Reading Helen Cooper's book The Other Guest is like solving a puzzle. Pieces slowly come together for an outstanding conclusion. The story is about three women, Amy, Leah and Joanna told in alternating timelines. To move forward with their lives, Lean and Joanna must distinguish the truth from a web of lies.

Leah is still grieving the loss of her beautiful niece Amy, a 21-year-old who drowned in a lake in Northern Italy. Leah returns to Lake Garda to confront her grief. As Leah searches for answers to Amy's death it soon becomes apparent that the truth could put Leah's own life at risk.

Joanna is still struggling after a recent breakup when she meets Callum, a handsome male bartender. Soon after meeting Callum, Joanna discovers Callum is on the run and hiding a secret past. But what is Callum hiding?

The Other Guest is a slow burn, but once you are familiar with the authors writing style the story moves along nicely. I especially liked the way Helen Cooper ended the book. The last few chapters make it a very satisfying read. (3.5 bumped up to 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐)

The Other Guest by Helen Cooper is available on July 26th. I look forward to reading more from the mega-talented Helen Cooper.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam Sons, for allowing me to review this twisty book. Your kindness is appreciated.

This one was okay for me. Nothing necessarily stands out about it. I think I struggled to engage in the beginning. The middle completely dragged.

It was interesting how the two storylines connected, but not enough to make me love it.

The synopsis describes this book as a cat and mouse game. I didn't get that vibe at all from reading this, mostly because it was such a slow burn. While I tend to enjoy a slow burn, this was so slow it became tedious.
The characterization was decent, but there was no action until the 60% mark. That's just too long to wait for suspense. By that point, I had mentally checked out of this book and didn't care anymore.
After the action did start, I didn't find any of to be satisfying and the conclusion wasn't worth the long build up IMO. Unfortunately this book lacked all the things that made Helen Cooper's previous book 'The Downstairs Neighbor' great and memorable, and I'm bummed about it.

That being said, there were still certain aspects of the story I liked. The characterization was very well-rounded and the characters did show a lot of personal growth throughout the course of the story.
The main star of the show, though, was Il Mandrino itself. The luxury resort, the employees, the family running it-It all had a creepy Stepford Wives vibe to it that I really enjoyed. I wish that aspect had been fleshed out more and made to be even more ominous.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really engaging, well-plotted, thoughtful thriller. The setting was great -- very atmospheric and foreboding. I stayed up all night finishing Helen Cooper's first book, The Downstairs Neighbor, and was glad to see that this book told a very different story while still being suspenseful and exciting. I did find there to be a few aspects of the resolution that were unsatisfying or felt slightly rushed, but overall a great read.

Good character development as is usual for her books but a little confusing at times, for me, in the plot. I found the intermingling of 2 unconnected people, Joanna & Leah, with the back and forth story line, to be a bit distracting to the story at times. Keah returns to her sister's exclusive resort in Italy on Lake Garda, for the first time since her much beloved niece drowned the year before, insert somewhat puzzling circumstances. Her search for answers to what really happened that night on the boat, in the middle of a raging storm, starts running parallel to Joanna's story of a sudden break up in her long time relationship and meeting a new bartender in her favorite pub that seems to have something suspicious surrounding it all. How it all unravels and becomes one common thread of connection would be far more suspenseful and riveting if it was not a little too contrived. It won't stop me from looking for her next book but left me a little disappointed in this one.

Leah feels as if there are mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of her niece. She goes back to visit her family partially with the intentions of finding out. The book was a little slow going for me, it wasn't until about halfway that it really began to grab my attention. I didn't to see the ending coming so I was pleased by the plot twist. I would definitely recommend this read!

I adored Helen Cooper's debut novel The Downstairs Neighbor, so I was thrilled to dig into her latest. There are multiple points of view and in the beginning I admit to being a bit confused about what was going on. Once I got into it though I enjoyed the characters, the Italian resort setting and how everything came together. As with The Downstairs Neighbor, you'll find yourself constantly trying to figure out how various people or events could be connected. Overall I found it quite enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam for this ARC.

An entertaining mystery/thriller but nothing groundbreaking. Good vacation read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59070145

A woman drowns while her family is at a luxurious resort in France. The drowning is suspicious - but the family erases all of it to declare it an accident. Except for her aunt Leah who returns a year later to try and solve the mystery.

In England a romance blossoms between a seemingly unrelated woman, Joanna, and her man,. He turns out to be a bad guy and is on the run from who knows what.

As they both seek to solve their mysteries their seemingly plural hunt becomes singular as their search brings them together.

New to me author love her and won’t be the last I read of her! She is good a weaving such a great story! Highly recommended to anyone who’s looking for a face paced book!

The Other Guest is about a untimely death of Amy who authorities have written it off as an accidental drowning. Leah sets out to find out the truth about her niece. Then we have Joanne and that’s a whole other story within the book. The 2 main characters had me confused at times and for that reason, I’m only giving it 3 stars. I must’ve missed the link between the 2 women but how did I do that? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Book: The Other Guest
Author: Helen Cooper
Publisher: Penguin Group Putnam
Pub Date: July 26, 2022

This book was so slow for me! I could never connect to the characters and maybe if I could have made that connection I could have enjoyed it. It just didn’t have enough excitement for me.

Thank you Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is July 26, 2022.

3.5 STARS

Multi-layered family drama with an intriguing setting!

I loved the premise of two women who don't seem to be connected, but ultimately get entangled in some dangerous situations that reveal their connection.

Leah and Joanna are the two women. We don't find out their association until later, when all the puzzle pieces fall into place. I enjoyed how the author unraveled the details with surprise and a bit of shock.

It is kind of a slow-burner, but has plenty of page turning events that keep the pace going all the way through. The story is told from three points of view and we get to understand the motives behind the actions. The descriptions of the resort in Italy, made it sound picture perfect and almost had a "Stepford Wives" feel to it. I could almost feel the sunshine beaming down and see the relaxing views. Very bello!

I only wish I had cared more for the characters, though I was invested, I never felt like I really cared about any of them (and I should have). Still a solid mystery and enjoyable reading experience, so 3.5 STARS from me.

The Other Guest
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 7/26/22
Author: Helen Cooper
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Pages: 384
Goodreads Rating: 3.92

Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing a copy of the book for me to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

Synopsis: A year ago, Leah’s feisty 21 year old nice, Amy, mysteriously drowned in the beautiful lake near her family-owned resort in Northern Italy. Leah’s grief has caught up with her and she returns to Lake Ganda since Amy’s death. When she arrives, she finds the rest of her sister’s family has erased all memories of Amy and have fought to have Amy’s death ruled as an accidental, even under questionable circumstances. Leah knows she has to look beyond the resort’s beauty and discover what truly happened, even if doing so means digging into the family and putting her life in danger. Meanwhile, in Central England, Joanna is recovering from a surprising breakup when she is swept off her feet by a handsome bartender. When she learns he is running from something in his past and their meeting may not be a coincidence. What do these two women have to do with each other? Are they caught up in a dangerous conspiracy?

My Thoughts: The chapters are short, which I love, as it makes for a faster read. The POV is told from Leah, Amy, and Joanna. I really loved how the author took the viewpoints of Leah/Amy and Joanna, seemingly unconnected, and then intertwined them, it was beautifully written. While this was a slow burn at first, it did heat up and kept me engaged, and was a page turner. In the beginning, I could not see the connection, but the author does a beautiful job developing seemingly unrelated characters and building the suspense to connection. This is my first book from this author, but will not be my last. I loved her writing style, very creative and connecting. Highly recommend.
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Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Date: July 26, 2022
Number of Pages: 384

"The Other Guest” is a first time read by Helen Cooper, new author to this reader. The story is told from three point of views and the author did a nice job with building up the suspense and twists that would keep you interested in the story. Although I had to get used to some of the characters…some unlikeable, did not retract from the intrigue and the stunning ending of this novel. The story has much suspense, action and twists that makes for a good mystery read but it also was bit slow going until about a quarter way into the read. Conclusion…I enjoyed this and eventually the characters and ended up reading this in one sitting. Recommend reading.

Terrific! Two storylines, with 3 female narrators, that eventually connect towards the final third of The Other Guest. We hear Amy's story in flashback and at times I was very nervous for her, b/c we know going in that things don't end well. Leah thinks she will go crazy from her family's gaslighting - it was difficult to figure out who the villain was! Joanna struck me as a bit naive, yet Cooper does show us why she's so caring and open.

Very much enjoyed this read, and Ms. Cooper does a fantastic job of describing Il Mandarino and its environs, as well as creating some nail biting suspense.

P.S. Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC.

I was lucky enough to win an electronic ARC of THE OTHER GUEST by Helen Cooper through a Shelf Awareness giveaway. Thank you for the early look, and have a great week!

Good book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, and a few crazy twists! The storyline was interesting and flowed nicely, I will recommend reading this book as it was well worth reading! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I received an ARC of this book from Penguin Group via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. I found this to be a solid mystery which kept my attention from the beginning. I loved the descriptions of the resort in Italy - the author seems to have really done her research as this was extremely vivid. I wanted to go to Il Mandarino despite any deaths!

The novel is told from 3 points of view, and one at first seems unrelated to the others. I was eager to see how they would all relate eventually. I think the author did a good job to reveal that twist with enough build-up/ suspense but not to the point that you are frustrated to figure it out. I also enjoyed the character growth & development, as I started off really not liking a few of the characters but came to appreciate and understand them by the end. Not all authors are able to obtain your sympathy for unlikable characters. I did not anticipate the reveal of the main mystery, though I can't say it was my favorite resolution ever. It felt just a bit anti-climactic to me after all the buildup. The last twist near the end definitely came as a surprise and I enjoyed how it was handled.

I was really intrigued by the summary of the story, but the actual plot took too long to kick in. Multiple perspectives usually make it harder for me to jump into a book, and in this case, the fact that they felt so disjointed at first didn't help. Between that and the pacing, I had trouble keeping my attention on the story. However, I do want to call out the scenery — the descriptions of the resort were stunning and set up a beautiful backdrop.