Member Reviews

Vanessa is bowled over by the handsome Connor. She quickly moves in and in doing so falls out with her best friend in the process. Life was wonderful until little things began to juggle and she was no longer so sure of the man she chose.
Vanessa starts to view houses, house porn if your will. She can't afford the houses but imagines the perfect lives of those who own them. She is then accused of the murder of one of the owners who showed her round his house which she believes she committed.
A story with lots of twists and turns.

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Oh my! This book hooks you in right from the start. I was utterly gripped and invested in the story as it is unfolded. Suspenseful and twisting, this is a book that I couldn’t put down. Highly recommended- in face have already encouraged a couple of friends to request a copy! Simply brilliant.

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Thanks so much for the early review book and as usual the book was amazing.

Nessa and her sister Georgie was such amazing character, there twist after twist that you don't see coming.

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I have previously read 'Day of the Accident' by Nuala Ellwood and loved it so had high hopes for this one. In all honesty it wasn't as good as the previous red but still an entertaining read and got better with every page I read.

Vanessa likes to pretend to be different people and enjoys playing make believe looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. What started as harmless fun became sinister when one of the owners is found dead and everyone suspects Vanessa.

Entertaining read but I felt that there were a few holes in the overall plot.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Penguin UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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This was a very easy book to get into right from the start as we follow Vanessa's life, her first meeting with Connor and their developing relationship alongside her successful career in the cosmetic industry. The underlying story line centreing around Holly Maze House was extremely clever, the author could very easily have written and published the stories herself about Angus, Iris, the ghost children and the little blackbird, I have no hesitation in saying that I think they would have been a huge success. Vanessa's slow decline and the eventual gaslighting slowly creeps into the chapters so cleverly that we actually begin to wonder whether she is unstable and becoming a nervous, heavy drinking version of herself. The only slight criticism I have with the book is based around Connor's OCD life at home. If Vanessa had been spending most of her time at his flat, as outlined in the book, then surely she would have seen that his cupboards were displayed in OCD fashion, that he liked to eat at eight o clock every night, that he was a bit of a control freak at home and liked everything in it's place and routines followed. In addition to that, if this was the way that Connor lived then surely this would have encroached on his life outside the home as well. These things aren't usually isolated. Apart from that this book was a brilliant read, I shall look out for more by this author.

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#ThePerfectLife #NetGalley
An edge of your seat suspense.
Vanessa has always found it easy to pretend to be somebody different, somebody better. When things get tough in her real life, all she has to do is throw on some nicer clothes, adopt a new accent and she can escape.That's how it started: looking round houses she couldn't possibly afford. Harmless fun really. Until it wasn't.Because a man who lived in one of those houses is dead.
I loved Jack and Connor from starting to ending although Nessa was somewhat good.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for giving me an advance copy.

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Vanessa may not like her real life, but she can escape it by putting on different clothes, using a posh accent and looking at houses that only the top 1% can afford. It’s fun, pretending to be someone else, until it isn’t. The owner of one of the houses she visited has been murdered and Vanessa is suspect number one. Suddenly, her old life looks pretty darn good, but Vanessa will have to face the consequences of pretending to be someone she’s not

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