In the present, a very scary 911 call summons officers to the Pacific Heights home of Iris Duncan where responding officers find blood, gun casings and other disturbing signs but no body. It then backtracks a few months to seventy year old Iris Duncan, a retired librarian with a broken arm courtesy of a seagull (but that’s another story!) meeting beleaguered Lydia in a cafe in San Francisco. She invites Lydia to call on her which she duly does arriving with her partner Seth. Iris asks the pair to help her with a caretaker role before the HOA further descend on her regarding the neglect of her house since her husband’s death. The drama is told Before and After with the two blending well and leading to a multitude of questions! The most basic being where is Iris? Is she dead? If so, who kills her and where is her body? What is Seth and Lydia’s story?

This is an engaging mystery with a never a dull moment storyline. The plot is darned intriguing and is told at a brisk pace. There’s plenty of tension, not least being the arrival of the officers responding to the 911 call and there are other suspenseful moments that keep you reading on. I love how the author drops in explosive pieces of information at chapter ends that leave you cliff hanging and desperately turning pages to get to the bottom of it!

The characterisation is very good especially if Iris as you are able to see her clearly but equally good is tenacious cop Maureen Shaw who is probably my favourite character. She well and truly gets the bit between her teeth. Seth and Lydia are well fleshed out and that pair take you on quite a rollercoaster journey. I’ll say no more about them!

The truth begins to emerge piecemeal, I do figure most of it out as the author leaves you a trail of bread crumbs along the path to the truth. There is one scene near the end that makes me hoot with delighted laughter - love it! I daresay the end could have had more kapow but that’s not to say it’s not entertaining and enjoyable.

This is my first Ellery Kane and it definitely won’t be my last. It would be great if Maureen features in future books too!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Widowed and living alone Iris finds herself needing some help in her very big and fancy house. She comes across Lydia at a Diner and after witnessing that the girl is out on her luck she offers that Lydia and her boyfriend Seth move in and become caretakers. Iris has some health problems and forgetfulness and thinks the help will ease both of their burdens.

One night Iris makes a call to 911 convinced that someone is in the house. Whilst on the call the 911 responder can hear gunshots go off. When the police arrive Iris is missing but leaves a trail of blood behind.

Was she murdered? If so, who did it? Lydia and Seth? The so called Burglar? And what was the reason behind it.

A very intriguing story. You can see that the author invested in a well thought out plan and it was amazingly executed. The book steers you in one direction but takes a complete opposite route. Its character development was on point, with each character coming to life and has their own focus. The book kept a really good pace from start to finish and the ending was very well thought out.

I highly recommend this book if you are after a past paced psychological thriller.

My thanks the Netgalley and Bookouture Publishing for this ARC.

This is a really solid thriller! My complaints would be that some of the dialogue was a little cheesy and contained a lot of cliches. Also, I sometimes felt like sentences seemed random, like they had no connection to the sentence before them. But I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and multiple timelines. There was also great character development and background. I loved the first twist that was revealed about halfway through. And while I did see part of the ending coming (although I suspect the reader is supposed to!) I liked how everything wrapped up at the end.

Wow, what a wonderful psychological thriller this was! Kept me reading almost the entire night!

Lydia is a waitress in a small restaurant and makes friends with Iris, who is a 70 year old widow with money and a mansion that needs some tlc.

Lydia and her brother, Seth move into the mansion and are caretakers, and take care of Iris who is slowly descending into the scary depths of alzheimers.

One night, there is a call to 911, and gunshots are heard, Iris disappears and all that is left is a mess of blood and a trashed residence.

Seth and Lydia are suspects in the murder of Iris, but not all is as it seems.

Maureen is a rookie cop and she uncovers some clues and Seth is arrested.

Loved loved loved this story! Not too many characters to keep track of, and the twists and turns just kept me occupied and riveted to the pages. I liked Maureen, who was portrayed as having a heart and was hellbent on catching the bad guy, unlike her counterparts in the police force.

All in all, this was a very entertaining read and I can recommend it wholeheartedly.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the mystery of what happened to Iris! It literally had me flicking through the pages. My heart was jumping while reading her story to the point I wanted to shout at her in an attempt to save her. With such a dramatic opening, I couldn’t stop reading.

Lydia and Seth were totally intriguing and at times, certain moments sent shivers down my spine. I was definitely aghast as some of the revelations so huge hooray for the surprises.

Another POV I enjoyed was that of the investigator, Maureen. I loved how she followed her nose, wading through the clues and with such courage. She had depth, and a past that made me root for her.

‘The House Sitter’ is a fast moving, enjoyable, page-turner that I’d thoroughly recommend. If you love to solve a mystery and and enjoy a psychological thriller, then you’ll love this book!

A first read Author for me, and after devouring this story I will pick another book up by Kane.
This is a great read that definitely had me racing through the pages.
An absolutely addictive, compelling and gripping true page turner!!!
The writing is terrific, the dialogue is so realistic it felt like I was walking around inside this book!
Our two characters are super interesting.
They pull you right into their story!
I was totally invested in the lives of the characters, anxious to find out what was going to happen next.
The riveting suspense had me losing track of time. I love how a book can keep you alert and completely lost in the story.

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

Bookouture,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

Fast paced thriller with marmite characters (you will either love them or loathe them) twists and turns had me in a spin. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

Iris is dealing with dementia, the upkeep of her huge home and getting older. At a chance meeting at a cafe she finds a kindred spirit in her waitress Lydia. Iris ends up offering Lydia and Seth jobs to help her around the house. You quickly get to know iris more in depth and learn to know more about her caretakers, The suspense starts to pick up with many twists and turns. And then….a 911 call comes from the house but when the police come, iris is missing. What happened to her? And why does it feel like there’s more to it than what you think?

Hop in for a twisty ride with a fun and charming elderly adult. The fast pace of the book combined with the spunk of Iris will have you enjoying this from the edge of your seat.

#TheHouseSitter #NetGalley
BRILLIANT writing.
Iris Duncan, a nearly seventy years old widow living in her posh Pacific Heights home with great difficulty. She's unable to take care of her property, she's broken an arm and threatened by Home Owner Association of neglecting her home, yard,, lawn etc. One day she goes to a cafe and in a chance meeting she meets Lydia,a waitress working there and the two hit it off very quickly. She's flattered by her behaviour and ended up offering her and her boyfriend, Seth the jobs of house sitters. They moved into her house and slowly discovered that she's memory issues. Iris too discovered the issues in their relationship.
Every character was written brilliantly and it made me hooked. I finished it in twelve hours. And now Iris is missing. What happened to Iris? Who are those house sitters?
Order now your copy to find out.
Take my advice and order it. I promise you won't forget it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me an advance copy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 I don’t give out 5 stars often!

Wow! Managed to devour this in 24 hours. This is my first book to read by this author and let me tell you, she’s got a new fan! This book was non stop! I want to say “if you liked (blank) book, you will love this book” but I don’t want to give anything away! The characters are lovable!!! And others hatable.

Iris is a sweet elderly widow that gets taken advantage of by her house sitters, Lydia and Seth. (More like Lying Lydia and sneaky Seth lol)
Maureen is the butt kicking cop that stops at nothing to get justice!

This book will be published June 14th and I can’t wait for everyone to enjoy it as much as I did! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! I highly recommend this book!

Iris is a seventy year old wealthy widow who is in need of help around her home and also with her care. She offers Lydia a waitress she met, the opportunity to leave her waitressing job and work for her. But when Lydia shows up to work she also brings her boyfriend Seth. It’s the perfect setup for these two cons, but all is not as it seems. The twists just keep coming in this thriller that delivers to the last page.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an early copy of this excellent book by Ellery Kane. This review is my honest opinion.

Thank you Bookouture and Net Galley for an early copy of The House Sitter. I didn’t really like this, the detectives were a bit far fetched and the characters were not nice. I only kept reading because I wanted to know exactly what happened to the main character. I guessed what happened early in the book but didn’t know how it was done.

3.75/5

Iris Duncan, an almost seventy-year-old widow lives alone in her posh Pacific Heights home. She is unable to take care of the property on her own and is in trouble with the HOA, a fact that she is constantly reminded of by her annoying neighbor in his pushy way. She also feels unsafe living alone and suspects that burglars enter her home frequently. A chance meeting with a clumsy waitress in a café leads to Iris offering Lydia and Seth McKay jobs as caretakers/house sitters to help her with the day-to-day work involved in the upkeep of her home as well as daily chores. She offers them room and board at her house and treats them, especially Lydia, like family, a feeling that is reciprocated, with Lydia taking care of her, cooking her meals, and making sure she takes her medication on time.

Fast-forward a few months, the dispatcher receives a frantic 911 call for help from Iris and hears what sounds like a gunshot. When the police arrive there is evidence of a struggle and much more but no trace of Iris or her “house sitters”.

What happened to Iris? Are Lydia and Seth truly deserving of the special treatment they received from Iris or did they have hidden motives for befriending her? Was Iris truly as helpless as she projected or did she suspect Lydia and Seth?

With its crisp writing and well-paced narrative that switches between “Before” and “After” Iris’s disappearance, Ellery Kane’s The House Sitter is an engaging and suspenseful story that kept me interested till the end. I found the ending a bit lackluster and felt there should have more to the story. However, I enjoyed the build-up and the surprises along the way. Each of the characters was well fleshed out and I enjoyed former musician turned rookie cop Maureen Shaw’s trajectory and her dogged determination to unravel the mystery defying her superiors and risking her job to get to the truth. I hope we get more stories featuring her from the author. This was my first Ellery Kane novel and I would be interested in picking up more of her books in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the digital review copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are mine.

Loved this book! Every time I thought I figured it out, the next chapter made me question my convictions. This kept occurring until 80% through the book when the real answers are revealed. A very good read with a group of characters that you either feel sympathy for or loathe. My favorite character was Maureen, the rookie police officer. Very tenacious! I received an ARC copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

my first book buy this author and very much enjoyed ,Iris has turned 70 she very lonely and getting forgetful. she thinks someone been in her house and taking things then one day she is in to Burt s for something to eat there she meets Lydia and feels sorry for her and offers her and her husband Seth and they become caretakers and move in with her . but then one night emergency services get a call from that house when they get there there is blood on the bed but no sign of Iris what happened .Officer Maureen Shaw and officer Walt go to the house . Maureen notices the painting now Maureen has her own problems with her mum and dads murder and a good friend .Maureen wont stop until she finds Iris . there is
Lies and Deceit who is telling the truth so so good

This is a fast-paced twisty thriller with some very interesting main and peripheral characters.
Iris Duncan, an elderly well-off lady invites a young couple into her home as house sitters to help her cope in her advanced years. The scene is set for the typical elderly exploitation theme however all is not what it seems!
I loved how there were several sub stories in relation to the different characters involved in this book which maintained a high level of intrigue throughout. Whilst I did see the ending twist coming I was gripped to uncover how it would be revealed.
A very enjoyable read and highly recommended for lovers of psychological thrillers.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced reader copy of this book.

I really liked this book, though I didn’t think it really matched the synopsis and also no one was really a house sitter (maybe more like a caretaker). The story centers on Iris, who is getting older and invites 2 strangers to live with her and help her take care of things are the house. Seth and Lydia are down on their luck and can’t believe their good fortune. However, things are too good to be true and you find out immediately that it seems like something has happened to Iris; the story takes you back and forth between the events leading up to her disappearance and the current search for her by an overzealous rookie cop named Maureen.

This was a well weaved story with little twists and surprises throughout. The end was fantastic and provided a twist that I definitely didn’t see coming, though after it happened I was able to see the clues that the author expertly laid prior. The characters that were supposed to be likable were actually likable and there were also a few characters you love to hate. I appreciated Maureen’s dogged pursuit of justice for Iris despite her regularly getting in trouble for it. Lastly, I thought all of the loose ends were tied up in a satisfying way.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend this book. I read it over the course of an afternoon and the pace was quick the whole way through. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! It hooked me from the very first chapter, and kept me hooked the entire time!

A good well written fast paced thriller which turned out to be a good page turner. The characters were good although it did take me a while to get used to some of them but overall they were well developed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC which I can definitely recommend.

Well this is a dark and disturbing read about a poor frail old lady who kindly lets two strangers move into her house to help her around the home, however when she disappears and there are only a sign of a crime left behind it will be a race against time to find out the truth about what happened in that house.