You know how a good narration on an Audiobook can really lift the novel? Unfortunately on this this occasion I struggled with the narration, specifically the choice of character voices, to the extent it got in my way of enjoying the story.

The story features Iris, a kindly, rich widow, struggling to cope, rattling around her big house alone. She befriends Lydia, a young waitress in a diner, and asks her and by association her boyfriend Seth to come and work for her.

Gunshots in the night, bloodstains, and Iris is missing, presumed murdered.

There were plenty of twists, but I don't feel able to comment on the quality of the novel in detail, and I apologise to the author for this.

I really wish I had read this one instead of listened. I found the voices rather theatrical from the start. Iris's quivering old lady voice felt hammy, but I could live with that. It was Seth's voice that really irritated me. On meeting him I wondered if he had wandered in of the set of Gone With The Wind but on spending more time with him I couldn't get Snake Jailbird off The Simpsons out of my mind, the same over emphasised, masculine, sneery speech.

It could easily be four or more stars for the novel, but the voice acting spoiled it for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre Audio

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ellery Kane for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC audiobook for The House Sitter coming out June 14, 2022. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It was a little difficult to get into it. The time jumps are hard to follow with an audiobook.

I couldn’t stand Seth. He was misogynistic, horrible and had no redeeming qualities. He ruined a lot of the book for me. The whole horse racing scene and Seth being into gambling seemed random. I didn’t like that he tried to take advantage of Iris and Lydia. I thought he should’ve been killed.

I feel like a lot of the book didn’t actually have to do with housesitting and I’m not sure why it’s called the House Sitter when there was Seth and Lydia.

The twists didn’t really feel like twists and the ending was a little confusing. I’m not sure why Lydia lied about being pregnant and ended up with the detective. In the end there really wasn’t anyone to root for. They were all pretty awful people. I wasn’t sure what the motives were for anyone besides Seth who wanted money. I probably wouldn’t have requested it if I knew about the misogynistic, abusive characters. The summary on Amazon is also a little misleading. It made it seem like Lydia disappeared and Iris was missing or dead. Lydia didn’t disappear.

I was hoping for something more mysterious. I don’t think this book was for me. I just kept questioning what is going on? I’m sure the writing is good, but it was pretty confusing to listen to it. It kept going back and forth and not making sense. Iris and Lydia’s relationship was probably the only thing I enjoyed.

A solid 4 star story, that kept me coming back for more!

Nothing better than when a good psychological thriller is narrated well …and this one is.
I don't know this author, but I'm glad that I took a chance on the audiobook and I'll look out for more by her.

I want to thank the author Ellery A. Kane, NetGalley and Bookouture Audio, Bookouture
for providing me the opportunity to read this new book for my honest review.

I did not finish this audiobook at the 52% mark. This book's storyline and characters did not capture my attention. I also found the pace of this story to be too slow for my liking.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley #ellerykane #bookcoutureaudio for the the arc copy of this book for a honest review.
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Just WHY😭
Before she get to the why!?
- this story got me hooked from the start. Very intriguing. Story comes into two timelines which is a before and after they met Iris.
Some might be triggers too with ⚠️Abuse. Gambling.
- I feel the annoyance of Lydia to her brother Seth. But to the point Seth is actually okay sometimes and does good to Lydia but it comes to his addiction he turns to somebody else.
- The why!???
The ending was rush! I feel disappointed.
All the thrills on where and when iris go just vanished because it was a rush ending. It didn’t justice the thrills .

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❤️Shaye.reads

I received in advance audiobook readers copy in exchange for a honest review

Really fun, few good twists, great summer reading- the narrator definitely helped build suspense and I had no idea what would happen next! Adding Ms Kane to my automatic request list!

**Listened to the audiobook**

I didn't like this book at all.
Firstly, I found the narrator incredibly annoying. Her american accent just felt super whiney and didn't fit with what I was thinking of in terms of plot and storyline - it didn't fit, for me.

The plot was so slow, and the writing was very long winded. 10 words used to describe something when it could have taken 5... that type of thing.
I just couldn't get into it.

The plot was predictable, the writing was poor, the narrator was annoying.

3⭐️

A new US author to me with this psychological thriller. The narrator is Kristin James. The narration has a bit of a dramatic feel, the accents are very rural.

Lydia pregnant and down on her luck thinks that her fortunes have changed when she is offered a job and a room in a prestigious neighbourhood helping out Iris.
One night the police receive an emergency call but when they attend they find neither women.

It has a very good hook in the prologue. Iris described as frail and elderly is losing her memory and not coping well at home. She offers a job to Lydia and Sam. Then Iris goes missing.

We see the story unfold with split time frame chapters the present to before the phone call. The present is told by Lydia and Maureen the past Iris.

We are introduced to officer Maureen Shaw and her back story, as well as those of the main characters. It’s very character driven.
Maureen and Iris I liked, I didn’t know what to make of Lydia, and I really disliked Seth. The member of the HOA Bill was a real nasty piece of work. Although you never know if you are being wrongly sucked in with characters on psychological thrillers.

I engaged well with the story. It has some good twists and turns throughout. It has a decent plot complexity. I enjoyed it. This is a rare occasion where I think I would have enjoyed the book more rating the story at 3.75⭐️, the audiobook I rate as a 3⭐️ as I didn’t engage well with the narrator and their style.

Sorry, but this one was a miss for me. It was one of those stories where I couldn't care enough to focus and couldn't focus enough to care. Ask me two days from now what it was about and I bet I won't remember anything.

There were many problems with this book. The unlikeable characters, weak, insecure women and misogynist men, average writing, dialogs that could have been so much better...

But worst of all - it was boring. Which was surprising considering the plot and how many things happen, but it felt like the author was just throwing at us one plot point after the other.

I also think the book would have been better without the detectives’ point of view, but that might be just me.

The ending was - ok. Not quite unpredictable, but still I liked how everything was wrapped up. Especially since I was prepared for something much worse, based on the rest of the book.

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of The House Sitter by Ellery A. Kane in exchange for an honest review.

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

Iris Duncan, a 70 year old widow, hires a couple to help her take care of her house. All of a sudden, Iris is missing and her blood is found throughout her home. Was Iris murdered? Who killed her? And why?

This is a whodunnit but with a few twists. This book opens on a 911 call from Iris and goes from the past before the disappearance to the present. It started off very strong but I thought it was lacking in enough character development. I didn’t truly connect with any of the characters. Sure, my jaw dropped at a few of the twists that I didn’t see coming, but the ending was lackluster. I was expecting more.

I did enjoy the POV of Maureen, the rookie detective. I wouldn’t mind reading more about her.

Overall, this book was okay, but the ending wasn’t as exciting or shocking as I thought it was going to be. If you’re into detective mysteries then this would be a book you would possibly enjoy.

I listened to this book and the audio was good. The voices definitely made it very easy to imagine the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really liked the narrator for this book. Her ability to voice several characters effectively was refreshing. The story itself had a great plot with a surprising twist. I felt there could have been a bit more character development but regardless I really enjoyed it and finished it in just a day because it read so well and I needed to know what happened to Iris. #thehousesitter #netgalley

The House Sitter
By: Ellery Kane
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Iris has lost her husband and lives in a large home. At her age she can no longer manage her home.

She meets Lydia who is working as a waitress and she is not appreciated by her boss. Iris offers her a job helping her manage her home and take care of daily tasks. Lydia’s boyfriend Seth is also hired on as a caretaker.

Lydia shares with her that she is pregnant. Little does she know Seth is not this wonderful man and loving partner to Lydia. He’s controlling and abusive and has a gambling problem.

Iris looks at Lydia as the daughter she never had and they develop a friendship. As Iris comes up missing Lydia finds out that they are the beneficiary in her will. Seth is thrilled.

A riveting mystery that keeps you guessing!!! Love the twists, did not see them coming!!!

**This book is out June 14, 2022 by @bookouture and @ellerykane** Thank you @bookouture and @netgalley for this advanced audio.

#stamperlady50, #ellerykane, #thehousesitter, #booksconnectus, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #stamperlady50

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced audiobook copy.

The Narrator did a great job and was enjoyable to listen to. My only issue was the detective perspective, I found it and times to be a little cheesy. Not sure if it was the narrator or the writing. But overall it was a good read.

3.5 stars

Lydia and Iris have an intriguing relationship that seems to be based on Lydia's apparently deserved bout of good fortune and Iris's need for assistance as she ages and sits on a huge pile of money (which anyone familiar with her neighborhood will also automatically assume). It seems clear that there are opportunities for Iris to be taken advantage of from the start, so it's no surprise that things go wrong pretty quickly.

There's some solid misdirection here that does, in some ways, rely on the incoming assumptions and biases of readers. Lydia has a creepy sidekick (I'll keep that vague) whom readers expect to take advantage of someone like Iris, and Iris is elderly, wealthy, cognitively declining, and seemingly way too trusting. OF COURSE, she's going to regret the goodwill she's showing to what amounts to basically strangers.

For me, the past scenes and the final outcome are the highlights of the novel along with the character Maureen, whom I hope gets a feature of her own at some stage. This is an entertaining audiobook (though I did struggle with the narrator's interpretation of Iris's voice), and I am glad I had the chance to listen with a great deal of space from folks like these.

The twist!! I did not see it coming. I absolutely love when I’m left stunned because of how it unfolds. The story kept me guessing and at the edge of my seat waiting for them to unravel it all.

I disliked almost all the characters, including Iris for allowing almost strangers into her home, but I think that’s what I liked best about the book. The characters were easy to dislike and easy to blame so everyone was guilty until the very end.

Definitely a must read for fans of thrillers and suspense!

I received an advanced audiobook copy thanks to NetGalley!!

This was just mediocre. The writing wasn't particularly good, the plot particularly interesting, etc. I can't really recommend it.

Review copy provided by publisher.

The House Sitter, Ellery Kane’s standalone psychological thriller is full of twists and turns and I literally could not keep up with the surprises throughout the novel. The premise involves aging, forgetful, lonely Iris, a wealthy 70 year old who invites into her home a pair of strangers to act as caretaker and handyman. Given her forgetfulness, this seems like a wise idea but, of course, this book is exactly why we don’t invite strangers into our homes.

Kane writes an interesting book which starts at one place, and immediately jumps to police, blood and a missing Iris. The pair of caretakers then spend much of the novel being mysterious and trying to not look guilty as police work to unravel the crime. Several times I was shocked at the twists and I won’t say more, but I listened to this one in a day because I wanted to know the ending.

As an audio book, I was not in love with every character voiced by the narrator, Kristin James. The women were good, but the men felt like an effort and often sounded raspy.

Overall, a good book for a day and a nice beach day read for the summer.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to listen in advance of the June 14, 2022 release.

Overall, this was a decent story. I will admit it wasn’t as thrilling as the description lead on. By the end of the book, I was a bit bored. I listened to the audiobook - I liked the narrator, but the audio itself had an odd reverb or echo. It sounded almost like a weird filter was placed on the audio to alter the voice?

It was not a bad book, I wanted to know what would happened. I listened and was a greeping narrating. You invite someone to help you but is that really a coincidence? I am not sure of anything. It was a nice detective investigation but maybe I just could not connect to the characters as I should. I would still reccomend the audio to everyone that love this genere.

Thank you Bookouture Audio and Netgalley for this alc.