I requested Phillippi Ryan's The House Guest because, quite a few years ago, I quite enjoyed one of her murder mysteries, evidence my positive review:

https://missbatesreadsromance.com/2016/02/27/review-hank-phillippi-ryan-what-you-see/#more-22549

Considering how much I enjoyed What You See, I was greatly looking forward to listening to this latest. Sadly, I did not enjoy this at all. What made What You See likeable were the leads. This was more in the category of a thriller, with a limited POV in the naïve narrator, who was, frankly, boring. Her double, in Bree, was unlikeable, and their interactions felt like Phillippi Ryan was aiming for girl-on-the-train vibes. The narrative read contrived and I bailed at about 15% in: there was suspense, but I didn't really care to find out what happened, or why it did.

The Houseguest
Hank Phillipi Ryan

Ryan takes her audience on a non-stop from beginning to end rollercoaster ride where when the passengers expect the ride to stop it simply changes directions, takes a 360 loop and starts all over again, but don’t get too dizzy because to follow the subtle hints you’ll need your wits about you. Hank gifts her readers/listeners with a solid plot, fluid narrative, amazing scenic backdrops, exotic locales and characters that range from mundane to over the top and each one is unforgettable. Alyssa is the absolute star of the novel and while she may seem naïve to some she’s actually a refreshingly humble designer wearing classy leading lady. On the other hand, Bree, the “houseguest” and other female lead is more of a mystery and a bit harder to pigeonhole. The novel moves at breakneck speed from the beginning until just before the end when Hank does a cool down to allow her audience to get their breathing back under control. Fans of this amazing storyteller, the novels of JT Ellison and Lisa Gardner and lovers of twisty turny chilling thrillers will stay up all night to get to “The End” of this unputdownable read.

Narration:
A great narrator can make or break a novel and Stephanie Willing does a bang-up job with Hank’s new novel. She inserts the right expression and emotions in all the right places making her listening audience moan, gasp and bite their nails. She also does a great job with all the voices both male and female making the audio version of this thriller the way to go!

With no explanation Alyssa McCallan is tossed aside by her uber-wealthy and well connected husband Bill, with a nasty divorce on the horizon she decides to drown her sorrows in a not so up-scale bar where she’s positive she’ll never run into anyone she and Bill knows. Instead she meets Bree a woman who may just have more problems than Alyssa does and makes a perhaps rash decision to not only take her under her wing but make her “The Houseguest”. But after inviting Bree to stay in her guest house Alyssa starts suspecting someone is entering her home when she’s gone and wonders if maybe Bill is messing with her. If that’s not enough, not is all as it seems with her new houseguest and she’s left wondering is she going crazy or is someone really out to get her?

This book was uneventful for me. The main character was overly-anxious about everything and, even though I am also anxiety-ridden, her anxieties seemed to spiral for me. It felt like she was triple guessing everything but then continually convincing herself not to worry and moving forward anyways. It just didn't seem like the character traits matched the personality the author was attempting to portray. Overall, I didn't mind the book, but I won't be running to recommend it to others.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my advanced copy of this audiobook. My thoughts are my own.

This is a domestic suspense story with an intriguing storyline. I thought it would be predictable, like so many other books in this genre, but I was WRONG!

Alyssa Macallan has it all: a wealthy husband, multiple homes, beautiful clothes, jewelry, and a country club membership. That is until she is suddenly dumped by her husband! She is not sure what her next steps should be when she meets Bree Lorrance in a bar. When Bree tells her she is in hiding from a dangerous ex, Alyssa offers to let the beautiful stranger stay in her guest house. The two women quickly become friends. Then the FBI makes a visit and Alyssa begins to suspect her husband is trying to ruin her. Alyssa is concerned about her future when Bree makes a startling suggestion. How far are these women willing to go to help a new friend?

The publisher’s synopsis sums it up best: “But no one is what they seem. And the fates and fortunes of these two women twist and turn until the shocking truth emerges: You can’t always get what you want. But sometimes you get what you deserve.”

You won’t guess the conclusion to this one!

I listened to the audio version and I felt my own sense of unease build as I listened! The narrator, Stephanie Willing does a great job.

Listen to this if you enjoy domestic suspense with lots of twists and surprises!

My first book by this author, and I absolutely loved it! A fast-paced suspense with layers of twists and turns, this story had me guessing until the very end. While some of Alyssa's actions felt a little unbelievable (who lets a stranger move into your guest house?), I did appreciate her as a character. The ending was so satisfying!

5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for the wonderful Hank Phillippi Ryan’s THE HOUSE GUEST, a cat-and-mouse thriller narrated by Stephanie Willing. I just couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook.

The story is fast paced with lots of unexpected twists and turns. It’s well written, the characters are intriguing, the plot believable and the narrator’s voice very pleasant.

Some of the settings are among my favorite places to visit: Cape Cod and St. Bart.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Hank Phillippi Ryan for a copy of The House Guest in exchange for an honest review. This audio was honestly brilliant and the narrator grabbed my attention instantly and didnt let it go until the book was done. I found myself immersed into Alyssa and Brees sudden friendship and I found myself constantly questioning Alyssas rash and impulsive decisions. Without giving much away, I was very satisfied with how Alyssa and her husbands divorce ended. I also definitely did not guess the twist at the end so thats always fantastic for me as a reader. This one is out now!

pov: Your rich, powerful, and manipulative husband suddenly asks for a separation. While drinking your woes away at a hotel bar since the country club is no longer an option, trying to figure out where it all went wrong, you happen to meet a female comrade who is running from an abusive relationship of her own and you hit it off. She has nowhere else to go, so you invite her to stay in your (well, your husband’s) fancy house’s guest house. Oh, and then you find out that your husband might also be in trouble for financial crimes with the FBI. Does for better or worse cover that? The two women’s paths in the bar that night may not have crossed so innocently after all. Told entirely from Alyssa (the wife’s) POV.

The story was alright. An incredibly slow burn to get to the plot. Not a lot of excitement or twists until the end. Because I didn’t see where most of the story was going, I didn’t guess the ending. I really liked the narrator (Stephanie Willing) and I’m glad I gave this a shot on audio. I probably would have lost attention and interest physically reading.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Hank, and NetGalley for an advance listener’s copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was pretty good, ngl it was easy to tell there was something up with the guests and the husband was an ass but still was a interesting read.

Alyssa is going through an ugly divorce from her very rich husband, Bill, and she is running scared as he is scheming to ruin her.

When Alyssa meets Bree in a bar, they become instant friends, and Alyssa welcomes Bree into her guest house as she needs a place to stay while dealing with her own troubles. Enter Dez, someone with information about Bree's newly found brother.

So many twists and turns happen that you struggle to keep everything straight in this fast-paced thriller. I can't believe how naive Alyssa is - I resorted to shouting at her several times while listening to this book. It certainly was engaging, and I did find parts of it quite clever.

I thought narrator Stephanie Willing did a great job - the characters all stood out to me and I didn't lose who we were talking about - which was good given the twisty nature of the last part of the book.

A slow burn that keeps the reader attached not knowing which character is to be trusted or who has false intentions or who’s lying. The middle takes you through some unknown paths as you weave through the two new friends. The ending takes its time but keeps you wondering.

Hank Phillippi Ryan gives us a slow burn yet entertaining mystery novel with The Guest House.
Alyssa Macallan is devastated when her husband up and leaves her. All alone with no money or friends she strikes up a conversation with another lonely looking woman in a bar one evening.
Bree is trying to escape her obsessed boyfriend and Alyssa offers her the use of her guest house for as long as she needs it. A week passes and things become stranger by the day.
The FBI, an unimaginable inheritance and tax fraud are just some of the things weaved into this story of two new friends trying to help each other out of horrible situations.
A Compelling Read!

Narrator Stephanie Willing does a superb job!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I love Hank Phillippi Ryan's writing style! THIS ROLLERCOASTER THOUGH! Oh my god. This is such a twisty-turny thriller that will take from high highs to low lows in a matter of minutes. You are going to want to get this book for heart-pumping non-stop adrenaline! You will love this!

It's a 4.5 for me rounded up to a 5!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC!

This was the second book I have read by Hank Phillippi Ryan and I was not disappointed at all!

If you're looking for a fast paced mystery that will keep you on your toes the entire time, this is the book for you! It kept me guessing the entire time. Every time I thought I knew what was happening and where it was going, after the next chapter, all my theories went out the door with the next twist. I am a sucker for a book that leaves me grasping at straws trying to figure out what's going on and this did it quite well!

The only reason I didn't get it 5 stars was that it was rather far fetched so please keep that in mind. If you're looking for a plot that is realistic, this might not be the best pick for you. But if you're able to overlook logic at times and are just along for the ride, it's great!

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

The House Guest is a little like reliving all of Hitchcocks greatest hits, in one book. There is definitely some scamming and deceit, as well as some unreliable characters. But unfortunately, it was very predictable and a little unbelievable.
The main character, Alyssa, is supposed to be an educated woman but has no clue about what is happening around her. Is she really that clueless? Yes she gets help, goes on her own investigation into things, but it’s all so thrown together and not realistic. Either is the stuff happening around her, especially with her husband. I had a very hard time holding back frustration while reading.
I listened to this book in audiobook format, which I think helped me like the book more. The narrator did a great job keeping the book moving through a lot of slow build reading. I would have given up quickly if I was reading it in print. Having it performed made it more lifelike and added appeal.
I’m having a hard time rating this one. I liked the idea of the book, and the ending, but it was a bit long winded and reaching in a lot of places.

Ryan does it again with this clever cat-and-mouse chase of a mystery that will keep you flipping the pages until the deliciously twisty end. The House Guest is a riveting read-straight-through novel of suspense

This was my first Hank Phillippi Ryan book and I can't say I'm itching to pick up a second one. THE HOUSE GUEST was described as a "cat-and-mouse thriller" so I expected a lot of back-and-forth suspicion between the two main characters, but there really wasn't much of a thrill at all and Alyssa was way too trusting the entire book. She was suspicious of her husband (soon-to-be ex) and yet, let a total stranger live with her and became her best friend in a matter of a week. And sure, let's throw in another stranger who we immediately trust too! Why not!

I didn't feel thrilled by this at all. Sure, I was suspicious of Bree, but that was me as a reader, not me being involved in this story at all. Aside from blatantly obvious lies about a creepy boyfriend who kept calling her, Alyssa trusted Bree way too much. She ended up having some doubts, but she let her stay at her home unattended, took trips with her, told her secrets... Seems pretty dumb when you don't trust your husband to be in your house, know he's done shady things, and could be setting you up in any number of ways. The ended of how all of this unfolded was also stupid, forced, and I just didn't like it at all.

The worst thing about this book, for me, was that nothing happened for 80% of this book.
- Alyssa fears her husband is gaslighting her (which gaslighting isn't quite the right word for moving stuff around in her house), and nothing happens
- Bree finds out she has long lost family and a huge inheritance, and nothing happens
- Dez starts hanging around with them and Alyssa treats him like a close friend, finally gets a little suspicious, and nothing happens
- Bill keeps moving things around their house (supposedly), and nothing happens
- There's a secret compartment in the closet, and nothing happens
- There's someone who claims to be an FBI agent and threatens Alyssa, and nothing happens

All this time, the characters are just bonding and going to other properties that Bill & Alyssa own. Alyssa talks to her lawyer, blah blah blah. If I hadn't been 50% through this book already and driving in the car listening to the audiobook, I wouldn't have finished it, but I pushed forward because I'm not going to play with my phone and change audiobooks while driving on the highway.

Things FINALLY happened in the last 20% and it wasn't even interesting. It all felt so forced and silly the way it unfolded when things could have been slowly hinted at or even given to us right from the start. I think it would have been MORE interesting to know more things and feel more suspense than save it for a "twist" and feel like we didn't know enough about what was going on. This book could have gone in a totally different direction (the direction I was hoping) and just didn't. Different styles for different people, but this was not my style. I was way too bored and there wasn't enough suspense to keep me interested in this one.

The House Guest by Hank Phillippi Ryan

I won’t lie. I finished listening to this seven days ago and it’s already fuzzy. It was a perfectly fine novel with some twists but it had a level of predictability about it. At the same time, there were things I thought I predicted and our author switched it up. Ultimately, it just isn’t a memorable book for me. It was a super fast listen for me and Stephanie Willing did a fantastic job. I could speed the audio up as high as it would go and it was still so easy to understand, which was helpful for a book that I was a bit bored with.

Thanks to @macmillan.audio for the ALC 💗

I am a real fan of Hank Phillippi Ryan, so this was a treat to read and review. Once again, the author takes us on a wild ride; twist after twist after twist.
Truthfully, I never saw it coming. A must read.

I enjoyed the ending. The book was very slow in the beginning, and I had to put it down for a few days and pick it back up quite a few times. The twist at the end was very good, I thought I knew what would happen, but I was wrong, however, I was happy about the ending.