Libby is at an all time low,boyfriend abused her,job is far from perfect and she wants a change…..and the flat she is told about by her Sister seems perfect,great location,great price and yes it might be smaller than shes used to but hey you cant have it all…..excitedly she moves in and life seems,’seems’ to be picking up,even her landlord is great and she couldn’t ask for better neighbours,well apart from the mysterious Mr Bull downstairs…..and just as it seems life is on the up everything starts to go downhill,rapidly
This book has you and keeps you and the feeling of menace is there throughout,
Something is going on, something isen’t as it should be,someone has secrets but who?,and why?,there are quite a few that could be the culprit but the author keeps you guessing right till the end,and a very clever ending it is
Loved it being set in Birmingham and was good to re visit the places used to go to in my 20’s,Bought back great memories……and I really laughed at the Beyonce mention,in the thrust of a dark psychological thriller it was a very funny moment
Written really well and full of twists,turns and up’s and down’s it was altogether a enticing and ‘gave as it promised’read

10/10
5 Stars

After leaving her cheating and abusive ex, Libby is starting afresh. She just moved into Canal house, is trying to make new friends and move on from her disastrous relationship. All seems well, until someone is throwing pebbles at her window, things are moved around the flat and she feels watched. Even her cat seems to avoid her, and Libby can't figure out if the guilty person is her ex, a client at work or someone else entirely. Thrown in the mix of the mysteries is a sudden disappearance of the previous tenant Bettina who is nowhere to be found. Is it all a coincidence or is it all connected?

The plot of the story- missing girl, history repeating with the new tenant, has been done a number of times, but the execution of the story is what makes the difference. In this particular case I was rather disappointed since I figured the culprit so early in the book.

I think this book would be a good fit for someone looking for a light thriller or a newbie in this genre.

I am looking forward to reading more works by C. Kovach.

An absolute page turner! This one had me on the edge of my seat. This has all the ingredients for a good thriller with twists, red herring, multiple mysteries and suspicious characters.

Libby starts afresh in a houseshare but things start going wrong gradually. Things are not what they seem as new might not be good or safe as the case here. The pages keep you guessing as the parallel mysteries build up.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Libby is surrounded by awful men. She's left her abusive boyfriend and is moving into a new apartment where she should feel safe, but one of the temporary employees at the agency where she works is stalking her and her downstairs neighbor is obviously violent. She can hear him throwing furniture against the walls. Oh, and the girl who used to live in the apartment is missing. There's so much going wrong in Libby's life that I had a hard time getting interested in any of it.

Libby has just come out of an abusive relationship and is looking for a fresh start when she moves into a small apartment at Canal house, with her cat Einstein.
Her life seems to be on the up and she is starting to make new friends when she thinks things are getting creepy. She thinks someone has been inside the flat and moved things and she blames it partly on herself as she lives her window open to let Einstein in. She starts getting horrible texts messages and she reckons the are from her ex-Gary. Hoping that she will return to him, and Einstein keeps disappearing. She also meets Ricardo who is the father of the previous tenant of her flat. But she seems to have mysteriously gone missing. What is going on? Is she going crazy?
Thank you Bookoutre for a copy of “The House share “by Carla Kovach. This story is told in several points of view. This is a creepy twisty thriller, mainly about Libby, her abusive childhood and her relationship to Gary. There was a lot going on in this story and was keep on thinking what was the relevance of each point of view and why it was happening? We didn’t really find out until the end of the book when it all became clear. But it took a long time coming that the ending wasn’t what I was expecting. 4 stars from me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Libby moves into a new flat. She is looking for a fresh start from her toxic relationship with Gary.
Tim is the landlord. Libby finds him attractive and they go out on a date. In the meantime, Gary is texting, harassing, and calling. Then things start to disappear from her flat. Her cat, Einstein goes missing.
Libby begins to feel that she is being followed. Someone is throwing rocks at her window.

Who is the culprit? Could it be Gary, a co-worker, her neighbor?

My thoughts:
This book fell flat for me. It was mildly intriguing, however, I felt that the culprit was easy to figure out and there was little suspense in the book. It started to get very repetitive and the twist was very underwhelming.
It seemed to go on too long at the end.

This was a three-star read for me.

Edgy Suspense..
With a strong and powerful start this edgy psychological suspense introduces the reader to protagonist Libby, now keen to move on and make a whole fresh with her life. Her new apartment seems just perfect. Things are never quite as they seem, however, and soon Libby has doubts about everything. Things of hers begin to go missing and she’s sure that she’s being watched. Is she in danger and has her past caught up with her? She does know that something is not right. Told from multiple perspectives, this is a tension mounting read with well developed characters and an underlying sense of unnerving menace.

A new beginning...a new nightmare!

Speaking of the beginning- the beginning of this book which occurs twenty years earlier, opens with horrific bullying. It is both heartbreaking and gripping. It will leave you wanting to know more....

In the present - Libby feels so lucky to have a new home. Her new landlord has been wonderful, filling her home with furniture for her to use until she can purchase her own. She is looking forward to a new beginning after leaving a bad relationship.

Days later she hears arguing and possibly her name being said...why would people argue about her? She has also begun to feel as if someone is watching her. Could it be her horrible ex-boyfriend or someone else? Plus, she learns the previous tenant left without a trace. It feels as if someone has been in her apartment (at least treats were left) and she is feeling uneasy. Then she finds a note left behind.......

This book started strongly, and I read it in one day. I was curious to see how things would play out. I felt for Libby and her plight. I enjoyed seeing her close relationship with her sister and felt it was used nicely in the book. I enjoyed the Authors use of tension. As Libby begins to feel anxious and worried, so do readers.

I found this to be entertaining and gripping.

3.25/3.5 stars

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have enjoyed everything this author has written and this did not disappoint, fast paced page turner. Loved it.

Brilliant had me hooked from page one. A fantastic thriller that will keep you reading. I stayed up all night to finish it!

I love this author's Gina Hart series and was expecting more of the same. The nail biting tension this author is well known for was missing for me. The plot has been done so many times before and you knew who the killer was very early on. I really wanted to enjoy this book more but it just did not grab me. Saying that I am sure other readers will enjoy it more just not for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

The Houseshare is my second book by Carla Kovach. I enjoyed this layered mystery and found it easy to read and engaging. I liked the main character of Libby who the story focus on but we also get other POV from side characters. Personally, I'd have preferred to stay with Libby and didn't feel the others were necessary to the overall plot. Libby, a newly single woman leaving a domestic violence relationship moves into a houseshare with several other residences. She quickly starts to feel watched and things in her apartment go missing or are moved. Is it just her ex, or is there something more sinister going on? When Libby learns that the girl who rented the apartment before her left in the middle of the night and may be missing, she starts to realise she might be in more danger than she ever realised. The plot itself has been done before, missing girl, current girl might be about to become victim of the same killer but the author makes it fresh here by introducing us to a complex main character and offering us alternative red herrings and paths to follow. I enjoyed this mystery story and would likely read other books by this author.

The premise of this book held so much promise, but the book turned out to be a dud for me.

Libby should have been a relatable character, or at least someone I empathized with. Unfortunately, her "pick me girl" energy overwhelmed everything else and made her annoying. The motivations behind the killer's actions - 20 years on - didn't feel realistic. The pacing was also off - the book drags and drags and drags and then suddenly everything comes to a head in the last few chapters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

As per usual Carla delivers another cracking psychological thriller.
A new beginning for Libby doesn't necessarily mean her problems are going to disappear, quite the contrary as things start going missing from her flat, abusive phone calls and an agency worker threatening her at work. Then she discovers the girl who lived in her flat mysteriously vanished. Already suffering from a traumatic childhood, Libby feels as though she's going crazy.
It took me a little while to warm to Libby and the story but once I had read a quarter of the book it became really interesting and I couldn't put it down.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this advanced copy, I am under no obligation to leave my review

Determined to free herself from the shackles of her abusive ex-boyfriend, Libby silently moves to a small apartment unit located in Birmingham. It’s quite modest compared to her ex’s place but it was just what she needed for her own sanity. Just as she was settling in and making new friends in the share house, Libby starts getting this nagging feeling that she is being stalked. Someone is throwing rocks at her window, her cat keeps on randomly disappearing, and some of her belongings are appearing in odd places. Is she safe in her own home? Who could her stalker be? Could it be her obsessive ex? Could it be her vengeful ex-worker whom they recently had to let go?

The novel mostly follows the main character, Libby, told from a third person POV. There are also glimpses of other characters’ viewpoints in a few chapters. To my satisfaction, there was even an unknown narrator at one point in the novel! The presence of a few minor storylines also got me intrigued; I had a feeling that they were puzzle pieces for the plot but it was difficult to guess how they would eventually fit. These all unfolded nicely along the way, and there were a few more surprises in the end! Bonus: I also love how the author used her earlier life in recruitment as inspiration for Libby’s line of work.

4.5 stars rounded to 5! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me access to an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Lilly is very insecure, needy and is quite vulnerable and her vulnerability is taken advantage of by a serial killer, an abusive ex boyfriend and stalker or are they one and the same? (No spoliers here) I kept second guessing my predictions, but did guess who the bad guy was.
This was a gripping, fast paced and creepy thriller with a last minute surprising twist.
With tension building from the very first page it had me unable to put the book down.
This is a republication of To Let by the same Author

Libby gets a new start away from her violent boyfriend when she rents an apartment, but things soon turn creepy when she notices things missing or moved, and finds out the last tenant is missing. As Libby begins to feel like she is being watched, she realises she may be in danger.

A thrilling, tense and creepy story that keeps you turning the pages until the shocking ending. Brilliant!

Please note this is a rework of 'To Let'.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

Interesting book. Fast paced once you got half way in and will have you hooked. It was thrilling and creepy. The beginning was just a bit slow.

The Houseshare by Carla Kovach will keep you turning the pages well into the night. I read this book in 2 days because I couldn't put it down. The book revolves around Libby, who has left a bad relationship, and fled to a new home. The home is an apartment in a large house with several tenants. She and her cat Einstein are very happy in their new home as the landlord, Tim, has gotten her some furniture and made it very welcoming. Libby keeps getting threatening texts and calls from Gary, the boyfriend she left while he was at work. He was abusive to her and cheated on her, so Libby wants nothing to do with him.

Libby is looking for a fresh start and her sister, Olly, was able to find this houseshare on Facebook. Libby loves it and likes the other residents that she's met. The man that lives below her is a mystery as no one seems to have ever met him. He comes in at odd hours and makes a lot of noise breaking furniture and glass. Libby's cat has started to disappear for a couple days at a time as she leaves the window open for him to come and go. She spots Einstein in his apartment when she's outside one evening, but doesn't see anyone else.

Libby comes to find out that the young woman who lived in her apartment before her has gone missing. The landlord tells her that she left without paying up on her bills and that she had many noises complaints from other tenants. Her father comes looking for her as he thinks she lives where Libby does. He doesn't understand why he hasn't heard from her in over a year. They begin to help each other and investigate what happened to her. She felt like she was always being watched and Libby finds a note she wrote on the back wall of a wardrobe stating that. Libby has felt the same way since she moved in. Tim, the landlord, tries to put her at ease and Libby begins to like him. Things begin to go missing from her apartment and she finds out that the girls across the hall are having the same problem. Libby is getting threatening calls from an unknown number. Is it the guy from work who is mad at her, is it her ex trying to scare her, or someone else? What happened to the girl that was in Libby's apartment before her? Is Tim really a good guy?

When Libby's sister is attacked and the father of the previous tenant go missing it seems like someone is trying to scare Libby and attack those she's close to. Is Libby safe? I highly recommend you read this book as trying to guess who did it is a lot of fun and will have you reading this book way too quickly! I rate this book 5 stars and recommend you pick it up when it comes out on August 16, 2022! I would like to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for an an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.

I'm a big fan of the DI Gina Harte series and I can say that I definitely prefer her crime series to her stand alone books having read two recently and just found them not as engaging.

I really enjoyed the latter part of this book but the lead up was just too long winded for me.