The Unwelcome Guest

What a great read! First off, I absolutely could not stand Caprice. She's the mother in law from hell, as I'm sure you'll realize how she treats Saffron her daughter in law. I wanted her son, Miles, to open his eyes and realize his mom is not the loving person he thinks she is. I could not put this book down! I was determined to see if Karma bites Caprice in the behind with everything she puts Saffron through while no one else thinks she is capable of being so despicable. Loved the twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

Woooooo!!! Here we gooooo! This was one of the best and most unique books I’ve read all year! Y’all know I love my first person chapters and I love alternating characters narrating chapters but Amanda Robson went and threw on another super cool layer where every chapter had a character using first person AND second person! I loved to see each character’s object of obsession (Good or bad? That’s to be determined!) and I just could not freaking put this book down! I honestly could not even begin to guess how this book would end and that made it even better for me! I’m going back to buy all of her previous books and putting her on my auto buy author list!!! 87 stars from me!!!

The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson was the perfect scalp tingling thriller! I thought I saw where this was going from the start annoying mother in law, pretty young nanny and lecherous brother in law someone’s going to snap. But who and how? Robson wrote a windy and dark enough book that you stay up way to late reading it. I’m truly sad it’s over and looking forward to her next one.

Y'all know with a title like this it is going to be fantastic. Definitely a thrill and one that will make you look over your shoulder at times. Fantastic characters and the author writes beautifully! Must read!

I received an eARC of The Unwelcome Guest by Amanda Robson from Harper 360 and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
4 stars! What a crazy concoction of characters and a twisted storyline ( I mean that in a good way!) I'm glad to have read this.

The Unwelcome Guest

by Amanda Robson

I have just been introduced to the “domestic suspense” novel in reading Amanda Robson’s The Unwelcome Guest. The focus is a power couple: Miles a philosophy professor and his wife Saffron who owns her own niche concierge law firm. They live in Great Britain with their two children and most importantly with Miles’ wealthy, widowed mother Caprice who has decided that living in the annex to the house she bought for them is not suitable. She moves into the big house to be closer to the son she adores.

Caprice detests Saffron from their first meeting and proves herself manipulative, deceptive, and downright evil. The author adds in to that toxic setup Mile’s financially successful brother Aiden who never met Caprice’s standards. He is in love with Saffron, and is divorced from Julie who is Saffron’s assistant. Having gone through a number of nannies, the couple hires Hayley from New Zealand who is good with the children, delighted to live in their luxurious house, and has eyes for Miles.

I did not actually like any of the characters, except the kids. The intrigue within the household made the plot, but I didn’t enjoy reading about it. Evil arose in response to evil, showing the worst side of the characters and often bubbling to the surface.

The format of the book is appropriate for the story which is told in short chapters, sometimes less than a page. Each one is entitled with the name of the character whose point of view is related in the chapter. In this way the action moves forward showing much of the the emotions and motivations of the characters, all the while hiding some of them as well. There are lots of twists and surprises to the very end. I did not fully engage for the first quarter of the book. After that, it was a page turner for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: General—4/5, Personal—3/5

Category: Fiction, Mystery & Thriller

Notes: Trying to be objective as a reviewer, I can share that the book was well written. I liked the way the characters’ thoughts were exposed along with what they actually said. Thus my rating of 4/5. What I learned, however, is that domestic suspense is not a category that attracts me, and for my personal reading pleasure, my rating is 3/5 with no recommendation to read it.

Publication: November 23, 2021—Harper 360 (Avon)

Memorable Lines:

I became Aiden’s challenge. His revenge against his brother for being the one that his woman wanted. If he could bed me, he would. A stag thing; wanting to rut his competition’s mate. Despite the fun I have being with him, the disingenuous nature of his attention always annoys me.

“Caprice’s world centres around Miles. No one else matches him. No one else is good enough. It’s a sadness we both have to face.”

Are you right, Saffron? Is Aiden hitting on you to get back at me? Or is it worse than that. Is he truly in love with you? Aiden Jackson, we have shared much in life, but I am not sharing my wife. My fist clenches. Be careful, Aiden. Still waters run deep.