highly recommend checking out her latest novel, The Perfect Guests.

A creepy mansion. Bizarre people. Eerie atmosphere with sinister undertones.
Told in multiple points of view and from different time periods, this is a story that requires the reader to pay attention. This is not difficult, however, because the plot is engrossing and infuriatingly one step ahead of whatever you think you have figured out (incorrectly).

There are lies, twists and turns, false and misleading clues and a difficult to decipher mystery. I was guessing right to the end, and I had everything wrong. But, who wants to read an easy mystery? I like the game of CLUE, and this story harkens to that game. The author sets up all aspects just right- leading to the thrilling conclusion.

There is much to like about The Perfect Guests. Emma Rous has crafted another excellent story that is worth your time!

I loved the Agatha Christie-esque setup of a murder mystery party where all the participants are unknowingly taking part in an actual mystery. I'm a sucker for a party that's not what it seems that takes place in a mysterious old house! This is definitely twisty - and there are so many twists at the end it almost strains credulity, but this was an enjoyable thriller nonetheless.

It’s 1988 and teenager Beth Soames’ life has been totally turned upside down after a tragic accident takes the lives of her parents and brother. Her aunt doesn’t seem to have time for her so she’s sent to live with a family at Raven Hall. The family feels Beth would be a wonderful companion for their daughter, Nina. Beth is more than happy with the arrangements. Then, things take a strange turn and the family isn't as innocent as they originally appeared. Beth becomes more scared with each passing day.

In 2019, actress Sadie Langton is hired to take part in a murder mystery weekend at Raven Hall. She’s given everything she will need to play her role. It doesn’t take long before Sadie realizes there is more to Raven Hall than meets the eye.

This story has gothic overtones, complete with an old mansion involved. I always enjoy books like this and The Perfect Guests is no exception. There were so many twists and turns, they made my head spin. Just when you thought the story was over, there’s more to come. It literally wasn’t over until the final page.

Some parts I figured out, but most of the storyline was a total surprise to me. I enjoyed every minute of uncovering the history of Raven Hill and discover how 1988 and 2019 were connected. It’s one of those stories that keeps you reading until late at night.

I enjoyed this author’s previous book, The Au Pair, but this one is even better. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.



FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Wow, what a fun read. I saw a bit of the ending coming but there were SO MANY other twists than I possibly imagined, and they were all so cleverly and cleanly plotted out. The story was suspenseful and unsettling in the best way. You cant help but get sucked in and have theories of your own once the game starts. Brilliant